At least we dont get "git gud" kind of tips. :-/
Right?
No, never...
I realize that replying to Blackheifer is a waste of time, but here goes:
Your assumptions about my lack of skill are both wrong and completely besides the point. The point is that in a game "based on D&D" these encounters SHOULD NOT HAPPEN at these levels. Unless the intention is for 1.0 to have the group at level 5-6 by the time you hit the Underdark, these battles are WAY BEYOND the power level of the standard 4-PC party. Therefore, the only way to win them is to manipulate the rules.
On that note, I'd like to hear how YOU handled the Spectator encounter without barrelmancy and without just parking everyone on the high ground. Explain to me, in your infinte wisdom, how you cleverly used the abilities of your party synergistically in order to defeat a Spectator with double eye rays and double HP, as well as the half-dozen charmed 4th level Drow rangers that add into the combat, simply using the spells and weapons the game makes available to that point. It still wouldn't matter, because THAT WASN'T MY POINT. You can mansplain to someone old enough to be your father's older brother all you want. It doesn't change the fact that Larian has a well-established history of throwing characters into battles against significantly superior opponents, or that they are completely ignoring the VERY WELL ESTABLISHED balance that D&D has built over ~40 years between monsters and PCs, seemingly just so they can keep the "game play" consistent with DOS (which, as I stated earlier, I find to be a completely s4!t game).
That having been said, thank you to everyone who actually engaged with the topic I brought up. I really only meant it for the devs (I didn't realize there was a direct feedback link, so thanks again for the link!), but it's nice to see that other people out there are noticing this problem and thinking about it.
