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[GotIt_00]

I'm using the glass industry for the first time, and I've got 4 or 5 untrained dwarfs pumping out trap components. I get very few high quality items, but 30 or 40 base quality items is more than enough to get everything I want from the traders.

[Mickey Blue]

Early on I tend to have dwarves multi tasking, I mean I have to dig out a fortress, gather wood, build tables/chairs/beds/barrels/bins/etc/etc, I have to farm and produce food (that one I tend to let linger a bit as I can usually make it to the first caravan without issue and can make up any difference with plant gathering/fishing/butchering at the last minute), building some kind of defense (I use the fort defense mod which can lead to early sieges, so getting some defenses (walls/soldiers/etc) up early is a must), haul all my stuff inside to safety, producing sellable goods (no more selling large serrated discs for a fortune, not only does their price seem fixed but metal is much rarer now), and if I'm in a climate that freezes getting some underground water source (in case I run out of booze and/or somebody gets injured).

And that doesn't include any optional things I may want to make, or embark specific issues.. So as I said, multi tasking, only high priority jobs get focused on (early on would be mining for example, in a dangerous biome might be defenses as well).  I do love how you can use the manager to limit who can work at a workshop, so for example I can only have a few people actually use the mason workshop while others work on outer walls.

That said, once things get going and I don't need as much stuff being done at once and also have more (sometimes far more) dwarves, I tend to have two dwarves for each specialization job (metalwork/cooking/mason/etc), that way if one dies or is on break or whatever when something needs done, I often have a handful of  workers do jobs that aren't as important to reach high levels in (either because high levels don't do much except increase speed, or because I just don't use the trade at my fort enough to warrant the training, including smelting metal/butchery/mechanics (that way lots of people can pull levers when needed)/etc) plus of course hauling and then a few dedicated administrators/hospital workers.  All the rest go to my military.  If a migrant shows up (or a mood happens) that has a higher skill in something they get subbed in somebody else gets subbed out.

Long answer, but figured there isn't really a "yes I specialize" or "No I dont" as it depends on how old my fort is.

-MB

[Buttery_Mess]

How many labours your dwarves have is entirely dependent on the situation your fort is in. Some industries (like the food industry) you will probably want one cook per kitchen, one brewer per still, and so on with them having no other jobs. If you're always mining, you will probably want more than one dedicated miner. Depending on how much metal you have, you should have one to five dedicated furnace operators, and dedicated metalsmiths of the various types. I could go on.

In industries where you frequently run out of things, dedicated dwarves are probably a bad idea. Then again, dwarves dedicated to one labour will idle and gain social skills, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It also means that they're free when you need them. If you split labours, you might find yourself twiddling your thumbs, when you deperately need to set up a clothier's shop for your moody clothier, or crank out some buckets for your hospital to prevent the surviving half of your military from dying of thirst.

[ShattererOfWorlds]

Any guy willing to run up to a castle wall with a box of boom has something wrong with them if you ask me.

Yeah, there's someone with the ability to force them to run up to a castle wall with a box of boom. That's something wrong right there.

I know some combat engineers. Believe me, they don't need to be forced to do that kind of thing. I think 'gleeful' would be a better descriptor than 'under duress'.

It would be nice if the interface would let you see a list of all dwarves with skill levels in x task, or all dwarves with labour y turned on.

I prefer to have dwarves like the carpenter, the mason, and the mechanic sitting idle when there are no tasks for those skills available, so I won't have to wait for 'Store Item In Stockpile' to finish before the critical barrels/doors/cage traps get built.

[Marthnn]

For gem cutters and some other jobs where I don't really need speed I just use one.

I activate gem cutting on all my haulers. I do the same for furnace operating, animal care, a bunch of farming jobs like milling and wood burning... Basically anything that needs no quality.

[MarcAFK]

@Mickey blue
dwarves don't need mechanics on to pull levers.

[Jessoftherocks]

have fun training up the Dyer Profession, and or siege engineer, I usually brinh them on embark as profiecient , it takes forever

[Flaede]

@Mickey blue
dwarves don't need mechanics on to pull levers.

As a side note, they do need it on to refill cage traps.

[TheyTarget]

have fun training up the Dyer Profession, and or siege engineer, I usually brinh them on embark as profiecient , it takes forever

I've never trained up a dyer to legendary, but I've got a legendary siege engineer within a year and a half. If you set up a catapult, stone stockpiles surrounding, make it shoot at a wall and drop into a pit thats another stockpile it can go rather fast. No ones got to my siege units yet though so will see his effectiveness later. Just be prepared to go the extra mile to train dwarfs or get used to sub par products.

[Girlinhat]

That's siege operator, which is fairly easy to skill up.  Siege engineer is the creation of siege engines.

[TheyTarget]

That's siege operator, which is fairly easy to skill up.  Siege engineer is the creation of siege engines.

Aww got you. Could you level it up by forging metal parts and melting them down?

[Flaede]

That's siege operator, which is fairly easy to skill up.  Siege engineer is the creation of siege engines.

Aww got you. Could you level it up by forging metal parts and melting them down?

You could, but the return rate isn't great.

[Urist McBusDriver]

You don't have to derail a thread just because you want to feel all superior by correcting the local grammar nazi. Bragging about it will only make you look that much more petty.

Hey, just because his avatar is basically the flag of the Third Reich slightly rearranged doesn't mean he's a Nazi :-P

[ral]

I found siege engines to be pretty useless anyway. Seems like even a legendary siege op can barely shoot straight and even iron-tipped ballista arrowheads don't do that much damage compared to 10 serrated disc weapon traps.

[Girlinhat]

Perhaps, but you're doing damage at a VERY far range, further than most maps go, and you're doing that damage while they run through weapon traps.  It all piles upon the rest.