Giant Spider (HD)

Spawns:	The Mines
Health:	10 HP
Damage:	2 (Contact)
Stunnable:	No
Corpse:	No
Size:	Large (2x1)
Notes:	• Can shoot web. • Drops Bomb Paste and Jewels when killed.

Giant Spiders are large enemies which take ten normal hits to die, but can be dispatched easily by throwing a bomb into the webs underneath them while they're lying in wait.

A large number of Giant Spiders spawn in close proximity on Spider Lair's level feelings.

They are guaranteed to drop Bomb Paste and jewels when killed.

Behaviour

Giant Spiders are always generated hanging from the ceiling, with two web blocks directly beneath them. Like their smaller cousins, they will only drop down to attack you if you pass directly underneath them or if they take damage.

Unlike regular spiders, they are capable of crawling along the ground without jumping. They will also shoot web around the cave at random, but are capable of moving through it without hindrance.

When the spider is crawling, it will immediately switch directions upon being hit.

Strategy

The best method of killing a Giant Spider is to throw a bomb into its web while it's lying in wait, as the explosion will kill the Spider instantly.

Be careful, however; if you miss and hit the spider instead, it will be alerted to your presence and begin to chase you. In this case, the bomb will usually miss as the Spider drops down from the ceiling out of the blast zone.

If you are able to get up on the same level as a Giant Spider, a shotgun will usually make short work of it if you have one. Alternatively, you can attempt to chain-jump on a spider if it is already hunting you, but you will need to bounce on it ten times before it dies, and it can be difficult to get on top of it due to its size and erratic jumping patterns.

The spider's size can also be used to the player's advantage. If the player places themselves into a ditch the spider can't reach, because it isn't two tiles wide, the players whip can still hit it. The whip hits slightly above the players head and tile, so if the spider is above the player, but cannot reach them due to their size, it can be whipped to death this way.

The spider's movement pattern can also be taken advantage of. Because it switches directions upon taking damage while crawling, if the player can begin stomping the spider while half of its body is stuck beneath a 1-tile-high corridor, they will be stuck constantly moving back and forth so long as the player continues to stomp on them. The Spike Shoes make this strategy much more viable, requiring only four stomps to kill a Spider.

If you can manage to get the Giant Spider close to a Golden Idol, you can sometimes grab the idol and let the resulting boulder crush it.

If you cannot safely dispatch a spider, it is recommended to run to somewhere where it cannot reach you, for example by dropping through a single-tile-wide hole.

Bugs

• Giant Spiders will only collide against spikes with half of their body, even though they are "2 blocks long".
• Because of the game handling Giant Spiders' spawn as a single block, it's possible for the game to spawn half of them inside push blocks, which will cause the spider to slowly move towards the opposite side until they run out of ceiling.