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Difference between revisions of "v0.34:Giant cave spider"

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'''Giant cave spiders''' are far different from your regular [[cave spider]]s; those are just treats for your [[cat]]. Giant cave spiders are as big as [[grizzly bear]]s and will make treats ''of'' cats, dwarves and the occasional careless adventurer. You can find giant cave spiders in, obviously, caves, caverns and most underground areas.  They are extremely dangerous as they feel no pain and thus cannot be stunned, can [[syndrome|poison]] creatures and have the ability to shoot [[web]]bing to ensnare their prey.
+
'''Giant cave spiders''' (also known as GCS) are far different from your regular [[cave spider]]s; those are just treats for your [[cat]]. Giant cave spiders are as big as [[grizzly bear]]s and will make treats ''of'' cats, dwarves, and the occasional careless adventurer. You can find giant cave spiders in, obviously, caves, caverns and most underground areas.  They are '''the''' most dangerous creature in the caverns, excluding some [[forgotten beast]]s, as they feel no pain, cannot be stunned, can [[syndrome|poison]] creatures and have the ability to shoot [[web]]bing to ensnare their prey.
  
Giant cave spiders are not a rarity with dozens present in the underground caverns, deep below the surface.  They can be extremely hard to kill. On occasion, however, a lucky dwarf might pound one to death within a few attacks by punching its skull into its brain, which can be a godsend after an unfortunate cavern breaching excercise.
+
They do not pose a big threat to a fortress when undisturbed, but when a dwarf ''does'' disturb one, Armok bless the soul of the unlucky dwarf.
  
Webs can be quite a boon to a fortress, when they aren't being used in a direct attack. Giant cave spider [[silk]] is worth much more than ordinary [[cloth]] and, given the proper setup and victims, can be produced in endless amounts.  
+
Giant cave spiders are not a rarity with dozens present in the underground caverns, deep below the surface.  They can be extremely hard to kill. On occasion, however, a lucky dwarf might pound one to death within a few attacks by punching its skull into its brain, which can be a godsend after an unfortunate cavern breaching exercise.
  
If you see one in adventure mode, an announcement, "You've spotted a Giant Cave Spider!" will appear.
+
Webs are quite useful when they aren't being used in an attack against you. Giant cave spider [[silk]] is worth twice as much as plant-derived textile and, given the [[silk farming|proper setup]] and victims, can be produced in endless amounts.
 +
 
 +
If you see a giant cave spider in adventurer mode, an announcement, "You've spotted a Giant Cave Spider!" will appear.
  
 
==Fighting==
 
==Fighting==
 +
Giant cave spiders should not be engaged in melee by a lone dwarf, especially if its armor is lacking. Even if the attacked dwarf is fully armored it will eventually die of hunger or thirst due to being webbed. Even a legendary axedwarf will be unable to do anything, due to the immobilizing webs and subsequent deadly bite. You may attempt to flank a giant cave spider with two melee dwarves, one serving as bait and the other killing the giant cave spider, but it is not a foolproof tactic and you will probably lose one or two dwarves. Marksdwarves, cage traps, and weapon traps are a better solution.
  
Giant cave spiders are ''not'' to be engaged in melee by a lone dwarf, especially if its armor is lacking. If the attacked dwarf is fully armored, then it will eventually die of hunger or thirst. Even a legendary axedwarf will be unable to do anything, due to the immobilizing webs and subsequent deadly bite. You may attempt to flank a giant cave spider with two melee dwarves, one serving as bait and the other killing the giant cave spider, but it is not a foolproof tactic and you will probably lose one or two dwarves. Marksdwarves, cage traps, and weapon traps are better.
+
To give you a feeling of how deadly they are in melee, a lone giant cave spider can take on and completely incapacitate any of the semimegabeasts, is ''the'' most dangerous predator of the caverns competing with the cave dragon, and fight equally with the weakest megabeasts like rocs or hydras.
  
Despite being regular animals, giant cave spiders are arguably much more dangerous than all of the semimegabeasts and can kill (or at least knock unconscious) any single blooded, non-armored, melee attacker with ease, including rocs and cave dragons and anything in the caverns.
+
Giant cave spider venom appears to be a neurotoxin which causes progressive [[syndrome|paralysis]] and is ultimately fatal due to suffocation as the victim's diaphragm succumbs and ceases to function. The poison's effects set in relatively quickly, with complete paralysis after 720 seconds (10 [[time|time units]]) and with death usually occurring after 1300 seconds. In terms of Fortress mode, and depending on the speed of the victim, the venom will paralyze an infected dwarf within two steps and they will die of suffocation soon after.
  
Giant cave spider venom appears to be a neurotoxin which causes progressive [[syndrome|paralysis]] and is ultimately fatal due to suffocation as the victim's diaphragm succumbs and ceases to function. The poison's effects set in relatively quickly with complete paralysis at phase 5 (360 seconds) and death usually occurs at around 1300 seconds.
+
Giant cave spider venom is only deadly on relatively small creatures, unlike [[giant desert scorpion]] venom. It only tends to induce mild paralysis of members on large things such as giants.
  
 
Due to the spider only attacking the head of a webbed dwarf, a pair of dwarves with steel helmets and weapons is more than a match for a lone GCS. The coding for all creatures sets headshots as the number one priority if possible, and the web ensures that a headshot is indeed always possible. You may want to avoid using untrained dwarves for this though, because the spider will still counterattack if the dwarf misses, potentially landing a blow on an unprotected area of the dwarf.
 
Due to the spider only attacking the head of a webbed dwarf, a pair of dwarves with steel helmets and weapons is more than a match for a lone GCS. The coding for all creatures sets headshots as the number one priority if possible, and the web ensures that a headshot is indeed always possible. You may want to avoid using untrained dwarves for this though, because the spider will still counterattack if the dwarf misses, potentially landing a blow on an unprotected area of the dwarf.
 +
 +
Fortunately (or unfortunately...), giant cave spiders tend to take time to kill their prey, giving you time to kill the GCS and save the dwarf, if you are similarly inclined of course. You may however not be able to save the dwarf from the GCS poison.
  
 
==Capturing==
 
==Capturing==
Due to the considerable value of giant cave spider silk, many players attempt to capture a live spider and set up a silk farm to boost their fortress's economy. While simply opening a path to the [[cavern]]s and lining it with cage traps may eventually work, a much more effective method is to take advantage of one peculiar behavior of [[building destroyer]]s: simply build a '''[[wood]]en''' [[door]] within the caverns and surround it with cage traps (to a distance of at least 2 tiles), and any giant cave spider (or [[giant toad]], [[giant olm]], [[cave crocodile]], etc.) that wanders relatively close enough to the door will immediately charge toward it and be captured. Or, if you have enough mechanisms, cages and dwarfpower to spare, cage trap all of the cavern exits. If you are extremely, lucky a migrant will arrive with an already tamed GCS. Be aware that since they lack a [CHILD] tag, giant cave spiders will not breed.
+
Due to the considerable value of giant cave spider silk, many players attempt to capture a live spider and set up a silk farm to boost their fortress's economy. While simply opening a path to the [[cavern]]s and lining it with cage traps may eventually work, a much more effective method is to take advantage of one peculiar behavior of [[building destroyer]]s: simply build a '''[[wood]]en''' [[door]] within the caverns and surround it with cage traps (to a distance of at least 2 tiles), and any giant cave spider (or [[giant toad]], [[giant olm]], [[cave crocodile]], etc.) that wanders relatively close enough to the door will immediately charge toward it and be captured. Or, if you have enough mechanisms, cages and dwarfpower to spare, cage trap all of the cavern exits. If you are extremely lucky, a migrant will arrive with an already tamed GCS. Be aware that since they lack a [CHILD] tag, giant cave spiders will not breed.
  
 
==Farming Silk==
 
==Farming Silk==
Several setups have been devised to harvest giant cave spider silk in large quantities. Working silk farms have a few traits in common:
+
{{main|Silk farming}}
 
 
# The spider must be aggressive toward its bait.  Tame spiders are aggressive toward invaders, while wild spiders are aggressive toward tame animals.
 
# The spider must not be able to reach its bait; if it can, the bait (or spider) will die and no further silk will be generated. Spiders can destroy wooden doors but not stone or metal doors. They cannot pass through forbidden doors or doors that have been "tightly closed".
 
# The spider must be able to path to its bait; they can path through non-forbidden doors but not through raised bridges or fortifications.  If no path is available, the spider will only shoot webs very infrequently. Spiders '''will''' attempt to path through doors which are "tightly closed" but not forbidden, making them one of the key elements of an efficient silk farm.
 
# Web collection cannot occur in sight of wild animals or invaders; either the spider or its bait will interrupt collection.  Drawbridges work well to block line of sight in either case, as webs will not prevent them from raising.
 
 
 
One proven design is as follows:
 
{{diagram|spaces=yes|color=#888|\
 
╔═══════════╗
 
║+++++++++++║
 
║+++++++++++║
 
║++++++[#080]╥[#CCC]╔[#CCC]═[#CCC]═[#00F]═╣
 
[#0F0][#080]≡++++++[#080]║[#F00]╬[#080]╞[#080]╡+║
 
║++++++[#080]║[#F00]╬+[#F00]╬[#CCC][#888]┼╣
 
║++++++[#080]║[#F00]╬[#CCC]g[#F00]╬[#CCC]S║
 
║++++++[#080]║[#F00]╬+[#F00]╬[#CCC][#888]┼╣
 
[#0F0][#080]≡++++++[#080]║[#F00]╬[#080]╞[#080]╡+║
 
║++++++[#080]╨[#CCC]╚[#CCC]═[#CCC]═[#CCC]═╣
 
║+++++++++++║
 
║+++++++++++║
 
╚═══════════╝
 
}}
 
# Dig out (and optionally smooth) a sufficiently large room (example shown is 11x11).
 
# [[Construction|Construct]] all of the light gray [[wall]]s and red [[fortification]]s.
 
# Build the 3 green [[bridge]]s, all raising lengthwise to form long walls.
 
# Construct a [[lever]] somewhere convenient in your fortress and link it to the 3 bridges.
 
# Build 2 '''non-wooden''' [[door]]s above and below the gray "S".  Mark both doors as pet-inaccessible but leave them unlocked.  This allows the spider to path to the bait (due to a long-standing pathfinding bug); without that path, the spider will only attempt to web it extremely infrequently.
 
# Build a restraint underneath the gray "g".  Assign a disarmed captured [[goblin]] soldier to the restraint (do '''not''' try to use a thief or a wild animal, as it will almost certainly escape before it reaches the restraint).
 
# Pull the lever to raise the bridges (and hide the goblin from your mason), then construct the blue wall to seal the chamber.
 
# Build the 2 [[floodgate]]s and link them to the lever, then pull the lever again.
 
# Using a pit/pond [[activity zone]] on the Z-level above, drop a '''tamed''' giant cave spider into the gray "S" square. Place a 1-tile meeting zone on this tile so the spider will be content to stand still while webs are being collected, reducing lag.
 
 
 
At this point, the spider will begin blasting the goblin with webs, and most of the webs will fly through the fortifications and land on the floor to the left. Once enough webs have accumulated, pull the lever to open the chamber for collection and raise the 3 bridges - the bridge on the left will prevent the goblin from scaring your weavers away, and the 2 bridges on the right will block the path between the goblin and the spider, causing it to calm down and stop trying to shoot webs (in order to reduce lag). Once all of the webs have been collected, simply pull the lever again to reseal the chamber and start the spider webbing again.
 
  
Silk can be farmed just as easily from a wild spider with a few changes.  Domesticated pets can be used in place of goblins for wild spider, but avoid grazers; other animals may need to be replaced when they die of old age. It's recommended that you place a back up cage trap to reposition the spider if your first design doesn't meet your needs, but remember that should any webbing fall on the cage trap, it will trap your dwarves as easily as it will the spider.  Wild spiders can be placed via lever-controlled deconstructing cage.  Be aware that deconstructing cages can fling components, wedging nearby doors open, so keep any doors adjacent to the cage forbidden.
+
Giant cave spiders can be a very lucrative and nearly-inexhaustible source of [[silk]] [[thread]] for your [[weaver]]s. The general idea is to expose the spider to a target, causing it to spew [[web]]s which can later be collected. Well-designed silk farms can maximize safety and production, and greatly increase fortress [[wealth]].
  
 
==Live training==
 
==Live training==
:''Main article: [[Live training]]''
+
:{{main|Live training}}
  
 
Pit an entirely metal-armored dwarf (the metal used seems to be unimportant) against a wild giant cave spider. Enjoy as the dwarf gets webbed, then the GCS attempts to bite the dwarf, but fails due to armor.
 
Pit an entirely metal-armored dwarf (the metal used seems to be unimportant) against a wild giant cave spider. Enjoy as the dwarf gets webbed, then the GCS attempts to bite the dwarf, but fails due to armor.
Line 84: Line 56:
 
{{Creatures}}
 
{{Creatures}}
 
{{Category|Animals}}
 
{{Category|Animals}}
 +
[[ru:Giant Cave Spider]]

Latest revision as of 13:28, 11 October 2022

Giant cave spider

S

Urist likes giant cave spiders for their mystery.
Biome

  • Underground Depth: 1-2
Variations

Cave spider - Giant cave spider

Attributes
Alignment: Savage

Building destroyer: Level 1

· No Stun · No Pain · Webs · Syndrome

Tamed Attributes
Pet value 2,500

· Exotic pet · Non-Breeding

Not trainable 

Size
Birth: 20,000 cm3
Mid: 100,000 cm3
Max: 200,000 cm3

Age
Adult at: Birth
Max age: 20-30
Butchering returns

(Value multiplier ×4)

Food items

Meat 19
Fat 18
Brain 1
Heart 1
Intestines 1

Raw materials

Skin Chitin
This article is about an older version of DF.
A large underground monster with eight legs and sharp, venomous fangs.

Giant cave spiders (also known as GCS) are far different from your regular cave spiders; those are just treats for your cat. Giant cave spiders are as big as grizzly bears and will make treats of cats, dwarves, and the occasional careless adventurer. You can find giant cave spiders in, obviously, caves, caverns and most underground areas. They are the most dangerous creature in the caverns, excluding some forgotten beasts, as they feel no pain, cannot be stunned, can poison creatures and have the ability to shoot webbing to ensnare their prey.

They do not pose a big threat to a fortress when undisturbed, but when a dwarf does disturb one, Armok bless the soul of the unlucky dwarf.

Giant cave spiders are not a rarity with dozens present in the underground caverns, deep below the surface. They can be extremely hard to kill. On occasion, however, a lucky dwarf might pound one to death within a few attacks by punching its skull into its brain, which can be a godsend after an unfortunate cavern breaching exercise.

Webs are quite useful when they aren't being used in an attack against you. Giant cave spider silk is worth twice as much as plant-derived textile and, given the proper setup and victims, can be produced in endless amounts.

If you see a giant cave spider in adventurer mode, an announcement, "You've spotted a Giant Cave Spider!" will appear.

Fighting[edit]

Giant cave spiders should not be engaged in melee by a lone dwarf, especially if its armor is lacking. Even if the attacked dwarf is fully armored it will eventually die of hunger or thirst due to being webbed. Even a legendary axedwarf will be unable to do anything, due to the immobilizing webs and subsequent deadly bite. You may attempt to flank a giant cave spider with two melee dwarves, one serving as bait and the other killing the giant cave spider, but it is not a foolproof tactic and you will probably lose one or two dwarves. Marksdwarves, cage traps, and weapon traps are a better solution.

To give you a feeling of how deadly they are in melee, a lone giant cave spider can take on and completely incapacitate any of the semimegabeasts, is the most dangerous predator of the caverns competing with the cave dragon, and fight equally with the weakest megabeasts like rocs or hydras.

Giant cave spider venom appears to be a neurotoxin which causes progressive paralysis and is ultimately fatal due to suffocation as the victim's diaphragm succumbs and ceases to function. The poison's effects set in relatively quickly, with complete paralysis after 720 seconds (10 time units) and with death usually occurring after 1300 seconds. In terms of Fortress mode, and depending on the speed of the victim, the venom will paralyze an infected dwarf within two steps and they will die of suffocation soon after.

Giant cave spider venom is only deadly on relatively small creatures, unlike giant desert scorpion venom. It only tends to induce mild paralysis of members on large things such as giants.

Due to the spider only attacking the head of a webbed dwarf, a pair of dwarves with steel helmets and weapons is more than a match for a lone GCS. The coding for all creatures sets headshots as the number one priority if possible, and the web ensures that a headshot is indeed always possible. You may want to avoid using untrained dwarves for this though, because the spider will still counterattack if the dwarf misses, potentially landing a blow on an unprotected area of the dwarf.

Fortunately (or unfortunately...), giant cave spiders tend to take time to kill their prey, giving you time to kill the GCS and save the dwarf, if you are similarly inclined of course. You may however not be able to save the dwarf from the GCS poison.

Capturing[edit]

Due to the considerable value of giant cave spider silk, many players attempt to capture a live spider and set up a silk farm to boost their fortress's economy. While simply opening a path to the caverns and lining it with cage traps may eventually work, a much more effective method is to take advantage of one peculiar behavior of building destroyers: simply build a wooden door within the caverns and surround it with cage traps (to a distance of at least 2 tiles), and any giant cave spider (or giant toad, giant olm, cave crocodile, etc.) that wanders relatively close enough to the door will immediately charge toward it and be captured. Or, if you have enough mechanisms, cages and dwarfpower to spare, cage trap all of the cavern exits. If you are extremely lucky, a migrant will arrive with an already tamed GCS. Be aware that since they lack a [CHILD] tag, giant cave spiders will not breed.

Farming Silk[edit]

Main article: Silk farming

Giant cave spiders can be a very lucrative and nearly-inexhaustible source of silk thread for your weavers. The general idea is to expose the spider to a target, causing it to spew webs which can later be collected. Well-designed silk farms can maximize safety and production, and greatly increase fortress wealth.

Live training[edit]

Main article: Live training

Pit an entirely metal-armored dwarf (the metal used seems to be unimportant) against a wild giant cave spider. Enjoy as the dwarf gets webbed, then the GCS attempts to bite the dwarf, but fails due to armor.

As it will never attempt any other attack, the GCS will keep biting metal, fail to injure the dwarf, and each attack will train your dwarf in armor using far faster than training or sparring.

As you probably don't want to kill something as rare and precious as a giant cave spider for just training armor user on a dwarf, you may want to set the training area on a lever-linked bridge, then pull the lever and fling/let fall the GCS on cage traps, therefore separating harmlessly the dwarf and the GCS.

Races
DwarfElfGoblinHumanKobold
Subterranean
animal people
Birds
Albatross (man, giant) • Barn owl (man, giant) • Bushtit (man, giant) • Cassowary (man, giant) • Cockatiel (man, giant) • Crow (man, giant) • Eagle (man, giant) • Emu (man, giant) • Great horned owl (man, giant) • Grey parrot (man, giant) • Hornbill (man, giant) • Kakapo (man, giant) • Kea (man, giant) • Kestrel (man, giant) • Kiwi (man, giant) • Loon (man, giant) • Lorikeet (man, giant) • Magpie (man, giant) • Masked lovebird (man, giant) • Osprey (man, giant) • Ostrich (man, giant) • Parakeet (man, giant) • Peach-faced lovebird (man, giant) • Penguin (little, emperor, man, giant) • Peregrine falcon (man, giant) • Puffin (man, giant) • Raven (man, giant) • Snowy owl (man, giant) • Sparrow (man, giant) • Swan (man, giant) • White stork (man, giant) • Wren (man, giant)
Bugs
Bark scorpion (man, giant) • Brown recluse spider (man, giant) • Damselfly (man, giant) • Grasshopper (man, giant) • Jumping spider (man, giant) • Louse (man, giant) • Mantis (man, giant) • Moon snail (man, giant) • Mosquito (man, giant) • Moth (man, giant) • Slug (man, giant) • Snail (man, giant) • Thrips (man, giant) • Tick (man, giant)
Desert
Desert tortoise (man, giant) • Gila monster (man, giant) • Leopard gecko (man, giant)
Domestic
AlpacaBlue peafowlCatCavyChickenCowDogDonkeyDuckGoatGooseGuineafowlHorseLlamaMulePigRabbitReindeerSheepTurkeyWater buffaloYak
Mountain
Ocean
AngelsharkBasking sharkBlacktip reef sharkBlue sharkBluefin tunaBluefishBull sharkCodCoelacanthCommon skateConger eelCrab (man, giant) • Cuttlefish (man, giant) • Elephant seal (man, giant) • Frill sharkGiant grouperGreat barracudaGreat white sharkHalibutHammerhead sharkHarp seal (man, giant) • Horseshoe crab (man, giant) • Leopard seal (man, giant) • Longfin mako sharkManta rayMarlinMilkfishNarwhal (man, giant) • Nautilus (man, giant) • Nurse sharkOcean sunfishOctopus (man, giant) • OpahOrca (man, giant) • Sea lampreyShortfin mako sharkSperm whale (man, giant) • Spiny dogfishSponge (man, giant) • Spotted wobbegong • Squid (man, giant) • StingraySturgeonSwordfishTiger sharkWalrusWhale sharkWhitetip reef shark
River/Lake
Axolotl (man, giant) • Beaver (man, giant) • CarpHippo • Leech (man, giant) • Longnose garMink (man, giant) • Otter (river, sea, man, giant) • PikePlatypus (man, giant) • Pond turtle (man, giant) • Snapping turtle (common, alligator, man, giant) • Tigerfish
Temperate
Adder (man, giant) • AlligatorBadger (man, giant) • Black bearBobcat (man, giant) • BuzzardCapybara (man, giant) • Coati (man, giant) • Copperhead snake (man, giant) • CougarCoyote (man, giant) • DeerDingo (man, giant) • Echidna (man, giant) • FoxGray langur (man, giant) • Green tree frog (man, giant) • Grizzly bearGroundhogHare (man, giant) • Ibex (man, giant) • Kangaroo (man, giant) • Kingsnake (man, giant) • Koala (man, giant) • Moose (man, giant) • Opossum (man, giant) • Panda (man, giant) • Porcupine (man, giant) • RaccoonRattlesnake (man, giant) • Red panda (man, giant) • Rhesus macaqueSkunk (man, giant) • Weasel (man, giant) • Wild boar (man, giant) • WolfWombat (man, giant)
Tropical
Aardvark (man, giant) • Anaconda (man, giant) • Armadillo (man, giant) • Aye-aye (man, giant) • BilouBlack mamba (man, giant) • Black-crested gibbonBlack-handed gibbonBonoboBushmaster (man, giant) • Capuchin (man, giant) • Cheetah (giant) • ChimpanzeeElephantGazelleGiant desert scorpionGiant tortoise (man, giant) • GiraffeGorillaGray gibbonHoney badgerHyena (man, giant) • Impala (man, giant) • Jackal (man, giant) • Jaguar (giant) • King cobra (man, giant) • Leopard (giant) • Lion (giant) • Lion tamarin (man, giant) • MandrillMongoose (man, giant) • Monitor lizard (man, giant) • Ocelot (man, giant) • One-humped camelOrangutanPangolin (man, giant) • Pileated gibbonPython (man, giant) • RhinocerosSaltwater crocodileSiamangSilvery gibbonSloth (man, giant) • Sloth bear (man, giant) • Spider monkey (man, giant) • Tapir (man, giant) • Tiger (giant, man) • Two-humped camelVultureWarthogWhite-browed gibbonWhite-handed gibbon
Tundra
ElkLynx (man, giant) • MuskoxPolar bearStoat (man, giant)
Subterranean
Mammals
Flying squirrel (man, giant) • Hamster (man, giant) • Hedgehog (man, giant)
Miscellaneous
Semi-Megabeasts
Megabeasts
Nonexistent