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The Queen Spider is a large beast-type boss found at Arboria Castle on the Hill of No Return in the Hernand region. The castle sits atop a tower at the center of the hill, and by the time players arrive the entire structure has been overrun by spiders and thick webs. The Queen Spider is the final obstacle in a multi-faction quest chain that requires completing objectives for House Roberts, House Alfonso, and the House Circus quest lines before it becomes available.
The fight is part of the "Queen of the Silk Spun Citadel" quest (also referred to as "Queen's Nest" in the quest log). Players need to have completed at least 10 of the 13 Circus quests along with the Roberts and Alfonso lines before Arboria Castle gets taken over by spiders, triggering the boss encounter. This is also tied to the "Restarting the Elixir Factory" House Celeste quest chain, where the castle's elixir production facility must be cleared and restored after the Queen Spider is slain.
Despite looking intimidating, the Queen Spider is considered one of the more manageable boss fights in the game, provided you bring the right tools. Fire damage and ranged attacks make short work of her, and the arena's doorway provides natural cover against her ranged phases. With enough cooked food for sustain, most players can clear this fight on their first attempt.
Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
Location | Arboria Castle, Hill of No Return (Hernand) |
Quest | Queen of the Silk Spun Citadel / Queen's Nest |
Type | Beast |
Weakness | Fire (highly effective) |
Prerequisites | Complete House Roberts, House Alfonso, and House Circus quest lines (10 of 13 Circus quests) |
Recommended Approach | Ranged focus with Focused Shot; use doorway for cover during wall phases |
1,000 | |
Attack | 78 |
50 | |
100 | |
Knockout | 500 |
The Queen Spider has three passive abilities that are always active during the encounter. These passives define her resistances and her behavior toward players.
Skill | Description |
|---|---|
Immune Bismuth | A passive ability that grants the Queen Spider immunity to Bismuth-type effects. This means status conditions or attacks tied to the Bismuth element have no effect on her. |
A passive aura that regenerates the Queen Spider's resources over time while she remains in her domain. This aura is not interruptible by player attacks. | |
Detect Buff Fear Target Strong | A passive that allows the Queen Spider to detect buffed targets, apply Fear to them, and prioritize strong opponents. Players using powerful temporary buffs during the fight may draw additional aggression from the boss. |
The Queen Spider alternates between ground-based melee attacks and elevated ranged phases where she climbs the castle walls. She also spawns waves of smaller spiders throughout the fight. Understanding the two-phase cycle is the key to beating her efficiently.
When the Queen Spider is on the ground, she uses lunging bite attacks, sweeping leg strikes, and poison spit projectiles aimed at the player's position. Her melee attacks hit hard but have predictable wind-up animations. She will occasionally rear up before slamming down, which creates a small shockwave of poison around her landing point.
Periodically the Queen Spider climbs the castle walls, entering a ranged attack phase. From this elevated position she launches volleys of web projectiles and poison spit at the player below. These ranged barrages are dangerous in the open, but the doorway of the boss arena provides hard cover. Ducking through the doorway blocks her line of sight and forces the projectiles to hit the stone walls instead. She will eventually descend back to the ground after several ranged volleys.
Throughout the fight the Queen Spider spawns waves of smaller spider adds. These minions are individually weak, but some of them are suicide bombers that rush toward the player and explode on contact, dealing toxic damage. The explosive spiders glow slightly before detonating, giving a brief window to dodge or kill them before they reach you.
The most effective strategy against the Queen Spider is a ranged-focused approach using Focused Shot. Fire damage is extremely effective because she is a beast-type enemy with a pronounced weakness to fire. If you have access to fire-element abilities or a fire-enchanted weapon, the fight becomes significantly easier.
The arena's doorway is your best friend in this fight. When the Queen Spider climbs the walls and begins her ranged attack phase, retreat through the doorway and use the stone walls as hard cover. Her web projectiles and poison spit cannot pass through the doorway, so you can safely wait out the ranged barrage. Once she descends back to the ground, step out and resume attacking.
The Focused Shot ability is the highest-DPS option for this encounter. When the Queen Spider is on the ground or transitioning between phases, unload Focused Shot barrages to deal heavy damage. The ranged nature of Focused Shot also means you can maintain distance from her melee attacks while still dealing consistent damage. Fire-imbued shots are especially devastating.
Ignore the regular spider adds as much as possible. They are a distraction, and chasing them around the arena wastes time while the Queen Spider repositions. The only adds you should actively deal with are the exploding suicide spiders, which you can identify by their glow effect. A single hit is usually enough to kill them before they reach you. Focus your primary damage on the Queen Spider herself.
As a beast-type enemy, the Queen Spider takes significantly increased damage from fire. If you have fire-enchanted weapons or fire-based skills available, prioritize using them. The combination of fire damage with Focused Shot creates extremely high damage output that can end the fight quickly.
Bring plenty of Grilled Meat or other cooked food with HP recovery effects. The poison damage from her attacks and the occasional suicide spider explosion can chip away at your health over the course of the fight. Visit a Grind Stone and Anvil before the encounter to apply temporary weapon and armor buffs.
An alternative strategy for countering the Queen Spider's ranged poison barrages is to use Nature's Retribution. This ability blocks and deflects incoming poison projectiles, letting you stand your ground rather than retreating to the doorway. Nature's Retribution requires Nature's Snare Level 2, which you unlock by spending an Abyss Artifact. If you have already invested in this upgrade, the wall phase becomes much less threatening and you can maintain positioning for quicker follow-up attacks when she descends.
Defeating the Queen Spider yields several valuable rewards and triggers important world state changes.
Reward | Description |
|---|---|
An Abyss Core that adds poison to stab attacks. On charged stab, sprays forward dealing damage and applying a poison lingering effect. One of the strongest Abyss Cores for spear users. | |
Unique boots that increase climbing grip, allowing Kliff to maintain holds on surfaces for longer before losing stamina. | |
Skill Point | A skill point that can be invested into any branch of the skill tree. |
Used to unlock or upgrade Abyss skills. Spending one on Nature's Snare Level 2 unlocks the Nature's Retribution ability, which is highly effective in this fight. |
Defeating the Queen Spider and completing the associated quest chain liberates Hernand Castle and opens Arboria Castle as a mission dispatch location for Greymane recruits. However, liberating Hernand Castle comes with a trade-off: Fort Hellwood and Velia are lost as a consequence of the shifting power balance in the region. This progression unlocks the next set of bosses tied to those locations, continuing the main quest line.
Additionally, the elixir factory inside Arboria Castle can be restarted after the Queen Spider is cleared. The factory produces elixirs through a puzzle-based process where players must follow instructions on notes scattered around the facility, kick-start machinery, and mix ingredients at the correct ratios to produce a Perfect Elixir.
Arboria Castle was once a functional estate with an elixir production facility, but at some point a massive spider infestation overtook the structure. The Queen Spider established her nest in the top tower, covering the castle in thick webbing and driving out its former occupants. The castle's location on the Hill of No Return, deep within the Arburis Forest, made it easy for the infestation to grow unchecked.
The quest to clear the castle only becomes available after the player has built enough alliances across three noble houses, suggesting that a coordinated effort is required to tackle the threat. The multiple prerequisite quest lines reflect the political complexity of the Hernand region, where progress depends on navigating relationships with competing factions rather than simply being strong enough to fight.
Fire is by far the most effective element against the Queen Spider. Prioritize any fire-related gear or abilities you have access to.
Use the doorway as hard cover during wall phases. Do not stand in the open when she is elevated and firing ranged attacks.
Ignore the regular spider adds. They are a distraction designed to pull your attention away from the boss. Only kill the exploding spiders.
Focused Shot is your best damage tool here. Keep your distance and unload ranged barrages during ground phase windows.
The fight becomes available only after completing House Roberts, House Alfonso, and at least 10 of 13 House Circus quests. If the quest is not appearing, check your faction quest progress.
Stock up on cooked food before the fight. Poison damage from the Queen Spider's attacks accumulates over time.
After winning, do not forget to restart the elixir factory inside the castle for additional quest rewards and crafting materials.
