How to you beat the beholder on lvl2? He keeps destroying my equipment.

i usually keep at a distance charge my weapon attack and quickly close in and release the attack then back off again to charge up the next attack

also moving in behind walls so its shots cant hit you

the tactics work with ranged attacks and magic too just that you dont have to get close to drop your mad beats on it

anyway thats Vyr's 2 cents on the issue

Situation Specific Advice:
I'm guessing you are trying to kill it right after getting the quest from Goldthirst. If so, the simplest answer is "Come back later". Gazers are, in general, fairly strong enemies. Consider coming back after you've cleared most of level 3, and perhaps most of level 4. You'll have better equipment, more skill points, more levels (which means more hp), and more player experience in fighting enemies.

Fighting a Gazer:
The gazer's ranged lightning attack is going to hurt at any level, which means you want to be close enough that he doesn't use it. At low levels, his melee claw swipe is still going to hurt. If you really want to get this done now, then you can try dancing in and out of melee range, as Vyr suggested. Dancing like this is an excellent strategy against most monsters, if you have the space (and if you need a little more space, you may be able to shove them backward some by running into them). You move in, swing, then backpedal just out of their melee range so their swing is out of range. You charge your next swing while backpedaling, then run in again and try to hit them. Rinse and repeat. Get a feel for how often the gazer will take a melee swipe, as well as what animation he shows when swinging, and back up just before he does. Once he's swung, get close again to he doesn't try to nuke you with lightning.

Equipment Damage:
If you have a low skill level with the weapon you are using, you are much more likely to damage the weapon when attacking. If your defense skill is low, monsters are more likely to damage your armor when they hit you. To preserve your equipment, advance the skills for [your weapon of choice] and Defense. Because of the level/skill point limit, pick only one type of weapon and stick with it throughout the game. All of them (except maybe Missile) are viable; I've played with each one except Missile (and yes, punching your way through the game is doable). Sword is by far the simplest, though.