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[Spiderking50]

I know there are a lot of threads about this, and I've checked the wiki for assistance, but id like a few pointers on defense. My forts are overrun within the first 3 years consistently and i was hopping someone could help me a bit with design. (Please no X[] sort of text designs, they're practically unreadable, screen-shots or just basic descriptions are preferable.)

[Pitchblende]

A hallway that has traps everywhere is an effective, if rather uncreative strategy.

[Flying Dice]

Dig a 3-wide hall however far back you want. Fill it with cage traps. Put a drawbridge at the end, hook it up to a lever. There, done.

[Spiderking50]

Tried that, thirty goblin ambush wave all riding a voracious cave crawler and brought their prized pet trolls. My 50 cage traps were all filled and my dwarves were slaughtered. I need something a little bit more effective fun.

[Pitchblende]

Have you tried using large serrated discs?

And if all else fails:Magma.

[Spiderking50]

I'm getting killed before i can even get that sorta thing. It's early game (first few years) that get me killed.

[Pitchblende]

If that's the case, then wall your fortress in while you get everything ready.

[Coolnesstod]

Or better yet, bring 2 military dwarves and some copper armor, then have them train all year round. There, you now have your last line of defense.

[MarcAFK]

Cheap easy defence is a very large hallway full of menacing spikes, sure they'll jam and aren't too effective, but they're so cheap you can easily make a freaking huge killzone covering your main enterence, bonus points for fortifications on 2 sizes with crossbows, and ballestae on one size, also a largemagma or water resivoir upstairs for flushing blood/corpses/whole sieges down a pit.
Random cage traps and dogs stationed through the fort are a good way of catching random sneakerrs that manage to get in, also bezerk dwarfs.
And it's always a good idea to have a seperate panic room somewhere with a few dwarves that can survive despite whatever happens to everyone else.

[Gamerlord]

Try this: (W: weapon trap, . = empty space, #: ground)
Z1:
...............................
WWWWWWWWWWWW
...............................
Z2:
...............................
...............................
...............................
Z3:
...............................
...............................
...............................
Z4:
################
################
################
(possibly coverd with war dogs or water.)

They'll dodge off the sides away from the weapon traps and into empty space.  blood and guts everywhere. just wall off the bottom to lock them in for later.

[SixOfSpades]

Digging a moat is usually a quicker way to do the same job as building a wall: Miners can tear through dirt in far less time than it would take for them to mine out the same amount of stone--which then needs to be stockpiled, cut into blocks, stockpiled again, and finally built. So consider throwing down a moat as your first defensive measure, enclosing some trees and pastureland inrelative safety. Don't fill the moat with water--some animals can swim.

Goblin & kobold thieves will slip through locked doors. Exploit this fact. Locked doors will stop goblin siege parties & ambushers. Exploit this fact. Locked doors will slow down, but not stop, trolls and other building destroyers. Exploit this fact. Raised/retracted drawbridges will stop anything on the "wrong" end of the bridge. Exploit this fact.

If your hallway of 50 cage traps failed to stop a siege, that must have been one freaking huge siege--either that, or you failed to put the traps in a narrow hallway. The point is forcing the bad guys to walk over every trap.

[MarcAFK]

Honestly i just love menacing wooden spikes, i've never had a fort long enough to upgrade the traps to iron spears though, probably because i put down a 10x10 grid of spike traps containing 10 spikes... where am i going to get 1000 spears from? D=

[CursedBurger]

Combine a moat around your fortress with a single bridge with a lever for a generally effective defense - as soon as you find yourself in danger, raise the bridge and try to wait it out; at the very least, it buys you time, and in some cases it will be enough on its own - like if a caravan rescues you.

[dwarfhoplite]

What is your civilians/ soldiers ratio? with 50% or more soldiers you have good chance of winning any enemy even if they aren't well trained. Just equip them a shield and a weapon.

[Lordraymond]

This worked for fortress defense (Though it was before true bar values so equipment was markedly easier to churn out):

Conscript one fourth of your population into the military and have them train year round. Outfit them in the best non-candy metal you can get your hands on, since candy takes far too long to get. By year two or three, the first ambush, you should have at least one squad of ten in full bronze or iron. A few disc traps should soften up the approach and you should then easily wipe out the squad. You'll probably lose one to five in the process, but since they're little more than conscripts they're easily replaceable. As you move on you should have around two by the first full on siege, and the first squad should be filled up sufficiently with at least somewhat hardened veterans and it should be easy to defeat.

Or you could just build ALL the cage traps!