Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Lexyvil]

I lost to my first siege today. Man I love this game, I thought my fortress was pretty well protected but goblins invaded my land and killed every single dwarves, and that never happened in my previous fortresses. It was also the first time I've reached about 5 years (Year 125-130) into the making. Just as I was getting used to the militia feature, training dwarves for combat, those goblins came into play and raided everything.

What are the best ways to take care of sieges?
Is it possible to command dwarves to shoot off arrows from behind a fortified wall?
And are siege weapons effective against those kinds of battle?

EDIT: Oh crap I just realised I posted this in adventure mode, sorry for the wrong thread category

[Funk]

build fortifications on top of the walls and a place to stand.
then stand the crossbowdwarfs next to the wall (make a Patrol Route if you have a lot of wall to cover)
when the attack comes order all dwarfs inside the walls and raise the drawbrige.

[Supersnes]

Wall off entrance-ways with bridges that raise up in the direction needed; this creates a wall that can't be broken through--even by titans.  Moats help as well by creating a buffer between your fort and the outside terrain.  Also traps, lots and lots of traps;cage traps being my favorite as there has never been a shortage of prisoners volunteers for my execution fair grounds and drop bungee pit. 

[Garath]

build fortifications on top of the walls and a place to stand.
then stand the crossbowdwarfs next to the wall (make a Patrol Route if you have a lot of wall to cover)
when the attack comes order all dwarfs inside the walls and raise the drawbrige.

build walls and carve them into fortifications. more labor intensive but worth the trouble if you'll build higher.

[cancel.man]

Wall off entrance-ways with bridges that raise up in the direction needed; this creates a wall that can't be broken through--even by titans.

Definitely this. Because worst case scenario you just wait out the siege. It may take a whole season but eventually the Gobbos go away.

I also use bridges to control the rate of the siege. After the first squad of Gobos is past the bridge, raise it. Then your military only has to deal with a handful and your haulers can remove the bodies before you let the next wave in. Rinse and repeat.

[Garath]

Sealing off vulnerable areas and leading invaders into danger areas is really the way to go

edit:
read most of threeetoe's stories today, and one stuck to mind: a long column of goblins marching to the distant fort, faces hopeless and bleak. Balistae fire, catapults or marksdwarfs, nothing was as devastating as the dwarven ingenuity with death traps. This actually shows up in at least three more stories. Embrace the heritage and watch needlesly elaborate traps do their work.

[Leatra]

Wall off entrance-ways with bridges that raise up in the direction needed; this creates a wall that can't be broken through--even by titans.

Definitely this. Because worst case scenario you just wait out the siege. It may take a whole season but eventually the Gobbos go away.

I also use bridges to control the rate of the siege. After the first squad of Gobos is past the bridge, raise it. Then your military only has to deal with a handful and your haulers can remove the bodies before you let the next wave in. Rinse and repeat.

Don't forget to fill the entrances with cage traps to have prisoners for your goblin arena

[Lexyvil]

Thanks for all those ideas, going to have to learn how to use traps and I'm surprised I haven't thought about making a moat around my entrance's keep.

[MarcAFK]

The easiest defence is a dry moat around most of your fort with a walled off kill area to channel the enemy through. Put fortifications with archers somewhere to pick at them as they wander through,then put traps along the ground.
Additionally you could put a large cistern which dumps water down the path blowing them back to start again. You could put floors above the enterence on supports linked to levers to drop on them, ballistas, put everything into this one area and force the blighters through. Your military can wait at the other end to finish off the survivors. Last ditch defence is a raising bridge or line of floodgates to seal the fort after the military if they fail.

[werechicken]

Look up drowning traps in the dwarf fortress wiki. It's a fairly easy way to get rid of a siege in one go without putting your dwarfs at risk.

[Frogwarrior]

magma landmines ^______^
also, I'm a fan of starting military training in Year Freaking One. Soon as your first migrant wave comes in, grab some of them and force them into a dedicated military. I usually end up with at least a quarter of my population in the dedicated military.