Widowmaker is a very high leveled Spiderant that is encountered during A Bug Problem. This enemy is very distinctive due to its dark blue/purple and green colour. Widowmaker first spawns after a Retching Seeps sample is removed from a deposit in Rust Commons East, and will keep on respawning after the mission is completed whenever someone passes through her spawn point.
Background
Widowmaker got her name because she has killed every would-be exterminator that ever attempted to kill her. (From the official Borderlands guide)
Location
Widowmaker can be found somewhat in the middle of Rust Commons East. She shows up on the right side of the bridge, located on the right side of the map. It is right next to a Catch-a-Ride on the far right side of the map Rust Commons East.
Attacks
- Long ranged attack - Widowmaker will fire balls of white liquid from her abdomen, this is very similar to all spiderants.
- Close range stomp - She will stomp with both front legs if you are very close to her, creating a shockwave that damages you and knocks you back.
- Burrowing - Widowmaker has the ability to burrow in combat which is very uncommon, if not non-existent, with other spiderants. While Spiderants tend to appear by rising from the ground, no other Spiderants use this as a battle tactic.
- Corrosive Stomp - Widowmaker will perform its close range stomp. However, when she strikes the ground a corrosive burst wave is fired out in all directions.
Strategy
Like all spiderants, the Widowmaker has a weak abdomen. The easiest way to attack this area is to flank her in order to hit her abdomen.
As with all spiderants, shooting her armored head causes her to flinch. This stops movement and causes the spiderant to clumsily turn and expose her abdomen for a few seconds before she recovers.
Unlike other spiderants, Widowmaker will not try to hit you with her front legs. It is therefore a good method to get close, although the stomp attack will make this difficult. Dodging her shock wave while moving forward is key. One strategy is to position a tall terrain obstacle between you and Widowmaker while staying as close as possible to her. This will cause her to try to continually get closer to you but without jumping, or to shoot at you despite the obstacle blocking her projectiles and not hitting you. A swiftly moving player can thus run back and forth from each side of the obstacle to shoot her abdomen, ducking back to keep the obstacle between the two of you.
Attempting to run over Widowmaker, while possible, will sometimes lead to the destruction of the Outrunner with all the Vault Hunters inside; at lower levels, Widowmaker is too strong to be killed by simply running her over.
Notes
- Before Widowmaker spawns, the ground shudders and kicks up a dust cloud. She will drop several pieces of loot when killed, but not any unique or special items.
- It is possible for Widowmaker to fail to spawn after taking the geyser sample. When the ground shakes due to her burrowing, it is possible for her to end up underneath one of the geysers when she would normally emerge from the ground. This prevents her from appearing.
- Standing directly on top of where the Widowmaker emerges from the ground will cause the players avatar to repeatedly jump, like that which occurs when on top of the Outrunner.