combined arms, yo. when i draft, i have "indv choice" for weapons on the default uniform. this lets me snag anyone with melee skills, or train someone from the ground up. if they have a skill, they get assigned a uniform with that weapon. wrestlers get a whip. unskilled dwarves get to keep picking their weapons till they have enough skill in one to specialize.
i train marksdwarves from hunters. they make up the minority of my forces, but they help.
the fortress guard has set weapons. i think, all in all they have 3 silver warhammers, 2 training axes, 2 training spears, 2 training swords, and a artifact donkey bone sword. they are trained from skill-less civilians. the captain of the guard is the only permanent member of this squad.
i mass-recruited from years 5-10 of my fortress. got up to 4 full melee squads (plus one squad fortress guard) and two full marksdwarf squads. then came the goblin years of 8-10 of my fort's lifetime. hundreds of goblins and about 80 dwarves were slain.
one squad has existed since i furst set up the military. now they are primarily made up of the survivors of the goblin years military, with two or three immigrant replacements. they are all legendary, or close to it. they have graduated from domestically produced copper and imported bronze and steel to being fully candy-clad. those without addy weapons have artifacts. this applies to all squads. all blunt weapons are made out of silver.
then there is my second melee squad, mainly composed of the royal guard that immigrated with the king. it's got three or four immigrant replacements.they also are clad in the blue metal of spoilers.they might have a few steel or bronze pieces mixed in.... the king arrived in the middle of me rearming everyone with candy. some got attached to the gear they showed up in. they are primarily legendary or close.
finnally, there is the third melee squad. it is just now nearing completion. it is led by one of the goblin years veterans, and is primarily made up of the children that have grown up in the fortress, as well as a few immigrants. they have addy helms and breastplates, but steel and bronze elsewhere. they are primarily legendary or close.
the marksdwarves have a full leather setup, save for the addy chain shirt and leggings. they have had the highest mortality rate, their strength stands at half a squad. they are primarily legendary or close.
melee squads minus the fortress guard have all members train 11 months out of the year. no two squads have the same month off.
the fortress guard and the marksdwarves train year round, but only half of their members on any month.
each melee dwarf is capable of taking out an entire goblin squad by himself. except marksgoblins and lashers. i dont trust them to get too near them. too often ranged weapons and whips will cut through even candy armor. i let my marksdwarves feather them from a tower, or let them meet my traps. it's taken twenty years to get this military, and i hate seeing such an investment bottom out by dumb luck.
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Topic: Your favorite type of military? (Read 2310 times)