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[grey666]

In the old days, we could hit "x" and click an area to attack - the entire squad would run there and kill shit.

Now days, the military just does whatever the fuck it wants. There is no attack command. There is no commands. They don't seem to follow any orders whatsoever. Actually equipping the military takes 9-12 hours and then nobody is really sure what the hell they are using or wearing or practicing... it's luck.

I tell my military to attack a target, and they think dressing is more important...


I want the ability to tell a dwarf to grab a fucking axe and kill a badger... is that so fucking hard? I've never even seen or imagined a game where the simple ability to attack an aggressor is impossible...  it's fucking impossible in this game.

[forsaken1111]

I want the ability to tell a dwarf to grab a fucking axe and kill a badger... is that so fucking hard? I've never even seen or imagined a game where the simple ability to attack an aggressor is impossible...  it's fucking impossible in this game.

Basically it isn't hard. You assign him an axe and issue a kill order to his squad. I've not had the problems you seem to have had.

[grey666]

Ok, how do I do that?   I have a group of badgers attacking my fortess, how do I kill them?


quote author=forsaken1111 link=topic=92233.msg2577911#msg2577911 date=1314732005]

I want the ability to tell a dwarf to grab a fucking axe and kill a badger... is that so fucking hard? I've never even seen or imagined a game where the simple ability to attack an aggressor is impossible...  it's fucking impossible in this game.

Basically it isn't hard. You assign him an axe and issue a kill order to his squad. I've not had the problems you seem to have had.
[/quote]

[The Mechanical Man]

Erm, it's called the 's' key. It opens up a list of your squads and there you can order troops to move to a location or kill a creature.

[grey666]

I hit the "s" key, "k" attack is ghosted... I can view the schedule.

Ok - so actually, it's the "s" key, followed by "A" or "a", after targeting the creature... no idea what A or a does, but this works.

Ok, thanks.

[Karakzon]

a selects the squad.
ie:

squad 1 will be a, squad 2 will be b and so on.

[RAKninja]

you'll also want to rely more on the (m)ove order than the (k)ill order.  designating something to attack does not take friend or foe into account and you can easily start a loyalty cascade if you are not carefull.

since military dwarves attack any target in range till either the target or they themselves die, the move command is all you really need.

[Darkweave]

For making the military effective:

I really need to save this in a notepad so I can copy & paste it.

How I get weapon-masters with legendary fighting and good shield skills in 12 to 18 (usually 15) months sans danger rooms:

Create squads containing five to six dwarves - I find this to be a good balance between training time and micro-managing
Set them to train all year round - leaving it at 10 minimum is fine in 31.25
Have them sleep in the barracks
Ensure they all use the same weapon type
Ensure they all have waterskins and backpacks
Have a food & booze stockpile in the barracks
Set them to active

I usually just use the default metal armour uniform at first and then change it to include more pieces as I get a decent metal industry going. Military dwarves level up skills like student, teacher, observer, concentration and organiser over time. Later in the life of the fortress when you expand your military it may be worth splitting off your first few squads to train new recruits. Having some masterwork beds, statues or a mist generator in the barracks ensures they never get unhappy due to long patrol duty. Combining the mist generator with flooding functionality can be very useful to get your military some swimming skill. If you're still having problems take a military dwarf or two to kick-start things. The teaching skill helps along with whichever military skills you desire. I wouldn't give them fighting or weapon-use though as they level up a lot quicker than the other skills. One with 4 teacher, 3 dodging and 3 armour use and another with 4 teacher, 3 striking and 3 shields seems to work quite well.

If you're having trouble keeping them happy give them individual bedrooms inside or near the barracks. I usually embark with two military dwarves which do generic jobs or supplement my main miners until the first or second migrant wave arrives and I have enough extra dwarves to take over their duties. Follow this and what others have said above and so long as you can acquire some half decent (bronze or iron) armour you shouldn't have too much trouble.

[Blade Master Model 42]

For making the military effective:

I really need to save this in a notepad so I can copy & paste it.

How I get weapon-masters with legendary fighting and good shield skills in 12 to 18 (usually 15) months sans danger rooms:

Create squads containing five to six dwarves - I find this to be a good balance between training time and micro-managing
Set them to train all year round - leaving it at 10 minimum is fine in 31.25
Have them sleep in the barracks
Ensure they all use the same weapon type
Ensure they all have waterskins and backpacks
Have a food & booze stockpile in the barracks
Set them to active

I usually just use the default metal armour uniform at first and then change it to include more pieces as I get a decent metal industry going. Military dwarves level up skills like student, teacher, observer, concentration and organiser over time. Later in the life of the fortress when you expand your military it may be worth splitting off your first few squads to train new recruits. Having some masterwork beds, statues or a mist generator in the barracks ensures they never get unhappy due to long patrol duty. Combining the mist generator with flooding functionality can be very useful to get your military some swimming skill. If you're still having problems take a military dwarf or two to kick-start things. The teaching skill helps along with whichever military skills you desire. I wouldn't give them fighting or weapon-use though as they level up a lot quicker than the other skills. One with 4 teacher, 3 dodging and 3 armour use and another with 4 teacher, 3 striking and 3 shields seems to work quite well.

If you're having trouble keeping them happy give them individual bedrooms inside or near the barracks. I usually embark with two military dwarves which do generic jobs or supplement my main miners until the first or second migrant wave arrives and I have enough extra dwarves to take over their duties. Follow this and what others have said above and so long as you can acquire some half decent (bronze or iron) armour you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Thank you, Sir!

[simonthedwarf]

Military works great, you're just frustrated because its hard to grasp it to begin with. Keep trying. I've still not dared to set up patrols but I got burrow camping and training and everything working, they wear the equipment I tell them and increase their skills.

[Caldfir]

Are they giant badgers or just badgers?  If they are just normal badgers, my advice is NOT to attack them at all, and remove your dwarves from active duty - civilian dwarves are (at leas in vanilla) quite capable of outrunning a badger until it stops raging. 

If you have giant badgers on the other hand, then you have some serious problems, and need some military intervention.  You need to:

• go to the military screen (m) and create a squad - 'metal armor' is a good* default uniform to use
• put the dwarves you want in the squad - if possible choose dwarves who "[have] a sense of duty" since they are more likely to respond to training/orders
• go to the alerts (a) submenu and change your new squad from inactive to active
• exit the military screen, and set up a weapon rack as a room (r), and tell your squad to train there (t)
• wait for your dwarves to pick up their gear, and assemble for training in the new barracks
• enter the squad menu (s) select the first squad (a) and move them to the location where you want them to fight (m)

* With the metal armor uniform, dwarves will just grab whatever weapons or armor they think is "best" according to personal preference and item value.  If you want them wearing something specific, you'll either need to mess around with uniforms or their individual item assignments, which can end up a nightmare of micromanagement, but results in your dwarves doing pretty much exactly what you want them to. 

[cephalo]

Once you learn how to use the military, which is no small feat, it works really well. In my last fort Praisegems(in sig if you're interested), I didn't even use traps at the entrance. I have on squad or another posted there full time, and even had time for some unicorn hunting with my available squads. Badgers can be a frequent nuisance, but in that case you can minimize contact through fort design.