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[scionkirk]

I've followed all the advice about training up your military dwarves, they are all packed full of adamantine and steel armor and weapons, yet nothing seems to stop them from going out single file into a hail of arrows.  The worst part of it is I have a cage trap field 10 tiles deep, but they always seem to want to meet the squad of trolls right after it.  Sometimes I just give up and charge the whole squad in to save the loner, but then that just leads to multiple dwarves wandering off in their own direction.It's agonizing to see an archer with a full quiver of bolts go charging off to fight hand to hand with a dozen lashers, but at least you can lock them behind some fortifications.  Is there any real use for meleers?
 

[BoredVirulence]

My advice for melee dwarves, don't charge the field. Let them come to you. Plan a hallway for goblins to enter your fort, and make sure this "hallway" has limited line of sight. Usually, this hallway runs to my barracks, and I just leave my melee dwarves there. Limited line of sight means less running into the open, and less bow-goblins sitting from a far shooting at occupied melee dwarves. I usually line this hallway with a few traps, usually enough to soften them, and a handful of cage traps for training dummies.

[AutomataKittay]

Yes, some enemies are trapavoid and very difficult to kill, ranged weapons mostly wins through bleeding and pain, which some creatures don't dies to. Though I don't think there're any on surface short of colossuses, but plenty of them wanders in and announces themselves in the caverns. It also can take a while for bolts to kill critters that does bleeds out and get pained.

Did you give them shields? If you didn't, then it's a pretty good way to improve survivablity.

If solider SEE an enemy, they're compelled to attack it, regardless of odds. If you can't manage to stop them charging at everything, then you might have to look into modifying your entryway to keep them out of sight.

Then there're weapon choices, spear is good at killing organics, picks are good at tearing things apart, hammer and maces are like crossbow in depending on pain and bleeding, and sword are general purpose thing. Weapons that's blunt are better heavier, which means bluemetal aren't really a good bolt or hammer material, save it for sharp things. Steel is pretty much nearly the peak for weapons generally, being able to manage decently.

[itg]

Shield and Dodging skills are critical if you want your melee dwarves to survive in the open vs. crossbowmen. A squad of legendary dodgers is like a squad of drunken, bearded Neos. Once you get them to that point, a single squad can easily defeat an entire goblin siege.

[edgefigaro]

Also, helmets. You gotta toggle replace clothing or your dwarves won't wear em.

[AutomataKittay]

Also, helmets. You gotta toggle replace clothing or your dwarves won't wear em.

Yeah, caps are shaped, you can't have two shaped stuffs on same part of the body. I usually strip dwarves when they comes in so I don't usually run into it, or run fortresses so long that caps are decayed off long before.

[scionkirk]

Hah, yeah, line of sight.  That's what's doing it, thanks.  I have a huge trap field, but I need to leave the drawbridge down to get the goblins to pathfind through the trap field.  I have my dwarves inside to mop up any survivors, but they've been rushing out.  But if I put a wall a few tiles behind the entrance, that should stop line of site.

[Di]

You know, you can also station them somewhere inside near the gates and wait for the squad to assemble there before moving them outside.

[Mechatronic]

Hah, yeah, line of sight.  That's what's doing it, thanks.  I have a huge trap field, but I need to leave the drawbridge down to get the goblins to pathfind through the trap field.  I have my dwarves inside to mop up any survivors, but they've been rushing out.  But if I put a wall a few tiles behind the entrance, that should stop line of site.

Yep. An L shaped hallway leading into your fort generally does the job.

[chris_strain]

You know, you can also station them somewhere inside near the gates and wait for the squad to assemble there before moving them outside.

This is a very important step most of the time. Despite being set to always wear their uniform, I've found my dorfs always run off to to the weapon/armour stockpiles before moving to a station command. Giving them a move command somewhere safe gives them time to gear up and all assemble.. THEN you move them into the FUN.

[Roostre]

My fort entrances tend to be stairwells going 3 or 4 z-levels down from the surface. When a siege begins, I station my militia at the bottom of it. The baddies just line up to die.