Editing v0.31:Exploit

An '''exploit''' is a quirk of a game that allows players to gain what other players may consider an unfair advantage, usually by making use of a feature that is not working properly or which defies logic. 'Exploiting the game' is distinct from '[[Main:cheating|cheating]]' because exploits occur within the game as written and do not need any external [[Main:utilities|utilities]] or [[Main:modding|modding]]. Whether a player chooses to make use of an exploit or not depends on their personal taste; given that [[Main:Dwarf Fortress|Dwarf Fortress]] is a single-player game, the user alone can decide what liberties to take and what options to shun. Among DF players there is much discussion about what actually should be considered an exploit, going from making sweetpod syrup instead of sugar, growing crops in winter, or even underground, as the one extreme, to justifying 'water wheel batteries' as the other. This page takes a rather relaxed approach in that you considering it an exploit is basically enough to add it, if you don't get too much opposition.

A [[drawbridge]], when rapidly triggered on and off, can be used to obliterate some creatures or items beneath it.  The drawbridge will be destroyed if it is used to crush a creature of too large a size.

As a [[Manager]], skill is gained as tasks are approved, not completed. Simply by queuing lots of jobs ({{key|j}} {{key|m}} {{key|q}}) (and providing a meager office), the manager will quickly level to [[legendary]] as an [[Organizer]].  The tasks can then be removed once approved.

There are a variety of ways to steal cargo from [[merchant]]s without seizing it; all amount to naked theft. Tearing down the [[trade depot]] while the merchants are there is the easiest way.  

Also, marking items for [[dump]]ing, using view creature mode ({{key|v}}), the stocks menu ({{key|z}}), items in room mode ({{key|t}}), or mass dump mode ({{key|d}})-({{key|b}})-({{key|d}}) then marking the entire depot, lets you relieve merchants of their goods. Just reclaim the items from your garbage dump [[zone]] later. You can even take clothing and equipment off merchant and guards this way.

You can make a wall around the merchants (and even the poor animals) and let them starve to death, letting you take what ever you want. Wait quite a while for them to starve. They will become [[Insanity|very angry]] if you do, so never open the door once they are on the brink of death.

By designating a garbage pit zone instead of a [[stockpile]], you may store an infinite number of objects in a single tile by dumping them, then reclaiming them when you want to use them.

A similar effect may be achieved by building a wall two tiles in front of a catapult and digging a channel between the wall and catapult. By firing the catapult at the wall, the stone falls into the trench. The stone will pile up in the channel, putting it out of sight and out of mind. Not only does this train [[siege operator]]s, but it clears the stone that your legendary [[miner]]s leave.

== HFS's back door ==

There's a convoluted way to dig down through [[semi-molten rock]] and evade the head-on encounter with [[hidden fun stuff]]. See the page for [[semi-molten rock]] for details.

Wall off all the passageways into your lowest level at the outermost square of the map - except one, which leads to a little vestibule surrounded by fortifications.  Wave hello to the various ungainly "[[forgotten beast]]s" which accumulate inside.

A [[screw pump]] requires 10 power to move water;  a [[water wheel]] supplies 100 power if it's got water moving it.  Arrange the former to feed the latter, while the latter powers the former, and you can get perpetual motion going - with a surplus of power available.  See [[Water wheel#Perpetual motion]] for more details.

On [[embark]] buying things which are stored in [[barrel]]s gets the barrel for free, with at most 10 items per barrel, so, for example, the 15 units of randomly chosen [[meat]] which come with the default supplies will get you two free barrels, one completely filled with 10 units of meat and one half filled with 5 units of meat; you get another two free barrels from the 15 units of randomly chosen [[fish]].  You can get rid of all of that food, then for the same cost select one unit each of meat from 30 different kinds of animals, giving you 30 free barrels instead of only 4, since each different kind of animal meat is put in its own barrel.  Note that different types of meat from the same kind of animal goes into a single barrel, so choosing 1 yak brain + 1 yak eye + 1 yak spleen will get you only one free barrel instead of three.

The same thing goes for things stored in [[bag]]s.  Each unit of [[sand]] comes in its own bag, and since each unit of sand costs only 1 embark point while bags cost a minimum of 10 embark points each, you can get bags for ten times cheaper by buying sand, then [[dumping]] out the sand after embark.