Terror Spiders

• Superiors: The highest-tier terror spider around
• Difficulty: Varies depending on spider type, from hard, to very hard.
• Guides: Guide to Combat
• Access: Everywhere with an unwelded vent.
• Duties: Terrorize the crew

Terror Spiders are the result of a Syndicate experiment that combined giant space spider and Xenomorph DNA.

Like Xenomorphs, they are intelligent, and form a hive that acts aggressively against humanoids in the area. They also travel through vents.

Like giant space spiders, they tend to wrap things in webs, drink human blood, and multiply by laying eggs that hatch into spiderlings.

They tend to be extremely strong in melee, but weak to ranged weapons. For special attacks, they tend to use a variety of deadly poisons, delivered by biting their targets.

Terror spider infestations come in various types. As a general rule, the higher the tier (see below) of the spiders that start the infestation, the more dangerous the infestation is.

Basic Tips:

• Weld vents and scrubbers. Even fully-grown Terror Spiders can ventcrawl. They will run around murdering the whole crew if you fail to weld the vents.
• Carry a gun. Melee weapons are not good enough to fight the vast majority of terror spiders. Laser weapons are preferable.
• Travel with friends.
• Don't travel into dark/webbed areas.
• Don't walk into spider webs.
• If bitten by a Black Terror, or White Terror, seek immediate medical help. You will be dead (or worse) within minutes if you don't do this.
• If you see a spider of tier 3 or higher, call it out on radio. It is likely too strong for you to deal with alone.
• Prioritize killing the spiders that lay eggs, or otherwise reproduce.
• Don't be afraid to ask for an ERT if they get out of hand.

Advanced Tips:

• If you're Medical (or the closest thing to a doctor available), get a Medical HUD to tell who's infested with eggs, do Internal Organ Manipulation surgery on their chest to remove said eggs, and have plenty of anti-toxins stocked.
• If you are security, consider arming the crew. Terror spiders can be as dangerous as blobs, even worse in some cases. Arming the crew is safer than having a serious terror spider infestation.
• If you are science, make AEGs. Make sure security have them. Night vision HUDs help too. The best weapon against Terror Spiders are mechs, especially mechs with lasercannons.
• If you are cargo, consider ordering eguns/laserguns.
• If you are command, get the crew organized. Remind people of what to do, and what not to do. Remind the assistants that these things are serious business, and hunting them with a toolbox is suicide.
• Queens are the highest priority target, and Princesses are second highest. These spider types produce huge numbers of new spiders over time, but killing them puts a stop to it, and also kills a bunch of their offspring. Sniping the Queen is perhaps the easiest way to win against a massive horde of Queen-spawned spiders.

Basic tips:

• Help your fellow terror spiders. You're MUCH stronger when you work together.
• Destroy lights.
• Deactivating cameras by smashing them alerts the AI, who will send borgs to investigate. If there is another nearby camera (even on the other side of a door that the AI can open) then you'll be almost instantly spotted. To avoid this, only break cameras if the crew already knows you are there. Do not break cameras early on in your nest room, or it will instantly draw attention. Ideally, nest in a room with no cameras at all. The only exception to this rule is the Queen's nesting ability - that ability deactivates nearby cameras without alerting the AI.
• When choosing a nesting location, in addition to wanting a room with no camera, you ideally also want a room with a vent. Both so that spiders can come and go, and so that spiderlings can escape if your nest is invaded. If you have to abandon a nest, try to ensure spiderlings have a clear path to an unwelded vent so that they can escape.
• Use Wrap on humanoid corpses. You will suck out their internal organs as a liquid, which gives you a strong, long-lasting, stacking buff to health regeneration. If your status panel shows you as 'HUNGRY' this is because you have not wrapped enough humanoid corpses recently. Certain spider types (like Queen) do not have the ability to wrap.
• Spin webs.
• Use webs to ambush crew.
• Use webs to block enemy projectile weapons, giving you cover.
• Use ventcrawl to find new targets, or escape well-armed crew.
• Know the strengths and weaknesses of your spider type. For example, injection-based spiders (like blacks and whites) should only attack unarmored organic targets. They are useless against crew in hardsuits, borgs, mechas, etc.
• If you can break open welded vents (you have the vent smash ability on your HUD) then use it.
• Don't be afraid to retreat if you need to. You naturally regenerate health. Crew don't.
• Defend the egg-laying spiders at all costs.
• Dragging anything (except other creatures) massively slows you down. You can move things a few meters, but don't attempt to drag things long-distance, as you will be slow and vulnerable for a long time.

Advanced Techniques:

• If there is a Queen, you have a 50% chance of dying from psychic backlash if she is killed. Whatever you do, keep the Queen alive.
• If there is a White, do not attack crew members who have the purple “xeno infection” marker on your HUD. That means they have spiders in them - leave them alone and they'll produce spiderlings over time.
• If there is a Brown, follow them around, raiding the areas whose vents they have broken open for you.
• Use your special abilities. For example, as a red, understand that you do more damage the lower your health is, so it can actually help you to be hurt a little before you enter combat. Another example is that the gray's webs are hard to see, and light in color. Placing them under doors, or on light-colored floor tiles, or in dark areas, can be better at trapping people.
• Use your ability combos. For example, spin a web, then drag or push a crew member into it. Wrap a corpse in a cocoon, force open a door, then hide behind the door after it closes to ambush whoever comes by to break open the cocoon. As a green, wrap/feed on a humanoid corpse, then ventcrawl to a safe restricted-access location, and destroy the camera there, before laying your eggs.
• Focus on your role. Browns should spend all their time breaking open vents, not fighting. Queens should spend their time laying eggs and protecting that nest (running away if seriously threatened). Greens should be looking for any opportunity to feed and lay eggs. Whites should be looking to infect as many crew as possible. Blacks should be trying to assassinate key members of the crew, such as command staff, and unarmored security. Reds should be providing area denial of key areas. Purples should be guarding the queen/princess. Etc.
• If you notice another spider who doesn't seem to know what their role is, tell them. You have hivemind comms for a reason. Sharing tips is a good idea.
• When a new spider grows (you will know, it tells you) and you aren't busy, briefly tell them what the situation/plan is. E.g.: “Welcome 109. Hive is in elec maint, we're trying to take old bar maint, backup in botany would be great.”

• Spiderling: Non-playable baby spiders. They move very quickly and like to hide in vents. Crew must kill them. Spiders must keep them alive.
• Terror Webs: Extremely sticky webs placed by spiders. Can be destroyed easily. Attempting to walk through them is highly likely to ensnare any human.

• Do terror spiders need oxygen? Pressure? Temperature? Yes. Lack of proper atmos kills them. They're somewhat resistant to cold, but much weaker to heat (ie: atmos fires). Hot airborne plasma kills them quickly.
• Can I kill them with toxins? Reagents never hurt them, but even a small quantity of airborne plasma poisonous to them.
• How do I play as one? Click on it as a ghost. There may also be a notice in ghostchat when a terror spider is controllable.
• Can adult terror spiders travel through vents? Yes.

• Can I spawn these as hostile mobs with a gold slime core? No.
• Can I spawn these as tame mobs with a gold slime core? No.
• Can I use a sentience potion to make one loyal to me? No.
• Will I get brutally murdered if I try interacting with a wild one? Yes!