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[Lawlcat]

I see a lot of people saying that Hammerlords are the best for a military, but I've been having so many problems. I've got 20 hammerlords now, all equipped in master crafted steel armor with steel war hammers but they are unable to actually kill any titans.

Two titans now my guys have been unable to kill.  One they are currently fighting and one I finally got locked in a room. First is made of glass and second bronze.  The combat log is spammed with either glancing hits or "fracturing it!" but nothing ever dies.  All the items in the wnd are red.

It's not a threat to my military, because the only negative status my guys take during the fight is getting thirsty and drowsy from so long of a fight.  They never get hit or hurt, but they can never actually kill titans.

[Jake]

I think your problem is that some creatures just can't be killed except with stabbing or slashing weapons. Draft a couple of squads armed with axes, swords and spears and see what they can do.

[Girlinhat]

A bronze titan?  Wow, you got shit luck on that one.  Bronze is tough stuff, only steel or candy axes are going to hurt that thing.

Which comes to the point, that some creatures can't be killed with hammers, not easily anyways.  HFS, and the similar Titans and FB, along with Bronze Colossus, and Dragons, take different means.  Hammers bash skulls and shatter armor.  That's tough to do when the skull is 20 feet across and made of solid bronze.  Get some axes in there.  Dragons are the size of a mountain and breath fire.  You're going to bruise it, maybe, with a hammer.  Jam a spear in it and watch it bleed instead.

DF doesn't have any set "good weapons" or anything.  Take everything rationally, don't view it as "hammers are good derp" or anything.  If you don't think a short sword will kill a hydra, then send axes after it.  DF's combat system is so advanced that it makes common sense into the major rule, not any pre-defined weapon strengths.

[DS]

Girlinhat's right. If you're depending on a military for defense, it's wise to have a fair balance between edged and blunt weapons. Hammerlords can be terrifying - I've seen one wade through an entire goblin siege, bashing skull after skull after skull - but it's situational, as with most methods of fortress defense.

[Girlinhat]

And ultimately, if a game has any amount of balance, then you need more than one weapon type.  I've never seen a game where you can flood the ocean with battleships and win.  Someone is always going to deploy a single submarine and sink your navy.  It's all about balance and fleet doctrine.  One ship covering the weakness of another.  Hammers bashing legs and axes lopping heads while the foe is on the ground.  Variety will save your ass, and really, that's all a dwarf can hope for.  Survive this siege, hopefully the next one will be bigger and kill you.  That's the aspiration.  To die by the most glorious means.  That's why we fight, to lure the bigger foes and die more spectacularly.

[Sidhien]

Brief rundown on weapon types as I understand them:

• Hammers, like the Hatted One said, are best for little guys (not much bigger than a dwarf) with armored outsides and squishy insides.
• Spears do a lot of damage to internal organs, and are generally best for situations when the opponent is much bigger than you. I've also found they're useful for giving to masses of untrained soldiers going against more highly skilled/equipped opponents, since one good stab will usually incapacitate an enemy and allow the others to finish it off.
  
• Axes are good for taking chunks out of big things, and making mincemeat out of little things. A good all-around weapon.
• Swords are kind of axe-lights, with a special on stabbing things spear-style. Another good general weapon, with the added bonus that they won't get grabbed by your woodcutters.
• I don't have much experience with maces, but my impression is that they're similar to hammers in the current version.

[Tevish Szat]

Hammers are essentially the best against goblins, the most common sort of threat you'll face.  Against other enemies, they might not be so hot, as you've found out.  in general...

Hammers: Crushing, deal with armored dwarf-sized enemies very well, or big fleshy ones (like ettins or minotaurs) who can be knocked down or surprised and then have their skull bashed in for a quick kill.
Maces: Like hammers, but not as good*
Axes: Sever limbs like no one's business.  Go-to armaments against hard semi-megas and megabeasts, but they'll bisect goblins in a pinch just fine.
Swords: Like Axes, but not as specialized*
Spears: Piercing weapons that will destroy organs and cause massive bleeding.  Excellent for dealing with anything fleshy and too big for a hammer, but also acceptable on normal targets
Crossbows: Your only real ranged option: excellent to support any strategy, but kind of pathetic at killing on their own.  They're also the only weapon that can be made at 100% functionality without access to weapon-quality metal: bone crossbows firing bone bolts do just fine.  In melee, they work like weaker hammers, usually much weaker due to being made out of kittens or logs to save metal.  Keep your archers out of melee.
Whips: The only foreign weapon worth noting, these are basically lightsabers against standing humanoid troops, laughing off armor due to being blunt and causing massive damage due to high weight and low contact area.  Suffer the same vulnerabilities as hammers, only moreso.  In fact, they're basically more exaggerated hammers in general

*And yet, there are situations where I would prefer to have these weapons than their more general-purpose counterparts: there is no good reason not to train up at least a few sword and mace lords to back up an array of axe, hammer, and spear.


As others have mentioned, you ALSO get unlucky on your titan spawns, having two made out of hard materials and if you're REALLY unlucky in a nasty shape, but Dwarf Fortress is not a game where you can overspecialize to victory (at least in terms of your army.)  There are games you can win with spam of "the best unit".  This is not one of them.

[Girlinhat]

Then the one Steel Cockroach FB appeared that one time...  Doesn't matter what you've got then, you're fairly boned.  We refer to this as "Fun".

[Sidhien]

Psh, just drop the mountain on it and you'll be fine.

[Lawlcat]

Well, quickly pumped out 5 steel axes and gave them to some dwarves, they made mincemeat out of both of the titans.

Although, interestingly enough, it seems they only needed to start the wounds going.  The bronze colossus was killed by a warhammer sending the head off in an arc, and the glass savanna titan was killed by a dwarf biting onto it's head and sending it off in an arc.

[Tevish Szat]

Psh, just drop the mountain on it and you'll be fine.

Yes, but cave-ins and obsidian solve *everything* if properly applied.

The problem there is engineering, not killing.

[Girlinhat]

the glass savanna titan was killed by a dwarf biting onto it's head and sending it off in an arc.

Militia Captain.

[Gamerlord]

the glass savanna titan was killed by a dwarf biting onto it's head and sending it off in an arc.

Militia Captain.

Never make that guy work a day of civvie work again.

[Mitchewawa]

Steel war hammers? Guffaw! Use silver; much heavier for maximum skull crushing.

Also, always carry a spear in your squads. I cannot stress the importance for having at least one or two spearmen; they are great for incapacitating goblins via gut-stabbing and are the very best units for taking down titans, FBs, megabeasts and clowns. They pierce organs, causing severe bleeding, stun-locking and collapsing (making your axeman never miss). You can go through the entire game without using blade and blunt together, but if you go without spears you will have a hard time against the tougher enemies.

[dr_random]

Steel war hammers? Guffaw! Use silver; much heavier for maximum skull crushing.

Also, always carry a spear in your squads. I cannot stress the importance for having at least one or two spearmen; they are great for incapacitating goblins via gut-stabbing and are the very best units for taking down titans, FBs, megabeasts and clowns. They pierce organs, causing severe bleeding, stun-locking and collapsing (making your axeman never miss). You can go through the entire game without using blade and blunt together, but if you go without spears you will have a hard time against the tougher enemies.

So what's basically the point of weapons other than spears? I experienced them to be very fine weapons after I had the same issue as the OP: A bronze titan worked on with hammers. I called them the smithy squad afterwards for they kept on denting the beast. However spears penetrate and can do serious internal damage.

I also found axes to be worthy and quite hilarious. But hammers? They are dwarf-like and that's it.
None of my fortressess ever touched the swords. Next time those elves come around tryin to sell me those woodswords, I'll have them down my dumpster. And maces seemed to work like hammers.
Thought once about halberds, anyone tried out? In adventure mode they are quite great.