This page on the wiki houses trials run within the game by players, with the intention of arriving at conclusions on how certain combat situations work, or just combat in general.

If you want to know more about how to do your own testing go to the [[DF2010:Arena]] wiki article. To learn more about the military and how it works in Dwarf Fortress, go to the [[DF2010:Military]] article.

The format in which trials are presented here is by no means a strict rule. Feel free to add and change elements but make sure the information is easy to read and understand. Try to provide any information you think is relevant and useful without digressing too much.

= Standard format for testing trials =

Here's an example of how to present your test's information. If you're not sure how to make tables and stuff, just copy this from the edit page and fill it with your own information.

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || Grand Master Swordsdwarf Grand Master Elf-hater || Tower-cap stake
|-
| #2: Corinthian Magma Weasel || 6 || -no skills- || -no items-
|-
| #3: Tea cup || 6 || Legendary Absurdist || Mustard
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 0 || Severed limbs Bruised internal organs || Tired Bored Extreme Pain || Infection
|-
| #2: Corinthian Magma Weasel || 3 || Broken nose Broken toes || Nauseous || Severed head
|-
| #3: Tea cup || 1 || Cracked handle || -none- || Slippage
|}

'''Notes:'''
The creatures were placed in tight groups, spaced equally apart. The dwarves died fast from injuries caused by the tea cups the magma weasels were throwing. The weasels died from friendly fire.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
The test was meant to test how 3 different sides interact in combat and if any creature uses other creatures as projectiles. As far as this test goes, it seems to be true.

= DF2010 (0.31.16) tests =

=== Dwarves against Skeletal Horses (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || -no skills- || full iron armor (with chain leggings and mail shirt), shield and longsword
|-
| #2: Skeletal Horse || 3 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags1 !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 6 || 4 have no injuries 2 badly wounded || Unconscious Extreme Pain || -N/A-
|-
| #2: Skeletal Horse || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal injuries
|}

1Refers only to those injured.

'''Notes:'''
I did this test to see if dwarves can survive horses if they've got full iron armor and weapons. The fight was short and it looks like the skeletal horses charge hard and if they hit, they stun and can kill pretty fast if they're not stopped. I tried it 6:3 because I didn't expect the dwarves to survive a 1:1 ratio against the horses anyway. And yes the amount of trials is pathetic :P

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Even if dwarves are fully equipped, skeletal horses are very hard to deal with without casualties or at least serious injuries. Going up to a herd requires at least double the dwarves (if they're unskilled at least) to make sure you'll win and even then you're very likely to end up with dwarves that need hospitalization.

=== Dwarves against fire imps (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 4 || Grand Master Shield User || iron shield
|-
| #2: Fire imp || 6 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 4 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || -N/A-
|-
| #2: Fire imp || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal damage from shield attacks
|}

'''Notes:'''
The purpose of this test was to see how shields block fire. In that sense, it was a failure since none of the imps even had the time to attempt fire attacks. The dwarves use their shields as weapons when they don't have an actual weapon in hand and can use it to block at the same time.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Dwarves with shields and the skill to use them can be very deadly and hard to kill as well. That and fire imps are easy to kill :P

=== Dwarves against Dragon (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 4 || Grand Master Shield User || iron shield
|-
| #2: Dragon || 1 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Severing of the body when incapable of blocking a biting attack
|-
| #2: Dragon || 1 || All toes broken, nose broken Severe bruising on the rest of the body || Pain || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:'''
This is a test intended to test fire blocking with shields, in lieu of the previous test which failed at it. Dwarves can block fire breath fine with iron shields and the shields do not get worn.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Again, dwarves capable of using shields properly are very hard to kill. These ones had very high skill and the only way the dragon was able to kill them was by knocking them over or stunning them and following through with a bite, severing them in half.

=== Dwarves against Dragon (2) (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 4 || Grand Master Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Dragon || 1 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 3 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || Severing of the body when incapable of blocking a biting attack
|-
| #2: Dragon || 0 || All toes broken, nose broken Severe bruising on the rest of the body Severe bruising of internal organs || Extreme Pain Nauseous || Suffocation
|}

'''Notes:'''
This test was made to test the effectiveness of non-firesafe material shields against fire. Other than that, the setup is entirely identical to the previous test.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Shield material does not matter when used by a dwarf it seems and it also never gets worn, so technically a shield of any material is just as adequate for defense. The dwarves again used their shields to attack successfully. Fights with dragons also seem to always include the dragon getting all his toes broken and often his nose. It is also apparent that chance is an important factor when attacks that land by one side (the dragon in this case) are almost always fatal and the other side (the dwarves here) is capable of completely blocking the majority of these attacks. This demonstrated by the fact that in the previous test all dwarves died while in this one the dragon died instead, with all survivors being intact.

=== Dwarves against Skeletal Horses (2) (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || Grand Master Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Skeletal Horse || 3 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 6 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || -N/A-
|-
| #2: Skeletal Horses || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal injuries
|}

'''Notes:'''
This is a followup of the previous test to examine how effective shields are against skeletal horses.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
The dwarves are not only capable of killing the horses, but also prevent any injury to themselves. The horses still push them around a bit, but there is little they can do when dwarves gang up on them. The fight is also, quite short.

=== Dwarves against Horses (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || Skilled Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Horse || 3 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal injuries
|-
| #2: Horses || 3 || Light bruising || -no tags- || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:'''
This was done by accident, but serves as a comparison between Skeletal and regular Horses. There seems to be no comparison :P. The intent was to test how capable dwarves are with just a "Skilled" level of expertise with shields rather than Grand Master.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Contrary to Skeletal Horses, the regular ones are much harder to kill with shields. The important point here however is the immense difference of capability a dwarf has at a low skill level contrary to a high skill level. Dwarves at this level do not have a consistent ability to block attacks and use their shields enough to prevent quick death, especially by horses.

=== Dwarves against Horses (2) (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || Grand Master Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Horse || 3 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 3 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || Fatal injuries
|-
| #2: Horses || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal injuries
|}

'''Notes:'''
This is intended to test the actual effectiveness of dwarves as grand masters against regular horses, so as to compare to skeletal horses and the previous test that had dwarves using shields at a lower skill level.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Arguably, a higher skill level is a lot more effective, but horses still are very hard to kill without casualties. The difference between fighting a bones-only Horse and an actual muscled Horse is very apparent.

=== Dwarves against Hydra (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 31 || Grand Master Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Hydra || 1 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

1These are the dwarves that survived the previous test. They're completely unharmed, but I thought it good to mention this.

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1 || Lost a leg || Tired || Fatal injuries Severing of the body when incapable of blocking a biting attack
|-
| #2: Hydra || 1 || Severe bodily bruising Internal organs bruised || Over-Exerted Nauseous || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:'''
This test was not completed, but the eventual outcome is fairly obvious. It was begun right after the previous one in order to compare how a stronger monster would fare against grand master shieldwarves.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Like the dragon, the hydra has a very hard time with the dwarves. The fight is long and even though it can kill them all eventually, the damage it takes in the meantime is definitive. A slightly higher number of dwarves might have killed it and even if a whole squad dies, the threat the hydra poses is practically elimintated as it will probably eventually die on its own anyway.

=== Bronze vs. Iron ===

To simulate Fortress mode, 8 battles of 8 vs. 8. Since goblins only use iron, both teams wore iron armour, only difference between the teams being iron vs. bronze short sword.

'''Times run: 8'''

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 8 || Proficient Swordsdwarf || Full iron set minus breastplate and shield, iron short sword
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 8 || Proficient Swordsdwarf || Full iron set minus breastplate and shield, bronze short sword
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Iron team || 4 lost rounds, 20 of 14 wounded || Severed limbs cuts || Tired Pale Faint || Bleeding
|-
| #2: Bronze team || 4 lost rounds, 24 of 21 wounded || Severed limbs cuts || Tired Pale Faint || Bleeding
|}

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Casualty/wounded(bruises and missing tooth/broken noses etc not counting)/intact rates of 67/30/3% for bronze and vs. 72/19/8% for iron would suggest that while bronze might be better in bigger and longer fights, as in all but 1 of the battles the first casualty was for the bronze team. This is probably because all attacks, both edged attacks and both blunt attacks the short sword has were seen to be used and because good part of the attacks that hit armour were deflected(and effectively became blunt attacks), and because bronze as a heavier material works slightly better in blunting, while the iron seems to have a slight edge in edged attacks. This is also supported by the comparably much higher amount of wounded dwarves(presumably having been hit early in the battle, lots of missing feet, at times lower legs, hands, lower arms, ears and noses) in the bronze team, despite them losing less as KIA.

A 52 vs 52 fight was also tested to see how much difference there would be when majority of the kills would be made when dwarves would be tired and suffering from broken bones(presumably the iron team more than bronze), and bronze team slightly more from cuts and missing body parts. The bronze team annihilated the iron team, having only 50% losses. Of its 26 survivors, however, 25(!) were wounded. Only one dwarf remained intact without cuts or body parts missing.

=== Adamantine Axes vs. Silver Hammers (no armor) ===

'''Times run: 10'''

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 10 || Grandmaster All Skills || Only silver war hammer
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 10 || Grandmaster All Skills || Only adamantine battleaxe
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Wins
|-
| #1: Hammer team || Won 5 of 10 rounds
|-
| #2: Axe team || Won 5 of 10 rounds
|}

This study seems to show that (for legendary dwarfs), silver war hammers are about equal with adamantine battleaxes, even with both sides being unarmored. The previous time I ran this test, hammers actually won 6 of the 10 rounds, but this time it was evenly split.

:(Is that because a grandmaster dwarf can disable or kill an unarmored dwarf with just one hit with either weapon? Might be worth examining the combat logs.) [[User:Bognor|Bognor]] 09:08, 3 June 2011 (UTC)

{{Category|Military}}

=== Dwarves against Skeletal Horses (3) (tested by: Stormtemplar) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarfs || 6 || Proficient Fighter and swordsdwarf, skilled Dodger, Armor and Shield user || Full iron armor&Shortsword
|-
| #2: Skeletal horse || 6 || None || none
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarfs || 6 || 1 with minor wounds, one with head bruising and some broken parts || 1 unconscious (Dwarf with head bruising) ||
|-
| #2: Skeletal horse || 0 || || ||
|}

'''Notes:'''
Dwarfs began in a line, horses began slightly scattered

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
The test was a test of how a middling military would fare against an equal force of skeletal horses. The dwarfs did excellently with only one badly wounded and one other with a minor wound.

= DF2012 (0.34.02) tests =

=== Maces VS war hammers (tested by: hostergaard) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Human male || 12 || -no skills- || Silver mace
|-
| #2: Human male || 12 || -no skills- || Silver warhammer
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Macemen || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Getting their skulls jammed trough their heads
|-
| #2: Warhammermen || 12 || Some broken hands and fingers. Some smashed open. A few bruises. Some cuts. || 1 Unconscious || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:'''
I want to figure out how good the different blunt weapons are in relation to each other. For now I will test with silver only.
I placed them in two groups on different z-levels with 6 from each side in each group. Each side was ordered in lines (parallel to the y axis) with no space between the individuals. The lines from each side was place right next to each other in each group. Group one had the 6 macemen on left (on the x axis) and the 6 hammermen on the right. Group two had mace on the right and hammer on left.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''

Leaves little doubt that in case of naked men fighting each other with warhammers and maces the hammers win. The hammerman who lost consciousness fought several macemen before fainting.

=== Single Unarmoured/Untrained Dwarf Weapon Test (tested by: RokRokRok) ===

'''Times run:''' 5 Each

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1 || None || Copper Battle Axe
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 1 || None || Crossbow (No ammo)
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Rounds won !! Injury level !! Worse Health tags !! Cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 4 || Mild Bruising || None || Torn Brain
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 1 || Cuts || None || Torn Brain
|}

'''Notes:''' I am doing a 1 on 1 with every dwarf weapon to see what weapons are best against what weapons while unskilled. Not counting armor. I will only be recording Injury/Health tags to the winners.

'''Tester's conclusion:''' A dwarf bash with a crossbow is no match for a dwarf battle axe. No missing limbs, just a few missing teeth. The one time that the crossow killed the battle axe was infact not with a crossow. The battle axe stuck the hand, disarming the crossbow. The disarmed dwarf proceded to knock out the battle axe dwarf, and smash his skull in with his foot.

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1 || None || Copper Battle Axe
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 1 || None || None
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Rounds won !! Injury level !! Worse Health tags !! Cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 5 || Minor to Major Bruising & Cuts, one lost ear || Nauseous, Pale, Pain || None
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || 3 Torn Brain, 2 Bleeding
|}

'''Notes:''' This is to see if the one kill was pure luck or if unarmed was better.

'''Tester's conclusion:''' It was pure luck, but one time an unarmed dwarf managed to get the upper hand, bruising the guts, cutting off the ear, but eventually died from a torn brain.

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1 || None || Copper Battle Axe
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 1 || None || Copper Mace
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Rounds won !! Injury level !! Worse Health tags !! Cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 2 || 1 with no injuries, 1 with upper leg bruising || -N/A- || 1 Suffocation, 1 Torn Brain, 1 Punch out.
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 3 || 1 with no injuries, 1 with upper arm bruising, 1 with moderate lower arm/hand cuts & disarmed || -N/A- || 2 Disarmed & Bleed out.
|}

'''Notes:''' Decided to get in detail for injuries since it was pretty evenly matched.

'''Tester's conclusion:''' Mace won overall. Once the mace was out of the arms, the axe dwarf won two out of three times. Further Tests coming.

= DF2012 (0.34.04) tests =

=== Iron Spears VS Iron Warhammers (tested by: Naryar) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Speardwarves || 9 || -no skills || iron spear
|-
| #2: Hammerdwarves || 9 || -no skills- || iron war hammer
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Speardwarves || 6 || Minor injuries || None || Brain damage
|-ea
| #2: Hammerdwarves || 0 || Brain damage
|}

Notes : Each team was in a 3x1 line. Spears won easily. Now let's try better weapons and skill.

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Speardwarves || 9 || High Master Speardwarf || steel spear
|-
| #2: Hammerdwarves || 9 || High Master Hammerdwarf || silver war hammer
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Speardwarves || 0 || Brain damage
|-ea
| #2: Hammerdwarves || 5 || 3 had multiple fractures, 1 had multiple fractures and a lost hand, 1 had nothing || 1 pale
|}

Notes : Each team was right next to each other, no more stacking dwarves like before. Hammerdwarves now won.

=== 3 v 1 Mail Shirts (tested by: Waladil) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 12 || Grand Master Armor User || Steel gauntlets/greaves/high boots/helm, iron battle axe, 1 iron mail shirt
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 12 || Grand Master Armor User || Steel gauntlets/greaves/high boots/helm, iron battle axe, 3 iron mail shirts
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 0 || || || Suffocation/Bleeding out
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 12 || Minor cuts and bruises || 3 faint, 1 pale
|}

So I've been wanting to test the common knowledge that more armor layering = better, so this is the test I set up. Both sides were identical, except that one team wore three mail shirts rather than one. Using steel as the rest of the armor and iron axes ensured that everything important happened around the iron armor.
The battle was slow, almost every hit being stopped by armor. Over time, team one's thinner armor let more blows through, and they eventually bled out or suffocated from lung damage.
This test proved that wearing more armor increases protection. However...

'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 12 || None || Steel gauntlets/greaves/high boots/helm, iron battle axe, 1 iron mail shirt
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 12 || None || Steel gauntlets/greaves/high boots/helm, iron battle axe, 3 iron mail shirts
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 9 || Minor cuts and bruises || Some faint/pale
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 0 || || || Suffocation/Bleeding out
|}

This test was very similar to the last, except that the skill of armor user was set to zero. And that reversed the results. While team two was more protected, they were also considerably slower (606 v. 788) and I think they were also quicker to over-exert and pass out.

Overall results: The added armor is only useful at higher levels of training. I didn't calibrate enough to find the actual midpoint, but it seems that the added layers drop off in efficiency and are not as useful, potentially being harmful if the user is unable to handle the weight.

=== Steel vs. Wooden Shield (tested by: apostle602) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1*11 || Proficient Fighter, Proficient Swordsdwarf, Proficient Shield User, Proficient Armor User || Full adamantine armor set, iron short sword, steel shield
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 1*11 || Proficient Fighter, Proficient Swordsdwarf, Proficient Shield User, Proficient Armor User || Full adamantine armor set, iron short sword, cedar shield
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 3 || 2 unscratched, 1 missing both hands and a foot || 1 pale || Bleeding out
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 9 || Mostly unscratched, 1 with hands cut open || 1 unconscious || Bleeding out
|}

This is a test to determine what would be the best material for shields. Tested with 22 independent dwarves at different places of the arena, it was a long battle and in the end one of the winner dwarves found his way to a still fighting couple, hence total 12 alive dwarves at the end.

Aside from that test I made a couple more with the same idea and always dwarves with heavier shields won only if they bashed opponents with these shields, f.e. if they've lost their weapons.

So at the end the only important parameter for a shield is its weight.

= DF2012 (0.34.11) tests =

=== Axe vs. Spear ===

'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 1 || Grand Master Axedwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full steel armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 1 || Grand Master Speardwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full steel armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine spear
|-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarf || 0, 1 || Severed hand, Torn ligaments and tendons, Severed Nerves, Fractured bones, Opened arteries || -N/A-, -no tags- || Bleeding out
|-ea
| #2: Speardwarf || 1, 0 || Severed limbs, Torn muscle, Severed Nerves, Open artery || -no tags-, -N/A- || Bleeding out
|}

'''Notes:''' In the first round, speardwarf got his weapon stuck several times. Axedwarf attacked later, and only twice, missing both times. Speardwarf devastated axedwarf in this round. In the second round, axedwarf charges and topples speardwarf initially, then severs several limbs. Speardwarf landed only one bruising hit. Both made many misses. Axedwarf devastated speardwarf in this round. The victor barely got injured at all in both rounds, and the loser gets mutilated. Because of these polarising results, two rounds were deemed sufficient.

In conclusion, both axes and spears are edged weapons that give a great advantage when making initial lucky strikes/hits against lesser-material armored oponents. The difference seems to be in the types of wounds: Fractured bones and open arteries for spears, and severed limbs for battle axes.

=== Axe vs. Spear (2) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 1 || Grand Master Axedwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full adamantine armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 1 || Grand Master Speardwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full adamantine armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine spear
|-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarf || 1 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || -N/A-
|-ea
| #2: Speardwarf || 1 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:''' Lots of misses. Every attack that hit got deflected by the armor.

Both axes and spears appear pretty useless against equal or better material armor.

=== Axe vs. Spear (3) ===

'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 3 || Grand Master Axedwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full steel armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 3 || Grand Master Speardwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full steel armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine spear
|-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarf || 0, 1 || Torn ligaments and tendons, Severed nerves, Fractured bones, Opened arteries, Torn internal organs || -N/A-, -no tags- || Shattered skull and torn brain
|-ea
| #2: Speardwarf || 3, 0 || Torn muscle, Severed nerve, Opened arteries, Torn internal organs, Severed limbs || -no tags-, -N/A- || Bleeding out
|}

'''Notes:''' Lots of misses again, but relatively less. Though the first fight was concluded with speardwarves ganging up on the surviving axedwarves, in each individual fight from the start, speardwarves dominated. In the second fight, the surviving axedwarf was moderately injured to two limbs. Each individual fight was dominated by one side. Speardwarf kills were faster.

Though again polarizing, these results do show that axes and spears are approximately equally good, albeit only when used for the proper targets. If it is organic and is not clad in adamantine (as according to the previous test), spears will kill it faster. If it is not, and has many limbs, then an axe is superior. This makes spears better for regular use, and axes better against BC's and HFS. For a general-purpose weapon, an axe is therefore the best choice, though it may be worth it to specialize.

=== Sword vs Axe (tested by: Terranaunt) ===

'''Times run:''' 4

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 5 || Proficient armor user, Proficient Dodger, Proficient Axedwarf|| full iron armor (with mail shirt), iron axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 5 || Proficient armor user, Proficient Dodger, Proficient Swordsdwarf || full iron armor (with mail shirt), iron sword
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarf || 0, 3, 1, 4 || Torn muscle, Severed nerve, Opened arteries, Severed limbs, Missing Limbs || -N/A-; Pale, Unconscious; Pale; Pale, Unconscious || Bled to death
|-
| #2: Swordswarf || 5, 0, 0, 0 || Torn muscle, Severed nerve, Opened arteries, Severed limbs, Missing Limbs || Pale, -N/A- || Bled to death
|}
Third time last axedwarf actually fall into martial trance and finished three remaining sworddwarfs, last sword guy just bled to death while fighting.
It seems distance on which fighting is started influence outcome, though I'm not sure and this statement requires more tests.

= DF 2014 (v0.40.24) Tests =

=== Sword vs. Axe, with iron armor (Tested by: Gitaxias) ===
'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 5 || Adequate in all relevant skills || Full iron armor including shield, iron battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 5 || Adequate in all relevant skills || Full iron armor including shield, iron short sword
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarves || 2 || Severed limbs Bruised internal organs, mangled body parts || Tired, Extreme Pain, Pale || Bled to death
|-
| #2: Swordsdwarves || 0 || NA || NA || Head smashed by shield bash
|}

'''Notes:'''
In both tests, all 5 swordsdwarves were killed by a single axedwarf after he lost his weapon arm and began favoring shield bashing attacks. No axe attacks appeared to have caused major injury.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
This test was intended to compare the effectiveness of swords and axes against armored targets. It shows fairly conclusively that the battle axe is the inferior weapon against armored targets, and that even if already injured a dwarf using iron shield bashes can still prove extremely deadly against enemies using weapons that cannot reliably penetrate their armor.

=== Sword vs. Axe, with leather armor (Tested by: Gitaxias) ===
'''Times run:''' 4

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 5 || Adequate in all relevant skills || Full leather armor, wooden shield, iron battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 5 || Adequate in all relevant skills || Full leather armor, wooden shield, iron short sword
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarves || 0, 0, 4, 0 || Severed limbs, mangled body parts || Extreme Pain, Pale || Beheading or bisection
|-
| #2: Swordsdwarves || 5, 5, 0, 5 || Severed limbs, mangled body parts || Extreme Pain, Pale || Beheading or bisection
|}

'''Notes:'''
In the first and second tests, the swordsdwarves won easily with token or nonexistent injury. In the third test, the axedwarves won with moderate losses. In the fourth test, the swordsdwarves won with moderate losses

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
This test was intended to compare the effectiveness of swords and axes against weakly-armored armored targets. It shows somewhat conclusively that the battle axe is the inferior weapon against such targets targets, but that the disadvantage can be overcome with luck.

=== MASTER-UNARMED vs. Wooden maces + MASTER-UNARMED vs. 2 Cave spiders===
'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
2 groups of 8 dwarves 7 tiles away
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 8 || Adequate in all relevant skills || NOTHING
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 8 || Adequate in all relevant skills || 2 wooden maces
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: UNARMED MASTERS || 7 ,8 || broken bones, bruising || unconscious nocious || head shot
|-
| #2: Master Maces || 0|| extreamley dead || dead || head explosion
|}

'''Notes:'''
master strikers and wrestlers are better than armed dwarves

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
this was a good piece of evidence that wood weapons are ineffective.

TEST#2
'''Times run:'''
2
'''Initial setup:'''
The remains of the previous tests with 2 tiles between them
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || See ABOVE || Adequate in all relevant skills || NOTHING
|-
| #2: Giant Cave Spider || 2 || NOTHING || NOTHING
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: left overs of last 2 tests || 6, 8 || no change || no change || Bleeding
|-
| #2: Giant Cave Spider || 0 || extreamley dead || dead || Brain bruised
|}

'''Notes:'''
I had to force the dwarves to do suicide after so i could go to the next test.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
master strikers and wrestlers are better than Giant Cave spiders

= DF 2016 (v0.42.06) Tests =

=== War Hammer material effectiveness comparison (ongoing) (Tested by: Adonkares) ===
'''Test description:''' After editing the object testing arena into 896 4x1 duel rooms and 84 5x5 5v5 brawl rooms the premise of gold war hammer superiority was put to trial using a variety of different hammer materials. A program was written to populate the arena more quickly as well as equip the dwarfs. (If anyone has any tips on counting the results quickly or via a program, please let me know.)

'''Acronym explanation:''' Each test was assigned a number from 1-3. Each row in a table is named after Duel or Group results and is followed by a -s -g -c suffix to denote the material of the weapon equipped. And so 1solo-g means a group of 1v1 dwarf fighters with steel armor and gold hammers.

'''Information:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| 1solo-s: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full set of steel armor plus a steel shield, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 1solo-g: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full set of steel armor plus a steel shield, with a gold war hammer
|-
| 1group-s: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full set of steel armor plus a steel shield, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 1group-g: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full set of steel armor plus a steel shield, with a gold war hammer
|-
| 2solo-s: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Unarmored, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 2solo-c: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Unarmored, with a copper war hammer
|-
| 2group-s: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Unarmored, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 2group-c: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Unarmored, with a copper war hammer
|-
| 3solo-s: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full iron, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 3solo-c: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full iron, with a copper war hammer
|-
| 3group-s: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full iron, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 3group-c: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full iron, with a copper war hammer
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Winners !! Win percentage !! Sample size !! Comments
|-
| 1solo-g: Duelists using Gold War Hammer || 56.47% || 1792 || Slight but consistent edge (more adequately flat) for gold hammers, it is reasonable to estimate gold's superiority over silver to be within 3-8% range.
|-
| 1group-g: Team of 5 using Gold War Hammer || 55.3% || 168 || Borderline standard error, more tests are needed. Duel results suggest a slight advantage for gold hammers.
|-
| 2solo-s: Duelists using Silver War Hammer || 53.57% || 1792 || Slight advantage for silver hammers, sample size too small and falls within standard error. For practical intents and purposes copper is equal to silver when used against unarmored opponents.
|-
| 2group-s: Team of 5 using Silver War Hammer || 59.5% || 168 || Sample size too small, more tests are needed. Duel results suggest no noticeable advantage for either material.
|-
| 3solo-s: Duelists using Silver War Hammer || 53.01% || 896 || Slight advantage for silver hammers, sample size too small and falls within standard error. For practical intents and purposes copper is equal to silver when used against ironclad opponents.
|-
| 3group-s: Team of 5 using Silver War Hammer || 56.5% || 84 || Sample size too small, more tests are needed. Duel results suggest no noticeable advantage for either material.
|}
'''Results:''' Based on the above 3 tests there's a slight ~5-6% advantage of gold war hammers over silver and by extension copper ones. There is no significant advantage of silver over copper against unarmored and ironclad opponents and whatever advantage there might be it falls within mean error range and requires a bigger sample size. I hope someone found this useful, I sure did when I was doing the tests out of curiosity. In the future I'm planning to include platinum hammers, adamantine armors and increasing the sample size of all tests.

=== Scourge versus Whip (Tested By Admiral Obvious) ===

'''Test description:''' Fiddling around in the arena after installing DF on a public PC which is wiped daily. Attempting to determine which weapon is more effective, and why.

'''Times run:''' 10

'''Initial setup:''' Single unskilled human, versus unskilled human, given weapons. Test saved prior to start, and restarted after each result.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Human Male|| 1 || -no skills- || Iron Whip, no armor
|-
| #2: Human Male || 1 || -no skills- || Iron Scourge, no armor
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Human Male || 1 || Chipped Bones || Tired, Extreme Pain || Passing out from broken limb, followed up by head cave in.
|-
| #2: Human Male || 9 || None || Tired || Upper spine shattered in the one instance of death, suffocation.
|}
'''Results:''' From what testing that was performed, it seemed that the whip was an easy weapon to parry compared to the scourge. This might be in relation to the weapon velocity modifier, or potentially attack preparation time. It was noticed in this test that the scourge user attempted more successful attacks than the whip user. The scourge rarely "one shot" the enemy, however it did chip bones regularly against an unarmored target. The whip on the other hand, when it landed it's shots were far more devastating to the target than otherwise. Further testing will be done with different materials.

== Adamantine: Test: 2 ==

'''Times run:''' 10

'''Initial setup:''' Single unskilled human, versus unskilled human, given weapons. Test saved prior to start, and restarted after each result.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Human Male|| 1 || -no skills- || Adamantine Whip, no armor
|-
| #2: Human Male || 1 || -no skills- || Adamantine Scourge, no armor
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Human Male || 0 || Sensory and motor nerves severed, lots of parts cut open. || Pale, Severe Bleeding || Crippled due to loss of motor ability, bones almost never damaged. Bleeds to death on every test.
|-
| #2: Human Male || 10 || Bruising, occasional broken fingers and toes. || Tired, Pain || N/A
|}
'''Results:''' Adamantine is far too light for a whip to have any noticeable impact against the target, only causing minor bruising, and the occasional shattering of a finger or toe. The Scourge on the other hand, being an edged attack weapon seemed to be like the death of a thousand paper cuts. The scourge rarely inflicted any damage to the bones of the target, but every single successful impact against the target cut into the muscle of the target, and in many cases severed motor, and sensory nerves. Getting killed in this way appeared to be torture, especially considering how long it took to run each one of these tests.

Military testing

2016-03-22T18:50:13Z

Admiral Obvious: /* DF 2016 (v0.42.06) Tests */

This page on the wiki houses trials run within the game by players, with the intention of arriving at conclusions on how certain combat situations work, or just combat in general.

If you want to know more about how to do your own testing go to the [[DF2010:Arena]] wiki article. To learn more about the military and how it works in Dwarf Fortress, go to the [[DF2010:Military]] article.

The format in which trials are presented here is by no means a strict rule. Feel free to add and change elements but make sure the information is easy to read and understand. Try to provide any information you think is relevant and useful without digressing too much.

= Standard format for testing trials =

Here's an example of how to present your test's information. If you're not sure how to make tables and stuff, just copy this from the edit page and fill it with your own information.

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || Grand Master Swordsdwarf Grand Master Elf-hater || Tower-cap stake
|-
| #2: Corinthian Magma Weasel || 6 || -no skills- || -no items-
|-
| #3: Tea cup || 6 || Legendary Absurdist || Mustard
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 0 || Severed limbs Bruised internal organs || Tired Bored Extreme Pain || Infection
|-
| #2: Corinthian Magma Weasel || 3 || Broken nose Broken toes || Nauseous || Severed head
|-
| #3: Tea cup || 1 || Cracked handle || -none- || Slippage
|}

'''Notes:'''
The creatures were placed in tight groups, spaced equally apart. The dwarves died fast from injuries caused by the tea cups the magma weasels were throwing. The weasels died from friendly fire.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
The test was meant to test how 3 different sides interact in combat and if any creature uses other creatures as projectiles. As far as this test goes, it seems to be true.

= DF2010 (0.31.16) tests =

=== Dwarves against Skeletal Horses (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || -no skills- || full iron armor (with chain leggings and mail shirt), shield and longsword
|-
| #2: Skeletal Horse || 3 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags1 !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 6 || 4 have no injuries 2 badly wounded || Unconscious Extreme Pain || -N/A-
|-
| #2: Skeletal Horse || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal injuries
|}

1Refers only to those injured.

'''Notes:'''
I did this test to see if dwarves can survive horses if they've got full iron armor and weapons. The fight was short and it looks like the skeletal horses charge hard and if they hit, they stun and can kill pretty fast if they're not stopped. I tried it 6:3 because I didn't expect the dwarves to survive a 1:1 ratio against the horses anyway. And yes the amount of trials is pathetic :P

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Even if dwarves are fully equipped, skeletal horses are very hard to deal with without casualties or at least serious injuries. Going up to a herd requires at least double the dwarves (if they're unskilled at least) to make sure you'll win and even then you're very likely to end up with dwarves that need hospitalization.

=== Dwarves against fire imps (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 4 || Grand Master Shield User || iron shield
|-
| #2: Fire imp || 6 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 4 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || -N/A-
|-
| #2: Fire imp || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal damage from shield attacks
|}

'''Notes:'''
The purpose of this test was to see how shields block fire. In that sense, it was a failure since none of the imps even had the time to attempt fire attacks. The dwarves use their shields as weapons when they don't have an actual weapon in hand and can use it to block at the same time.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Dwarves with shields and the skill to use them can be very deadly and hard to kill as well. That and fire imps are easy to kill :P

=== Dwarves against Dragon (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 4 || Grand Master Shield User || iron shield
|-
| #2: Dragon || 1 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Severing of the body when incapable of blocking a biting attack
|-
| #2: Dragon || 1 || All toes broken, nose broken Severe bruising on the rest of the body || Pain || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:'''
This is a test intended to test fire blocking with shields, in lieu of the previous test which failed at it. Dwarves can block fire breath fine with iron shields and the shields do not get worn.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Again, dwarves capable of using shields properly are very hard to kill. These ones had very high skill and the only way the dragon was able to kill them was by knocking them over or stunning them and following through with a bite, severing them in half.

=== Dwarves against Dragon (2) (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 4 || Grand Master Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Dragon || 1 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 3 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || Severing of the body when incapable of blocking a biting attack
|-
| #2: Dragon || 0 || All toes broken, nose broken Severe bruising on the rest of the body Severe bruising of internal organs || Extreme Pain Nauseous || Suffocation
|}

'''Notes:'''
This test was made to test the effectiveness of non-firesafe material shields against fire. Other than that, the setup is entirely identical to the previous test.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Shield material does not matter when used by a dwarf it seems and it also never gets worn, so technically a shield of any material is just as adequate for defense. The dwarves again used their shields to attack successfully. Fights with dragons also seem to always include the dragon getting all his toes broken and often his nose. It is also apparent that chance is an important factor when attacks that land by one side (the dragon in this case) are almost always fatal and the other side (the dwarves here) is capable of completely blocking the majority of these attacks. This demonstrated by the fact that in the previous test all dwarves died while in this one the dragon died instead, with all survivors being intact.

=== Dwarves against Skeletal Horses (2) (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || Grand Master Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Skeletal Horse || 3 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 6 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || -N/A-
|-
| #2: Skeletal Horses || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal injuries
|}

'''Notes:'''
This is a followup of the previous test to examine how effective shields are against skeletal horses.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
The dwarves are not only capable of killing the horses, but also prevent any injury to themselves. The horses still push them around a bit, but there is little they can do when dwarves gang up on them. The fight is also, quite short.

=== Dwarves against Horses (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || Skilled Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Horse || 3 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal injuries
|-
| #2: Horses || 3 || Light bruising || -no tags- || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:'''
This was done by accident, but serves as a comparison between Skeletal and regular Horses. There seems to be no comparison :P. The intent was to test how capable dwarves are with just a "Skilled" level of expertise with shields rather than Grand Master.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Contrary to Skeletal Horses, the regular ones are much harder to kill with shields. The important point here however is the immense difference of capability a dwarf has at a low skill level contrary to a high skill level. Dwarves at this level do not have a consistent ability to block attacks and use their shields enough to prevent quick death, especially by horses.

=== Dwarves against Horses (2) (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 6 || Grand Master Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Horse || 3 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 3 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || Fatal injuries
|-
| #2: Horses || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Fatal injuries
|}

'''Notes:'''
This is intended to test the actual effectiveness of dwarves as grand masters against regular horses, so as to compare to skeletal horses and the previous test that had dwarves using shields at a lower skill level.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Arguably, a higher skill level is a lot more effective, but horses still are very hard to kill without casualties. The difference between fighting a bones-only Horse and an actual muscled Horse is very apparent.

=== Dwarves against Hydra (tested by: plynxis) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 31 || Grand Master Shield User || chestnut shield
|-
| #2: Hydra || 1 || -no skills- || -no items-
|}

1These are the dwarves that survived the previous test. They're completely unharmed, but I thought it good to mention this.

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1 || Lost a leg || Tired || Fatal injuries Severing of the body when incapable of blocking a biting attack
|-
| #2: Hydra || 1 || Severe bodily bruising Internal organs bruised || Over-Exerted Nauseous || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:'''
This test was not completed, but the eventual outcome is fairly obvious. It was begun right after the previous one in order to compare how a stronger monster would fare against grand master shieldwarves.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Like the dragon, the hydra has a very hard time with the dwarves. The fight is long and even though it can kill them all eventually, the damage it takes in the meantime is definitive. A slightly higher number of dwarves might have killed it and even if a whole squad dies, the threat the hydra poses is practically elimintated as it will probably eventually die on its own anyway.

=== Bronze vs. Iron ===

To simulate Fortress mode, 8 battles of 8 vs. 8. Since goblins only use iron, both teams wore iron armour, only difference between the teams being iron vs. bronze short sword.

'''Times run: 8'''

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 8 || Proficient Swordsdwarf || Full iron set minus breastplate and shield, iron short sword
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 8 || Proficient Swordsdwarf || Full iron set minus breastplate and shield, bronze short sword
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Iron team || 4 lost rounds, 20 of 14 wounded || Severed limbs cuts || Tired Pale Faint || Bleeding
|-
| #2: Bronze team || 4 lost rounds, 24 of 21 wounded || Severed limbs cuts || Tired Pale Faint || Bleeding
|}

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
Casualty/wounded(bruises and missing tooth/broken noses etc not counting)/intact rates of 67/30/3% for bronze and vs. 72/19/8% for iron would suggest that while bronze might be better in bigger and longer fights, as in all but 1 of the battles the first casualty was for the bronze team. This is probably because all attacks, both edged attacks and both blunt attacks the short sword has were seen to be used and because good part of the attacks that hit armour were deflected(and effectively became blunt attacks), and because bronze as a heavier material works slightly better in blunting, while the iron seems to have a slight edge in edged attacks. This is also supported by the comparably much higher amount of wounded dwarves(presumably having been hit early in the battle, lots of missing feet, at times lower legs, hands, lower arms, ears and noses) in the bronze team, despite them losing less as KIA.

A 52 vs 52 fight was also tested to see how much difference there would be when majority of the kills would be made when dwarves would be tired and suffering from broken bones(presumably the iron team more than bronze), and bronze team slightly more from cuts and missing body parts. The bronze team annihilated the iron team, having only 50% losses. Of its 26 survivors, however, 25(!) were wounded. Only one dwarf remained intact without cuts or body parts missing.

=== Adamantine Axes vs. Silver Hammers (no armor) ===

'''Times run: 10'''

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 10 || Grandmaster All Skills || Only silver war hammer
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 10 || Grandmaster All Skills || Only adamantine battleaxe
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Wins
|-
| #1: Hammer team || Won 5 of 10 rounds
|-
| #2: Axe team || Won 5 of 10 rounds
|}

This study seems to show that (for legendary dwarfs), silver war hammers are about equal with adamantine battleaxes, even with both sides being unarmored. The previous time I ran this test, hammers actually won 6 of the 10 rounds, but this time it was evenly split.

:(Is that because a grandmaster dwarf can disable or kill an unarmored dwarf with just one hit with either weapon? Might be worth examining the combat logs.) [[User:Bognor|Bognor]] 09:08, 3 June 2011 (UTC)

{{Category|Military}}

=== Dwarves against Skeletal Horses (3) (tested by: Stormtemplar) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarfs || 6 || Proficient Fighter and swordsdwarf, skilled Dodger, Armor and Shield user || Full iron armor&Shortsword
|-
| #2: Skeletal horse || 6 || None || none
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarfs || 6 || 1 with minor wounds, one with head bruising and some broken parts || 1 unconscious (Dwarf with head bruising) ||
|-
| #2: Skeletal horse || 0 || || ||
|}

'''Notes:'''
Dwarfs began in a line, horses began slightly scattered

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
The test was a test of how a middling military would fare against an equal force of skeletal horses. The dwarfs did excellently with only one badly wounded and one other with a minor wound.

= DF2012 (0.34.02) tests =

=== Maces VS war hammers (tested by: hostergaard) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Human male || 12 || -no skills- || Silver mace
|-
| #2: Human male || 12 || -no skills- || Silver warhammer
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Macemen || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || Getting their skulls jammed trough their heads
|-
| #2: Warhammermen || 12 || Some broken hands and fingers. Some smashed open. A few bruises. Some cuts. || 1 Unconscious || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:'''
I want to figure out how good the different blunt weapons are in relation to each other. For now I will test with silver only.
I placed them in two groups on different z-levels with 6 from each side in each group. Each side was ordered in lines (parallel to the y axis) with no space between the individuals. The lines from each side was place right next to each other in each group. Group one had the 6 macemen on left (on the x axis) and the 6 hammermen on the right. Group two had mace on the right and hammer on left.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''

Leaves little doubt that in case of naked men fighting each other with warhammers and maces the hammers win. The hammerman who lost consciousness fought several macemen before fainting.

=== Single Unarmoured/Untrained Dwarf Weapon Test (tested by: RokRokRok) ===

'''Times run:''' 5 Each

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1 || None || Copper Battle Axe
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 1 || None || Crossbow (No ammo)
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Rounds won !! Injury level !! Worse Health tags !! Cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 4 || Mild Bruising || None || Torn Brain
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 1 || Cuts || None || Torn Brain
|}

'''Notes:''' I am doing a 1 on 1 with every dwarf weapon to see what weapons are best against what weapons while unskilled. Not counting armor. I will only be recording Injury/Health tags to the winners.

'''Tester's conclusion:''' A dwarf bash with a crossbow is no match for a dwarf battle axe. No missing limbs, just a few missing teeth. The one time that the crossow killed the battle axe was infact not with a crossow. The battle axe stuck the hand, disarming the crossbow. The disarmed dwarf proceded to knock out the battle axe dwarf, and smash his skull in with his foot.

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1 || None || Copper Battle Axe
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 1 || None || None
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Rounds won !! Injury level !! Worse Health tags !! Cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 5 || Minor to Major Bruising & Cuts, one lost ear || Nauseous, Pale, Pain || None
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 0 || -N/A- || -N/A- || 3 Torn Brain, 2 Bleeding
|}

'''Notes:''' This is to see if the one kill was pure luck or if unarmed was better.

'''Tester's conclusion:''' It was pure luck, but one time an unarmed dwarf managed to get the upper hand, bruising the guts, cutting off the ear, but eventually died from a torn brain.

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1 || None || Copper Battle Axe
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 1 || None || Copper Mace
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Rounds won !! Injury level !! Worse Health tags !! Cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 2 || 1 with no injuries, 1 with upper leg bruising || -N/A- || 1 Suffocation, 1 Torn Brain, 1 Punch out.
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 3 || 1 with no injuries, 1 with upper arm bruising, 1 with moderate lower arm/hand cuts & disarmed || -N/A- || 2 Disarmed & Bleed out.
|}

'''Notes:''' Decided to get in detail for injuries since it was pretty evenly matched.

'''Tester's conclusion:''' Mace won overall. Once the mace was out of the arms, the axe dwarf won two out of three times. Further Tests coming.

= DF2012 (0.34.04) tests =

=== Iron Spears VS Iron Warhammers (tested by: Naryar) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Speardwarves || 9 || -no skills || iron spear
|-
| #2: Hammerdwarves || 9 || -no skills- || iron war hammer
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Speardwarves || 6 || Minor injuries || None || Brain damage
|-ea
| #2: Hammerdwarves || 0 || Brain damage
|}

Notes : Each team was in a 3x1 line. Spears won easily. Now let's try better weapons and skill.

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Speardwarves || 9 || High Master Speardwarf || steel spear
|-
| #2: Hammerdwarves || 9 || High Master Hammerdwarf || silver war hammer
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Speardwarves || 0 || Brain damage
|-ea
| #2: Hammerdwarves || 5 || 3 had multiple fractures, 1 had multiple fractures and a lost hand, 1 had nothing || 1 pale
|}

Notes : Each team was right next to each other, no more stacking dwarves like before. Hammerdwarves now won.

=== 3 v 1 Mail Shirts (tested by: Waladil) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 12 || Grand Master Armor User || Steel gauntlets/greaves/high boots/helm, iron battle axe, 1 iron mail shirt
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 12 || Grand Master Armor User || Steel gauntlets/greaves/high boots/helm, iron battle axe, 3 iron mail shirts
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 0 || || || Suffocation/Bleeding out
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 12 || Minor cuts and bruises || 3 faint, 1 pale
|}

So I've been wanting to test the common knowledge that more armor layering = better, so this is the test I set up. Both sides were identical, except that one team wore three mail shirts rather than one. Using steel as the rest of the armor and iron axes ensured that everything important happened around the iron armor.
The battle was slow, almost every hit being stopped by armor. Over time, team one's thinner armor let more blows through, and they eventually bled out or suffocated from lung damage.
This test proved that wearing more armor increases protection. However...

'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 12 || None || Steel gauntlets/greaves/high boots/helm, iron battle axe, 1 iron mail shirt
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 12 || None || Steel gauntlets/greaves/high boots/helm, iron battle axe, 3 iron mail shirts
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 9 || Minor cuts and bruises || Some faint/pale
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 0 || || || Suffocation/Bleeding out
|}

This test was very similar to the last, except that the skill of armor user was set to zero. And that reversed the results. While team two was more protected, they were also considerably slower (606 v. 788) and I think they were also quicker to over-exert and pass out.

Overall results: The added armor is only useful at higher levels of training. I didn't calibrate enough to find the actual midpoint, but it seems that the added layers drop off in efficiency and are not as useful, potentially being harmful if the user is unable to handle the weight.

=== Steel vs. Wooden Shield (tested by: apostle602) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 1*11 || Proficient Fighter, Proficient Swordsdwarf, Proficient Shield User, Proficient Armor User || Full adamantine armor set, iron short sword, steel shield
|-
| #2: Dwarves || 1*11 || Proficient Fighter, Proficient Swordsdwarf, Proficient Shield User, Proficient Armor User || Full adamantine armor set, iron short sword, cedar shield
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Dwarves || 3 || 2 unscratched, 1 missing both hands and a foot || 1 pale || Bleeding out
|-ea
| #2: Dwarves || 9 || Mostly unscratched, 1 with hands cut open || 1 unconscious || Bleeding out
|}

This is a test to determine what would be the best material for shields. Tested with 22 independent dwarves at different places of the arena, it was a long battle and in the end one of the winner dwarves found his way to a still fighting couple, hence total 12 alive dwarves at the end.

Aside from that test I made a couple more with the same idea and always dwarves with heavier shields won only if they bashed opponents with these shields, f.e. if they've lost their weapons.

So at the end the only important parameter for a shield is its weight.

= DF2012 (0.34.11) tests =

=== Axe vs. Spear ===

'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 1 || Grand Master Axedwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full steel armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 1 || Grand Master Speardwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full steel armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine spear
|-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarf || 0, 1 || Severed hand, Torn ligaments and tendons, Severed Nerves, Fractured bones, Opened arteries || -N/A-, -no tags- || Bleeding out
|-ea
| #2: Speardwarf || 1, 0 || Severed limbs, Torn muscle, Severed Nerves, Open artery || -no tags-, -N/A- || Bleeding out
|}

'''Notes:''' In the first round, speardwarf got his weapon stuck several times. Axedwarf attacked later, and only twice, missing both times. Speardwarf devastated axedwarf in this round. In the second round, axedwarf charges and topples speardwarf initially, then severs several limbs. Speardwarf landed only one bruising hit. Both made many misses. Axedwarf devastated speardwarf in this round. The victor barely got injured at all in both rounds, and the loser gets mutilated. Because of these polarising results, two rounds were deemed sufficient.

In conclusion, both axes and spears are edged weapons that give a great advantage when making initial lucky strikes/hits against lesser-material armored oponents. The difference seems to be in the types of wounds: Fractured bones and open arteries for spears, and severed limbs for battle axes.

=== Axe vs. Spear (2) ===

'''Times run:''' 1

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 1 || Grand Master Axedwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full adamantine armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 1 || Grand Master Speardwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full adamantine armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine spear
|-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarf || 1 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || -N/A-
|-ea
| #2: Speardwarf || 1 || -no injuries- || -no tags- || -N/A-
|}

'''Notes:''' Lots of misses. Every attack that hit got deflected by the armor.

Both axes and spears appear pretty useless against equal or better material armor.

=== Axe vs. Spear (3) ===

'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 3 || Grand Master Axedwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full steel armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 3 || Grand Master Speardwarf, Grand Master Dodger, Grand Master Armor User || Full steel armor set (3 mail shirts), adamantine spear
|-
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarf || 0, 1 || Torn ligaments and tendons, Severed nerves, Fractured bones, Opened arteries, Torn internal organs || -N/A-, -no tags- || Shattered skull and torn brain
|-ea
| #2: Speardwarf || 3, 0 || Torn muscle, Severed nerve, Opened arteries, Torn internal organs, Severed limbs || -no tags-, -N/A- || Bleeding out
|}

'''Notes:''' Lots of misses again, but relatively less. Though the first fight was concluded with speardwarves ganging up on the surviving axedwarves, in each individual fight from the start, speardwarves dominated. In the second fight, the surviving axedwarf was moderately injured to two limbs. Each individual fight was dominated by one side. Speardwarf kills were faster.

Though again polarizing, these results do show that axes and spears are approximately equally good, albeit only when used for the proper targets. If it is organic and is not clad in adamantine (as according to the previous test), spears will kill it faster. If it is not, and has many limbs, then an axe is superior. This makes spears better for regular use, and axes better against BC's and HFS. For a general-purpose weapon, an axe is therefore the best choice, though it may be worth it to specialize.

=== Sword vs Axe (tested by: Terranaunt) ===

'''Times run:''' 4

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 5 || Proficient armor user, Proficient Dodger, Proficient Axedwarf|| full iron armor (with mail shirt), iron axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 5 || Proficient armor user, Proficient Dodger, Proficient Swordsdwarf || full iron armor (with mail shirt), iron sword
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarf || 0, 3, 1, 4 || Torn muscle, Severed nerve, Opened arteries, Severed limbs, Missing Limbs || -N/A-; Pale, Unconscious; Pale; Pale, Unconscious || Bled to death
|-
| #2: Swordswarf || 5, 0, 0, 0 || Torn muscle, Severed nerve, Opened arteries, Severed limbs, Missing Limbs || Pale, -N/A- || Bled to death
|}
Third time last axedwarf actually fall into martial trance and finished three remaining sworddwarfs, last sword guy just bled to death while fighting.
It seems distance on which fighting is started influence outcome, though I'm not sure and this statement requires more tests.

= DF 2014 (v0.40.24) Tests =

=== Sword vs. Axe, with iron armor (Tested by: Gitaxias) ===
'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 5 || Adequate in all relevant skills || Full iron armor including shield, iron battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 5 || Adequate in all relevant skills || Full iron armor including shield, iron short sword
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarves || 2 || Severed limbs Bruised internal organs, mangled body parts || Tired, Extreme Pain, Pale || Bled to death
|-
| #2: Swordsdwarves || 0 || NA || NA || Head smashed by shield bash
|}

'''Notes:'''
In both tests, all 5 swordsdwarves were killed by a single axedwarf after he lost his weapon arm and began favoring shield bashing attacks. No axe attacks appeared to have caused major injury.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
This test was intended to compare the effectiveness of swords and axes against armored targets. It shows fairly conclusively that the battle axe is the inferior weapon against armored targets, and that even if already injured a dwarf using iron shield bashes can still prove extremely deadly against enemies using weapons that cannot reliably penetrate their armor.

=== Sword vs. Axe, with leather armor (Tested by: Gitaxias) ===
'''Times run:''' 4

'''Initial setup:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 5 || Adequate in all relevant skills || Full leather armor, wooden shield, iron battle axe
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 5 || Adequate in all relevant skills || Full leather armor, wooden shield, iron short sword
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Axedwarves || 0, 0, 4, 0 || Severed limbs, mangled body parts || Extreme Pain, Pale || Beheading or bisection
|-
| #2: Swordsdwarves || 5, 5, 0, 5 || Severed limbs, mangled body parts || Extreme Pain, Pale || Beheading or bisection
|}

'''Notes:'''
In the first and second tests, the swordsdwarves won easily with token or nonexistent injury. In the third test, the axedwarves won with moderate losses. In the fourth test, the swordsdwarves won with moderate losses

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
This test was intended to compare the effectiveness of swords and axes against weakly-armored armored targets. It shows somewhat conclusively that the battle axe is the inferior weapon against such targets targets, but that the disadvantage can be overcome with luck.

=== MASTER-UNARMED vs. Wooden maces + MASTER-UNARMED vs. 2 Cave spiders===
'''Times run:''' 2

'''Initial setup:'''
2 groups of 8 dwarves 7 tiles away
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || 8 || Adequate in all relevant skills || NOTHING
|-
| #2: Dwarf || 8 || Adequate in all relevant skills || 2 wooden maces
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: UNARMED MASTERS || 7 ,8 || broken bones, bruising || unconscious nocious || head shot
|-
| #2: Master Maces || 0|| extreamley dead || dead || head explosion
|}

'''Notes:'''
master strikers and wrestlers are better than armed dwarves

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
this was a good piece of evidence that wood weapons are ineffective.

TEST#2
'''Times run:'''
2
'''Initial setup:'''
The remains of the previous tests with 2 tiles between them
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Dwarf || See ABOVE || Adequate in all relevant skills || NOTHING
|-
| #2: Giant Cave Spider || 2 || NOTHING || NOTHING
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: left overs of last 2 tests || 6, 8 || no change || no change || Bleeding
|-
| #2: Giant Cave Spider || 0 || extreamley dead || dead || Brain bruised
|}

'''Notes:'''
I had to force the dwarves to do suicide after so i could go to the next test.

'''Tester's conclusion:'''
master strikers and wrestlers are better than Giant Cave spiders

= DF 2016 (v0.42.06) Tests =

=== War Hammer material effectiveness comparison (ongoing) (Tested by: Adonkares) ===
'''Test description:''' After editing the object testing arena into 896 4x1 duel rooms and 84 5x5 5v5 brawl rooms the premise of gold war hammer superiority was put to trial using a variety of different hammer materials. A program was written to populate the arena more quickly as well as equip the dwarfs. (If anyone has any tips on counting the results quickly or via a program, please let me know.)

'''Acronym explanation:''' Each test was assigned a number from 1-3. Each row in a table is named after Duel or Group results and is followed by a -s -g -c suffix to denote the material of the weapon equipped. And so 1solo-g means a group of 1v1 dwarf fighters with steel armor and gold hammers.

'''Information:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| 1solo-s: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full set of steel armor plus a steel shield, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 1solo-g: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full set of steel armor plus a steel shield, with a gold war hammer
|-
| 1group-s: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full set of steel armor plus a steel shield, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 1group-g: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full set of steel armor plus a steel shield, with a gold war hammer
|-
| 2solo-s: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Unarmored, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 2solo-c: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Unarmored, with a copper war hammer
|-
| 2group-s: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Unarmored, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 2group-c: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Unarmored, with a copper war hammer
|-
| 3solo-s: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full iron, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 3solo-c: Dwarf || 1 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full iron, with a copper war hammer
|-
| 3group-s: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full iron, with a silver war hammer
|-
| 3group-c: Dwarf || 5 || Master in Fighter, Hammer, Dodge, Shield and Armor user || Full iron, with a copper war hammer
|}

'''Results:'''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Winners !! Win percentage !! Sample size !! Comments
|-
| 1solo-g: Duelists using Gold War Hammer || 56.47% || 1792 || Slight but consistent edge (more adequately flat) for gold hammers, it is reasonable to estimate gold's superiority over silver to be within 3-8% range.
|-
| 1group-g: Team of 5 using Gold War Hammer || 55.3% || 168 || Borderline standard error, more tests are needed. Duel results suggest a slight advantage for gold hammers.
|-
| 2solo-s: Duelists using Silver War Hammer || 53.57% || 1792 || Slight advantage for silver hammers, sample size too small and falls within standard error. For practical intents and purposes copper is equal to silver when used against unarmored opponents.
|-
| 2group-s: Team of 5 using Silver War Hammer || 59.5% || 168 || Sample size too small, more tests are needed. Duel results suggest no noticeable advantage for either material.
|-
| 3solo-s: Duelists using Silver War Hammer || 53.01% || 896 || Slight advantage for silver hammers, sample size too small and falls within standard error. For practical intents and purposes copper is equal to silver when used against ironclad opponents.
|-
| 3group-s: Team of 5 using Silver War Hammer || 56.5% || 84 || Sample size too small, more tests are needed. Duel results suggest no noticeable advantage for either material.
|}
'''Results:''' Based on the above 3 tests there's a slight ~5-6% advantage of gold war hammers over silver and by extension copper ones. There is no significant advantage of silver over copper against unarmored and ironclad opponents and whatever advantage there might be it falls within mean error range and requires a bigger sample size. I hope someone found this useful, I sure did when I was doing the tests out of curiosity. In the future I'm planning to include platinum hammers, adamantine armors and increasing the sample size of all tests.

=== Scourge versus Whip (Tested By Admiral Obvious) ===

'''Test description:''' Fiddling around in the arena after installing DF on a public PC which is wiped daily. Attempting to determine which weapon is more effective, and why.

'''Times run:''' 10

'''Initial setup:''' Single unskilled human, versus unskilled human, given weapons. Test saved prior to start, and restarted after each result.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Number !! Skills !! Items
|-
| #1: Human Male|| 1 || -no skills- || Iron Whip, no armor
|-
| #2: Human Male || 1 || -no skills- || Iron Scourge, no armor
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Side & Creature !! Survived !! Injury level !! Health tags !! Most common cause of death
|-
| #1: Human Male || 1 || Chipped Bones || Tired, Extreme Pain || Passing out from broken limb, followed up by head cave in.
|-
| #2: Human Male || 9 || None || Tired || Upper spine shattered in the one instance of death, suffocation.
|}
'''Results:''' From what testing that was performed, it seemed that the whip was an easy weapon to parry compared to the scourge. This might be in relation to the weapon velocity modifier, or potentially attack preparation time. It was noticed in this test that the scourge user attempted more successful attacks than the whip user. The scourge rarely "one shot" the enemy, however it did chip bones regularly against an unarmored target. The whip on the other hand, when it landed it's shots were far more devastating to the target than otherwise. Further testing will be done with different materials.