Baldurs Gate 3: How to defeat Phase Spider Matriarch in BG3? Baldurs Gate 3 guide, walkthrough
Looking for an easy way to defeat BG3's Phase Spider Matriarch? Our guide describes how to get the Spiderstep Boots and how to get to the Whispering Deep.
Last update: 02 October 2023
The Phase Spider Matriarch is one of the bosses encountered in BG3. On this page we've described how to fight the giant spider and what you'll get for beating her. We explain how to prepare for the fight and which spells to use to quickly incapacitate the enemy.
- How to reach the Whispering Depths?
- How to get the Spiderstep Boots?
- Destroy Phase Spiders' eggs
- Preparing for the battle against the Phase Spider Matriarch
- Fighting the Phase Spider Matriarch
- Rewards for defeating the Phase Spider Matriarch
How to reach the Whispering Depths?
You'll reach the Whispering Depths from the Blighted Village. After clearing the area of enemies, approach the well on the village's central square and pass a Perception check. You'll then be able to go down the rope.
The Whispering Depths are connected by sticky cobwebs, on which the party must move between the floors. Unfortunately, whenever the character steps on a cobweb, they must pass a saving throw or become Enwebbed - this status significantly hinders exploration and combat. Enwebbed characters can't move, use actions and alert all nearby creatures of their presence. For this reason, you should make sure at least one of your characters is wearing the Spiderstep Boots.
How to get the Spiderstep Boots?
Upon entering the Whispering Depths, turn left and keep moving forward until you reach a large chamber, where one of Lolth's followers once dwelled. Loot the skeleton to the right of the exit, against the wall, to get the Spiderstep Boots.
Spiderstep Boots give the wearer immunity to being Enwebbed, letting them freely traverse the area without alerting nearby monsters.
Destroy Phase Spiders' eggs
Before engaging the boss, destroy all the Phase Spiders' eggs. If you don't, the Matriarch will open the battle by teleporting near them and immediately hatching them all. The tiny spiders don't have much health, but are a real nuisance and hit hard, especially if they all swarm the same character.
The eggs can be destroyed by an archer, or a character having lots of throwable items. Remember to equip them with the Spiderstep Boots too, as they'll need to move on the cobwebs.
Take positions on the solid ground opposite the Phase Spider Matriarch. The first bunch of eggs is at the bottom left of the cavern. Attack the eggs until you crack them all. Before moving on, make sure you haven't missed any.
There are more eggs on the platform to the right of the Matriarch. You can get there via the cobwebs. These eggs can be destroyed with melee or ranged weapons. Make sure you've smashed them all.
The last bunch of eggs is right next to the Matriarch, so you must be very careful. Hide in the shadows, waiting for the Matriarch to turn around and start going the other way. Once she does, shoot the egg or throw something at it, then immediately hide again. Repeat until all eggs are destroyed.
Preparing for the battle against the Phase Spider Matriarch
After destroying all eggs, you must prepare for a challenging encounter. Make sure all your team members have access to Fire spells.
Non-spellcasters can use consumable Scrolls to cast spells, casting them as an action. You'll need at least two such spells to win this fight, so check your equipment carefully.
Support spells, such as Bless, will also come in handy, granting your party bonuses to their attack rolls and saving throws. This is also a good time to cast Mage Armor and increase your squishy spellcasters' Armor Class.
Fighting the Phase Spider Matriarch
After destroying all eggs and casting all necessary spells, you can engage the boss. Be sure to stick to the main area and stay away from other platforms. The Phase Spider Matriarch will start the battle by teleporting onto one of the cobwebs.
Depending on which of your character goes first, make sure they're all on solid ground and then cast a Fire spell, or use a Fire scroll on the cobweb underneath the boss, not on the boss herself.
The web is flammable and will burn quickly, dropping the boss to the bottom of the cavern, knocking her Prone and dealing lots of fall damage.
Now wait for the Matriarch to stand up and get on the other cobweb. Burn it and drop her down yet again. Remember to aim for the web, not the opponent.
When the Matriarch reappears at the top, you can finish her off in two different ways. The enemy has little health left, so you can just kill her straight-up.
On the other hand, if one of your spellcasters knows Thunderwave, you can push her off yet again. The third fall will be fatal, ending the battle. Note that when aiming with Thunderwave, you can determine where the enemy will be pushed to - make sure the white line points to the bottom of the cavern.
The Phase Spider Matriarch is too large to be affected by the regular Shove action. You need spells such as Thunderwave to move heavier opponents.
Rewards for defeating the Phase Spider Matriarch
Loot the boss to find a rare green item, the Poisoner's Robe. The robe has 10 Armor, +3 to Dexterity, and a very interesting property that causes an additional 1d4 damage from Poison each time its wearer casts a spell that deals Poison damage.