Print

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

[Loud Whispers]

There are so many bugs associated with marksdwarves, I'm not sure you are seriously getting any results with the above steps... Right now my wannabe marksdwarf can't even pick up bolts, he's stuck in a loop of jumping into the ammo stockpile and out.

Serious.

[Starver]

That's wasteful of space.  You can get rid of one column of walls and one of the two adjacent columns of gaps, in that design, to get the same number of target ranges in a smaller space, or more ranges in (to within a one tile or so) the same width.

[Nerserus]

I remember axes being best for invaders, because they can knock off limbs, while spears are best for large opponents, due to being able to pierce organs better. Swords are 50/50 of those two. Hammers can't really kill on their own, but a shock squad of heavily armoured hammerdwarves can cripple the shit out of an army for your others to clean up. Maces are lesser versions of hammers, don't bother. Crossbows are pretty broken imo. I usually have a squad of speardwarves, one with axes and one with xbows.

Funnily enough. Hammer dwarves are completely and utterly worthless. I had a legendary armor using legendary shield legendary hammer using legendary wrestler fighter...You get the idea. Basically. I sent him after a goblin and he had like four pages of hits on the goblin. What killed the goblin? Suffocation. Next one he went to, normal sword goblin. Kicked his ass and killed him. He was so busy breaking every bone in his body ( Which for some reason doesn't quite effect creatures like it did pre 2010 ) and he got slashed eevveeer so sliightly on the leg and died.

[Lexx]

I'm wondering if I should have multiple types of soldiers in my squads. I usually go all axedwarves as I like them all being blue, makes them easier to identify and just looks good

They're still fairly effective, but if I can get a more powerful military by something as simple as having them use multiple different weapons, I'm all for it.

Personally I have crossbow dwarves in their own units and then a mix of melee units based on what materials/weapons are available. The odd mace or hammer is great against armored opponents. The good thing about marksdwarves is that you don't have to worry about their melee skills as much. Meaning unskilled dwarves are perfect for marksdwarf training in a short time to become useful.

[Numeroid]

Funnily enough. Hammer dwarves are completely and utterly worthless. I had a legendary armor using legendary shield legendary hammer using legendary wrestler fighter...You get the idea. Basically. I sent him after a goblin and he had like four pages of hits on the goblin. What killed the goblin? Suffocation. Next one he went to, normal sword goblin. Kicked his ass and killed him. He was so busy breaking every bone in his body ( Which for some reason doesn't quite effect creatures like it did pre 2010 ) and he got slashed eevveeer so sliightly on the leg and died.

Haha, I had a good laugh at that mental image. I just imagine a tiny cut on his leg and then him having a heart attack in the middle of battle.

[Findulidas]

Using normal battleaxe dwarves as standard, silver hammerdwarves if you are likely to face zombies (losing limbs on zombies is not good, the limbs are likely to come after you as well), lastly marksdwarves to cover those rare hard to kill monsters (ex: killing dust attacks or webbing), then you got a good military capable of facing anything. Hydras might be a problem but I have never even seen one attack my fort and Ive probably played over a hundred forts reaching invasion level by now.

Maybe someone has said this before but putting a pointing spear trap filled with training spears in the training area and then linking it to a pressure plate put in a heavily trafficed area quickly levels up the battledwarves to legendary in the weapon they are using, armor and shield. (just remember to change the pressure plate to civilian and lower the weight to minimum)

[Loud Whispers]

That's wasteful of space.  You can get rid of one column of walls and one of the two adjacent columns of gaps, in that design, to get the same number of target ranges in a smaller space, or more ranges in (to within a one tile or so) the same width.

It's a waste of space I wasn't using, and it conserves more bolts than a space economic design. One of the benefits of being predominately above ground. 1z lvl above is the actual target range. Every bolt that skews hits the wall and falls - saving training bolts.

[zehive]

Speardorfs for the big baddies, sworddorfs for general purpose, axes for hack n slash, maces for armored type dorfs and undead, and crossbows for pretty much anything that they can fire at please use us oh god we're so lonely 

[Starver]

That's wasteful of space.  You can get rid of one column of walls and one of the two adjacent columns of gaps, in that design, to get the same number of target ranges in a smaller space, or more ranges in (to within a one tile or so) the same width.

It's a waste of space I wasn't using, and it conserves more bolts than a space economic design.

You missed what I meant (I could have phrased it better), and thus probably also what I actually previously posted.
It's a 90-degree equivalent to your design, and being represented by the upper Z only, but...

Central to my marksdwarf training is a "low-loss archery range" design, more or less as follows:

Code: (Butts design) [Select]

####################
#                  #
+>+++++++++++++++X #
#                  #
+>+++++++++++++++X #
#                  #
    ...etc...
...except long enough to get maximum-length ranges.
[snip rest, that you already know]

Your design may conserve bolts that badly miss from one range, yet hits the target of another (adjacent or even further over), however, so maybe a marginal improvement in that respect.  (Other than that, I'm using 2n+3 tiles of sideways space (including external walls) rather than 4n+1 (ditto), for n butts.  That was all.  And if you've got the space and time to dig/build, no problem.  Just saying.  Efficiency isn't always my watchword, either, especially if personal aesthetics trumps it.  No argument sought, please do continue.)