2015-03-06

update

← Older revision

Revision as of 20:05, 6 March 2015

Line 14:

Line 14:

{{key|b}}-{{key|i}}

{{key|b}}-{{key|i}}



In order to build a siege engine, you first need to produce (at least) three catapult or ballista parts in the [[siege workshop]]; catapults are made from any 3 '''catapult parts''', and ballistae are made from any 3 '''ballista parts'''. All parts are made from any type of wood at the siege workshop. Beyond that, "parts" are generic - there are no particular "sub-types" of parts beyond the distinction between those for the two different engine types. The quality of the parts determines the overall rate of fire and accuracy of the engine - the best are made with 3 masterwork parts{{verify}}. This won't make up for an untrained siege operator, but every little bit helps.

+

In order to build a siege engine, you first need to produce (at least) three catapult or ballista parts in the [[siege workshop]]; catapults are made from any 3 '''catapult parts''', and ballistae are made from any 3 '''ballista parts'''. All parts are made from any type of wood at the siege workshop. Beyond that, "parts" are generic - there are no particular "sub-types" of parts beyond the distinction between those for the two different engine types. The quality of the parts determines the overall rate of fire
(
and
maybe
accuracy
)
of the engine - the best are made with 3 masterwork parts{{verify}}. This won't make up for an untrained siege operator, but every little bit helps.



Once you have the parts, you may then build the respective siege engine like any other building, selecting the parts that you wish to construct that particular engine with.  It is not known whether the skill of the dwarf assembling the siege engine has any effect, but the quality of the parts certainly has: siege engines put together from [[quality|masterwork]] parts have a much higher rate of fire
and accuracy
.{{verify}}

+

Once you have the parts, you may then build the respective siege engine like any other building, selecting the parts that you wish to construct that particular engine with.  It is not known whether the skill of the dwarf assembling the siege engine has any effect, but the quality of the parts certainly has: siege engines put together from [[quality|masterwork]] parts have a much higher rate of fire.{{verify}}

The assembled siege engine is, effectively, a 3x3 building. It cannot be moved about other than by taking it down and re-assembling it at the new site. Siege engines do not impede movement, though, so you don't have to worry about building them in a corridor.

The assembled siege engine is, effectively, a 3x3 building. It cannot be moved about other than by taking it down and re-assembling it at the new site. Siege engines do not impede movement, though, so you don't have to worry about building them in a corridor.

Line 78:

Line 78:

===Safety Warning===

===Safety Warning===



'''Ballistae can and will kill anything in their path!'''  Ballista arrows
appear to
hit any units in any square that the head passes through.  They are
devastatingly
dangerous weapons, and should never be used with friendlies anywhere in their cone of fire, including the space the ballista arrowhead occupies when loaded on the engine.  Always designate a [[traffic|restricted traffic area]] for a lot of tiles along the firing arc and keep dwarves out of the area or, better, wall off anything in front of them with fortifications to prevent all friendly traffic, or both.  The shots appear to travel until they hit a wall or fly off the screen; the maximum range is about 150 tiles for an ordinary ballista. If the bolt passes through any part of a [[tree]], the tree will disappear, presumably reduced to toothpicks.{{cite rev|210835}}

+

'''Ballistae can and will kill anything in their path!'''  Ballista arrows
may
hit any units in any square that the head passes through.  They are
moderately
dangerous weapons, and should never be used with friendlies anywhere in their cone of fire, including the space the ballista arrowhead occupies when loaded on the engine.  Always designate a [[traffic|restricted traffic area]] for a lot of tiles along the firing arc and keep dwarves out of the area or, better, wall off anything in front of them with fortifications to prevent all friendly traffic, or both.  The shots appear to travel until they hit a wall or fly off the screen; the maximum range is about 150 tiles for an ordinary ballista. If the bolt passes through any part of a [[tree]], the tree will disappear, presumably reduced to toothpicks.{{cite rev|210835}}

Surprisingly, catapults are relatively safe.  Catapult operators will target enemies (and wild [[animals]]) if there are any in their field of fire. If not, they will loose the shot in a high arc (not requiring additional [[z-level]]s, though) that misses everything until it lands. It is perfectly safe to operate a catapult in the cave: just point it at a nearby wall of solid rock. A nice side effect is that this will, in due time, clear the whole area of stone.

Surprisingly, catapults are relatively safe.  Catapult operators will target enemies (and wild [[animals]]) if there are any in their field of fire. If not, they will loose the shot in a high arc (not requiring additional [[z-level]]s, though) that misses everything until it lands. It is perfectly safe to operate a catapult in the cave: just point it at a nearby wall of solid rock. A nice side effect is that this will, in due time, clear the whole area of stone.

Line 88:

Line 88:

==Using Siege Engines (advanced)==

==Using Siege Engines (advanced)==

===Placement===

===Placement===



Siege engines can almost only shoot at targets right in front of them on the same Z-level. The target may deviate only slightly, as the field of fire is about
20
-
30
degrees wide. Because of the huge blind spots, it is advisable to [[Security_design#Siege_Engines|prepare the position]] so that the enemy will be channeled through the field of fire.

+

Siege engines can almost only shoot at targets right in front of them on the same Z-level. The target may deviate only slightly, as the field of fire is about
10
-
20
degrees wide. Because of the huge blind spots, it is advisable to [[Security_design#Siege_Engines|prepare the position]] so that the enemy will be channeled through the field of fire.



Siege operators are civilians! They
will drop their work
and run if the enemy comes too close, which is around 20 tiles. You should therefore place the engines behind a [[moat]] or a wall of [[fortification]]s that will keep the enemy at a safe distance, or shield access to their location in some other fashion.

+

Siege operators are civilians! They
may cease firing
and run if the enemy comes too close, which is around 20 tiles. You should therefore place the engines behind a [[moat]] or a wall of [[fortification]]s that will keep the enemy at a safe distance, or shield access to their location in some other fashion.

Siege engines can shoot through [[fortification]]s, just like any other projectile weapon. As fortifications appear to provide some protection against incoming [[bolt]]s and [[arrow]]s, it's usually a good idea to protect the siege engine in that way. The siege engine only needs a one tile wide fortification to shoot out.

Siege engines can shoot through [[fortification]]s, just like any other projectile weapon. As fortifications appear to provide some protection against incoming [[bolt]]s and [[arrow]]s, it's usually a good idea to protect the siege engine in that way. The siege engine only needs a one tile wide fortification to shoot out.

Line 96:

Line 96:

===Skill and Quality===

===Skill and Quality===



The quality of the siege engine parts affects the engine's
accuracy and
reload time.{{verify}} It is not known whether the siege engine itself also can be of a certain quality. The quality and material of the ammunition (in case of ballista arrows) affects the damage and possibly accuracy as well.

+

The quality of the siege engine parts affects the engine's reload time
(and possibly accuracy)
.{{verify}} It is not known whether the siege engine itself also can be of a certain quality. The quality and material of the ammunition (in case of ballista arrows) affects the damage and possibly accuracy as well.

The only way of obtaining high-quality siege engine parts is to have them made by a trained engineer; the only way to train an engineer is to make parts or ammunition. Assembling and disassembling siege engines does not train the [[siege engineer]] skill. Dwarves will occasionally produce masterpieces long before reaching [[Legendary]] skill level, but be prepared to waste hundreds of logs until you have three masterpiece parts. Bringing an engineer to [[Experience|Proficient]] level (the highest you could buy when starting a new fortress) will take about 120 logs. Becoming Legendary requires 600 logs.

The only way of obtaining high-quality siege engine parts is to have them made by a trained engineer; the only way to train an engineer is to make parts or ammunition. Assembling and disassembling siege engines does not train the [[siege engineer]] skill. Dwarves will occasionally produce masterpieces long before reaching [[Legendary]] skill level, but be prepared to waste hundreds of logs until you have three masterpiece parts. Bringing an engineer to [[Experience|Proficient]] level (the highest you could buy when starting a new fortress) will take about 120 logs. Becoming Legendary requires 600 logs.

Line 102:

Line 102:

The operator skill affects reload time and accuracy. It will take a whole month for an unskilled dwarf to load a catapult; a Legendary operator with nearby ammo will get several shots at a running enemy.

The operator skill affects reload time and accuracy. It will take a whole month for an unskilled dwarf to load a catapult; a Legendary operator with nearby ammo will get several shots at a running enemy.



Operators are best trained
on catapults, as these require nothing but cheap stone for
ammo. It is recommended to have
a number of dedicated
operators
that will follow no other line of work
,
and enough catapults for all of them to play with. As
they'
re often going for a drink or sleep, you may get along with three catapults for four operators, and even two pieces would go
a
long way
.
Since the dwarf must hold the heavy stone in his inventory during the entire loading procedure, dwarves
that have increased their strength statistic load
catapults
much more rapidly than others, making them good candidates for operator duty. You should start training early: it can take one year for an operator to become Proficient, and two more years until he finally reaches Legendary level; by then he will have spent 300 rounds.

+

Operators are best trained
by firing into a nearby pit (to conserve
ammo
and ensure that it remains near the engine)
. It is recommended to have
multiple skilled
operators
for each engine, since, as civilians
,
they cannot be compelled into action if
they'
ve decided to take
a
rest
.
Dwarves
that have increased their strength statistic load
engines
much more rapidly than others, making them good candidates for operator duty
(experienced operators can be [[cross-training|cross-trained]] for strength)
. You should start training early: it can take one year for an operator to become Proficient, and two more years until he finally reaches Legendary level; by then he will have spent 300 rounds.

Loading ballista arrows seems to be much faster than loading catapults, probably due to the much lighter weight of the projectile.

Loading ballista arrows seems to be much faster than loading catapults, probably due to the much lighter weight of the projectile.



An alternative approach is cross-training any highly skilled dwarves who aren't doing anything useful at the moment.  With a couple levels each in strength and agility, a
decent-quality catapult
, and an ample supply of ammunition nearby, a dwarf can become a Legendary siege operator within a few seasons at most, giving more flexibility in defense and several more levels for the fortunate dwarf.
[[Cross-training|
Rotating
]] Legendary
[[miner]]s out to siege-operation and then to stone-hauling duties sets up an efficient cycle.

+

An alternative approach is
[[
cross-training
]]
any highly skilled dwarves who aren't doing anything useful at the moment.  With a couple levels each in strength and agility, a
free siege engine
, and an ample supply of ammunition nearby, a dwarf can become a Legendary siege operator within a few seasons at most, giving more flexibility in defense and several more levels for the fortunate dwarf.  Rotating
legendary
[[miner]]s out to siege-operation and then to stone-hauling duties sets up an efficient cycle.

===In Battle===

===In Battle===

Line 112:

Line 112:

Catapults are generally less effective in battle situations than are ballistae.  The launched rocks will often glance off mail armor, making them poorly suited for killing even [[goblin]]s; they are also very inaccurate.  Their ammo is easily replenished, making them ideal for target practice and very cheap to make and use.

Catapults are generally less effective in battle situations than are ballistae.  The launched rocks will often glance off mail armor, making them poorly suited for killing even [[goblin]]s; they are also very inaccurate.  Their ammo is easily replenished, making them ideal for target practice and very cheap to make and use.



Ballista arrows tipped with softer materials (such as wood) can glance off ordinary clothes, making the choice of arrowhead significant.  However, the arrows
penetrate through any unit they strike, allowing them to
hit
many
multiple targets in a single launch.  This makes ballistae many times more efficient than catapults, which fire in an arc that hits only a few tiles per shot and is nearly useless against anything larger than smaller, poorly-armored foes.  Ballista arrows fired through too many successive targets will be lost or destroyed; the limit seems to be roughly 5-6 goblin-sized targets hit before the arrow is lost.  Adding a channel to the end of the arrow's trajectory will allow expensive bolts to be recovered after the attackers are dealt with.

+

Ballista arrows tipped with softer materials (such as wood) can glance off ordinary clothes, making the choice of arrowhead significant.  However, the arrows
may
hit multiple targets in a single launch.  This makes ballistae many times more efficient than catapults, which fire in an arc that hits only a few tiles per shot and is nearly useless against anything larger than smaller, poorly-armored foes.  Ballista arrows fired through too many successive targets will be lost or destroyed; the limit seems to be roughly 5-6 goblin-sized targets hit before the arrow is lost.  Adding a channel to the end of the arrow's trajectory will allow expensive bolts to be recovered after the attackers are dealt with.

A siege engine you want to use for actual defense shouldn't be set to fire at will, as this likely means that it's not loaded and ready at the time you actually need it. You should train your operators on other pieces.  You might train your operators on a set of catapults and defend your fortress with a set of ballistae.

A siege engine you want to use for actual defense shouldn't be set to fire at will, as this likely means that it's not loaded and ready at the time you actually need it. You should train your operators on other pieces.  You might train your operators on a set of catapults and defend your fortress with a set of ballistae.

Show more