Spider
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16 ( | |
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Attack strength |
Easy: 2 ( |
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Light level of 7 or less, 3x3x2 space on solid blocks (spawns only on top of the central block). Top half of space may be occupied by transparent blocks (glass, etc.). | |
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5 |
Spiders are hostile mobs that naturally spawn during the night or in dark areas like caves. They have the ability to climb walls and can also shoot Cobwebs. They are the main source for String and Spider Eyes. They'll become neutral during the day or in sufficiently bright areas.
Contents
Appearance
A spider measures 2 x 2 x 1 blocks, with brownish-gray skin and red eyes that glow eerily in the dark. Because of their dimensions, spiders cannot enter 1-block wide spaces that zombies, skeletons, and creepers can, but it can crawl into 1-block high gaps (as long as they are 2 or more blocks wide). There is a 1% chance that a spider will spawn with a skeleton on its back, forming the dreaded Spider Jockey. The skeleton's ability to fire arrows combined with the speed, leaping, and wall-climbing of the spider makes this a very dangerous opponent. A variant of the spider known as Cave Spiders spawn in Abandoned Mine Shafts and are able to poison their targets.
Behavior
Spiders will wander around randomly. If they spot a target then they'll quickly move towards the target. If the target is far away then the spider will shoot a Cobweb at them in order to slow them down. They'll stop pursuing their target if they managed to kill them or they move out of the spider's range. Spiders can draw line of sight through solid objects, so they will pursue the player even when completely cut off from them, so long as they are within the standard aggressive mob's 16 block search radius. The spider will then approach as close as possible and ambush the player even if it subsequently becomes light. Spiders on the surface can also track a player in a cave or tunnel if there is a clear path above the player they can follow and vice versa. Spiders are hostile so long as the light level immediately around them is 9 or less. If they are found in an area with a higher light level, they won't attack unless a player attacks first. Spiders do not turn sideways when climbing up walls and cannot climb along the tops of ceilings.
Targets
Spiders will go after the player, chickens and mobs that attacked them first, accidental or not. They'll also eat any Raw Mystery Meat or Raw Chicken their targets drop.
Usage
Spiders are essential for early game progression as their String is needed in order to be able to craft a Stone Axe and Stone Shovel, which are needed to obtain Wood logs and Clay respectively. String can also be used to make a Fishing Rod, which serves as the player's first renewable source of food, and a Bow Drill, which allows the player to light fires more efficiently than the Fire Plough. Spider Eyes see less uses but can still be used as bait for fishing and as an emergency food source, as it can be eaten to replenish 1 shank of hunger in exchange for 5 seconds of poison. They can also be used as an ingredient for brewing Potions of Night Vision.
Fighting
Spiders are relatively easy mobs to fight but can still be dangerous if allowed to get too close. They are rather fast but also have a larger hitbox compared to other mobs. This means that it's much easier to restrict their movement or to find a place that they can't attack you from. If this is not possible then it's better to just fight the spider head-on as they will shoot a Cobweb at you when you move too far from them. In close range, the Spider will try to lunge at you but this can be stopped by simply hitting them. They have a very short cooldown then where they can't lunge at you, meaning that by simply timing your strikes you'll be able to kill the Spider without them being able to attack you.
Keep in mind
- Spiders can only shoot 1 cobweb and won't drop any string once they've shot it
- Hitting a Spider with a Snowball or an Egg will still provoke them
- While not poisonous themselves, Spiders are unaffected by Splash Potions of Poison.
- Spiders and other bug mobs, like its relative the cave spider and silverfish, are damaged more by swords with the Bane of Arthropods enchantment.
- You can still see a Spider's eyes when a Spider is hit with a Potion of Invisibility.
- Spiders slow down when climbing vertical surfaces, making it easier for a player to outrun them around steep mountains and cliffs.
- A spider can jump sideways or backwards.
- Spiders appear to be based on real life jumping spiders due to their eye pattern and the fact that they pounce to attack. However, most jumping spiders hunt in the day.
- Spiders can travel through a space that is 1½ blocks wide. This can happen when glass panes are part of a wall composed mostly of solid blocks. If a glass pane on the end of a long window is broken, spiders can crawl through the gap that is created.
- If you set a spider on fire, it burns with a huge flame.
- Due to Spiders (And Endermen) having a separate texture for their eyes file, they can be seen as a bright-red "shadow" from within lava. (Endermen have the same effect). Similarly, Spiders hidden by fog will appear pure white.
- Spider's footstep noises get some special handling: They have a lower chance than other mobs to make a noise when they walk on a block, but they are wider, and so touch more blocks at once. The result comes out about even with other mobs.
- The looting enchantment does not affect number of Spider Eyes dropped, only the probability of a drop.
- While the spider will always pounce to attack (unless swimming), it doesn't actually need to -- their attack is by touch like most unarmed mobs.
References
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