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[Novice Axedwarf]

Hi guys! Been lurking around for quite a while now whilst playing Fortress Mode, but I never really got into Adventurer Mode. Recently, however, I've been trying to play, and I have a few questions:

I've been reading on here (and elsewhere) about people who do amazing things, like slaughtering whole civilisations, ridding their world of all of their megabeasts, being generally badass, and my main questions is, how?! I've got the basics down, I can fight, travel, recruit companions, etc, but I have no idea how to get to the ridiculous ability levels - I'll inevitably end up dwarf paste thanks to some titan or dragon or something.

How do groups like bandits or criminals work? Because I'll go to bandit camps after being directed there and there'll be a couple of non-hostile guys, who I could kill, but then what? And criminals, how do I even begin? Nah.

So, really, my question is: Adventure mode - how do I get good?

[Nep Nep]

*Put skills in dodge/Armor User/Shield User. As these are more risky and harder to grind (and from personal experience, Shield User is an absolute pain) but are important as you are less likely to get destroyed immediately. As for grinding weapon skills/fighter, just find a random animal and beat on it before it gives into pain.

[Uzu Bash]

You should read Max's guide, though it's written for barehanded it's full of strategies useful for every weapon style. I think everyone should dedicate at least one playthrough to following it, because the room for error in barehanded requires such attentiveness to tactics, it conditions very good survival habits.

Here it is: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=148015.msg5992020#msg5992020

[Max™]

Addendum: that is NOT my guide, that is Broseph Stalin's guide, I contributed a couple of moves... which do happen to be very fun, and very powerful if you can pull them off. I'm not gonna take credit for Kisat Dur in general though, just Dragonfall/Skyhammer.

[SlothPajamas]

If you really want to grind dodging then iv'e found that going into a human settlement of some sort and finding a cat as a sparring partner is pretty good for this. Just throw a single weak punch at the cat in an area that isn't likely to hurt it much, grab the cat so it doesn't run in fear, and then just let the cat attack you and miss. Might take awhile but it works pretty well for me if i feel grinding is necessary.

You can also train shields this way if you pull out a shield after grabbing the cat, then you can manually/automatically block all the cat's attacks. This is however, an absolute slog as previously stated.

[Max™]

Set up a macro to spam the wait key, set autoattack to close combat/stand ground/dodge away, lay down in a pile of cats and grab them all.

Hit the spamwait key for a while until they get tired and pass out, then move into the passed out ones repeatedly, after you hold it down for a certain period (controlled in d_init.txt I think, might be init.txt, the repeat stuff down at the bottom) it accelerates and you start grabbing/releasing really fast and spam raise your wrestling.

[Uzu Bash]

You don't have to grind after you get a feel for the opponent difficulty, and tactics that can pull you through when the odds are against you. From the beginning you could start fighting elite vampires, and depending on the world you gen, you might have no choice but to. Starting in a good meadhall gives you a great edge; don't be ashamed to plunder their armory for everything you need to survive.

Don't try full plate from the beginning, until your strength and armor use skill is up it'll do you more harm than good. A combination of chain and leather will suffice, but definitely get the best metal you can on your head, feet and hands. Head shots can end you quickly, and injuries to hands and feet can be permanently crippling. Layer on cloaks and hoods, and if the culture has capes, get those on top. You can wear a lot more in adv mode than fortress dwarves can.

[acidia]

If it hasn't been answered, food should never really be a problem if you want to game the system.  If you look for any of the food producing bushes/plants you can gather an infinite amount of fruit/leaves from them using the pickup menu. 

[Kumil]

but definitely get the best metal you can on your head, feet and hands. Head shots can end you quickly

Still, helmets and all other head gear (even masks) didn't even covered the face the last time I checked : http://dwarffortresswiki.org/images/d/d8/Armor_Coverage_Chart.png
You are bound to take a killing arrow in the face until this is fixed.

[Bloax]

I have a very convenient guide on "How To Cheese Your Way To A Death Machine in 15 Quick Minutes" right here.

Though you may want to make some adjustments now that all the stats I dump out of the equation aren't entirely worthless.

It all bases around the fact that bogeymen do not haunt you in ocean biomes.
That is a very important thing to remember, even if just for travelling purposes. (Hug the ocean for an easy time when travelling solo.)

The shield training is also harder nowadays since the AI seems to want to break your hold more instead of trying to whack you for all eternity, but you can still accomplish it by grabbing onto a fresh victim and mashing your wait macro.

[Uzu Bash]

Disabling a leg/foot makes head strikes easier. If your opponent has greater mass than you, you really want to do that as soon as possible to prevent charging. You can only do charge attacks against standing opponents, so if they have roughly equal or less mass it's more advantageous to leave them standing. A charge attack is an efficient way to dislodge a stuck weapon.

Recovering a stuck weapon is quicker if you move into the opponent than if you go into the Interact menu, but it does have the chance of using another attack instead, and the more weapons you have in your hands, the more likely one of them will strike instead.

[Random_Dragon]

I'll also add that if you're dealing with a real killing machine like a hydra, you want to go farther than just hobbling it with leg shots. Aim for the lower body as well, and eventually a strike to the gut will render it nauseous, halving its speed. In the same case (a hydra, or anything that can't be easily rendered unconscious) you'll eventually want to target the upper body.

If it can bleed, you'll be hoping for hits to the heart. If it can breathe (night trolls are a rare example of something that typically can suffocate but not bleed out), you'll be hoping it hits the lungs. If the target starts having trouble breathing, that'll ALSO cut their speed in half.

Additionally, the more legs your victim has, the harder it is to render them harmless by attacking the legs. That hydra example requires you to cripple two legs, whereas a humanoid needs only one leg injured. A giant cave spider? Forget about it, you'll get webbed long before you can wipe out 4 of its legs, and being webbed will eliminate that speed advantage in favor of you being stunlocked to death.

And finally, if you're insane enough to take on a bronze colossus? Let's say you lack an iron or bronze weapon. Do you at least have a copper or silver weapon, at least as heavy as a spear? Anything that at east dents or fractures the target rather than glancing off. If so, just keep aiming for the face until cumulative damage crumples it.

A mere human can't achieve this with just a copper spear. If you're playing one of the larger animal people, you might manage it. Otherwise you'll want a strength boost. Vampirism, or some modded-in way to boost strength. Then aim for the face, and stick to booping it to death with the spear shaft, as it tends to be quicker than stabbing.

[Uzu Bash]

Hydra are such slow chargers you have plenty of time to see them coming and get out of the way. Their bite is much more to worry about. A poke in the chest can end them so quickly, and it's almost too easy with a spear or pike. Imagine the size of respiratory and circulatory organs needed to sustain a beast that size. One penetration and it's over for them. The hydraulic pressure from the blood spraying from their heart should send a humanoid skidding several tiles.

Ettins are the most dangerous of the semi-megas because they're fast chargers, aren't slowed by pain, and have two brains. If you take them off their feet, they start grabbing more frequently. Aiming for the heart finishes the fight quicker than the heads. Getting Wrestling up improves your defense against grappling, they're less likely to hit.

[Random_Dragon]

Hydra are such slow chargers you have plenty of time to see them coming and get out of the way. Their bite is much more to worry about.

For some reason, they can't ever land a hit on me, and seem to attack slow, when I've reduced their speed. Which is odd as I could've sworn that base speed and attack speed are split. :V

[Uzu Bash]

Hydra are such slow chargers you have plenty of time to see them coming and get out of the way. Their bite is much more to worry about.

For some reason, they can't ever land a hit on me, and seem to attack slow, when I've reduced their speed. Which is odd as I could've sworn that base speed and attack speed are split. :V

I could swear they were nerfed over the last couple of versions, possibly to make it easier for fortresses to deal with them, but they're not the challenge they used to be in advmode. Bronze colossus is the only mega that poses a threat. That's setting titans aside as a separate category; tactics for fighting them are as varied as they are.