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[Mickey Blue]

So ok, I have been playing DF for a while now but really haven't had to fend off that many major attacks (mostly cause I tend to abandon before it happens).

Anyways, I recently installed the fortress defense mod (the one that makes tons of sieges) so I'm getting hit by them more now (obviously).

So ok, a few qualifiers:

I, personally, consider it cheap to use drawbridges to create an impenetrable wall, seeing as nothing can get through them I feel it is unfair so I don't use them (well I do to cross water and for other things, but not as a door/wall.  So for defensive blockades all I use are doors and floodgates.  Other then that all defensive options are fair game.

So, my problem is I train up a military and they hold their own at first but when things start getting heavy they tend to fall, same with traps, they spring or jam and kill some but not all.

So is the answer as simple as "Stronger/larger military and more traps", or do people have a more specific way of handling sieges?

Thanks,

-MB

[evanvolker]

My defense right now is a single entrance to my fortress. It starts with a long 3-tile wide corridor filled with weapon traps. The corridor then winds around an archers tower, giving plenty of time/room for the archers to take them down. Then, any that get through have to pass over another corridor full of cage traps (Best to put a roof over this so flying creatures cant just fly over.), and then I have a drawbridge for when I'm really in trouble and need to cut myself off. I have relentless assault mod installed.

[Mickey Blue]

Gottcha, yea my defense was not nearly that strong.. I had a small hallway formed by walls that had a handful of weapon traps, then a handful of cage traps, then a floodgate door linked to pressure plates to buy some time, then on the other side a ballista barrage and last was my forces.

We did well on the first few sieges, only lost one dwarf (and he was a civilian who was trapped outside) and some injuries, but then came about twenty or so White Tigermen all riding war elephants and about a half dozen or so regular war elephants without riders, they broke me in half (ultimately we forced them to retreat with one soldier left alive, he is hanging out up top in the blood and decay while the civilians are rioting down below sending me into a tantrum spiral (even had a fell mood, they made a door out of one of my survivors..).  Trying to pull it together but I'm confident that I'll lose this one.

-MB

[dakenho]

well positioning will do you wonders,   try making a massive moat, or wall around your fortress and have a small 4 square entrance area, fight your opponent here,  back in 40d, days I used to exclusively make cross bow dwarfs.  I think at one point I had 40 or 80 dwarfs in full plate with steel cross bows, and they would down a siege fast.  Good equipment will go a long way too.   Although peasants are less common then in 40d, one technique is to take any dwarf that does not arrive with a moodable skill and make him make one piece of armor, this increases the chances of a legendary armor smith.   a small squad of 3-5 axe dwarfs in full steel have been known to take out mega beats with out so much as a scratch (and I have seen this in my own for)

back to the point at hand, out defense
I would do a two story tall wall triple thick wall (this allows helps get rid of all the pesky stone in your fortress),  have the outer layer be fortifications that can be shot through and have xbow dwarfs there to help shoot at things.

imagine the entrance to a fortress from a flat surface, now dig one :Z level benith that, than put a stair well that goes up into the first level of the fort, so now invaders have to go benith, then up into the fort.  floor out the upper level 3 tiles or so, then build fortifications on the 4th tile out,  then put ammo stock piles on the 3 tile
ie
on top
|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------|
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
on bottom

     **********FFFF**********
     **********FFFF**********
     **********FFFF**********

ect ect for about 10 tiles longs

where
- = ammo bin
| = outer wall
: = fortifications
* = an area enamy cant get to, (you can use walls or channels, as long as they cant get there
F = Floor

[slothen]

Do some creative engineering on fortress traps.  And by that I mean traps that drop enemies into pits, drowning rooms, magma, water that knocks enemies into pits, pressure plates that drop constructed floors onto invaders, things like that.  None of these require weapon or cage traps, and a militia only as a backup.  Build shooting galleries for your marksdwarves.   Build a corridor of upright spike traps and have a dwarf pull the lever on repeat as enemies come in.  Those never jam, and will shred anything.  The sky is the limit really.  If you want to stick to dwarf on goblin combat, train your troops to god-status with danger rooms.


Also, if you've been abandoning forts before getting seiged much in vanilla, you're going to get absolutely massacred playing the fortress defense mod.

[celem]

Fortress Defense is a great mod to teach you seige survival since it doesnt take 6 hours of play to trigger one.

Personaly im a fan of 'dodge me' traps.  A 1-tile wide walkway above 2-3z level drop covered in weapon traps.  Anything works, training weapons will do the job.
I like to leave ramps for bad guys to crawl back out after the drop (outside obviously)  so they recycle till they pass out.  Add upright spikes in the pit for flavour.

Now depending how long this walkway is you probably still get quite a few through, let your military play with them.

Otherwise... Magma, water, both.  pressure plates and hatches, the choices are endless

[tolkafox]

3x10 line of weapon traps armed with 10 large serrated iron disk. An outside parameter surrounded by walls with entrances like so:

   WTTTW
   WTTTW
WWTTTWWWWWW
   WTTTW
   WTTTW

Outside of that, water/magma/obsidian traps. How you mine for goblin?

[azazel]

On a similar note, I'm wondering, having just recently returned to DF2010; why won't my markdwarves train? I have given them barracks, archery range, equipment and ammunition, as well as a training schedule. Any ideas?

[Mickey Blue]

Try going into the military screen and removing the ammo earmarked for hunters (f is the ammo designation menu I think, from within the military screen) and then add it to your marksdwarves.  This fixed that issue for me.. Other then that just make sure they have quivers and give them a chance to pick up bolts (and, of course, make sure you have bolts).

-MB

[rephikul]

If you have 1 corridor wide path to your fort, you can force the enemy to walk a long line to reach you, pushing them off the ledge with spike trap & raining bolts onto them. They will dodge, fall and walk the path over and over. Until they reach your fort, only a handful injured enemies remain. When they breach and got close, swap to melee weapon and engage them. Bottom right of my floor plan is one such path:


Do note that FD mod got some outright flying enemies and this trick simply doesnt work against them.

[Mickey Blue]

Thanks for all the tips, I'll see how well my next one survives.

-MB