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[Zealord]

Why is this happening and how do I fix it? They're on the brink of throwing a tantrum because they're naked.

[Rutilant]

Why is this happening and how do I fix it? They're on the brink of throwing a tantrum because they're naked.

They're replacing their civilian clothes with their uniform, but if they can't find something to fill the slot of the uniform, they don't wear anything in that slot.

So if you assigned Greaves but don't have 10 pairs of available Greaves everyone who didn't grab a set will run around nude and angry.   That's my take at least - I had a similar thing happen because I assigned Mail Shirts but didn't have any.  Apparently not being able to get a mail shirt, stopped them from continuing with the process and grabbing a breastplate?

[Zealord]

Thanks!

Another question, the wiki was too hard for me to understand;

But how do you know the maximum equip load of a dwarf?
Such as; is it possible to wear chain + breastplate or socks + high boots etc.?

[nanomage]

Thanks!

Another question, the wiki was too hard for me to understand;

But how do you know the maximum equip load of a dwarf?
Such as; is it possible to wear chain + breastplate or socks + high boots etc.?

Well yes it is.
The only somewhat strange prohibitions are that helm+cap and leggings+greaves are impossible. Rather than that, one [SHAPED] item and one that is not shaped is fine.

[Hyndis]

Only use replace clothing if you have full sets of equipment already made. If you do not have full sets of equipment already made, this will cause dwarves to go naked.

My standard uniform is:

1 helmet
1 leather armor
2 mail shirts
1 set of gauntlets
1 set of boots
1 leggings
1 shield
1 weapon

Yes, I know this is not a heavy set of armor, but weight is important. The heavier the armor is the slower your dwarves will move. I could replace leggings with greaves, add on another mail shirt, and replace the leather armor with a metal breastplate. But this all increases the weight of the armor, which will cause the dwarf to perform all actions more slowly, including fighting.

[Rutilant]

Only use replace clothing if you have full sets of equipment already made. If you do not have full sets of equipment already made, this will cause dwarves to go naked.

My standard uniform is:

1 helmet
1 leather armor
2 mail shirts
1 set of gauntlets
1 set of boots
1 leggings
1 shield
1 weapon

Yes, I know this is not a heavy set of armor, but weight is important. The heavier the armor is the slower your dwarves will move. I could replace leggings with greaves, add on another mail shirt, and replace the leather armor with a metal breastplate. But this all increases the weight of the armor, which will cause the dwarf to perform all actions more slowly, including fighting.

I hear cloaks also add a layer of protection to every body part, and aren't mutually exclusive with anything,  even more cloaks?   Granted the last time I saw a walking cloak closet was the dungeon master, sooo..  In any case cloaks can be added to uniforms for extra protection.

[Hyndis]

Yes, cloaks and robes are both helpful. They're not nearly as strong as masterwork steel, but it layers, and every little bit helps. Cloth is also light which is good. You don't want to burden your soldiers with too much heavy gear.

[Rutilant]

Yes, cloaks and robes are both helpful. They're not nearly as strong as masterwork steel, but it layers, and every little bit helps. Cloth is also light which is good. You don't want to burden your soldiers with too much heavy gear.

You can make them out of leather too, so there's that.

[Crazy Horse]

As I'm only a dabbling tyrant myself I like to keep this wiki page open in a tab while I play: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Armor  It helps a lot in uniform planning when queuing thing up for the smiths.

Interesting about the weight considerations relating to slower fighting, Hyndis. I'll rethink my uniforms based on that. It certainly explains why my leather clad marksdwarves fling themselves heedlessly into melee range while the plate-wearing lords mill around offering moral support from the rear.

[greycat]

The heavier the armor is the slower your dwarves will move.

I don't have a link handy, but this was studied a while back, and it turns out it's even more critical than I thought.  Being burdened by heavy gear affects everything a dwarf does -- moving, attacking, training.  So you really want to keep your armor light until your dwarves have built up some Armor User skill (and note the downward spiral of armor too heavy -> slower training -> lack of Armor User skill -> armor too heavy -> ...).

I typically dress my melee dwarves with: helm, hood, mail shirt, cloak, leggings, high boots (or low if high aren't available), gauntlets, mittens, shield, weapon.  I don't specify materials, but I do specify a weapon type (each squad trains with one weapon type only).  I may add a breastplate on the veterans who can handle one (and who deserve one).

[Garath]

note that breastplates, while very strong, are very limited in what they protect. Chain shirts 'overflow' to upper arms etc, which is very usefull to prevent broken bones etc

[Hyndis]

Mail shirts seem to be much more useful than breastplates, but a mail shirt is also much heavier. A mail shirt can protect limbs while a breastplate protects only the chest.

The most common cause of a dead dwarf in combat seems to be due to a broken bone causing the dwarf to pass out from the pain, so if you can stop them from getting a broken arm or shoulder through use of a mail shirt, that tends to be more useful in keeping a dwarf alive. Once a dwarf passes out from pain its all over.

While a breastplate provides outstanding protection, it only provides protection to the chest. Most dead dwarves result either from being brained (so helmets are absolutely vital) or from passing out due to a broken bone and then being clobbered to death once they're on the ground.