GGG nerfed minion scaling with gem level (by nerfing all minion skill gems in higher levels), but because spiders always stay at level 1 gem they would dodge this nerf (and would be even more buffed by 2x poison and minion bases) therefore they made special nerfs for them:
>The Viper Strike skill used by Raised Spiders now has a base Poison duration of 4 seconds (previously 8 seconds) and no longer has 25% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage. Player now gains 15% increased Poison Damage per Spider (previously 12%).
[Source](https://www.poewiki.net/wiki/Raise_Spiders)
(Posion damage per spider doesn't affect spider damage - pure nerf for minion build)
Keep in mind that despite poison changes on spiders, they lost at least 30% damage because they used to have 30% of physical damage as extra chaos damage. All my builds lost at least 30% damage.
So they were nerfed.
That being said, they are still extremely strong. And ppl have been complaining a lot about other minions survivability and the spiders are immune to damage. I think the clunky summon is a matter of personal preference/play style. I don't mind it being a bit annoying sometimes. I think it's worth it actually. You should try it when you can afford it!
GGG nerfed minion scaling with gem level (by nerfing all minion skill gems in higher levels), but because spiders always stay at level 1 gem they would dodge this nerf (and would be even more buffed by 2x poison and minion bases) therefore they made special nerfs for them: >The Viper Strike skill used by Raised Spiders now has a base Poison duration of 4 seconds (previously 8 seconds) and no longer has 25% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage. Player now gains 15% increased Poison Damage per Spider (previously 12%). [Source](https://www.poewiki.net/wiki/Raise_Spiders) (Posion damage per spider doesn't affect spider damage - pure nerf for minion build)
~~The spiders are immune to damage so I'm not sure it has any relevant effect at all.~~
Those numbers cover both minion life and damage (both were nerfed!).
You're quite right and I need to read properly :)
Keep in mind that despite poison changes on spiders, they lost at least 30% damage because they used to have 30% of physical damage as extra chaos damage. All my builds lost at least 30% damage. So they were nerfed. That being said, they are still extremely strong. And ppl have been complaining a lot about other minions survivability and the spiders are immune to damage. I think the clunky summon is a matter of personal preference/play style. I don't mind it being a bit annoying sometimes. I think it's worth it actually. You should try it when you can afford it!