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[BossChase]

Hi

I'm about to start making armor and weapons for my fighters and would like to find a list of material that makes the best armor/weapons.

I have a ton of different types of metal and I can also get more from trading. Any idea what makes the best armor, axe, bow, and bolts?

Thanks

[Dragonchampion]

Steel, steel, steel, steel.

Unless, of course, you havebthat beautiful blue stuff. If not, Steel is the way to go. Steel bolts, steel hammers (Or silver, your choice) steel axes... and armor too.

[Girlinhat]

As a rule of thumb, Steel.  Special Blue Candy is better, but if you don't know what that means then don't worry.  It's spoiler material that will ruin the surprise of Hidden Fun Stuff!

More specifically, it depends on the use.  Silver makes a great hammer material, as it's very heavy.  Steel makes better axes, since it's lighter and stronger, which means your soldier can swing it faster and it's less likely to break.  Projectiles often depend on weight it seems, though you'll likely end up with bone bolt army anyways because you'll be drowning in bone stockpiles.  Breastplate type armor does good against spears and swords, as their edges just glance off, but hammers just smash through plate armor and bone in one swing.

As a basic rule though, Steel Helm, Breastplate, Gauntlets, Greaves, and High Boots will serve you very well.  Bronze is also good, and bronze is better than iron (in DF2010, which you're probably using).  Silver for hammers if you can afford it, otherwise just play it safe with steel.  Buy from the trade caravans at earliest opportunities if you need to import metal.

Overall though, skill counts for more than anything else.  A highly skilled naked axedwarf with a wooden shield can probably take on a squad or two of goblin ambushers, especially if they're staggered out or they're ranged goblins.  The Dodge and Shield User skill are pure lifesavers, and you can train both of these in a Danger Room (look it up in the wiki) though some players consider the Danger Room to be an exploit.  You can train up weapon skills very fast with live training (wiki up cage traps and disarming captured enemies).

Also, keep your military dwarves apart as much as you can, and prefer males for army, since they cannot give birth and have a little bundle of security risk following them around (and won't get misconception, which is a Bad Thought).  If you keep them away, then no one will weep when they die, and they WILL die.  So assign them their own barracks or sleeping chambers, and get them to eat and train and sleep away from the main population.  The last thing you need is to fall to an ambush, and then suffer a tantrum spiral.

[Canalan]

Spoilermetal is, of course, the best for armor and edged weapons.  Silver is the best for blunt weapons.  Steel is the all around good choice.  Try to avoid iron, but it is better than nothing.  Bronze seems to be a good material, and...
I think that is all you need to know.
EDIT: M-M-M-MEGANINJAED

[Girlinhat]

Also, keep in mind that DF doesn't use HP bars or Attack numbers.  Instead, each creature is made of bones and organs, and each weapon has a certain weight, contact area, and swinging speed.  These, combined with other important effects like skill and attributes (screw pumps are your friend, wiki up cross-training) and a LOT of random luck will determine your ultimate army value.

Of note though, when properly outfitted and skilled, one dwarf can mostly take on any single enemy short of a dragon or bronze colossus.  A skilled speardwarf decked in full masterwork steel can dodge most attacks that he can't block with his shield, and can pierce organs with spears.  But, any single dwarf will fall when faced with multiple melee opponents, and creatures made of solid metal pretty much require a small army to take down.

[NecroRebel]

As for what ores you're looking for...

The best of the best is specifically called out when you find it. You can't mistake it for anything else. When you find it, you'll know.

Steel is complicated to make. You're looking for magnetite, limonite, and hematite, all 3 of which will turn to iron when smelted, and marble, chalk, dolomite, limestone, and calcite, all 5 of which are forms of flux. 1 iron bar + 1 flux stone + 1 fuel (in addition to the fuel it takes to run the reaction) turns into 1 pig iron bar. 1 pig iron bar + 1 iron bar + 1 flux stone + 1 fuel (again, in addition to the fuel to react) turns into 2 steel bars. All told, you're looking at 2 iron, 2 flux, and 2-4 fuel per 2 steel bars.

Silver is the ideal material for hammers and maces and is found in the forms of galena, tetrahedrite, horn silver, and native silver.

Bronze is generally believed to be the second-best "common" metal for weapons and armor. You're looking for copper, which is found in the forms of tetrahedrite, malachite, and native copper, as well as tin, which is found in the form of cassiterite. One copper ore and one cassiterite, or one copper bar and one tin bar, will make 2 bronze bars.

Bismuth bronze, which is just as good as normal bronze except more valuable, takes 2 copper bars, 1 tin bar, and 1 bismuth bar to make. Bismuth is found in the form of bismuthinite.

Iron is worse than bronze, and, as mentioned above, is found in the forms of magnetite, hematite, and limonite.

Copper is the worst weapons-grade material and, again, is found in tetrahedrite, malachite, and native copper.

[noob]

steel=best blades

silver=best crush weapons

[BossChase]

Thanks guys!

[KaguroDraven]

Note the special blue stuff, Cotten Candy, is HORRIBLE for crushing weapons, only use it to make swords, axes, and spears.

[Girlinhat]

Actually, generally speaking, on plain old wood forges, it takes 6 fuel, 2 ore, and 2 flux to produce 2 bars of steel, plus an additional 2 fuel to actually make any weapons or armor out of it, for a total of 8 fuel.  You can easily set up a macro (wiki it for details) to assign 8 units of fuel, 2 melted ores, 1 pig iron, and 1 steel via the manager window, which will give you 2 steel and 2 fuel for working with.  Or, since I go big and do batches of 30, it gives you 60 steel and 60 fuel, and the average soldier will be equipped with 7-12 pieces of processed steel, and several optional pieces of leather or cloth, if you want to fully outfit them to maximum weight limit.

Helm, Breastplate, Gauntlets, Greaves, High Boots, Shield, Weapon; basic plate loadout.
+3 Mail Shirt, +2 Cap (both metal), +6 Hood, +6 cloak, +2 Trousers, +1 Mittens, +1 Socks; for maximum weight limit.

You can actually add more by using Exotic items taken from dead enemies and live traders, but I tend to ignore those since I can't control the quality and type of work.  My 10 Axes with basic plate can take on a full ambush of 4 squads (about 25-30 goblins) without any injuries, as long as no one dwarf gets surrounded.

[shlorf]

Despite people probably will never stop claiming that bronze is better than iron for armor, it is simply not true.
Look here for details:http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=53571.msg1149230#msg1149230
Basically you get a better chance for 0 damage with iron armor against most weapons offset by  a bit higher chance of heavy damage against very few weapons making iron the generally better choice (unless fuel is a concern).

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Well I can't say for sure, but I did carry out a short experiment in arena mode. These are single matches and therefore not conclusive.
All combatants are humans with zero skills.

Match 1: Fully armored in iron with iron axe and iron shield vs fully armored in bronze with bronze axe and bronze shield.

Result: 104 page match, ended with the bronze warrior being kicked in the head and dying. Almost no wounds could be inflicted through their armor other than the final kick. Iron warrior wins.

Match 2: Steel warrior vs bronze warrior.

Result: 5 page match, steel warrior successfully cut through bronze armor and wins.

Match 3: Steel warrior vs iron warrior.

Result: 24 page match, steel warrior wins. Some severing of limbs, but also some bruising.

So, the superiority of steel seems confirmed, but bronze appears to be indeed worse than iron. More experiments after dinner.

[thijser]

If we are going to discuss this can we also add all results we find here?
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Military_testing

[shlorf]

Bronze weapons are actually (depending on weapon type and targete armor) equal or better or worse than iron. So if you want to run any more tests (not really needed as the link i posted has pretty extensive test results). You should test how both armors perform against the same weapons.
Oh and also steel and iron is a poor choice for bolts not as bad as adamantine but you're still better off with copper/silver/bronze.

[Alastar]

Armour, edged melee weapons: Cotton candy is best, steel is good, bronze or iron will do.
Blunt weapons: No best material. All materials except cotton candy are useful. Strength wins against flesh, density against armour.
Projectiles: Silver, copper and bronze are good. Strength becomes more important against armour relative to density, but steel is too light to be ideal against anything you're likely to face.