If you’ve spent any time exploring the damp old-growth forest biomes in the new open world, you’ve probably heard a skittering noise you didn’t recognize, or walked straight into a nearly invisible sticky web strung between two trees. That’s almost certainly the monster hunter wilds spider, a surprisingly tough small monster that catches far too many new hunters off guard with its speed and brutal poison attacks. I still remember my first run-in with it: I was gathering herbs for a health potion craft, turned around, and got a face full of poison before I even had time to draw my weapon. I fainted on the spot, and lost half of the materials I’d spent the last hour collecting. That’s when I decided to figure out exactly how these creatures work, so I wouldn’t make the same mistake again, and I’ve compiled all my tested tips below.
Where to Find the Monster Hunter Wilds Spider Across the Open World
These spiders are extremely habitat-specific, so you won’t run into them in every zone of the map. They only spawn in shaded, high-humidity forest areas, with zero spawns in arid desert, high alpine, or volcanic biomes. They’re also almost entirely nocturnal, so your chances of finding one during the daytime are less than 10% — if you’re hunting them for materials, always plan your run for after the sun sets in-game.
You can narrow your search even further by looking for areas with thick tree cover and small rock overhangs, preferably close to common bug spawn points they feed on. If you’re having trouble tracking them down, set your scoutfly lure to track small monster tracks, and you’ll pick up their faint web trails within a minute or two of searching the right zone. One thing to note: if there’s a large aggressive monster like Rathian or Anjanath roaming the immediate area, the spiders will hide in their underground burrows. You’ll need to chase the large monster away, or wait for it to move to a different part of the map, for the spiders to emerge again.
Key Attack Patterns You Need to Watch For
Don’t make the mistake of writing these spiders off as harmless just because they’re smaller than most huntable monsters. A single poison bite from a fully grown variant can take 70% of your health if you’re wearing low-rank unupgraded gear, and their web slow can leave you open to attacks from other nearby monsters. I’ve cataloged all their most common attack patterns after 20+ hunts, so you know exactly what to look for:
- Web shot: It rears up on its back two legs for half a second before firing a sticky web at your feet that slows you by 60% for 3 seconds. You can dodge roll to the side right as it rears up to avoid this entirely, or break the attack early with a well-timed fire element hit.
- Poison leap: It tenses its legs for a full second before jumping 10+ feet directly at your face, biting on impact and applying a level 2 poison debuff that ticks for 10 damage every second for 8 seconds. Keep your shield up if you’re using a guard-capable melee weapon, or dodge backward right before it leaps to avoid contact.
- Burrow ambush: If it takes more than 40% damage in a short window, it will burrow into the ground and pop up directly behind you 2 seconds later for a surprise attack. Keep an eye on the small dirt particle effects on the ground to track where it will emerge, and dodge to the side right before it comes up.
One quirk I noticed after a dozen hunts is that these spiders will never attack you if you’re wearing the full Felyne stealth armor set. That’s a huge help if you’re just passing through the area and don’t want to get caught in a random fight. Water element attacks are almost entirely useless against them, too, so leave your water-based weapons at home for these hunts.
Weak Points and Best Gear Loadouts for Fast Kills
The spider’s hard exoskeleton blocks 70% of damage to its legs and upper back shell, so targeting the right spots is critical if you want to take it down quickly without wasting resources. You’ll deal 3x more damage if you hit either of its two main weak points: its soft underbelly, which is exposed when it rears up to shoot web, or the large bulging venom sac on the top of its lower abdomen. Melee users will have an easier time targeting the underbelly, while ranged players can pick off the venom sac from a safe distance without risking getting hit by web or poison.
You don’t need top-tier endgame gear to hunt these spiders efficiently, but there are a few key items you should always bring along to make the process smoother. Always carry at least 3 antidotes with you, because the level 2 poison debuff will drain your health faster than most standard potions can heal it. If you have access to poison resistance decos, slotting in even one level will cut the poison duration in half, which is a huge quality of life improvement for these hunts.
Fire or thunder element weapons are the best choice for these fights, as both elements deal 2x base damage to the spider’s exoskeleton. I’ve tested every weapon type against these spiders, and the insect glaive and light bowgun are the most effective for fast kills, since both let you stay mobile and avoid its web attacks easily. If you’re trying to capture one for a research side quest, skip the pitfall traps — they can burrow right out of them. Stick to shock traps instead, which will hold them in place for a full 8 seconds.
Rare Loot You Can Earn From Hunting This Spider
A lot of hunters skip fighting these spiders entirely because they assume small monsters only drop low-value common materials, but that’s a huge mistake. The materials you get from these spiders are some of the most useful early to mid-game crafting materials in the entire game, and they can save you dozens of hours of grinding for better gear. Spider tough silk, which you get from breaking the spider’s web glands by hitting its lower abdomen 3 to 4 times with a heavy attack, is a required material for crafting the first high-rank armor set that has both poison resistance and stamina boost. That set is perfect for exploring more dangerous biomes like the toxic swamp, where poison damage is a constant threat.
Venom sac extract, which drops when you break the venom sac on the spider’s back, is used to craft poison coatings for bows and poison phials for switch axes. Both of these are incredibly useful for taking down large monsters that are vulnerable to poison, like Rathian or Jyuratodus, as the poison tick damage will wear them down even when you’re not actively attacking. You also have a 15% chance of getting a rare shimmering spider scale every time you carve a dead spider, which can be traded to the smith for a free weapon augmentation slot for any low-rank weapon. I’ve gotten three of these scales so far, and they saved me a ton of time grinding for augmentation materials early on.
If you complete the village side quest to hunt 10 of these spiders, you also get a unique spider-themed palico armor set that gives your palico the ability to spin webs to slow large monsters during hunts. That ability is a game-changer for solo players, as it gives you more windows to land charged attacks or heal without being chased down.
Even though it’s not one of the flashy flagship large monsters most people are excited to hunt when they first boot up the game, the monster hunter wilds spider is one of the most rewarding small monsters to track down and fight, especially if you’re still gearing up for endgame hunts. You don’t need perfect gear or top-tier skill to take them down, as long as you remember to watch for their web and poison attacks, target their weak points, and bring the right items with you. Next time you’re wandering through the forest zones at night, keep an eye out for their glinting eyes in the trees — you might walk away with some rare crafting materials that will make your next large monster hunt way easier.