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[Gnomeknows]

So, if the wiki is telling me what I think it is telling me, adamantine picks are the most effective weapons forgable by dorfs if you level up their mining skill before recruiting them, correct? 

[m-logik]

Adamantine picks are very effective weapons, but it's a bit misleading to say that they're the best. If I remember the research threads correctly, adamantine picks outperformed other dwarf forgeable weapons in the testing arena against similarly skilled armored dwarves.
In practice you won't find a one-size-fits-all weapon. If you find yourself against a titan or forgotten beast that's, say, a gabbro blob, you'll be wanting some spears handy. If you embarked on a reanimating biome, then you'll probably never want to use a pick for anything other than striking the earth. Hammers are your friend, here. Swords have a versatility that other weapons lack; a slashing attack, a stabbing attack, and two (mostly useless) blunt attacks.
But if you're just carving up goblins, it doesn't get much better than addy picks. As long as you don't mind all the extra hauling jobs from severed body parts.

[Gnomeknows]

That was probably the best answer I could have hoped for, that's considering that I really didn't want to hear "so and so is the best weapon in the game!"  Instead I wanted to hear just what you told me, that it depends on who you are fighting.  Thanks for renewing my faith in DF .

[m-logik]

Glad I could be of service.

In the interest of not misleading anyone, I want to issue a correction to my original reply: spears would actually be a TERRIBLE choice against a gabbro blob. On account of their not bleeding. A fleshy blob, though, spears are the go-to. Axes would be a better bet against an inorganic blob, due to having a nontrivial chance of a bisection. Gimme a break, I was working on my first cup of coffee.

I think this just goes to reinforce my point, though. One of the best things about this game is the great range of effective playstyles. No one has ever built a minecart shotgun that bombards sieges with flaming socks because it's the most efficient way to kill goblins. But it is pretty freakin' cool.

When I stopped trying to find the "right way" to play Dwarf Fortress, I got a whole lot better at it. A good rule of thumb would be that if you're having fun, Fun, FUN, or !!FUN!! then you're doing it right.

[Xazo-Tak]

Adamantine picks are very effective weapons, but it's a bit misleading to say that they're the best. If I remember the research threads correctly, adamantine picks outperformed other dwarf forgeable weapons in the testing arena against similarly skilled armored dwarves.
In practice you won't find a one-size-fits-all weapon. If you find yourself against a titan or forgotten beast that's, say, a gabbro blob, you'll be wanting some spears handy. If you embarked on a reanimating biome, then you'll probably never want to use a pick for anything other than striking the earth. Hammers are your friend, here. Swords have a versatility that other weapons lack; a slashing attack, a stabbing attack, and two (mostly useless) blunt attacks.
But if you're just carving up goblins, it doesn't get much better than addy picks. As long as you don't mind all the extra hauling jobs from severed body parts.

Those blunt attacks will be more important in the next version.
Blunt damage actually does something, and killing may or may not have unintended consequences.