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[Nisper]

My Glazer got berserk because of a strange mood requiring yarn.Sent my military to move to him before any casualities appear.When they arrived they saw his arms and legs chopped off and the guy bleeding out near the stairs.Reason? Aban Rigothestil took his copper pick and chopped the fuck outta the angry traitor.

Skilled Pacifier my ass.

[TheHossofMoss]

Skilled Pacifier my ass.

No, I find it quite true. He "pacified" the berserk Glazer in standard dwarf procedure.

[Nisper]

I'm still scared that a simple miner did better than a damn 7 man full iron axedwarf army against one glazer.

[NullForceOmega]

Pickaxe is the second most ridiculously lethal weapon in the game, and it uses mining as its combat skill.

[Nisper]

Pickaxe is the second most ridiculously lethal weapon in the game, and it uses mining as its combat skill.

Mining as it's combat skill you say?*removes mining designations*

[Nobak]

Oh, yes. All my dwarves train a few months a year and all the miners wield picks.

[Grim Portent]

Mining is without a doubt the most powerful weapon skill in the game because you can train it very quickly and safely by mass mining useless dirt and rock, then because of the penetration and contact area values picks have it's like wielding an axe with the penetration of a spear, and on top of that picks have no dud attacks like pommel bashes with swords. Oh and mining trains the strengh attribute, because the digging crew weren't dangerous enough already.

I've seen drafted miners chop trolls and ogres in half at the waist, lop dragons apart and turn entire armies of goblins into chunky salsa. In general any attack by a skilled miner will take a limb or head off a normal sized enemy, which is not unusual for skilled wielders of edged weapons, but miners take you by surprise because you don't initially expect them to be so deadly and they tend to be more skilled than a conventional militia early on.

Sadly this does mean a berserk miner will kill almost every dwarf they meet. I had more than a few forts decimated in the past when madness was more common because a miner went crazy. Often they would blend the military I sent to try and put them down, and just keep blending their fellow dwarfs until one of my other miners got a lucky shot in and killed them. One went crazy in my meeting area once and the entire place turned red in about three seconds as limbs, teeth and heads flew through the air.

[FakerFangirl]

Skilled Pacifier my ass.

*spits out beverage*
lol

[BodyGripper]

When my fortress is descending into chaos and I've given up on saving it, I make a miner into the Captain of the Guard.  >

[Rusty Shackleford]

Picks are great in adventure mode too. You can't level nining easily but with the usual grindy powerleveling of wrestling you can wield a adamantine or masterwork steel pick and its one of the most powerful and versatile weapons you can have.

It will lop off feet and hands like an axe but penetrate braincases like a spear. They do get stuck in wounds all the time though.

[xtw136]

But even a legendry miner also couldn't survive from a blind ogre.

[Cathar]

Problem for civilian miners as a defense force is ; mining don't train up defensive skill like dodge or... well that's pretty much it. No dodge no shield likely no armor. They can strike really hard and parry easily, but if they get shot at or surrounded they are dead meat regardless of their insane attack power.

[Naryar]

The mining pick is one of the best weapons in the game at high levels, after the whip/scourge.

At low levels of mining skill it's meh.

However, it is an useful skill and easy to crosstrain. That's why I use war miners.

[Melting Sky]

Pickaxe is the second most ridiculously lethal weapon in the game, and it uses mining as its combat skill.

Mining as it's combat skill you say?*removes mining designations*

Exactly. They are amazing combatants. I always "retire" my legendary miners into an elite military squad.

Nothing is more terrifying than a legendary miner losing their mind deep in the bowls of your fortress. Back in the day when dwarves were a much more sensitive lot it was often the beginning of the end of a fortress when one of the legendary miners goes stark raving mad because it generally resulted in massive loss of life setting into motion an old school tantrum spiral.

I did all my arena testing way back in version .34 but back then the pick was one of the top weapons a dwarf could wield in the game. They outperformed even whips in most cases. I mean otherwise nude squads of legendary miners with steel picks completely wrecked same sized squads of legendary steel axe dwarves in full iron armor. I haven't properly tested out the combat engine in years and have been meaning to but never get around to it, but I doubt the pick isn't still one of the better weapons in the game.

[azrael4h]

Problem for civilian miners as a defense force is ; mining don't train up defensive skill like dodge or... well that's pretty much it. No dodge no shield likely no armor. They can strike really hard and parry easily, but if they get shot at or surrounded they are dead meat regardless of their insane attack power.

That's why I usually put them into a reserve squad; train one month out of the year, and wear armor full time. They'll usually train on their own during off times as well, but they'll at least have some defensive skills in case of need. But I generally don't use them unless something has gone FUBAR.