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[Malicus]

I discovered something last night.  A recruit doesn't have to START with a pick to use it.  If the recruit is set to fight unarmed and then has the mining labor enabled, that recruit will go grab a pick as if you'd just assigned him a weapon.  What's more, dwarves GAIN MINING EXPERIENCE when fighting with a pick.  The dwarf I learned this on died shortly after becoming a dabbling miner, though, considering I'd sent everyone down into an underground pool that still had its denizens.

Today, at the suggestion of the person I first mentioned this to, I loaded DF and Dwarf Therapist, recruited a militarily (and mining-ly) unskilled dwarf and gave her the mining labor, then sent her to kill a groundhog.  DT was open so I could look at the experience gains.  After the groundhog was dead, she had gained 6 wrestling experience...  and 40 mining experience.  These events lead me to believe that the mining skill actually DOUBLES as a weapon skill, which would make it the only melee weapon skill that can be trained without risking sparring injuries, not to mention being able to get to legendary in a weapon skill without locking a dwarf into the military.  Actually, upon further tests, it seems like having dwarves spar to gain mining skill is ineffective, because they gain wrestling skill MUCH more quickly (62 mining exp to 3,956 wrestling exp, for example).

Still, if mining does double as an ACTUAL weapon skill, think of the possibilities...

[Axe27]

And now you know what a group of legendary miners grouped together are monsters in a fight. Picks make spears cry.

[Malicus]

I knew that dwarves checked the mining skill when fighting with picks, but I didn't know they actually LEARNED from the experience.

[ein]

It's because the pick as a weapon uses the mining skill, like how an axe uses the axe skill.
I remember there being a thread with silly weapons like a quill pen that uses the record keeping skill.

[Quantum Toast]

I knew that dwarves checked the mining skill when fighting with picks, but I didn't know they actually LEARNED from the experience.

Well, why not? Digging through rock, digging through meat - it's all the same.

[Nexii Malthus]

Wouldn't the wrestling experience cause them to become wrestlin' champs?

[Malicus]

Not if you train them by having the MINE.  As in, mining rock or soil.

[Taritus]

Also they wouldn't ever gain wrestling experience.  Fighting at all with a pick would cause them to gain mining experience.

[Malicus]

All fighting gains wrestling experience, as it's checked for dodging, or so I'm told.

[Nexii Malthus]

...After the groundhog was dead, she had gained 6 wrestling experience...  and 40 mining experience.

All fighting gains wrestling experience, as it's checked for dodging, or so I'm told.

the professionless recruit might still end up as a wrestling elite since using a pick is not exactly a fleshed out weapon profession. It is a bit of a mystery to me, since the wrestling experience could potentially build up, and since the game thinks its a unarmed soldier, it could overwrite your nice Legendary Pickdwarf into a Wrestling Elite instead.

I mean it is a cool thought and someone should try it, but I very much doubt that the game cares that you don't want a wrestling elite.


I believe Toady has redone the entire soldier weapon assignment to be much more flexible in the next release so that we will be capable of giving our soldiers anything we prefer.

[Malicus]

Granted, there is nothing actually CALLED a pickdwarf in this version.  However, in actual fighting, it appears that mining experience increases more quickly than wrestling experience.  Unfortunately, they'll still be known as wrestlers...

[zchris13]

All fighting gains wrestling experience, as it's checked for dodging, or so I'm told.

It's the popular opinion.

[Ubiq]

I believe Toady has redone the entire soldier weapon assignment to be much more flexible in the next release so that we will be capable of giving our soldiers anything we prefer.

I assume you mean any weapon bwcause "anything we prefer" could cover a very wide range of possibilities such as furniture and the corpse of whichever goblin was out in front.

Personally, I'd love to be able to equip an army of dwarves with doors. Shield and hammer all in one.

[Grendus]

And now you know what a group of legendary miners grouped together are monsters in a fight. Picks make spears cry.

Spears>Picks in terms of damage, and drafted miners still consider themselves civilians so they complain about it. The only reason picks are used as a weapon is because legendary miners are much more common for starting forts to have than legendary speardwarves.

However, a squad of pick-dwarves would be dwarfy, that's for sure.

[zchris13]

It kicks more than adequate amounts of rear end.