📖 Jumping Spider SOS: Dodge, Fight & Farm Like a Don't Starve Pro

Fast Answer: "Jumping Spiders" (Spider Warriors) are aggressive yellow spiders that leap at players. They have double health (200 HP in Don't Starve vs 400 HP in DST) and perform pouncing attacks. Dodge by running at an angle as they leap.

Recent Patch Fixes

Hotfix fixed a crash involving Spider Warriors that was introduced in an update. Always check patch notes for bug fixes if your game crashes near spiders.

Community Observations

Players noticed spider dens maturing quickly and overwhelming forests. Recommendation: use traps and world settings to manage spider spawn rates.

Reddit Combat Tips

Top post reveals: limit fights to 2-3 spiders at once, lure away from nests, and run toward Spider Warriors when they leap so they miss you.

Guide Updates

The Spider Almanac was updated after Webber's rework, noting DST's Spider Warrior HP buff (400) and Shipwrecked's venomous variant.

Mod Spotlight

Uncompromising Mode mod makes survival harder – tweaks Spider Warriors to drop Monster Morsels instead of Monster Meat. Check mod notes before installing.

YouTube Farming Tips

Base-building videos showed off "insanely OP" spider farms in DST using Wortox's souls and Abigail combos. Advanced setups can automate silk and gland farming.

Jumping Spiders – called Spider Warriors in-game – are an upgraded breed of spider introduced in the "Long Live the Queen" update (Dec 2012). They serve as protectors of higher-level spider dens.

Spider Den Tiers

Spider Dens grow from Tier 1 (small) to Tier 3 (large). Jumping spiders only emerge from Tier-2 and Tier-3 dens – a Tier-1 den never spawns them. Each upgrade brings more spiders: a Tier-2/Tier-3 will spawn a mix of normal spiders and 1–2 warriors when triggered. Tier-3 dens can also sprout a Spider Queen, which spawns warriors to defend her.

When They Spawn

By day, spiders stay in their den. At dusk, Tier-2+ dens automatically wake up some spiders – you might see 1–3 roam out, and often one is a warrior at higher tiers. They roam nearby webs until dawn. If you step on the webbing near a den or attack the den, this alarms the colony: multiple spiders rush out, including warriors.

Spider Den Visual Guide

Spider den tiers determine warrior spawn chance. Only Tier 2 and 3 dens produce warriors.

Spawn Tip – Safe Timing

Daytime is safest to tackle spider nests. At dusk or night, spiders are active in great numbers. Step on the edge of webbing to lure out 1–2 spiders at a time, kill them, repeat. Do not attack the den itself until you've cleared out the roamers, as it triggers an extra wave including at least one warrior.

Facing a Jumping Spider in your first autumn can be daunting. This quick-start section gives you immediate tactics to survive a Jumping Spider encounter even with minimal gear:

Avoid Dusk/Night Fights

Don't fight near active nests at dusk. If a spider chases you at dusk, run away until daylight if possible. You can outrun spiders outside their web zone – they're slower off webs. Warriors will chase farther but will give up by morning.

Isolate the Warrior

If you have to fight, try to pull only the Warrior. Step briefly onto the webbing and back off – let just one or two spiders follow. The yellow-striped warrior is distinct; target it first. Run at a distance to separate it from others.

Warrior Identification

Spider Warriors have distinctive yellow stripes and are more aggressive than normal spiders.

Use Traps

Place a trap on the ground between you and the spider. Warriors can get caught in traps mid-leap! A trapped warrior is an easy kill (one hit to finish it off while it's trapped).

Use Armor or Obstacles

If available, wear at least a Log Suit or Football Helmet. A single warrior can kill an unarmored character in ~5 hits. Use the environment: kite spiders around trees or boulders.

Quick Equipment Recap

Spear (or even a machete/axe) to fight, Grass Suit or Log Suit for emergency armor, a few Rabbit Traps to snare spiders, and maybe a Torch to escape at night if needed. These basics can carry you through an early spider encounter.

Sanity Note

As "monsters," spiders drain your sanity when near. A Spider Warrior has a -40 Sanity/min aura at very close range. Webber is immune to this effect, but other characters should be mindful when farming spiders en masse.

1 vs 1 – The Kiting Dance

The ideal scenario is fighting one warrior at a time. As covered in the Quick-Start, the core strategy is: bait the jump, dodge, and retaliate. To reiterate with more nuance: When you see the warrior rear up (legs bunched, ready to spring), prepare to sidestep. A common method is to run in a perpendicular or diagonal line relative to the spider's line of attack.

Running toward and past it is very effective – think of it like dodging a charging bull by stepping aside at the last second. After it lands, close the gap immediately and land hits. With a spear, you can usually get 2 hits in the post-leap window before it recovers.

Effective Weapons

• Spear: Standard weapon, 34 damage
• Tentacle Spike: Higher damage
• Ham Bat: Good damage, decays with time
• Boomerang: Range option, careful with catch

Melee Lock (Advanced)

Experienced players sometimes use a risky tactic: stay very close to the warrior from the get-go. If you are within melee range, the warrior will use its regular bite instead of jumping. This bite has a wind-up that you can predict and dodge by moving out of range briefly, then stepping back in to hit.

Essentially, you're preventing the jump entirely by hugging the spider. This requires confidence and timing – if you mistime, you'll eat a bite.

Use Traps to Your Advantage

Rabbit Traps work on spiders. Drop a few traps around the combat area beforehand. A warrior chasing you may run over a trap and instantly get caught, removing it from battle.

Pro tip: You can even drop a trap directly under a warrior that's targeting someone else (or a follower). In DST, if playing with a team, one player can kite the spider while another plops traps in its path.

Myth: "Run South"

Early community tales claimed running straight down (south) confuses jumping spiders. In truth, the game's isometric view might make it feel like south is safer, but there's nothing special about the south direction. The key is changing direction as they jump, not the cardinal direction per se.

Loot Drops

A Spider Warrior drops: Monster Meat (100%), Silk (25% chance), and Spider Gland (25%) – the same loot table as a normal spider. These resources are critical for survival:

• Monster Meat is useful in many crock pot recipes when carefully ratioed or for feeding to pigmen and birdcage prisoners.
• Silk is critical for clothing (winter hats, tents, bug nets), and various structures.
• Spider Glands craft into Healing Salves – an early-game healing item.

Loot Drop Rates

Warriors have the same drop table as normal spiders.

Passive Farm with Mobs

Force spiders to fight other creatures and collect the loot. Place 4–6 Rabbit Hutches around a spider den. At dusk, Bunnymen come out and fight the spiders. Bunnymen usually win a 1v1 and crucially do not eat Monster Meat (unlike pigs).

Alternative: Use a Lureplant near a nest – the eye plants will consume spiders and their drops. You must periodically check it before the plant digests the loot.

Active Farming

When a Tier-3 nest is ready, destroy it proactively and replant the Spider Eggs elsewhere. Set up a "spider farm" away from your base: put several dens in a walled area or on an island.

If you enclose a few dens and leave a gap with traps, spiders will wander into traps on their own over time. Check the traps daily for silk/glands.

The Spiderhat and "Spider Diplomacy"

The Spiderhat (drops from Spider Queen) lets any character control spiders for 2½ minutes. Wearing it makes spiders regard you as a friend – they follow you and fight for you.

This is a double-edged item: when it wears off or you unequip it, any spiders around turn on you immediately (and your sanity drains while wearing it). Still, it's a powerful way to turn a spider horde against another enemy.

Resource Renewal

Spider dens are renewable – each Spider Egg you pick up from a destroyed den can be replanted to grow a new den. This means once you have a couple of tier-3 dens in the world, you can propagate an infinite supply of spiders.

Many players bait Spider Queens to leave eggs somewhere remote and create a "spider biome" of their own making, which they periodically harvest.

Befriending and Breeding Spiders (Webber)

If you play as Webber, spiders are your friends. You can feed any spider Monster Meat to make it a follower for a day. Webber can craft Warrior Switcherdoodles which when fed to a normal spider will mutate it into a Warrior. Having a squad of 5–6 Warriors following Webber makes him extremely potent in combat.

Dangling Depth Dwellers

These drop from cave ceilings (basically cave variants of warriors with similar high HP and a drop attack). They behave like warriors once on the ground (they even leap). Webber can convert a warrior into a "Dangler" with a special switcherdoodle.

Shattered Spiders

Glassy-looking spiders in the Archive biome (added in Return of Them update). They have a leap-like short jump and an acid attack. While not exactly Spider Warriors, they fill a similar combat role in their biome.

Nurse Spiders

Introduced in Webber's character update (2021). Spider Queens in DST can spawn Nurse Spiders that heal other spiders during fights. This means if you fight a Queen in DST, you might have warriors being healed by nurses – a new challenge.

Sea Striders

Technically spider creatures that skate on the ocean (added in Return of Them: Waterlogged update). They're passive until attacked and not part of normal spider nests, so they don't interact with warriors directly.

Webby Whistle

Webber can craft a spider-whistle to wake up spiders or summon them from a den on command. He can use it to pull spiders (including warriors) out of a den at will. The whistle can also put Webber's following spiders in defensive mode.

Shoo Box

A craft that pacifies attacking spiders. When Webber uses the Shoo Box, any spider around him stops fighting and becomes neutral (or goes home). This is extremely useful if your spiders turn on a friend or you accidentally hit one.

Den Decoration Kit

Webber can decorate a den with craftable decor which makes spiders from that den friendly to all players (as long as they don't get attacked). It also halts the den's growth (no queen will spawn).

Switcherdoodles

We covered Warrior Switcherdoodle for making your own warriors. There are 6 others for each spider type (cave, nurse, etc.). This system allows a Webber player to customize his spider army composition.

Webber – The Spider Boy

Webber is literally a child who lives in a spider's body, so spiders treat him as one of their own. In gameplay, this means spiders (all types) are neutral to Webber – he can walk among them without being attacked.

He can befriend up to 10 spiders at a time by feeding them Monster Meat. Befriended spiders follow Webber like pigs would and will defend him. This friendship lasts a day or until they eat something else or Webber attacks them (friendly fire breaks it).

• He can gather a small army of Warriors to defend his base from Hounds.
• Webber can sleep inside Tier-3 dens safely – an option unique to him.
• Downside: Being a "monster," Webber is hated by pigs and bunnymen.

Wendy & Abigail

Wendy's ghost sister Abigail is an AOE damage dealer. She is exceptionally good at clearing groups of spiders. Abigail's attacks don't anger neutral spiders (since it's an AOE aura, not direct attacks), so Wendy can literally park Abigail next to a spider den at dusk and watch her kill the entire nest worth of spiders as they come out one by one.

Wigfrid

Wigfrid, being a fighter, has 25% damage bonus and lifesteal on hits. She can take on spider warriors more directly. Each hit on a spider gives Wigfrid +1 HP and +1 Sanity by default. So if she's surrounded by spiders, she can sometimes tank and whirl through them, leeching just enough health to survive.

WX-78

As a robot, WX doesn't have inherent spider synergy, but consider that WX can eat monster meat once upgraded with gears (though it hurts sanity). WX's perk is speed when overcharged; outrunning spiders becomes trivial if you have a lightning charge.

Maxwell

Maxwell can summon shadow puppets to fight for him. His shadow duelists can take on spiders decently, but they're a bit frail. Maxwell's low health means he should not be tanking hits from warriors at all – one or two hits can drop him.

Uncompromising Mode (Mod)

This is a popular difficulty mod that makes Don't Starve Together much harder. It notably changes spider behavior: e.g., Spider Warriors drop Monster Morsels instead of Monster Meat (so you can't easily feed a ton of monster meat to birds or pigs).

It also introduces Trapdoor Spiders (burrowed like trapdoor spiders in real life) that ambush you – visually similar to warriors. The mod also buffs spider damage and numbers in some cases.

"Spiders Everywhere" Challenge

Some players do self-imposed challenges like spider-only world, where they set Spiders to "Lots" in world gen and pigs/bunnies to none. This results in a world dominated by spider dens.

It's a fun way to test your spider-handling skills. Jumping Spiders become the number one threat each day. The common strategy is rushing for Pan Flutes or Bush Hats to stealth around, or embracing Webber to turn the tide.

Cosmetic Mods

The community also loves turning spiders into cute or funny things. The "Despacito Spider" mod famously changes the spider warrior's model to the viral Despacito spider meme – purely visual but it makes the horror a little more humorous.

Another mod turns all spiders into Minecraft spiders or reskins them in neon colors for visibility. There are also plushie mods (inspired by official spider plush toys) to make spiders look soft and cuddly... even as they bite your face.

Community Stories

Many veteran players have spider war stories. On Klei's forum a user once recounted how a single Tier-3 nest left unchecked became 6 queens in a chain reaction and "overran my base with dozens of warriors."

Another player on Reddit shared how they used 20 lureplants to create a "silk farm" – the eye plants kept devouring spawning spiders from 3 nests, basically automating silk collection, but eventually a Smallbird wandered in, ate the lureplant eye, and the spiders got loose...leading to a Spider Queen rampage in their base.