40d Talk:Plate mail

how much is platemail worth? Diabl0658 19:37, 5 January 2008 (EST)

Just about all items have their base and multipliers here. --Edward 20:05, 5 January 2008 (EST)

how to make dwarves wear plate

I've set a lot of dwarves to wear plate in order to get it out of my stockpile. As soon as I draft them, they put it on, but when I relieve them, they put it back in the stockpile. is there any way to make them wear it when they're not soldiering? is there any reason they shouldn't wear it around town, as it were? --Tachyon 18:23, 6 August 2008 (EDT)

I believe you can do this by turning on their "Hunting" labor, but at the same time they will actively hunt things. Since wildlife (apparently) can be depleted rather quickly, this might work. Pavlov 22:54, 6 August 2008 (EDT)

You would think that 100 dwarfs running around in plate with crossbows would quickly deplete the local wildlife, so it might work. Only problem is they might get attacked by goblin raids while all on their own. I'll give it a try once my current fort starts cranking out armour. Dangerous Beans 01:08, 7 August 2008 (EDT)

Plate mail for marksdwarves

bad idea? or is it the norm?
i heard that plate mail greatly reduces the effectiveness of marksdwarves. whether that's 'cause it's heavy and such, i dont know. thus, i've been kitting out my marksdwarves in leather, but they all die pretty quickly in battle (partially my fault - i've been allowing them to chase opponents instead of staying close to their position, meaning they spend more time running than shooting, and die incredibly quick when in close combat, but anyway..). could i upgrade 'em all to plate, so they atleast have a chance? --DJ Devil
edit: and shields. should i equip them? or would it transform their crossbow into a hammer?

If they are carrying more weight than they can handle, they will be severely slowed down, not just in movement but in everything. This is very bad. Since plate mail is extremely heavy, this can cause problems. If they are not encumbered, however, plate mail is great.

Personally, I equip those marksdwarves of mine who don't have hammer skills with a wooden or bone crossbow, which is very light and entirely effective at shooting, though not at bashing. --Savok 11:01, 8 March 2009 (EDT)

okay, thanks :]
i had a look at the platemail set one of my other milita were wearing, and it added up to about 2600. as i'm giving them all iron bows ('just in case'), which weigh just over 300, they need 3k minimum. added to everything else, and it'll probably be closer to 3.5, and it's too much for my n00b crossbow dudes xD
do you know if they gain 'armo(u)r user' exp. from walking around with it on, though? i have two squads at each entrance to my fort stood around doing nothing, lol. and a third as civilians waiting for their stuff to be made before i throw 'em in with the legendary fortress/royal guards. if they gain exp whilst "sparring" (at the archery range) or just wearing it, then it'll be worth throwing on some platemail. --DJ Devil

IIRC, armor user xp is gained when their armor is hit by a blow. So, no and no. --Savok 12:24, 8 March 2009 (EDT)

yeah, it was more in hope than expectation x]
then again, do they gain strength from being encumbered? atm, a couple of them could wear platemail and be perfectly fine, whilst another two would seriously struggle (i've only checked 4 marksdwarves, 2 of which are strong+, others have no tag for it). and, since they're just stood around doing nothing, it might be worth giving them too much, in the hope they 'get used to it' (i.e. grow strong enough for it), no? --DJ Devil

I use wood/bone xbows as well. I figure that saving several hundred units of weight is worth them being slightly less effective at something they shouldn't be doing in the first place. --LegacyCWAL 13:15, 8 March 2009 (EDT)

doesnt make any difference(the saved weight). iron crossbow is 314, bone crossbow is 44. however, some quick calculations tell me an average leather armour kit, with normal clothes mixed in, is roughly 386. add the quiver of 68, and the (bone) bolts of 49, it gives you a grand total of 503. even with the iron/steel crossbow, it's only 800. 850 at max. and, as the maximum weight for encumbrance of a non-strong+ dwarf is 2k, it wont make any difference to carry the extra 270 for an iron/steel crossbow.
the only real differences are A) cost(practically free to make a bone crossbow), and B) attack power, when used as a hammer. so, when you have lots of spare iron, spare metalsmiths and ample wood.. why not? you'd have thought it'd give 'em a chance if they get into close-range combat, anyway, since they dont run back to restock when they run out of bolts in battle (or, mine didnt when 'chase opponents' was turned on) --DJ Devil

For one thing, I give them metal bolts, which is a ton more weight right there. Saving weight also frees up space for metal armor. Marksdwarves shouldn't be in close combat - that's what all the towers and pillboxes and such that are always mentioned are for. As such, arrows/bolts will be by far the biggest threat to your marksdwarves, and protecting them from that is, IMO, a better use of weight than protecting them from something they shouldn't be doing in the first place. --LegacyCWAL 20:21, 8 March 2009 (EDT)

haha, make up your mind xD are you saving weight, or giving your marksdwarves heavy/expensive stuff to shoot at rhesus macaques?
but yeah, i've put all my bows up for melting again, since i'm gonna do pretty-much the same as you have :] i've run out of ore, and i dont wanna go mining again. only problem was; i hit 200 (no king, btw), and got a titan attack, and a 5-group goblin siege as soon as i'd done the ground floor :/ but, alas, fended them off, and i'll get my defenses up and running again. --DJ Devil

I'm saving weight in one area in order to use it better in another. --LegacyCWAL 19:58, 9 March 2009 (EDT)