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[Alkhemia]

Zombie Army + Husks =  HFS death  just go though a different candy hole to get past the husks

[Lordraymond]

I've heard that childrens can one-shot demons. Or maybe that was get one shot by demons...

Either way, you should totes send in your children first. Any who survive are hailed as the new king of the dwarves.

[Naryar]

Zerg rushing demons does NOT work, at least not with average armed and armored dwarves.

Demons are the final bosses of the game. Each one is on average the equivalent of a megabeast in dangerosity. Before engaging them, you need legendary, adamantine-clad (or at least masterwork steel-clad) badasses which can handle a full goblin siege by themselves, or a megabeast. With no consequent wounds.

Then you can deal with them with one or two squads of the aforementioned badasses. You just need to be careful of demons with webs or deadly dust or lethal syndromes.

Or you can use cunning traps, but it's not half as interesting and awesome and dwarven than meeting them in glorious combat.

[jellsprout]

You need luck in the demons generated. Last time I conquered the Basement there was only one type of demon with a syndrome attack and he spawned rarely.
From what I understand, each embark only has one adamantine spire that "activates" the HFS. Every other spire won't spawn the legions of demons when breached. Enter the HFS through any of the other spires and it will be just like the caverns. Only a few demons to worry about and they won't rush your fortress either.

[Girlinhat]

Personally I'd imagine that the key to HFS defeat would me marksdwarves, and a lot of them.  Like, 50+.  I'm imagining a 3 tall chamber, so-and-so long.  At one end it's covered in fortifications, marksdwarves put behind and made to stand in line, preferably locked in to make sure they continue firing and don't go bashing.  In the chamber itself are your melee dwarves and animal bomb cages in whatever configuration is most convenient.  At the far end is a ramp that leads up to a glorious blue wall and one lowly miner sitting by "On Break".

The ideal scenario is a massive hail of bolt fire that simple chews through anything it can reach.  Your melee are just there to stall for time and keep HFS distracted while you rain silvery death.

Also on siege engines: catapults aren't even worth it.  Ballistae might be, but even a silver bolt won't reliably kill a whale.  They get good penetrative value so you'll be hitting several demons at once if they're packed in tightly enough, but they don't do enough physical damage to be worth it.  Plus the operators will run.

[dragginmaster]

I think the fun part would be learning how best to do it by trial and error, cheese or no cheese.

I mean that to include studying the wiki, and other sources, but just having people tell you that a narrow hall with steel spikes will do the job.... It might be cheese, but it would of had a more satisfying feel had you thought of it yourself, no?

I have yet to storm HFS, my current fort has the first demon fortress i have seen, as well as a brook and volcano and ooodles of ready made obsidian for building... If i could just get Murphys law to step aside for a.few years.

[Flying Dice]

This has probably changed since syndromes and webbing are actually effective now, but I recall a fortress that I decided to kill, but managed to wipe out ~40% of the demons with a 6 dwarf squad of legendaries in full adamantite. It would depend on the types of demons, but it you get a batch with few syndrome causers and AoErs, it might be effective to chokepoint them in a room or corridor overlooked by an isolated bunker full of marksdwarves, corking their exit with legendaries and pets.

[xeivous]

What would be the optimal war-animal for this sort of battle I wonder? A balance between breeding like rabbits and being super tough might be in order...

[Crossroads Inc.]

The "Ultimate" method of dealing with HFS is of course the method that involves no Dwarf Deaths.

That is usually encasement via magma/obsidian farm, or the stand by of collapsing the mountain,
http://darkcloak.deviantart.com/art/Tales-from-Dwarf-Fortress-268423133

[franti]

Tip from a veteran; Spears, not Axes. A single thrust by a semi-decent dwarf will very likely hit an organ or spine.

[obradenj]

GCS? and GDS? do clowns suffer the effects of syndromes ?

[Loud Whispers]

I just have the entire fort in the military. Everyone (except miners, bookkeepers, doctors, some privileged farmers/craftsdwarfs and Dwarf couples who have reared 5 or more children) is put into 3 Dwarf squads (with an exception for legendary or fresh migrant squads, in the latter case, excess legendaries are squad swapped to train the greener soldiers), with two sparring all year. 2/3rd's of the Fort trains, the rest farm. Works incredibly well, but you'll only really have room for two industries max.

[Nil Eyeglazed]

GCS? and GDS? do clowns suffer the effects of syndromes ?

Clowns cannot be affected by syndromes, and webbing clowns are webimmune.

[Girlinhat]

I thought all clowns were webimmune, and you had to get very creative to cage them.

Overall though yes, spears and whips are your main weapons, primarily spears due to their options for masterworks.  Daggers may even work, those things get amazing penetration, but I fear they lack the size for significant damage.  But a legendary speardwarf is a titan slayer.  Axes, hammers, spinning bolts graze and bounce, but one solid thrust and it's straight through to the heart.  I've often wanted to nurture a solid spear adventurer...

[Nil Eyeglazed]

I thought all clowns were webimmune, and you had to get very creative to cage them.

Nah, snagged a few in 34.02.