An easy way to dispatch giant spiders is to throw a bomb into their web without moving directly underneath them.
Giant Spiders are a type of enemy found only in the Mines. They're more dangerous than their diminutive cousins.
Behavior[]
Giant Spiders are always generated hanging from the ceiling, with two webs directly beneath them. Like their cousins, the spiders, they will only drop down to attack you if you pass directly underneath them, either of the blocks they are hanging from are destroyed, or if they take damage (such as by being hit by an object). Like their cousins, they can jump around the level, however they can also skuttle sideways if they wish.
Once aggravated they will also shoot webs around the cave at random.
Strategy[]
Spiders are dangerous, but are also relatively easy to dispatch:
A direct hit with a shotgun will kill the giant spider immediately. The giant spider will not become aggressive if approached from the side, allowing a Spelunker to carefully line up a direct shot.
A bomb thrown into the giant spider's web will not aggravate it, but will lodge there and blow it up.
Other more risky strategies are:
If you happen to be on a floor (of 1 block thickness) above the spider, placing a bomb on the floor might kill it, however sometimes this only detaches and aggravates the Giant Spider.
If you can manage to get the Giant Spider close to an idol, you can sometimes grab the idol and let the resulting boulder crush it.
The pistol and bow are also capable of killing the Giant Spider, but will take multiple hits to do so (specifically for the pistol: 3 direct shots can kill).
Whipping and/or jumping on a Giant Spider is not recommended, as you will most likely die long before it does: when the spider crouches, you will fall through it instead of jumping on it, suffering damage in the process. However, it appears that killing a Giant Spider through whipping or jumping will result in a larger drop of gems.
Jump on top of the Giant Spider right before it jumps. As the Giant Spider jumps you'll score multiple hits.
Having a Giant Spider chase you until you find a rectangular floating block with a small tunnel beneath it, with a one block wide hole going vertically going up on both sides. Dive into one hole, (preferably with a weapon that you can throw and can do multiple hits on, such as a stone) lead the Giant Spider to the other hole, and ricochet the object up the hole, hitting the spider until it dies (being careful not to hit yourself with the weapon) and boom, one dead Giant Spider.
'I have you now!'
If you can lure a giant spider into a one-tile-high passage, it is relatively easy to kill it with the whip. There, its movement is more slow and predictable since it cannot jump, and it can be hit repeatedly with the backswing of the whip. Since each swing inflicts multiple hits, three or four swings will kill it. The challenger must, however, be careful not to let the spider catch up with them. In this picture, the spider cannot jump out of the left end of the passage, but the spelunker can, giving them a further advantage.
If you cannot safely dispatch an aggravated spider, it is recommended to run away. Due to the its large size the giant spider cannot pursue you if you drop through a 1 space wide hole. Alternatively, run until the spider enters the frozen region.
Loot[]
Giant spiders will drop a few gems when killed. Additionally, they will drop a tub of bomb paste. Killing the giant spider with an explosive may cause the bomb paste to fly off in an unpredictable direction.
