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[Kanddak]

Ballistae are fantastic.

For providing entertainment.

http://mkv25.net/dfma/movie-1978-doubleballistaduel

[ledgekindred]

Siege engines in general don't seem that useful in 2010 compared to the military overhaul.  Assuming you can get past the steep curve of getting your military to be able to do anything at all.

I have actually had catapults in 2010 do damage to invaders.  They have a minimum range of something like 40-50 tiles. So there's no sticking a catapult up against the drawbridge and shooting at the guys on the other side.  I set mine way back into an alcove I carved into the side of the mountain next to the main fort entrance and built a fortified wall well away from the entrance with a sort of cul-de-sac leading into my kill-o-death-gobbo-grinderhallway-o-fun.  Invaders would sort of loiter around the entrance as they slowly funneled in to get chopped to bits and I let my catapulter take potshots into the crowd.  He mangled a couple.  I mean, utterly useless for anything but still fun.

[Comrade]

So.............. Can catapults throw prisoners?

[Proteus]

Siege engines in general don't seem that useful in 2010 compared to the military overhaul.  Assuming you can get past the steep curve of getting your military to be able to do anything at all.

I have actually had catapults in 2010 do damage to invaders.  They have a minimum range of something like 40-50 tiles. So there's no sticking a catapult up against the drawbridge and shooting at the guys on the other side.  I set mine way back into an alcove I carved into the side of the mountain next to the main fort entrance and built a fortified wall well away from the entrance with a sort of cul-de-sac leading into my kill-o-death-gobbo-grinderhallway-o-fun.  Invaders would sort of loiter around the entrance as they slowly funneled in to get chopped to bits and I let my catapulter take potshots into the crowd.  He mangled a couple.  I mean, utterly useless for anything but still fun.

This brings up another interesting question:
Will catapult stones damage any constructions at their point of impact?

Lets assume I have an elevated passageway to my fortress main entrance,
platforms with a z-level of 1, witch lots of traps and spikes atop and connected to other platforms via retractable bridges.

Lets assume during an goblin invasion/ambush I fire with catapults at the goiblins approaching via said passageway...
is there any danger of doing damage to my platformns, traps/spikes or bridges (instead of only hurting/killing goblins)?

[Biopass]

I had a 40d fort in the middle of a desert that had a few solidly good siege operators and ballistae and catapults every few tiles along the wall. I'd leave everything loaded, and when goblins came along, I'd just go down the row as the goblin squads moved towards my gate. Essentially a firing squad. Doing this, I wiped two squads badly enough that they fled.

Bottom line: In large, wide-open areas, spamming ballistae is ok. Catapults aren't worth it because of the range. Ballistae are probably also good for defending underground passageways in crucial areas. A FB that takes an iron ballista bolt to the chest (or whatever body part it has) becomes much less of a threat.

[Beeskee]

As noted, higher quality components produce a better siege engine. You may need to build someone up to legendary in that skill.