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DF2014 Talk:Weapon

2018-09-28T08:40:53Z

Tyzhang: /* Combat formulae */

Needs updating with the changes to obsidian now having defined sheer/impact values now instead of using stone template defaults.~AJC46

I added some stuff about naming weapons, since from experience, kills are not needed, simply enough time and training with a weapon (perhaps weapons are named after a certain amount of experience is gained while wielding them?)

== Strange mood foreign weapons ==

I removed this text:

:"Dwarves in strange moods are not held to producing native weapons, and in fact often don't, as the number of foreign weapons outnumbers the natives. In the case where they create a valuable and battle-worthy foreign weapon (like a steel two-handed sword), it's worth it to manually go through your dwarves to find someone who can best utilize it, and assign it to him. See the caveats of foreign weapons however, discussed below."

My experience matches the information in [[Strange_mood#Artifacts_created]], namely that weaponsmiths will only create a native weapons. (Bowyers, however, do create foreign weapons.)--[[User:Loci|Loci]] ([[User talk:Loci|talk]]) 19:49, 30 September 2014 (UTC)

== Combat formulae ==
A detailed exposition on combat formulae was recently added to this article. I believe its content is largely borrowed from the [[material science]] page. I've moved this section downward, as it is not need-to-know for most readers, though still interesting and useful for others. That being said, I would like to consider the idea of separating the content in this article into several pages. In particular, it might be useful to create pages for:
*New players: "This is a ''weapon''; don't hold it by the pointy end."
*A reference table of useful info: weapon types, what skills they use, etc. (i.e. what currently exists under Native weapons and Foreign weapons)
*A thorough investigation of combat mechanics.
--[[User:Rriegs|Rriegs]] ([[User talk:Rriegs|talk]]) 22:10, 30 September 2016 (UTC)

:Are these formulas even correct? Plugging in the numbers, a Gmaster average sized dwarf with a masterwork steel spear couldn't pierce copper armor. Not even with a heavy stab against a prone opponent. [[User:Ziusudra|Ziusudra]] ([[User talk:Ziusudra|talk]]) 00:54, 1 March 2017 (UTC)
:For these two to give the same value that exponent would have to be a 5 instead of a 6.

:Melee Weapon Momentum: M = Skill * Size * Str * Vel / (106 * (1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size) )
:Dwarf Melee Momentum: M = 0.6 * Str * Vel / (1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size) )

:With a 5 instead that gives enough M to pierce copper without either the heavy or prone bonuses.
:But that still gives more than a factor of 10 less than what the chart in [[Material_science#Attack_Momentum]] says. Did the densities change at some point?
:[[User:Ziusudra|Ziusudra]] ([[User talk:Ziusudra|talk]]) 02:07, 1 March 2017 (UTC)
:And it also doesn't match what I see in game in arena mode. The numbers from the formulae say candy should not ever pierce divine but even just a quick spear stab will. Same with divine spear on steel AND iron armor. Etc.
:[[User:Ziusudra|Ziusudra]] ([[User talk:Ziusudra|talk]]) 08:49, 5 March 2017 (UTC)

::Should be fixed now, there was an issue in an intermediate step on the [[material science]] page where the size of a dwarf was substituted as 6*10^5=600000 instead of 6*10^4=60000.
::[[User:Tyzhang|Tyzhang]] ([[User talk:Tyzhang|talk]]) 08:40, 28 September 2018 (UTC)

== Blunt Weapons and Inorganic Enemies ==

The "types of target" section states that blunt weapons work best against inorganic enemies, because they chip away at them bit by bit. I've ran a few arena tests: 10 dwarves in iron armour with steel weapons VS a bronze colossus.

Using Spears, Short Swords or Axes, the dwarves come out on top, usually without casualties, even if they have no combat skills whatsoever. Using Hammers they all die, even if Grandmaster Hammerdwarves. Steel and Silver Hammers did not leave a single dent, Platinum Hammers managed to dent one foot.
If the spears/short swords/axes are iron instead of steel, they don't make a single dent either.

Can anyone verify this? I'll change the section after further testing, as it is highly misleading. [[Special:Contributions/217.6.238.194|217.6.238.194]] 15:14, 4 January 2017 (UTC)

Weapon

2018-09-28T08:32:48Z

Tyzhang: Erroneous intermediate calculation step assuming dwarf size to be 6*10^5 instead of 6*10^4 on http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Material_science (where portion of this was likely to be copied from) is fixed

{{Quality|Masterwork|16:52, 10 June 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
:''This page deals entirely with manufactured weapons. For natural weapons, see [[Natural weapon]].''

A '''weapon''' in the sense described on this page is any object specifically designed to be wielded in the pursuit of bodily harm to others. In [[fortress mode]], weapons can be made at a [[metalsmith's forge]] (all metal weapons) using a single bar of metal, despite the fact that most weapons in the game (with the exception of swords and maces) would have wooden handles in real life, a [[bowyer's workshop]] (wooden and bone crossbows), or a [[craftsdwarf's workshop]] ([[obsidian]] short swords).

== Basics ==

=== Native vs. foreign ===
In fortress mode, weapons can be split in two categories: those that you can produce, and those that you can't. [[Weaponsmith]]s can produce seven types of native weapons at a [[metalsmith's forge]], but there are also fourteen foreign weapons that can be found in the hands of enemy combatants, or bought from trading caravans (note, however, that due to bugs, several foreign weapons currently are effectively unusable by dwarves). These may use skills your dwarves are unfamiliar with. It is impossible to buy them in bulk, and they are of variable quality and material. Like all weapons they tend to be expensive as trade goods. They may be worth using if you can secure a high-quality specimen (see [[#Quality and strange moods|Quality]] below). Since they are common for other nations, it is important to understand their properties when you have to fight enemies wielding them.

=== Types of weapons ===
{{main|Attack types}}
From another point of view there are four categories: slashing, piercing, crushing, and ranged.

Slashing weapons, like [[short sword]]s and [[battle axe]]s, work by concentrating their force along a sharp edge, allowing them to cut gashes in or to completely sever body parts. Severing is most likely when the body part's thickness is smaller than the weapon's contact edge. They make the quickest work of unarmored opponents who are not tremendously large. They are far less effective against armored targets, however, as armor may prevent the cutting, converting strikes into weaker blunt damage.

Piercing weapons, like [[spear]]s and [[pick]]s, work by concentrating their force at a point, allowing them to punch through armor and damage internal organs. They often get stuck in the opponent, giving their wielder further leverage on the target.

Crushing weapons, like [[war hammer]]s and [[mace]]s, work by concentrating their force behind a large, blunt mass, putting dents in armor and breaking bones beneath their blows. These weapons are slow to kill their targets - dwarves have a habit of breaking every bone in their opponent's body before finally landing a fatal head strike and moving on to the next target - but are the most effective weapons against large and heavily armored foes, and possibly against the [[undead]] as well.

Ranged weapons - [[crossbow]]s, [[bow]]s, and [[blowgun]]s - are effectively piercing weapons which work at a distance. When used in melee combat as a bludgeon, crossbows produce blunt weapon damage instead. Bows used in melee are treated like extremely weak swords.

There exists one more kind of weapon: the so-called training weapon. Training weapons are all wooden, and are all made at the [[carpenter's workshop]]. Training axes, spears, and short swords can be constructed in fortress mode. They do little blunt impact damage, due to the poor [[material science|material properties]] of wood. Their primary purpose in fortress mode is to allow your dwarves to train before you have a working metal industry. They can also be used during live combat exercises (beating upon a disarmed goblin, etc.) to extend the training session's length. Finally, they may be issued to the guards to reduce the lethality of a [[justice|criminal beating]].

=== Types of targets ===
One can divide the types of foes you will meet into three categories. The first is organic and unarmored (or poorly armored) enemies, like [[thief|thieves]], non-sentient [[creature]]s (be it local wildlife or siege mounts), [[semi-megabeast]]s and [[megabeast]]s besides the [[bronze colossus]]. Weapons that deal slashing damage work best and quickest against these types of enemies, severing whole body parts and leaving them severely incapacitated.

The second is organic and armored enemies, like [[ambush]]ers and [[siege]]rs. The way [[armor]] works, slashing blows that are countered by a piece of armor are converted into generally less effective blunt damage; the best damage against these kinds of enemies are piercing weapons, which punch through armor and damage their internal organs, incapacitating them and allowing the wielder to finish them off. Crushing weapons work as well, although they are slower.

The third and most dangerous types of enemies are inorganic enemies (or ones that [[Giant cave spider|don't feel pain]]), which are [[titan]]s, [[forgotten beast]]s, [[bronze colossus]]es, and [[HFS|hidden fun stuff]]. These enemies ''have'' no internal organs, and depending on the material they are made of, may be very difficult to slash at (although a forgotten beast made of, for instance, mud is laughably easy to kill). Against these enemies, crushing weapons are the best, because they can chip at their foes until they collapse from cumulative damage.

=== Weapon skill ===
{{main|Combat skill#Weapon skill}}
Every type of weapon has its own associated [[military]] [[skill]]. The higher a dwarf is in his skill with a weapon, the better he will be able to use it in combat, connecting hammer blows to more advantageous sweet spots and sending spears right through enemy hearts and lungs with greater accuracy. The higher the weapon skill, the better at fighting the dwarf will be.

Once a dwarf has reached "Great" skill in a certain weapon, they become weapon lords for that specific weapon. They are listed as such on the [[status]] screen, will love fighting, and will no longer complain about long patrol duties. Weapon skill is trained in fighting enemies in combat, demonstrations, and combat drills, but if you leave your dwarves shield-less, a [[danger room]] will train their skill very, very quickly. Note that this does not quite work for marksdwarves - danger rooming ranged weapons increases their melee skill, increasing their hammerdwarf skill, although [[Cross-training|this may be the point]].

=== Attachment ===
A dwarf that has used a particular weapon for a long time will grow attached to it, equipping it whenever their uniform allows them to. This is fine if they are wielding a ☼steel mace☼, but a major problem if they are wielding what is meant to be a training weapon (be it a wooden axe or a copper spear). You can avoid this pitfall by not using training weapons and not forging weapons until you have real weaponsmithing underway. These events generate [[announcement]]s. If a dwarf does become attached, you can easily force him to relinquish the weapon by assigning a 'specific weapon' instead in his equipment view.

In addition, dwarves that reach a certain number or level of kills, or train long enough with a weapon, will name it. This prompts a major announcement. The weapon in question may have no kills associated with it, legendary dwarves occasionally name their weapons while training with them. Once named, the weapon will appear in the artifact list, albeit in blue. It is unknown if named weapons perform better than unnamed weapons.

Dwarves may also become attached to shields and name them in the same way.

=== Quality and strange moods ===
The [[quality]] of a weapon has a significant (and currently poorly understood) impact on its combat performance, as well as its [[value]].

{{DF2014:Item quality/Table}}

Weaponsmithing is a [[moodable]] profession, which means that you can get [[artifact]] weapons. Artifact weapons have a 3x combat bonus and can be made out of a wide range of materials; ordinarily a [[hippo]] [[bone]] spear is impossible, but a moody dwarf can create one with a stack of hippo bone. Artifact weapons made of totally inappropriate materials are inferior to regular ones made of weapons-grade metal, although the exact balance is still under discussion. As with other moodable skills, a dwarf who creates an artifact using the weaponsmith skill stands a [[DF2014:Strange_mood#Skills_and_workshops|high chance]] of becoming a legendary weaponsmith.

=== Weapons as tools ===
[[Hunter]]s use crossbows, [[wood cutter]]s use [[battle axe]]s (wooden training axes worked prior to version 0.43.01), and [[miner]]s use [[pick]]s. They must be in possession of these items to do their jobs, and it's as simple as that.

Hunters gain [[marksdwarf]] skill from hunting, but wood cutters do not gain [[axedwarf]] weapon skill from cutting trees. Miners gain [[mining]] skill, which is not considered a military skill, but is used as a weapon skill when fighting with a pick. A dwarf using a weapon as a tool will not use the same tool as a military weapon, instead dropping their tool to pick up another for military use.{{bug|1451}} Dwarves may carry only one weapon as a tool at a time; for example, woodcutters/hunters will drop their axes then go and pick up crossbows every time they begin hunting.

=== Ammunition ===
:''Main article: [[Ammunition]]''

[[Crossbow]]s and other ranged weapons require [[ammunition]] (in the case of the crossbow, [[bolt]]s). This ammunition is carried in a [[quiver]] in packs of about 25, and when they run out they will switch to using their ranged weapons as crude hammers. It's often a good idea to try to get them to retreat once they run out of ammo — crossbows are meant for shooting, not bashing.

=== Secondary weapons ===
Although it sounds like a cool idea, equipping a marksdwarf with a backup short sword just in case doesn't often work, as dwarves are just as quick to run up to their foes and start bashing them with a crossbow, as they are to draw their swords and do it properly.

== Weapons ==
=== Native weapons ===
{| class="wikitable" border="border"
! Type
! Size
! Attack
! [[Attack type]]
! Contact Area
! Penetration
! Velocity
! Skill Used
! Hands Used
! [[Weaponsmith|Metal]]
! [[Bowyer|Wood]]
! [[Bowyer|Bone]]
! [[Stone crafter|Obsidian]]
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="3"| [[battle axe|Battle Axe]]
|rowspan="3"| 800
| Hack || Edge || 40000 || 6000 || 1.25x
|rowspan="3"| Axe
|rowspan="3"| Singlegrasp
|rowspan="3"| Yes
|rowspan="3"| No
|rowspan="3"| No
|rowspan="3"| No
|-
| Flat slap || Blunt || 40000 || (6000) || 1.25x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 100 || (1000) || 1.0x
|-
| [[Crossbow]] (Melee)
| 400
| Bash || Blunt || 10000 || (4000) || 1.25x
| Hammer
| Singlegrasp?
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|-
| [[Mace]]
| 800
| Bash || Blunt || 20 || (200) || 2.0x
| Mace
| Singlegrasp
| Yes
| No
| No
| No
|-
| [[Pick]] (foreign)
| 500
| Strike || Edge || 100 || 4000 || 2.0x
| Mining
| Singlegrasp
| Yes
| No
| No
| No
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="4"| [[short sword|Short Sword]]
|rowspan="4"| 300
| Slash || Edge || 20000 || 4000 || 1.25x
|rowspan="4"| [[Sword]]
|rowspan="4"| Singlegrasp
|rowspan="4"| Yes
|rowspan="4"| No
|rowspan="4"| No
|rowspan="4"| Yes
|-
| Stab || Edge || 50 || 2000 || 1.0x
|-
| Flat slap || Blunt || 20000 || (4000) || 1.25x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 100 || (1000) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="2"| [[Spear]]
|rowspan="2"| 400
| Stab || Edge || 20 || 10000 || 1.0x
|rowspan="2"| Spear
|rowspan="2"| Singlegrasp
|rowspan="2"| Yes
|rowspan="2"| No
|rowspan="2"| No
|rowspan="2"| No
|-
| Shaft bash || Blunt || 10000 || (6000) || 1.25x
|-
| [[war hammer|War Hammer]]
| 400
| Bash || Blunt || 10 || (200) || 2.0x
| Hammer
| Singlegrasp
| Yes
| No
| No
| No
|}

Note that although the [[pick]] is a foreign weapon, it can be produced by dwarves and is therefore considered native.{{bug|680}}

=== Details ===
*If you find your dwarves wearing more than one weapon -- or any unwanted [[armor]], for that matter -- one way to get rid of them is to dump the weapon from their {{k|v}}-{{k|i}} inventory screen. This does not always work, as they might re-equip the item. Another option is to remove any weapons and/or shields listed on their military equip screen. This too does not always work. At least "left-handedness" seems to not pose a problem. If you cancel the work by {{k|v}}-{{k|p}} and selecting a job that needs a tool they will sometimes put it back in the pile. Example: Miners use picks, cancel their mining job and they will put the pick away AFTER you ordered it to be dumped.
* Using weapons is much more effective than unarmed combat -- an untrained swordsdwarf with an [[iron]] weapon can defeat a grand master [[wrestler]], provided neither is wearing armor.
** Larger weapons with more heft tend to do more damage. How damage is calculated is currently not fully understood, and this area begs for more !SCIENCE!.
* The size for a weapon is its volume in cm3.
* Attacks of type EDGE will either slice or pierce their target, depending on the contact area and penetration depth, while BLUNT attacks tend to damage internal organs without necessarily causing significant damage to outer layers.
* The contact area represents the area of contact of the weapon, and the penetration determines how deep the attack goes (and is apparently ignored entirely for BLUNT attacks -- indicated by numbers in parentheses). Large contact areas combined with low penetration represent slashing attacks, while small contact areas with high penetration behave as piercing attacks.
* The velocity seems to adjust the amount of actual force used during the attack (otherwise based on the size of the weapon, the material from which the weapon is made, and the strength of the wielder) - for example, war hammers have a 2x velocity multiplier, presumably to model the fact that the hammer's mass is concentrated at the tip which, when combined with a long handle, permits swinging it harder than a weapon whose mass is evenly distributed (such as a sword).
* Crossbows can be made of metal, wood, and bone. Metal crossbows are made by a [[weaponsmith]] at a [[forge]], while wood and bone crossbows are made by a [[bowyer]] at a bowyer's workshop. The material of a crossbow does not affect its firing ability, only its melee damage. A dwarf's marksmanship skill is only affected by the core [[item quality|quality]] of the bow. This may be a consideration when deciding which dwarf you want outfitting your marksdwarves: a [[experience|legendary]] bowyer is a better choice than a proficient weaponsmith.
* Dwarves will never select a pick for a weapon if allowed "individual choice." You must specify picks as part of their uniform or on the individual equip screen if you wish to utilize them as weapons.

=== Training weapons ===
All [[training weapon]]s must be made of [[wood]] at the [[carpenter's workshop]].

{| class="wikitable" border="border"
|-
! Type
! Size
! Attack
! [[Attack type]]
! Contact Area
! Penetration
! Velocity
! Skill Used
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="3"| Training Axe
|rowspan="3"| 800
| Hack || Blunt || 30000 || (6000) || 1.25x
|rowspan="3"| Axe
|-
| Flat slap || Blunt || 30000 || (6000) || 1.25x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 100 || (1000) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="4"| Training Sword
|rowspan="4"| 300
| Slash || Blunt || 20000 || (4000) || 1.25x
|rowspan="4"| Sword
|-
| Stab || Blunt || 50 || (2000) || 1.0x
|-
| Flat slap || Blunt || 20000 || (4000) || 1.25x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 100 || (1000) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="2"| Training Spear
|rowspan="2"| 400
| Stab || Blunt || 200 || (10000) || 1.0x
|rowspan="2"| Spear
|-
| Shaft bash || Blunt || 10000 || (6000) || 1.25x
|}

=== Foreign weapons ===
Using any multi-grasp weapon in a single hand (i.e. with a shield in the other hand) gives you a disability to hit. Do not equip two-handed swords with a shield, for instance.

In Adventurer Mode, however, it is possible to wield a two-handed sword, or any multi-grasp weapon in one hand, without penalty (allowing for the simultaneous use of a shield) if your character passes the one-handed check for single-handing a multi-grasp weapon. For example, if you create a Human character, and manage to spawn into a world with a "broad body" or a "tall body" in the character description, you will be able to single-hand any multi-grasp weapon (and will be forced to, much like you are forced to single-hand any single-grasp weapon), which allows for the simultaneous, disability-free use of a shield, thus making your damage and defensive capabilities much higher than they would be with a single-grasp weapon and shield. Note that upping Strength to Superior (and eventually Superhuman) will make all attacks more likely to deal extra damage, making cutting off the limbs of your enemies much easier.

{| class="wikitable" border="border"
|-
! Type
! Size
! Attack
! [[Attack type]]
! Contact Area
! Penetration
! Velocity
! Skill Used
! Used by
! Hands Used
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="4"| [[two-handed sword|2H Sword]]
|rowspan="4"| 900
| Slash || Edge || 100000 || 8000 || 1.25x
|rowspan="4"| Sword
|rowspan="4"| [[Goblin]], [[Human]]
|rowspan="4"| Multi-grasp
|-
| Stab || Edge || 50 || 4000 || 1.0x
|-
| Flat slap || Blunt || 100000 || (8000) || 1.25x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 100 || (1000) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
| [[Blowgun]] (Melee)
| 150
| Bash || Blunt || 10000 || (4000) || 1.25x
| Sword
| Subterranean animal peoples
| Single-grasp?
|- valign="top"
| [[Bow]] (Melee)
| 300
| Bash || Blunt || 10000 || (4000) || 1.25x
| Sword
| [[Elf]], Goblin, Human, [[Kobold]]
| Single-grasp?
|- valign="top"
| [[Flail]]
| 500
| Bash || Blunt || 200 || (4000) || 2.5x
| Mace
| Goblin, Human
| Single-grasp
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="3"| [[great axe|Great Axe]]
|rowspan="3"| 1300
| Hack || Edge || 60000 || 8000 || 1.25x
|rowspan="3"| Axe
|rowspan="3"| Goblin, Human
|rowspan="3"| Multi-grasp
|-
| Flat slap || Blunt || 60000 || (8000) || 1.25x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 100 || (1000) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="3"| [[Halberd]]
|rowspan="3"| 1200
| Slash || Edge || 20000 || 8000 || 1.25x
|rowspan="3"| Axe
|rowspan="3"| Goblin, Human
|rowspan="3"| Multi-grasp
|-
| Stab || Edge || 50 || 2000 || 1.0x
|-
| Shaft bash || Blunt || 20000 || (6000) || 1.25x
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="3"| [[Dagger]] (Large)
|rowspan="3"| 200
| Slash || Edge || 1000 || 800 || 1.25x
|rowspan="3"| Dagger
|rowspan="3"| Goblin, Kobold
|rowspan="3"| Single-grasp
|-
| Stab || Edge || 5 || 1000 || 1.0x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 20 || (600) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="4"| [[long sword|Long Sword]]
|rowspan="4"| 700
| Slash || Edge || 60000 || 6000 || 1.25x
|rowspan="4"| Sword
|rowspan="4"| Elf, Goblin, Human
|rowspan="4"| Single-grasp
|-
| Stab || Edge || 50 || 3000 || 1.0x
|-
| Flat slap || Blunt || 60000 || (6000) || 1.25x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 100 || (1000) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
| [[Maul]]
| 1300
| Bash || Blunt || 100 || (6000) || 2.0x
| Hammer
| Goblin, Human
| Multi-grasp
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="2"| [[Morningstar]]
|rowspan="2"| 500
| Bash || Edge || 10 || 500 || 2.0x
|rowspan="2"| Mace
|rowspan="2"| Goblin, Human
|rowspan="2"| Single-grasp
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 50 || (1000) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="2"| [[pike (weapon)|Pike]]
|rowspan="2"| 800
| Stab || Edge || 20 || 12000 || 1.0x
|rowspan="2"| Pike
|rowspan="2"| Goblin, Human
|rowspan="2"| Multigrasp
|-
| Shaft bash || Blunt || 10000 || (6000) || 1.25x
|- valign="top"
|rowspan="4"| [[Scimitar]]
|rowspan="4"| 300
| Slash || Edge || 20000 || 4000 || 1.25x
|rowspan="4"| Sword
|rowspan="4"| Goblin, Human
|rowspan="4"| Single-grasp
|-
| Stab || Edge || 50 || 2000 || 1.0x
|-
| Flat slap || Blunt || 20000 || (4000) || 1.25x
|-
| Pommel strike || Blunt || 50 || (1000) || 1.0x
|- valign="top"
| [[Scourge]]
| 300
| Lash || Edge || 10 || 50 || 2.0x
| Whip
| Goblin
| Single-grasp
|- valign="top"
| [[Whip]]
| 100
| Lash || Blunt || 1 || (10) || 5.0x
| Whip
| Goblin, Human
| Single-grasp
|}

===Special variations===
Some rare entities have their own [[divine equipment|procedurally generated variations]] of weapons. Currently, these weapons are produced by copying the default properties of the "base" weapon, and adding an adjective ("bulky", "large-headed", "branching", etc.) or renaming the weapon altogether ("blade", "curved sword"). Dwarves in [[strange mood]]s which select from all weapons with a certain tag may produce one of these procedurally generated weapons. Since they retain the properties of their base items, these weapons should be as usable as a standard weapon of the base type.

== Size==

Weapons have a minimum size to use at all, and a minimum size to use one-handed. Adult dwarves vary in size between 33750 and 93750 (average 60000) based on their height and broadness.

Unfortunately this is currently bugged in Fortress mode.{{Bug|0005812}} 'One-handed' vs. 'two-handed' checks are performed correctly, but 'can wield' vs. 'can't wield' ignores height and broadness modifiers. So Dwarves in Fortress mode will never equip two-handed swords, great axes, halberds, mauls, or pikes. Other weapons have a minimum wielding size of less than 60000, and are wielded one-handed if the individual dwarf is large enough. See [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=119068.msg3790913#msg3790913 this] forum post.

The following table shows approximately how many dwarves ''should be'' able to use each weapon one or two handed (see [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=101379.msg3029579#msg3029579 this forum post] for details), with all fractional numbers being approximate. While there are seven categories each for height and broadness, the number used is chosen randomly from within each category.

Where the size checking bug affects weapon wielding for dwarves, correct approximate figures are given in brackets.
{| class="wikitable" border="border"
|-
! Type
! Min Size
(Two-Handed)
! Min Size
(One-Handed)
! Dwarves
Can't Wield
! Dwarves Wield
Two-Handed
! Dwarves Wield
One-Handed
|- valign="top"
| [[battle axe|Battle Axe]]
| 42500
| 47500
| 1/49 (0)
| 10/49 (11/49)
| 38/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Crossbow]] (Melee)
| 15000
| 0
| -
| -
| 49/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Mace]]
| 32500
| 37500
| -
| 1/49
| 48/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Pick]]
| 42500
| 47500
| 1/49 (0)
| 10/49 (11/49)
| 38/49
|- valign="top"
| [[short sword|Short Sword]]
| 32500
| 37500
| -
| 1/49
| 48/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Spear]]
| 5000
| 47500
| -
| 11/49
| 38/49
|- valign="top"
| [[war hammer|War Hammer]]
| 32500
| 37500
| -
| 1/49
| 48/49
|- valign="top"
| Training Axe
| 42500
| 47500
| 1/49 (0)
| 10/49 (11/49)
| 38/49
|- valign="top"
| Training Sword
| 32500
| 37500
| -
| 1/49
| 48/49
|- valign="top"
| Training Spear
| 42500
| 47500
| 1/49 (0)
| 10/49 (11/49)
| 38/49
|- valign="top"
| [[two-handed sword|2H Sword]]
| 62500
| 77500
| 32/49 (ALL)
| 14/49 (0)
| 3/49 (0)
|- valign="top"
| [[Blowgun]] (Melee)
| 15000
| 0
| -
| -
| 49/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Bow]] (Melee)
| 15000
| 0
| -
| -
| 49/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Flail]]
| 42500
| 47500
| 1/49 (0)
| 10/49 (11/49)
| 38/49
|- valign="top"
| [[great axe|Great Axe]]
| 62500
| 77500
| 32/49 (ALL)
| 14/49 (0)
| 3/49 (0)
|- valign="top"
| [[Halberd]]
| 62500
| 77500
| 32/49 (ALL)
| 14/49 (0)
| 3/49 (0)
|- valign="top"
| [[Dagger]] (Large)
| 5000
| 27500
| -
| -
| 49/49
|- valign="top"
| [[long sword|Long Sword]]
| 52500
| 57500
| 11/49 (0)
| 7/49 (18/49)
| 31/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Maul]]
| 62500
| 77500
| 32/49 (ALL)
| 14/49 (0)
| 3/49 (0)
|- valign="top"
| [[Morningstar]]
| 32500
| 37500
| -
| 1/49
| 48/49
|- valign="top"
| [[pike (weapon)|Pike]]
| 62500
| 77500
| 32/49 (ALL)
| 14/49 (0)
| 3/49 (0)
|- valign="top"
| [[Scimitar]]
| 32500
| 37500
| -
| 1/49
| 48/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Scourge]]
| 22500
| 27500
| -
| -
| 49/49
|- valign="top"
| [[Whip]]
| 22500
| 27500
| -
| -
| 49/49
|}

==Material==

Weapons and armor (with a few exceptions) can only be forged from weapon grade metal (Adamantine, Steel, Iron, Silver, Bronze, Bismuth bronze, Copper, and divine metal), wood, or bone. The exceptions include Obsidian short-swords and items created during a strange mood.

{{v0.31 material metal table head}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Adamantine|color={{Tile|/|3:1}}3:3:1|source=[[Raw adamantine]]|notes= |soliddensity=0.200|mp=25000|val=300|valinc=+50|impactyield=5000|impactfracture=5000|impactelasticity=0|shearyield=5000|shearfracture=5000|shearelasticity=0
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Divine metal|notes= |soliddensity=1.0|val=300|impactyield=1000|impactfracture=2000|impactelasticity=0|shearyield=1000|shearfracture=2000|shearelasticity=0
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Steel|color={{Tile|/|0:1}}0:7:1|source=[[Iron]] + [[Pig iron]] + [[flux]] stone + [[fuel]] '''!'''|notes= |soliddensity=7.85|val=30|valinc=+20|mp=12718|impactyield=1505|impactfracture=2520|impactelasticity=940|shearyield=430|shearfracture=720|shearelasticity=215
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Bismuth bronze|color={{Tile|/|6:1}}6:6:1|source=2 [[Copper]] + 1 [[Tin]] + 1 [[Bismuth]] '''!'''|notes= |soliddensity=8.25|val=6|valinc=+4|mp=11868|impactyield=602|impactfracture=843|impactelasticity=547|shearyield=172|shearfracture=241|shearelasticity=156
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Bronze|color={{Tile|/|6:0}}6:4:0|source=[[Tin]] + [[Copper]]|notes= |soliddensity=8.25|val=5|valinc=+3|mp=11868|impactyield=602|impactfracture=843|impactelasticity=547|shearyield=172|shearfracture=241|shearelasticity=156
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Iron|color={{Tile|/|0:1}}0:7:1|source=[[Hematite]], [[Limonite]], [[Magnetite]]|notes= |soliddensity=7.85|mp=12768|val=10|valinc=+2|impactyield=542|impactfracture=1080|impactelasticity=319|shearyield=155|shearfracture=310|shearelasticity=189
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Copper|color={{Tile|/|6:0}}6:4:0|source=[[Native copper]], [[Malachite]], [[Tetrahedrite]]|notes= |soliddensity=8.93|mp=11952|val=2|valinc=+0, +0, -1*|impactyield=245|impactfracture=770|impactelasticity=175|shearyield=70|shearfracture=220|shearelasticity=145
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Silver|color={{Tile|/|7:1}}7:7:1|source=[[Native silver]], [[Horn silver]], [[Galena]] (50%), [[Tetrahedrite]] (20%) |notes= |soliddensity=10.49|mp=11731|val=10|valinc=+0, +0, +5*, +7*|impactyield=350|impactfracture=595|impactelasticity=350|shearyield=100|shearfracture=170|shearelasticity=333
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Platinum|color={{Tile|/|7:1}}7:7:1|source=[[Native platinum]]|notes= Only available as Artifact Weapons.|soliddensity=21.4|mp=13182|val=40|valinc=+?, +?, +?, +?|impactyield=350|impactfracture=700|impactelasticity=152|shearyield=100|shearfracture=200|shearelasticity=164
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Bone|color={{Tile|/|7:1}}7:7:1|source=Creatures|notes= |soliddensity=0.50|mp=NONE(burn at 10250)|val=1|valinc=+?, +?, +?, +?|impactyield=200|impactfracture=200|impactelasticity=100|shearyield=115|shearfracture=130|shearelasticity=100
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Wood|color={{Tile|/|6:0}}7:7:1|source=Trees|notes= |soliddensity=0.50|mp=NONE(burn at 10250)|val=1|valinc=+?, +?, +?, +?|impactyield=10|impactfracture=10|impactelasticity=1000|shearyield=40|shearfracture=40|shearelasticity=1000
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Shell|color={{Tile|/|2:0}}7:7:1|source=Creatures|notes= Only available as Artifact Weapons.|soliddensity=0.50|mp=NONE(burn at 10250)|val=1|valinc=+?, +?, +?, +?|impactyield=200|impactfracture=200|impactelasticity=100|shearyield=115|shearfracture=130|shearelasticity=100
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Leather|color={{Tile|/|2:0}}7:7:1|source=Creatures|notes= Material data added for comparison.|soliddensity=0.50|mp=NONE(burn at 10250)|val=1|valinc=+?, +?, +?, +?|impactyield=10|impactfracture=10|impactelasticity=50000|shearyield=25|shearfracture=25|shearelasticity=50000
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Obsidian|color={{Tile|/|0:1}}7:7:1|source=Lava|notes= Only available for Short Swords.|soliddensity=2.67|mp=13600|val=3|valinc=+0|impactyield=1000|impactfracture=1000|impactelasticity=2222|shearyield=35|shearfracture=35|shearelasticity=114
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Crystal glass|color={{Tile|/|7:1}}7:7:1|source=Sand|notes= Only available as Trap Components.|soliddensity=2.6|mp=13600|val=10|valinc=+0|impactyield=1000|impactfracture=1000|impactelasticity=2222|shearyield=33|shearfracture=33|shearelasticity=113
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Clear glass|color={{Tile|/|3:0}}7:7:1|source=Sand|notes= Only available as Trap Components.|soliddensity=2.6|mp=13600|val=5|valinc=+0|impactyield=1000|impactfracture=1000|impactelasticity=2222|shearyield=33|shearfracture=33|shearelasticity=113
}}

{{v0.31 material metal table row|name=Green glass|color={{Tile|/|2:0}}7:7:1|source=Sand|notes= Only available as Trap Components.|soliddensity=2.6|mp=13600|val=2|valinc=+0|impactyield=1000|impactfracture=1000|impactelasticity=2222|shearyield=33|shearfracture=33|shearelasticity=113
}}

|}

*''Combat information'' is used internally by the game to determine the combat properties of weapons and armor made from this metal:
**'''Density''': Used in conjunction with other factors - heavier weapons (higher numbers) hit with more force, light weapons tend to have less penetration. Value shown here is g/cm3, which is the raw value divided by 103
**'''Impact yield''': Used for blunt-force combat; ''higher'' is better. This is the raw value divided by 103 (i.e., kPa).
**'''Impact fracture''': Used for blunt-force combat; ''higher'' is better. This is the raw value divided by 103 (i.e., kPa).
**'''Impact elasticity''' (or '''strain at yield'''): Used for blunt-force combat; ''lower'' is better. This is the raw value.
**'''Shear yield''': Used for cutting calculations in combat; ''higher'' is better. This is the raw value divided by 103 (i.e., kPa).
**'''Shear fracture''': Used for cutting calculations in combat; ''higher'' is better. This is the raw value divided by 103 (i.e., kPa).
**'''Shear elasticity''' (or '''strain at yield'''): Used for cutting calculations in combat; ''lower'' is better. This is the raw value.

*General Term Explanations (From Wikipedia)
**'''Yield Strength''' - The stress at which material strain changes from elastic deformation to plastic deformation, causing it to deform permanently.
**'''Fracture Strength''' - The stress coordinate on the stress-strain curve at the point of rupture.
**'''Stress''' - Force per area = F/A
**'''Strain''' - Deformation of a solid due to stress = Stress/Young's Modulus

=== Explanation ===
* '''Yield Strength''' is the amount of stress required to permanently deform (bend) a material (plastic deformation).
* '''Fracture Strength''' is the amount of stress required to permanently break (rupture) a material.
* '''Elasticity''' or '''Strain at yield''' is the amount of deformation (bending) that occurs at the yield point.

=== Implications ===
Yield strength combined with strain at yield can tell what a material will do under stress (be it from a hammer, axe, or arrow); higher yield means that it takes more stress to deform, while lower strain at yield means that it will deform less when stress is applied.

== Combat formulae ==

Penetration is poorly understood, but most of the rest of combat is fairly well understood.

First, you need to calculate your weapon's momentum.

Melee Weapon Momentum: M = Skill * Size * Str * Vel / (106 * (1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size) )
* Dwarf Melee Momentum: M = 0.06 * Str * Vel / (1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size) )
* Quick attacks halve melee momentum, wild and heavy attacks multiply it by 1.5
* Attacking a prone opponent in melee doubles momentum.

Ranged Weapon Momentum: M = (w_density*w_size)/105 * min(105*(SHOOT_FORCE/20)/(w_density*w_size), SHOOT_MAXVEL/10)
* Bow and Crossbow Momentum: M = (w_density*150)/105 * min(105/(w_density*3), 20)
** If 20 is smaller because the ammunition is density 1666 or less, M = w_density*3/100 = w_density*0.03
** If 20 is larger because the ammunition is density 1667 or larger, M = 50
* Blowgun Momentum: M = (w_density*20)/105 * min(105/(w_density*4), 100)
** If 100 is smaller because the ammunition is density 250 or less, M = w_density/50 = w_density*0.02
** If 100 is larger because the ammunition is density 251 or more, M = 5

where:
* '''M''' is the momentum.
* '''Skill''' is a gradual multiplier based on skill level, from 1x base up to 2x at Grand Master.
* '''Str''' is the creature's strength (e.g. 1250 for the average dwarf)
* '''Vel''' is the weapon's velocity modifier if present (e.g. 1.25x, 2x)
* '''Size''' is the average creature size (e.g. 60000 for dwarves)
* '''i_Size''' is the specific creature's size
** Dwarves range from a minimum size of 33750 to a maximum size of 93750, with an average size of 60000.
* '''F''' is "fatness modifier" (also includes muscle) = i_Size/Size; dwarf with size of 66150 will have F=66150/60000=1.1025
* '''w_density''' is the weapon's material's density for melee weapons, or the ammunition's density for ranged weapons
* '''w_size''' is the weapon's size for melee weapons, or the ammunition's size for ranged weapons
* '''SHOOT_FORCE''' is the ranged weapon's SHOOT_FORCE constant, which is used to determine its maximum momentum.
* '''SHOOT_MAXVEL''' is the ranged weapon's SHOOT_MAXVEL constant, which is used to determine its maximum velocity, where ammo momentum = ammo mass * ammo velocity.

An edged weapon undergoes the following comparison:

M >= (aSY/wSY + (A+1)*aSF/wSF) * (10 + 2*a_quality) / (Sha * w_quality),

where:
* '''aSY''' is the armor's SHEAR_YIELD, which is based on its material
* '''wSY''' is the weapon's SHEAR_YIELD, which is based on its material
* '''aSF''' is the armor's SHEAR_FRACTURE, which is based on its material
* '''wSF''' is the weapon's SHEAR_FRACTURE, which is based on its material
* '''A''' is attack [[DF2014:Material_science#Contact_Area|contact area]], typically between
* '''Sha''' is weapon material [[edge|sharpness]] multiplier (1x for most metals, 1.2x for [[divine metal]], 1.5x for [[glass]], 2x for [[obsidian]], 10x for [[adamantine]] and 0.1x for all other materials)
* '''w_quality''' is weapon [[quality]] multiplier (1x for normal quality, 1.4x for fine, 2x for masterwork, etc.)
* '''a_quality''' is armor [[quality]] multiplier

Expressed in the above terms,

* 0.06 * Str * Vel / (1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size)) >= (aSY/wSY + (A+1)*aSF/wSF) * (10 + 2*Qa) / (Sha * w_quality)
* 0.06 * Sha * w_quality * Str * Vel / (1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size)) >= (aSY/wSY + (A+1)*aSF/wSF) * (10 + 2*a_quality)
* 0.06 * Sha * w_quality * Str * Vel / ((1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size)) * (10 + 2*a_quality)) >= aSY/wSY + (A+1)*aSF/wSF

Because Shear Yield and Shear Fracture are always within a power of 10 of each other for actually available materials, but the smallest possible A value is 20 (a blowgun dart, which is smaller than the smallest item of clothing/armor a dwarf can wear), this means that in practice, Shear Fracture is significantly more important than Shear Yield, and you can reliably compare weapons and armor without paying attention to Shear Yield. In both cases, higher is better on both weapons and armor, as is quality. Sharpness only matters to the weapon, and smaller contact area is better for the attacker.

If the test is passed, attack momentum is decreased by some 5% and the layer is considered punctured/severed, and the process continues to the next layer, including working through layers of the defender's body. If the test is failed, the attack becomes blunt for this layer.

If the attack is blunt, either due to starting off blunt or due to failing the above test, it is then subjected to this test:

2 * w_size * wIY > A * a_density

where:
* '''a_density''' is the armor material's density
* '''wIY''' is the weapon's impact yield in MPa (i.e. raw value divided by 106).

Failure means the attack bounces off, meaning denser, larger armor resists blunt attacks better, but larger blunt weapons with larger contact areas and higher impact yields get through armor better. This also means adamantine armor is some of the worst in the game at outright deflecting attacks, due to its poor density, but this is not typically relevant, as impact yields are typically at least 10 times larger than density values for the actual metals available, so this step is routinely passed by most weapons regardless of relative materials.

On success, the following test is applied:

M >= (2*aIF - aIY) * (2 + 0.4*a_quality) * A,

where:
* '''aIF''' is the armor's impact fracture in MPa (i.e. raw value divided by 106)
* '''aIY''' is the armor's impact yield in MPa (i.e. raw value divided by 106).

Note that the armor wants as high impact yield as possible to make this test fail. The armor also wants low impact fracture, although the weapon's impact fracture does not matter, and high quality and high contact area.

On a success, attack momentum is decreased by some 5% and the layer is considered punctured/severed, and the process continues to the next layer, including working through layers of the defender's body. If the attack was edged, it becomes edged again. On a failure, the momentum is multiplied by SHEAR_STRAIN_AT_YIELD/50000 for edged attacks or IMPACT_STRAIN_AT_YIELD/50000 for blunt attacks, then it becomes *permanently* blunt, and is passed on to the next layer. This means most rigid metal armor will reduce blocked attacks by 98%-99%, but elastic armor, such as a mail shirt, has both strain at yield values raised to 50000, so it multiplies by 1 at this step (i.e. does nothing to the momentum, but does still convert it to blunt) regardless of material.

== Combat testing ==
In regards to edged weaponry: [[Adamantine]] and [[steel]] take first and second place respectively, with [[iron]] the third best material in the game, matched by the [[bronze]]s. Beyond that is [[copper]], the second worst material, and [[silver]] is the worst weapon material available (and due to the existence of training weapons, not even useful in that regard).

Additionally, with regards to blunt weapons almost all of the non-adamantine materials perform equally well, with a very slight edge towards steel and silver. Here is the thread with the details: [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=53571.0].

Keep in mind with how unbelievably complicated this system is nothing should be taken as word of law yet.

{| {{prettytable}}
|- bgcolor="#999999"
!
! Best
! Better
! Good
! Fair
! Poor
! Terrible
! Notes
|-
| Armor
| Adamantine
| Steel
| Iron
| Bronze, Bismuth Bronze
| Copper
|
|
|-
| Edged Weapons
| Adamantine
| Steel
| Iron
| Bronze, Bismuth Bronze
| Copper
| Silver
| For piercing iron armor, copper is better than bronze. For piercing copper or bronze armor, bronze is better than copper.
|-
| Ammunition
| Steel, Iron, Bronze, Bismuth Bronze, Copper, Silver
|
| Adamantine
|
|
|
| Adamantine bolts deflect off of adamantine armor, but otherwise their performance is on par with bolts made out of other metals.
|-
| Blunt Weapons
| Platinum
| Steel, Silver
| Copper, Bismuth Bronze, Bronze, Iron
|
|
| Adamantine
| All six standard weapon metals perform nearly identically. Steel has a slightly higher rate of critical wounds, while silver is slightly more likely to penetrate armor. Platinum (only available as [[artifact]] weapons) has twice the density of silver and several other improved properties, making it the best metal for impact weapons, though very limited in production. Adamantine's light weight makes it a terrible choice for blunt weapons, roughly the same as making a weapon out of [[featherwood]] or cork.
|}

Cross referencing this table with the table at the top of this section seems to indicate that low densities, high impact fractures, and high shear fractures contribute to the killing power of edged weapons.

===Analysis===

Testing of weapons (15 dwarves vs. 15 dwarves combats) in the [[object testing arena]] shows that the best dwarven-made weapon against unarmored humanoids is the battle axe, while the war hammer performs the best against armored targets. {{version|0.31.12}}.

Even in 15×(steel armor+silver war hammer) versus 15×(adamantine armor+adamantine battle axe) matches, hammerdwarves won with less than 50% casualties (mostly one-strike kills). However, when the dwarves in question were without armor or only wearing leather/cloth, the result was inverted — axedwarves won with less than 50% casualties. In battles against megabeasts, 6 silver hammerdwarves were barely able to scratch a [[bronze colossus]] (attacks were glancing away) due to bronze being a better "weapon" material.

This is because silver has the highest solid density of all materials that can regularly be made into weapons by dwarves. Tests show that indeed [[gold]] and [[platinum]] (increasingly dense) do increasing amounts of damage, and that war hammers remain the tool of choice, however they can only be produced by a moody dwarf (and a very lucky one at that).

For more on ranged ammunition see the forum thread [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=116151.0 Dwarven Research: A Comparison Study on the Effectiveness of Bolts vs Armors].

More arena tests are available in the [[Main:Military testing|Military testing]] article.

There is a bug with melee weapon momentum that causes certain weapons to swing faster than they should do, giving them greater performance. This bug is based on the weight of the weapon, with weapons weighing just under a whole number getting the greatest benefit. Two major beneficiaries of this weight bug are copper whips and iron or steel picks.

==Bugs==
*Equipping weapons/armor on military is erratic{{Bug|535}}
*'One-handed' vs. 'two-handed' checks are performed correctly, but 'can wield' vs. 'can't wield' ignores height and broadness modifiers, so dwarves in Fortress mode cannot equip two-handed swords, great axes, halberds, mauls, or pikes.{{bug|5812}}

==See also==
* [[User:Shinziril#Weapons_and_Armor|Outstanding research]] on weapons and armor by Shinziril

{{Weapons}}
{{Industry}}
{{Category|Weapons}}

Material science

2018-09-28T08:26:09Z

Tyzhang: Dwarf size is 60000 = 6*10^4, not 6*10^5, leads to table that is off by factor of 10 and incorrect calculations in http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Weapon#Combat_formulae

{{Quality|Exceptional|23:57, 9 October 2013 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
{{Material properties}}

[[Material|Materials]] have a number of properties representing real-world variables that describe how they respond to inputs. In particular, the game now has a number of variables that describe what happens to a material when it's put under stress.

==What is stress?==
In the real world, an object is stressed when a force is applied to the object. Depending on the nature of the force applied, this stress can take a number of forms, and the object can respond differently based on its material and how that material handles different stresses.

In the material raws, whenever you see 'yield', 'fracture', or '[[Strain at yield|strain at yield]]', that property is a stress-related quality.

==When does Dwarf Fortress make stress calculations?==
At present, DF seems to only apply forces during combat, and thus only stresses objects (generally armor and various body layers) at that time.

==There's a lot of stress-related properties, what do they mean?==
The first thing you'll notice is that the second word in each stress variable is one of Yield, Fracture, or strain at yield. These are mechanical performance terms.

The first set of words are things like Impact, Bending, and so forth. These describe modes of applying force.

The following explanations assumes real world physics sort of apply (since [[Main:Toady One|Toady One]] chose real world properties). The game doesn't use all of these properties yet, and may not be applying them according to real world physics.

===Mechanical Performance Properties===
Yield: This is almost certainly 'Yield Strength', which is the amount of stress needed to cause a material to go from elastic deformation to plastic deformation. (That is, if you cease stressing the object, does it revert to its original shape or not). Since most objects only elastically deform over small distances of deformation, high Yield values generally means it takes a lot of force to noticeably 'stretch' them (but see strain at yield).

Fracture: The fracture point is the amount of stress or force necessarily to cause the material to fail, or in other words, to break.

Strain at yield (sometimes incorrectly referred to as 'elasticity'): This variable tells you how much deformation occurs to the material while it is deforming elastically. That is, as long as the force is less than the yield strength, stress * strain at yield = deformation distance. The smaller the strain at yield, the less deformation occurs under stress. Strain is measured as parts-per-100000, meaning that 100000 strain is 100% deformation.

Note: Strain at yield is the inverse of the relevant elastic modulus, thus a highly elastic material has low elastic modulus, and engages in less elastic collisions.

===Modes of Applying Force===
Impact: Force applied by a sudden strike, like a hammer.

Compressive: Force applied by exerting pressure on an object, like trying to squish something between your hands.

Tensile: Force applied by pulling on something, like suspending one object via another. (e.g., if you suspend an [[elf]] from a metal pole, you are applying a tensile force to the pole).

Torsion: Force applied by twisting something. Note that you're twisting some portion of the object relative to itself to cause a torsion stress to be applied to it. (Consider trying to twist a metal rod by grasping at either end and attempting to wring it - yes, you'd have to apply a lot of force to succeed).

Shear: Force applied by pushing part of the material so it tries to slide relative to another part of it. Ie, pushing at the top of an object when the bottom part is fixed to the ground is going to primarily apply a shear stress to it (the top part will try to move in the direction you push, and the lower part will resist this shear stress).

Bending: Force applied by bending a material.

==Effects on Combat==
The Dwarf Fortress combat system does not use all material properties at present (0.40.05). Weapon and armor damage/wear/decay is implemented.

The formulae below have been reverse-engineered [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=131995.0] [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=142372.0] and experimentally proven [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=116151.0] [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=141364] by several independent researchers. Below are the simplified results; for more details see links above.

===Attack Types===
Both creatures and items can have [ATTACK] tokens. A creature can execute any of its natural attacks plus any attacks of the items it holds.
The attacks marked with [EDGE] flag deliver ''edged'' damage which is governed by [SHEAR_*] tokens; they can be further differentiated by attack contact area: generally concentrated strikes (area of 50 or less) are considered ''stabbing'' while wider areas correspond to ''slashing'' attacks. This distinction shall be emphasized later.

Every other attack is considered ''blunt''. [IMPACT_*] tokens affect blunt combat. Most specialised blunt weapons have small contact area; edged weapons generally also have blunt attacks with larger area values; items or creatures without defined attacks get default blunt attack with area = (size)^(2/3).
Under certain circumstances edged attack can be converted to blunt, but not contrariwise.

Wrestling moves are special: '''breaking bones''' uses [BENDING_*] values, '''pinching''' utilizes [COMPRESSIVE_*] properties, and '''biting''' can deal [TENSILE] or [TORSION] damage depending on whether the attack is edged. Those attacks generally ignore armor.

===Contact Area===
Attack contact area is the minimum of weapon contact area and armor/layer contact area.
Body parts have areas dependent on their size, as with non-weapon items; part size is creature size '''times''' relative size of the part in proportion to whole body.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Body part
! Relative size (human)
! Kobold
! Elf
! Human
! Troll
|-
|| Total || 100% || 20000 || 60000 || 70000 || 250000
|-
|| Upper body || 18% || 3599 || 10818 || 12621 || 43133
|-
|| Lower body || 18% || 3599 || 10818 || 12621 || 43133
|-
|| Neck || 1.8% || 359 || 1081 || 1262 || 4313
|-
|| Head || 5.4% || 1079 || 3245 || 3786 || 12939
|-
|| Upper arm || 3.6% || 719 || 2163 || 2524 || 8626
|-
|| Lower arm || 3.6% || 719 || 2163 || 2524 || 8626
|-
|| Hand || 1.4% || 287 || 865 || 1009 || 3450
|-
|| Upper leg || 9.0% || 1799 || 5409 || 6310 || 21566
|-
|| Lower leg || 7.2% || 1439 || 4327 || 5048 || 17253
|-
|| Foot || 2.2% || 431 || 1298 || 1514 || 5175
|}

Armor size is calculated as underlying body part size '''times''' coverage/100% '''times''' size/100 '''times''' 1+(UPSTEP+UBSTEP+LBSTEP)/4; MAX count as 3 in the last sum.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Item
! Size multiplier
! Body part
! Dwarf
! Human
! Extra body parts covered (humanoid)
! Notes
|-
|| Cap || 0.05 || Head || 162 || 189 || none || Cloth
|-
|| Mask || 0.1 || Head || 324 || 378 || none || Cloth
|-
|| Helm || 0.3 || Head || 973 || 1135 || none ||
|-
|| Leather armor || 0.3 || Upper body || 3245 || 3786 || Lower body, neck, upper arms, upper legs || leather
|-
|| Mail shirt || 0.225 || Upper body || 2434 || 2839 || Lower body, neck, upper arms, upper legs || Chain
|-
|| Breastplate || 0.2 || Upper body || 2163 || 2524 || Lower body ||
|-
|| Gauntlets || 0.25 || Hands || 216 || 252 || Lower arms, fingers ||
|-
|| Leggings || 0.2625 || Lower body || 2839 || 3313 || Upper legs, lower legs, toes || Chain
|-
|| Greaves || 0.2625 || Lower body || 2839 || 3313 || Upper legs, lower legs, toes ||
|-
|| Low boots || 0.25 || Feet || 324 || 378 || Toes ||
|-
|| High boots || 0.3125 || Feet || 405 || 473 || Lower legs, toes ||
|}

===Attack Momentum===
DF uses momentum-based combat physics, so the momentum plays central role in calculations.
Since momentum equals velocity times mass, and lighter items can be swung faster, attack momentum is largely independent from weapon weight. The simplified formula is as follows:

M = Str * Vel / ( 106/Size + 10*F/W ),

or

M = Size * Str * Vel / (10 * ( 105 + i_Size/W )),

or

M = Size * Str * Vel / (106 * (1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size) )

where:
* '''M''' is the momentum.
* '''Str''' is the creature's strength (e.g. 1250 for the average dwarf)
* '''Vel''' is the weapon's velocity modifier if present (e.g. 1.25x, 2x)
* '''Size''' is the average creature size (e.g. 60000 for dwarves)
* '''i_Size''' is the specific creature's size
* '''F''' is "fatness modifier" (also includes muscle) = i_Size/Size; dwarf with size of 66150 will have F=66150/60000=1.1025
* '''W''' is weapon mass in kilograms (Γ)
* '''w_density''' is the weapon's material's density
* '''w_size''' is the weapon's size.

Or, to sum up:

A stronger, smaller creature from a larger species wielding a more massive weapon hits with more momentum.
A stronger, smaller creature from a larger species wielding a larger, denser weapon hits with more momentum.

For dwarves, the formula becomes

M = 6*104 * Str * Vel / (10 * ( 105 + i_Size/W )) = 6*104 * Str * Vel / ( 105 + i_Size/W )

or

M = 0.06 * Str * Vel / (1 + i_Size/(w_density*w_size) )

There are 28 possible sizes for your dwarves from 33750 to 93750; strength can vary from 0 to 5000 with an average of 1250; velocity can vary from 1 (pommel strikes) to 5 (whip lashes); weapon size can vary from 100 (whips) to 1300 (great axes, which are unwieldable by dwarves; the largest wieldable weapon is size 800, in the form of battle axes and maces).

{| class="wikitable" border="border"
|+ Momenta for dwarves of strength 1250 hacking (velocity 1.25) with battle axes (size 800), rounded to 3 decimal places
! Dwarf Size
! Adamantine
! Divine metal
! Steel
! Iron
! Bismuth bronze
! Bronze
! Copper
! Silver
|-
| 33750 || 77.4194 || 89.9550 || 93.2489 || 93.2489 || 93.2730 || 93.2730 || 93.3092 || 93.3745
|-
| 42750 || 73.9827 || 88.9944 || 93.1161 || 93.1161 || 93.1467 || 93.1467 || 93.1923 || 93.2748
|-
| 44100 || 73.4934 || 88.8520 || 93.0963 || 93.0963 || 93.1277 || 93.1277 || 93.1748 || 93.2599
|-
| 45000 || 73.1707 || 88.7574 || 93.0830 || 93.0830 || 93.1151 || 93.1151 || 93.1632 || 93.2500
|-
| 45900 || 72.8509 || 88.6630 || 93.0698 || 93.0698 || 93.1025 || 93.1025 || 93.1515 || 93.2400
|-
| 47250 || 72.3764 || 88.5217 || 93.0499 || 93.0499 || 93.0836 || 93.0836 || 93.1340 || 93.2251
|-
| 54150 || 70.0444 || 87.8066 || 92.9485 || 92.9485 || 92.9871 || 92.9871 || 93.0447 || 93.1489
|-
| 55860 || 69.4895 || 87.6312 || 92.9235 || 92.9235 || 92.9632 || 92.9632 || 93.0226 || 93.1301
|-
| 56250 || 69.3642 || 87.5912 || 92.9177 || 92.9177 || 92.9577 || 92.9577 || 93.0176 || 93.1258
|-
| 57000 || 69.1244 || 87.5146 || 92.9067 || 92.9067 || 92.9473 || 92.9473 || 93.0079 || 93.1175
|-
| 57624 || 68.9262 || 87.4509 || 92.8976 || 92.8976 || 92.9386 || 92.9386 || 92.9999 || 93.1107
|-
| 58140 || 68.7632 || 87.3983 || 92.8900 || 92.8900 || 92.9314 || 92.9314 || 92.9932 || 93.1050
|-
| 58800 || 68.5558 || 87.3312 || 92.8804 || 92.8804 || 92.9221 || 92.9221 || 92.9847 || 93.0977
|-
| 59850 || 68.2283 || 87.2245 || 92.8650 || 92.8650 || 92.9075 || 92.9075 || 92.9711 || 93.0861
|-
| 59976 || 68.1893 || 87.2117 || 92.8631 || 92.8631 || 92.9057 || 92.9057 || 92.9695 || 93.0847
|-
| 60000 || 68.1818 || 87.2093 || 92.8628 || 92.8628 || 92.9054 || 92.9054 || 92.9692 || 93.0845
|-
| 61200 || 67.8119 || 87.0878 || 92.8452 || 92.8452 || 92.8887 || 92.8887 || 92.9537 || 93.0713
|-
| 61740 || 67.6468 || 87.0332 || 92.8373 || 92.8373 || 92.8811 || 92.8811 || 92.9467 || 93.0653
|-
| 62424 || 67.4388 || 86.9642 || 92.8273 || 92.8273 || 92.8716 || 92.8716 || 92.9379 || 93.0578
|-
| 63000 || 67.2646 || 86.9061 || 92.8189 || 92.8189 || 92.8636 || 92.8636 || 92.9305 || 93.0514
|-
| 64260 || 66.8866 || 86.7794 || 92.8004 || 92.8004 || 92.8460 || 92.8460 || 92.9142 || 93.0376
|-
| 66150 || 66.3277 || 86.5901 || 92.7728 || 92.7728 || 92.8197 || 92.8197 || 92.8899 || 93.0168
|-
| 71250 || 64.8649 || 86.0832 || 92.6983 || 92.6983 || 92.7487 || 92.7487 || 92.8242 || 92.9607
|-
| 73500 || 64.2398 || 85.8615 || 92.6655 || 92.6655 || 92.7175 || 92.7175 || 92.7953 || 92.9360
|-
| 75000 || 63.8298 || 85.7143 || 92.6436 || 92.6436 || 92.6966 || 92.6966 || 92.7760 || 92.9196
|-
| 76500 || 63.4249 || 85.5676 || 92.6217 || 92.6217 || 92.6758 || 92.6758 || 92.7567 || 92.9031
|-
| 78750 || 62.8272 || 85.3485 || 92.5890 || 92.5890 || 92.6446 || 92.6446 || 92.7278 || 92.8784
|-
| 93750 || 59.1133 || 83.9161 || 92.3711 || 92.3711 || 92.4370 || 92.4370 || 92.5357 || 92.7143
|}

There is also a hard velocity limit (10000) that might skew these calculations, but it's actually impossible to reach in unmodded game. (Well, okay, if you're a zombie adventurer with maxed out strength you ''might'' reach the limit using an adamantine whip -- but [[stupid dwarf trick|why]]?)

====Situational Modifiers====
Momentum can be further increased with weapon skill, status effects, attack modifiers etc.
For example:
* Skill adds gradual multiplier, up to 2x at Grand Master.
* Quick attacks halve momentum, wild and heavy attacks add 50%.
* Attacking a prone opponent doubles momentum value.

====Ranged Attacks====
Attacks from missile launchers are entirely dependent on the launcher's [SHOOT_FORCE] and [SHOOT_MAXVEL] tags:
{| border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
!
! SHOOT_FORCE
! SHOOT_MAXVEL
! Maximum Velocity
! Magic Density / Constant Momentum
|-
| Bows and Crossbows || 1000 || 200 || 20 || 1666 / 50
|-
| Blowguns || 100 || 1000 || 100 || 250 / 5
|}

Specifically, as long as projectile is heavy enough, it is fired with a momentum of SHOOT_FORCE/20; if this would make its speed exceed SHOOT_MAXVEL/10, it is capped at this value instead. (As usual, momentum = velocity times weight.) This gives the launcher a magic density above which momentum becomes a constant and velocity decays, shown in the table; below this density, velocity is constant (SHOOT_MAXVEL/10), and momentum decays.

Vanilla [[bolt]]s and [[arrow]]s end up with a momentum of 50 (velocity nearly 20, at density 1667), as long as their density exceeds 1666. [[Divine metal|Divine]] ammo (1.5kg) has momentum 30 (velocity 20), [[bone]] and most [[wood]] (0.75kg) get 15 (velocity 20), and [[adamantine]] bolts (0.3kg) have only 6 (velocity 20). Wooden [[dart]]s (0.1kg) usually have 5 (velocity 50).

====Weapon Traps====
Traps always have a fixed attack velocity of 200, no matter the weapon weight; the momentum thus is 200 times weight. This includes shot ammunition.

===Attack Momentum Costs===
The attack generally needs some momentum threshold to break through each armor/tissue layer.
If the attack is '''edged''', it also can cut through it instead. For latter it has to have momentum no less than:

M >= (rSY + (A+1)*rSF) * (10 + 2*Qa) / (S * Qw),

where:
* '''rSY''' is the ratio of layer's to weapon's SHEAR_YIELD
* '''rSF''' is ditto with SHEAR_FRACTURE
* '''A''' is attack contact area
* '''S''' is weapon material [[edge|sharpness]] multiplier (1x for most metals, 1.2x for [[divine metal]], 1.5x for [[glass]], 2x for [[obsidian]], 10x for [[adamantine]] and 0.1x for all other materials)
* '''Qw''' is [[quality]] sharpness multiplier (1x for normal quality, 1.4x for fine, 2x for masterwork (or artifact) etc.)
* '''Qa''' is armor [[quality]] multiplier (same but x3 for artifacts)

Should it exceed this value, attack momentum is decreased by some 5% and the layer is considered punctured/severed. Calculations then repeat for the underlying layer. Otherwise damage is converted to blunt ''just for this layer'' and proceeds as following.

'''Blunt attacks''' can be entirely deflected by armor if weapon's IMPACT_YIELD is especially low relative to armor's density:

2 * Sw * IYw < A * Da,

where '''Da''' is armor material's density (in g/cm3), '''A''' is attack contact area, '''Sw''' is weapon size and '''IYw''' is its impact yield in MPa (i.e. raw value divided by 106).

Otherwise, attack must have minimum momentum of:

M >= (2*IF - IY) * (2 + 0.4*Qa) * A,

where '''IF''' and '''IY''' are layer's impact fracture and impact yield in MPa, '''Qa''' is armor quality multiplier and '''A''' is contact area as above.
Again, on success layer is considered thrashed, momentum is reduced by about 5% and next layer is tested.

If both edged and blunt momenta thresholds haven't been met, attack is ''permanently'' converted to blunt and its momentum may be greatly reduced.
Specifically, it is multiplied by SHEAR_STRAIN_AT_YIELD/50000 for ''edged'' attacks or IMPACT_STRAIN_AT_YIELD/50000 otherwise. I.e., most metals reduce blocked attacks by 98%-99%, but see below. Note that elastic armor, such as a mail shirt, has both strain at yield values raised to 50000, so it multiplies by 1 at this step (i.e. does nothing to the momentum, but does still convert it to blunt) regardless of material.

===Elastic Material Modifiers===
Clothing with [STRUCTURAL_ELASTICITY_*] tokens has its stress properties modified.

Items with [STRUCTURAL_ELASTICITY_CHAIN_ALL] or metallic items with [STRUCTURAL_ELASTICITY_CHAIN_METAL] have their [*_STRAIN_AT_YIELD] increased to 50000, which means that blocked attack will not be dampened; it still may be converted to ''blunt'', however. Metal leggings and chainmail shirts have this property in vanilla.

Items made of cloth (including adamantine!) with [STRUCTURAL_ELASTICITY_WOVEN_THREAD] additionally have their SHEAR values reduced to negligible 20-30 kPa. This makes candy clothing especially useless in combat. Caps and all clothing have this tag in vanilla.

===Penetration Depth===
This is also very important parameter.
Please write something about it.

===Pulping===
Pulping appears to work by evaluating the layers in a body part. If each layer meets any one of the following criteria then the body part is pulped:
* 100% bruised/burned/frostbite/melt/necrosis/blister/boil/freeze/condense (i.e. 10000+ in layer_effect_fraction)
* 250% dented (i.e. 25000+ in layer_dent_fraction)
* 100% cut (i.e. 10000+ in layer_cut_fraction) (cut in this case is synonymous with fracture)

Spines, skulls, and perhaps other body parts have the [PREVENTS_PARENT_COLLAPSE] token which prevents the parent body part (such as the head, upper body, or lower body) from being pulped until the sub-part is broken. It appears that only external body parts can be pulped, not internal organs. You will find that boneless body parts that don't contain a spine/skull part will pulp VERY easily (i.e. eyes/ears).

There does not appear to be any distinctions between the combat text descriptions of the pulping, beyond the messages being appropriate to the weapon used (edged, blunt, or creature body part).

==Material and item properties==
As can be seen from above, importance of different material/item properties greatly varies in different scenarios. Below are some guidelines to estimating weapon/armor merit.
* When dealing with dwarf-sized targets, layer '''contact areas''' usually lay in 200~10000 range. The majority of vanilla weapons, however, has contact areas either below or above that ([[dagger]] is the lone exception); it therefore can be said, as a rule of thumb, that weapons with area of five or six digits assume their target's contact area, whereas the others use their own.
* Weapon '''weight''' matters very little past a certain threshold: for example, a platinum [[war hammer]] in dwarven hands only gets about 12% more momentum over a steel one, despite being thrice as heavy. (An adamantine hammer, however, only has 1/7th as much.) Thus, since all common weapon metals have about the same density, it can be safely ignored.
** The only exception are ''weapon traps'', which are much more effective with heavy weapons loaded.
* '''Shear yield''' doesn't actually matter. Even with [[dagger]]/[[bolt]]'s contact area of 5 it contributes only ~15% to piercing cost, and since it equals about half of shear fracture for most metals, it can be approximated as such without much error.
* Blunt weapons only use '''impact yield''' value. '''Impact fracture''' ''protects'' from blunt attacks instead. Curiously, layer impact yield actually decreases blunt fracturing cost, so ''lower yield is better'' for armor.
** Most dedicated blunt weapons cannot be deflected by anything but slade, so their impact yield can in fact be ignored.
* Chain mail cannot block attacks via momentum cost thresholds; it still can blunt slashing attacks and then deflect them. Thus, the best defence can be reached by wearing ''dense'' (like [[copper]]) mail shirt under a ''rigid'' (like [[candy]]) one.
* '''Strain at yield''' values are used in comparison to 50000. Since all metals have much less strain values than this, they all can be considered to have ''zero'' elasticity.
* Adamantine clothing is ''absolutely useless'' as armor.
* Armor quality doesn't matter much: masterwork armor provides only about 15% more protection than low-quality one.
* Blunt weapon quality appears to not affect damage at all.

With that in mind, here are some numbers for vanilla weapon/armor materials:

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Material
!Density
! Impact Yield
! 2*(Impact Fracture) - Impact Yield
! Shear Fracture
! class="unsortable" | Elasticity
! Sharpness
! class="unsortable" |
! Bolt
! adj.
! Sword
! adj.
! Mace
! min M
|-
|| Adamantine || 0.20 || 5.00 || 5.00 || 5.00 || 0 || 10 |||| 6 || 300 || 9 || 450 || 31 || 200
|-
|| Bone/shell || 0.50 || 0.20 || 0.20 || 0.13 || <1% || 0.1 |||| 15 || 0.20 || 19 || 0.25 || 60 || 8
|-
|| Bronze || 8.25 || 0.60 || 1.08 || 0.24 || <=1% || 1 |||| 49 || 12 || 75 || 18 || 138 || 43
|-
|| Copper || 8.93 || 0.25 || 1.30 || 0.22 || <1% || 1 |||| 49 || 11 || 77 || 17 || 138 || 52
|-
|| Divine metal || 1.00 || 1.00 || 3.00 || 2.00 || 0 || 1.2 |||| 30 || 72 || 31 || 74 || 86 || 120
|-
|| Glass || 2.6 || 1.00 || 1.00 || 0.04 || 4%/<1% || 1.5 |||| -- || -- || 53 || 3.2 || 116 || 40
|-
|| Iron || 7.85 || 0.54 || 1.62 || 0.31 || <1% || 1 |||| 49 || 15 || 75 || 23 || 137 || 65
|-
|| Leather || 0.50 || 0.01 || 0.01 || 0.03 || 100% || -- |||| -- || -- || -- || -- || -- || 0.4
|-
|| Obsidian || 2.67 || 1.00 || 1.00 || 0.04 || 4%/<1% || 2 |||| -- || -- || 54 || 4.3 || 117 || 40
|-
|| Platinum || 21.4 || 0.35 || 1.05 || 0.20 || <1% || 1 |||| -- || -- || 86 || 17 || 145 || 42
|-
|| Silver || 10.49 || 0.35 || 0.84 || 0.17 || <1% || 1 |||| 49 || 8.3 || 79 || 13 || 140 || 34
|-
|| Slade || 200 || 4.00 || 6.00 || 5.00 || <1% || 0.1 |||| -- || -- || 93 || 46 || 149 || 240
|-
|| Steel || 7.85 || 1.51 || 3.54 || 0.72 || 2%/<1% || 1 |||| 49 || 35 || 75 || 54 || 137 || 142
|-
|| Wood || 0.50 || 0.01 || 0.01 || 0.04 || 2% || 0.1 |||| 15 || 0.06 || 19 || 0.076 || 60 || 0.4
|}
Clarifications:

On the left side of the table there are some raw values. Density and impact yield are important for a blunt weapon; 4th column is adjusted impact fracture that appears in the formula for blunt defense. Shear fracture is important for edged attacks and defense. Elasticity is in %s of 50000; as you can see, it is universally low.

On the right side there are some typical weapon momenta. From left to right: bolt momentum; ditto multiplied by SF and sharpness (signifies piercing ability); short sword momentum in dwarven hands; ditto multiplied by sharpness and SF; dwarf swinging a mace; and minimum momentum '''some''' mace needs to break through armor of '''this''' material.

{{Category|Materials|*}}