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[HandofCreation0]

Seems like no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I grind my skills on the local wildlife, all it takes is one little scrap by any sort of weapon toting enemy and 1/3rd of the time you're going to die.

All seems to take is just 1 well aimed shot to something like a foot, leg or a arm and that's it, even when wearing full iron armor that I've scrounged up, just getting into a fight or 2 is enough to get me killed.

What skills are truly needed to ensure your first few fights aren't your last?

Unless my maps history is only like 5 years long, nearly every quest is to kill bandits or vampires, both of which are awfully hard.

[Just Some Guy]

Proficient dogde, armor user, and shield user come to mind. Vampires aren't that hard to fight, in fact most of the time npcs will kill them for you. Finding them can be difficult. Consider companions.

[itisnotlogical]

Companions increase the size of ambushing forces, and even hyenas can be brutal if you don't wake up in time. Take only as many companions as you think are necessary. 3 archers and 3 melee fighters of your choice is a good mix for most encounters. If you plan on fighting clowns, titans, undead or FBs then you might need a lot more, but anything over 8 or so is just asking for an ambush of ten zillion goblins.

Fighting anything tougher than animalmen is pretty risky, no matter how you prepare. High Dodge is a must, as is Shield and Armor User. Keep an eye on your Speed in the status bar, too. Try not to let it fall below 1000; Money and trade aren't very practical in terms of gameplay, so hauling away tons of loot isn't very good. (Skulls are the exception, especially those of named beasts. Always loot named skulls.)

Watch out for hits that cause Extreme Pain or Heavy Bleeding. Trying to fight with these is futile at the best of times; better to go away and recuperate for a while. As long as you survive, I don't think there are major penalties for blood loss.

[Loud Whispers]

Kinesthetic sense, spatial awareness, agility, strength, endurance, willpower as well as high shield user/dodging/weapon skill are vital. Choose your fights carefully, adventure mode can be unforgiving. Put yourself into the shoes of your adventurer, would a peasant really want to fight a giant lion? Would a warlord really have that much trouble dispatching a stunned traveler?

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Unless you go into modding, in which case anything goes.

[HandofCreation0]

I found one (really cheap) way to grind skills. Run up to a wolverine (or they REALLY run up to go, getting enraged for merely being in their presence.) Grab it by the tail, lay down on the ground to lower your speed, and just mash the . key.

[Lida_Brainbroken]

...or a Badger, or a Horseshoe crab, or a Hippo....

[evictedSaint]

If you don't mind being kinda cheaty, you can equip a ton of shields by removing them from your backpack. If you're holding 100 shields, each one gets a chance to block an attack.  Like I said, it's a kind of cheaty way to do things, but it helps prolong your lifespan.

[Argonnek]

Or, until the next update, you could just use the invisibility Ambusher skill. You can attack, evade, talk, make things, etc, etc, etc, while sneaking and the bandits will be none the wiser. It's also an absurdly easy skill to grind up using macros.

[Bumber]

I found one (really cheap) way to grind skills. Run up to a wolverine (or they REALLY run up to go, getting enraged for merely being in their presence.) Grab it by the tail, lay down on the ground to lower your speed, and just mash the . key.

Even better, set it to delayed repeat and hold it down. Save yourself the carpal tunnel syndrome.

[Neonivek]

A Huge part of this game is battle strategy

You always go after ranged attackers first and be wary not to be out when their bolt flies.

Your first strike should be on their foot or leg and that will cripple them for the most part.

For ranged attackers you want to kill them or disarm them so smash their arms after they are down.

For melee attackers you want to cripple them all and then ignore them. The thing with Dwarf Fortress is that combat is so deadly that often the first strike kills them.

[Catsup]

armor is useless in adventure mode, unless its candy; most armor do nothing to prevent undead, bogeymen, and archers/xbows from shattering your bones with their attacks. It also reduces your greatest asset as an adventurer: your speed.

When starting out throw all your points into dodge and block, with only a bit into armor user; no weapon skills are necessary because those level up much faster (1 point in observer too, and reader if you plan to become a necromancer). Also max out agility before any other attribute. Basically you start out as a "survivor" build, and slowly gain more weapon skills from not dieing in fights and become a "hero".

in a fight, do your best to not get surrounded, if you see an archer behind you; walk towards him and face him, do not let him shoot you in the back. Throwing bolts helps against ranged units too; even better to throw heads you've collected as a necromancer and raise them when they hit or land on the archer. Trees and cliffs also obstruct line of ranged fire, as well as companions. I've noticed they need a clear shot at you with no buildings, neutrals, or other enemies between them and you for the arrow to reach you.

Using the tactics above, slowly close in on the archer and charge him to the ground; if you end up on top of him he wont be able to stand back up and shoot at you. Grabbing his bow in close range is even better, and he wont be able to shoot or even bash you until he breaks the grab. Then bite him in the ankle and rip his feet off 1 at a time, then his lower arms/hands (or just use your weapon... but i prefer biting as it counts as a grab on its own).

You should eventually get stronger and nothing should get past your blocks and dodges later in the game. In case you do get chipped bones; well run for your life, sacrifice all the companions you can and get out of there. Crutches dont weigh alot and you can use them and splints to walk again.

[Lida_Brainbroken]

armor is useless in adventure mode, unless its candy; most armor do nothing to prevent undead, bogeymen, and archers/xbows from shattering your bones with their attacks.

WHAT?!?  Armour stops swords and axes from removing your limbs, swords and spears from piercing your body, and hammers and maces from breaking bones and turning your insides into porridge.  Just because they don't protect from wrestling moves or the truly-broken-can-pierce-anything arrows and bolts is no reason to call them useless.

[Loud Whispers]

armor is useless in adventure mode, unless its candy; most armor do nothing to prevent undead, bogeymen, and archers/xbows from shattering your bones with their attacks. It also reduces your greatest asset as an adventurer: your speed.

Armour user skill invalidates just about everything there.

[Catsup]

you do not get any armor at all starting out, and IMO armor skill is rather difficult to train.

 I guess i didnt state it in the right way; i meant that even if you somehow found full masterwork steel armor when your starting out you probly shouldnt wear it as the speed reduction is not worth the minimal protection you get.

You need legendary +5 armor user to avoid all speed reductions, and even then; armor really only deflects high-contact area usually low-penetration attacks that otherwise would have only bruised you. Attacks that fracture and chip bones and make you give into pain still go through.

so starting out you should add block and dodge which are more useful both starting out and later on, adding only a bit of armor user since its hard to train later, and adding points to weapon user would be a waste in comparison.

guess what i really meant to say is armor is an imperfect kind of protection compared to blocking, dodging, and later when you have high weapon skill: parrying hits and batting bolts out of the air. It also has the unique drawback of weight compared to block and dodge; which is quite a large drawback if you are peasant/hero and can only afford maxing only strength or agility to start out, and choose to max agility over strength. I made armored adventurers before, they were too slow to run away, too slow to storm and flank the enemy when with companions, and easily died when surrounded (armor weighed him down so he was too fat to avoid being surrounded).