Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: Quick Military Question  (Read 1314 times)

Polar_Atom

  • Bay Watcher
  • Urist Cancels Life: Dwarf Fortress
    • View Profile
Quick Military Question
« on: October 22, 2010, 07:24:51 am »

Say fellas,

I'm in the middle of assigning all of the dwarves with weapon experience to the military - there's a about 27 of them. I was wondering if I have to assign them all individually to a weapon they're best with or if they'll take it upon themselves?
Logged
This forum post menaces with spikes of humour.

MagmaMcFry

  • Bay Watcher
  • [EXISTS]
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2010, 07:57:42 am »

Make 'em a good assortment of weapons, let them use a melee weapon (indiv. choice) until they are no longer Recruits and then assign them the best stuff they can handle.
Logged

celem

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2010, 07:57:59 am »

They'll individually take the weapon they like.

Normally if theyre an immigrant then their favorite weapon is also the one they have some skill with, however this may not always be the case so it can be worth checking.  By not restricting them to a specific weapon (i.e. that sword rather than a sword) they will also upgrade as better items become available (note dwarves judge weapons by worth not actual combat effectiveness).

Generally i leave individual choice on for everyone, however if you decide you dont like all those hammerdwarves who dont lop off a limb every shot, then go ahead and limit them to swords/axes:p
Logged
Marksdwarf Pillboxes
I wish I had something cool to say about this.  Because it's really cool.

Polar_Atom

  • Bay Watcher
  • Urist Cancels Life: Dwarf Fortress
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2010, 08:30:13 am »

Much Thanks.
Logged
This forum post menaces with spikes of humour.

Polar_Atom

  • Bay Watcher
  • Urist Cancels Life: Dwarf Fortress
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2010, 09:16:45 am »

Actually, I have another bother!

My Woodcutter/ Proficient Axedwarf Balin is being stubborn.

When he's just a woodcutter, he picks up his Axe and cuts trees, fine.

When I assign him to military and equip him with 'Battleaxe' he drops his and goes into battle as an Axedwarf minus the axe and seemingly cuts down trees with his bare hands...

Help.
Logged
This forum post menaces with spikes of humour.

AngleWyrm

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2010, 09:27:39 am »

That is a bug with woodcutters joining the military. Short answer: Don't recruit woodcutters.
Logged

Namfuak

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2010, 12:34:20 pm »

That is a bug with woodcutters joining the military. Short answer: Don't recruit woodcutters.

Either that or assign them something besides an axe.  It has to do with them having an "invisible" woodcutter uniform where they assign every axe in the fortress that isn't claimed to it, and won't use anything from their civilian job to it.  You can recruit them to be anything else, and woodcutters are pretty strong so even though they don't get the extra experience in the weapon from woodcutting they are still pretty nice.

By the way, like miners they will use their axe in extremely deadly ways as a legendary woodcutter when threatened as a civilian.  Some of my best military victories were won by miners coming back overland from some digging.  I still wonder how they cut off heads with picks.
Logged

Astramancer

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #7 on: October 22, 2010, 01:02:57 pm »

I captured a bear that somehow got loose in the middle of my fort, and kept interrupting everyone.  A legendary miner walked past on his way to booze.  The miner got interrupted, the miner one-shotted the bear, and miner went to get his damn drink.  It was hilariously awesome.
Logged

Shoku

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2010, 01:50:07 pm »

I'd recommend putting them together in squads with the same weapon. The demonstrations and such are a lot more useful when they've got the same relevant skillset. Once they're legendary at a skill or three it doesn't matter much but early on it can slow things down a lot.
Logged
Please get involved with my making worlds thread.

forumist

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2010, 03:38:49 pm »

By the way, like miners they will use their axe in extremely deadly ways as a legendary woodcutter when threatened as a civilian.  Some of my best military victories were won by miners coming back overland from some digging.  I still wonder how they cut off heads with picks.


I remember very depressing battles in my first fort, where the axedwarves couldn't do a single damage on goblins, and then, while the axedwarves are agonizing, a couple of miners arrive and quickly mine the deadly goblins: One arm, the other, the head. One leg, the other, the lower body, and so on...

Since I discovered that, I enroll most of my miners in the army.

I'm not sure to understand well about woodcutters.
I want to benefit from the fact that woodcutters carry an axe: I hoped this would allow a quick transformation into an axedwarf in case they're in danger, or they're near an endangered colleague.
But apparently, if I assign them an axe in the military screen, they will drop their woodcutter axe as soon as they are told to fight. Did I understand correctly ?
And so the solution is to assign them no weapon. Then, if I ask them to fight, they will use their woodcutting axe ?

Another point: for miners, the mining skill is used also for fighting. There is no pick weapon skill. But for woodcutters, there is a woodcutting skill and an axe weapon skill. Is the woodcutting skill really helpful in combat ? If so, cutting trees can be a substitute for axe practice in a barracks, like mining is a good way to train a "pick-dwarf".

One thing I wonder is why picks are listed as foreign.
Logged
Don't quote me on that.
Cacame channels aquifers into submission by staring at them. Cacame is so badass, kobolds give him their children to leave them alone. If Hidden Fun Stuff digs too far down, they hit Cacame. Cacame once took a Tantrum Spiral and impaled four enemies on it.

NewsMuffin

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Quick Military Question
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2010, 04:33:10 pm »

Picks aren't foreign as much as exotic, or unusual. IF you were to walk onto a medieval battlefield, you'd be more likely to see an axe, or a sword, as opposed to a pick. However, there are countries that used a fighting pick similar to the way dwarves do.
Logged