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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.
A moat by itself offers no defense against ranged enemies and will tend to scatter your animals and dwarves when they go outside, as they will be spooked by seeing whatever is outside. You can surround your moat with internal fortifications, giving you an advantage in ranged combat, but this will still spook dwarves. The best solution is a wall on one layer, with a set of stairs up to the next z-level with a fortified wall and walkway to give your marksdwarves something to shoot at. The other problem is that flyers will calmly hop right over your moat and curtain wall, so the one foolproof entrance is one floored from above.