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v0.34:Moat
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
A moat is a very simply and universally applicable piece of defense design, and often the first defense-oriented piece of engineering that players will embark upon. A basic moat is nothing more than a dug-out hole encircling your entrance with a single three-tile wide (for caravans) bridge over it attached to a lever. In the event of an attack, the lever can be pulled and the bridge raised, and whatever is threatening you will no longer have a direct entrance into your fortress.
There are two ways to construct a moat. The first is to dig out the moat level and then channel down to it from the above. The second is to channel down to that level first and then remove all ramp. In both cases it is necessary to have either a ramp leading out of the moat or a sealed-off access tunnel, to avoid stranding your miners. If you absolutely must have an absolutely clean moat, the effect can be achieved by building a support, attaching a floor to it above the ramp in question, linking it to a lever, and then collapsing the support. The floor will fall down and obliterate the ramp.
It's not necessary, but highly dwarfy, to fill a moat with water or magma. Although a dry moat is perfectly functional, doing so will render it more lethal to enemies that slip in by accident. This is a double-edged sword, however, and you should make sure there are no dwarves standing on bridges when you pull levers.