Necesse Boss Guide: Spider Empress — Attack Patterns, Drops & How to Beat Her

The Spider Empress rules over the Spider Castle incursion. She looks like a larger, humanoid Queen Spider, but the moment she starts moving you realize she’s a completely different animal — fast, aggressive, and loaded with tricks. My first attempt ended in an embarrassing death after skipping arena prep. Second attempt, with proper gear and a cleared-out arena, went surprisingly smoothly. Homing weapons are the key to keeping up with her speed.

What Is the Spider Empress?

The Spider Empress is an exclusive boss that appears only in Spider Castle incursions. She moves on two legs at high speed, and her attack kit — claw strikes, web projectiles, poison spray, and a charge — is completely distinct from the Queen Spider’s. When she drops below certain HP thresholds, her head ignites in flames, signaling an enrage that supercharges every attack.

For a primer on how incursions work in general, see the Incursion Guide.

How to Access the Spider Empress

Open Spider Castle via the Fallen Altar

To fight the Spider Empress, use a Gateway Tablet (Spider Castle) at your settlement’s Fallen Altar. Gateway Tablets drop from incursion bosses and appear naturally during exploration, so you’ll accumulate them over time.

Two Routes: Gathering or Hunting

Spider Castle offers two tablet types — Gathering and Hunting. Both lead to the Spider Empress, but boss trigger conditions and exclusive drops differ.

Minimum Tier

Spider Empress has been confirmed to appear starting at Tier 4.

Pre-Fight Preparation

Gear Checklist (What I Used to Beat Her)

Clear a Proper Arena

The Spider Empress is fast — and she leaves poison pools that shrink your safe space over time. If you fight in a cramped area, you’ll run out of room. Use iron bombs or dynamite to carve out a wide fighting zone before you engage. On my first run I skipped this step. She hid behind a wall, my attacks couldn’t reach her, and I just absorbed damage until I died.

Destroy the Pillars

Like other incursion bosses, take out the pillars in the arena before pulling. Getting caught on a pillar during her charge or claw attack is a guaranteed hit.

Stats

For context: Queen Spider sits at 5,000 HP, Mother Slime at 65,000, and Night Swarm at 262,200. Spider Empress wins on speed and attack complexity rather than raw HP.

Attack Patterns & How to Dodge Them

Attack Overview

The Spider Empress cycles through four moves. At ~70% HP, her head ignites and she enters enrage — all attacks are enhanced. At ~40% HP, she enrages again for a second, more intense phase.

Attack 1: Claw Strike

She freezes in place while gray lines appear across the screen. About one second later the lines turn red — anything touching a red line takes damage.

How to dodge: The moment gray lines appear, step into a gap between them. If the gaps are tight, the Blink Scepter for a large dash is more reliable than trying to thread through.

Enrage: Lines appear in three sequential waves instead of all at once. The safe zone shifts continuously — dodging wave 1 doesn’t mean you’re clear for waves 2 and 3.

Attack 2: Web Volley

She scatters multiple web projectiles across the arena, then charges directly at you. The webs linger after the dash.

How to dodge: Track where the webs land, then sidestep the charge. Watch your footing after the dodge — you’ll be repositioning into web territory.

Enrage: Webs scatter wider and farther, tightening the safe zone.

Attack 3: Poison Spray

She fires poison balls at your position. Each ball leaves a poison pool on impact that deals continuous damage if you walk through it.

How to dodge: Strafe to the side. As pools accumulate, avoid getting cornered at the edges — staying near the center keeps your options open.

Enrage: Three poison balls, fired twice in a row (six total). The arena fills with pools fast. This is why arena width matters.

Attack 4: Charge

A straightforward linear dash straight at you. Simple but quick.

How to dodge: Sidestep. She weaves this in between other attacks, so constant movement naturally reduces hits.

Strategy at a Glance

[Normal Phase] HP above 70% Observe the attack cycle — this is your learning window Practice reading Claw Strike line gaps Start managing poison pool positions Keep homing weapons tracking her
[First Enrage] HP 70% → 40% All attacks upgraded — Claw Strike goes 3-wave, Poison Spray goes 6 shots Check your Speed Potion timer Poison pools shrink the arena fast — stay calm, maintain open ground
[Second Enrage] HP below 40% Attacks intensify further — prioritize dodging over DPS Blink Scepter for Claw Strike becomes nearly mandatory
[Key Takeaways] ① Wide arena is non-negotiable (poison pool management + no wall hiding) ② Blink Scepter for Claw Strike during enrage ③ Homing weapons (Phantom Caller etc.) sustain damage against her speed

My Run

Attempt 1: No Arena Prep → Dead

Walked straight in without clearing the arena. The Spider Empress immediately retreated behind a wall — my attacks missed entirely, hers landed without issue. I absorbed a full cycle of claws and poison before dying.

Attempt 2: Nightsteel Tier 5 → Win

After the loss, I upgraded my Nightsteel armor to Tier 5 and equipped Phantom Caller, Phantom Popper, and Dragons Rebound — all homing. With the arena actually cleared, the fight was almost anticlimactic. Homing weapons tracked her perfectly through every fast dash. For Claw Strike during enrage, Blink Scepter’s wide dash handled it cleanly. The poison spray in enrage phase was intense, but arena space made it manageable.

Drop Table

No Elder rewards here — Spider Empress is an incursion boss. Drops vary slightly by tablet type.

Shared Drops

	Item	Type	Notes
	Spider Essence	Crafting material	Used for Spiderite gear
	Gateway Tablet	Consumable	Entry ticket for the next incursion

Chance Drop

	Item	Type	Notes
	Empress’ Mask	Cosmetic	Head decoration

Gathering Route Only

	Item	Type	Notes
	Spiderite Ore	Crafting material	Gathering route exclusive

Hunting Route Only

	Item	Type	Notes
	Spiderite Bar	Crafting material	Hunting route exclusive

What to Do After Defeating Her

1. Craft Spiderite Gear

Spider Essence is the core material for Spiderite armor and weapons. I’ll be running Spider Castle more to document the full crafting list.

2. Hit Other Incursion Biomes

Spider Castle is one of many — Slime Cave, Graveyard, Swamp, Forest, Desert, and Snow all have their own incursion bosses. Check your Gateway Tablet inventory and challenge whichever biome you can reach next.

3. Push to Higher Tiers

Once your gear is stronger, re-enter Spider Castle at a higher tier. HP and damage scale up sharply, but so do the rewards.

FAQ

Q1: Where does the Spider Empress appear?

A: Exclusively in Spider Castle incursions. Use a Gateway Tablet (Spider Castle) at the Fallen Altar in your settlement, then fill the Gathering or Hunting gauge to trigger her. Confirmed at Tier 4 and above.

Q2: Is she the same as the Queen Spider?

A: Not at all. The Spider Empress is humanoid, moves much faster, and uses an entirely different attack set — Claw Strike, Web Volley, Poison Spray, and Charge — plus a two-stage enrage. The Queen Spider’s phase-based cycle of charges, egg spawns, and poison spits is a separate fight.

Q3: I can’t dodge the Claw Strike during enrage

A: The key change during enrage is that lines appear in three sequential waves. Don’t relax after dodging wave 1 — immediately look for the next safe spot. If your Speed Potion has worn off, the reaction window closes too fast. Keep that buff active.

Summary

• Spider Empress is an incursion-only boss in Spider Castle, appearing from Tier 4
• Access via Fallen Altar using a Gathering or Hunting Gateway Tablet
• HP: 94,120 (Classic, Tier 4)
• Four attacks in cycle: Claw Strike → Web Volley → Poison Spray → Charge
• Enrages at ~70% and ~40% HP — head ignites, all attacks upgrade
• Enrage Claw Strike: 3 sequential waves; Poison Spray: 6 shots total
• Wide arena is the single most important prep — pools shrink space, walls let her hide
• Homing weapons (Phantom Caller etc.) sustain DPS through her constant movement
• Drops: Spider Essence (shared), Empress’ Mask (chance), Spiderite Ore (Gathering) / Spiderite Bar (Hunting)

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Published: 2026-04-06
Verified on: Necesse v1.0 (PC), Classic difficulty, Solo