Spiders are common enemies most frequently seen in the Mines, but may be found anywhere there are pots for them to hide in.
Strategy
A spider that lands near a one-high ledge can sometimes jump sideways, but a spider that lands near a two-high ledge will always jump straight up.
Spiders are enemies that are found hanging from the ceiling in the caves of Area 1. They will only drop down and attack if you pass directly underneath them, and can detect you from quite high up, and even through solid blocks.
They may also be found hiding in pots in any of the four areas. Six of them spawn the first time an altar to Kali is destroyed as punishment for desecration.
Spiders have only a single hit point, but can move quickly and may be difficult to hit. Strategically, there are several approaches to handling them:
- Spiders are most easily dealt with while they're still hanging on the ceiling. Because spiders only attack when you move directly underneath them, it is often easy to throw something diagonally at them (or whip them if the ceiling is low enough) to dispatch them before they even start moving. Because the whip's backswing strikes behind and above the Spelunker, you may find it easier to hit spiders clinging to the ceiling if you first turn your back to them.
- You can also take advantage of a spider's predictable drop downward when it is provoked. Simply run under a spider to lure it, then stand nearby and whip it immediately as it lands.
- However, when an agressive spider isn't immediately killed, it becomes one of the most dangerous enemies in the mines. Spiders attack by simply jumping towards you, but their movement is very fast and erratic, as unlike Frogs, they don't pause after jumping. One approach is to constrain the Spider's movement so that you don't have to guess what it is going to do. Luckily, the Mines have frequent 1-tile-high tunnels: by standing in one of these and whipping repeatedly, the spider will be forced to follow you down the narrow tunnel where it cannot move quickly or avoid your whip.
- If you have to fight a spider in the open, stay on your toes. Try to gauge the trajectory of its jumps and move to whip it when it lands. It can also be helpful to keep in mind the spider's behavior near ledges, as described in the picture above.
- Finally, luring a spider into a spike field often means a quick death for the creature. Remember to stay calm, though, as the same spikes that work on the spider will also work on you if you panic and attempt a jump.
Finally, while it is a rare case, spiders spawned from pots or altars in the Jungle will drown if they fall into a pool of water.