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Difference between revisions of "v0.34:Squad"

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A '''squad''' is a group of [[military]] dwarves who share the same [[scheduling|schedule]] and active military orders. Squads are a fundamental part of your fortress' military — they are the units who carry out all the orders you give them. Your ability to manage these iron-blooded dwarves could spell the difference between a healthy fort's life and death.
'''Squads''' are a fundamental part of your fortress' '''[[military]]''' - they are the units who carry out all the orders you give them. Your ability to manage these iron-blooded dwarves could spell the difference between a healthy fort's life and death.
 
  
 
For quick reference: from the main menu the '''military''' screen is accessible through the {{k|m}} key and the '''squads''' screen is accessible through the {{k|s}} key. The military screen and all its tabs are mouse-compatible, and can be navigated through mouse clicks rather than strictly keys (when in windowed mode).
 
For quick reference: from the main menu the '''military''' screen is accessible through the {{k|m}} key and the '''squads''' screen is accessible through the {{k|s}} key. The military screen and all its tabs are mouse-compatible, and can be navigated through mouse clicks rather than strictly keys (when in windowed mode).
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For a simple, ''very'' basic, unarmed/unarmoured "How to attack a creature", see [[attack]].
 
For a simple, ''very'' basic, unarmed/unarmoured "How to attack a creature", see [[attack]].
  
==Creating a Militia==
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==Forming Squads==
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Before you can do anything with your military you may want to go into the [[noble]]s screen ({{k|n}}) and designate a '''[[militia commander]]'''. Your fortress can only have one militia commander, who acts as the commander-in-chief of all squads. The militia commander also serves as the leader of your first squad.
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Each squad after the first will have its own [[captain]], who reports to the militia commander. Squad captains can be designated through the nobles screen, or by creating a new squad on the {{k|m}}ilitary screen and then assigning a dwarf to the first position of that squad.
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When you have designated a commander or captain, going to the military screen will show that dwarf under the "Squads/Leaders" heading and you'll notice an option to create a new squad. You can also create a new squad before you designate your militia commander; the first dwarf you choose will automatically be assigned that position.
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When you create a squad, you will be asked what uniform to give them.  The game creates three uniforms by default; if you aren't sure what to use, or if you want to customize their uniform, choose ''No uniform''.  (See [[#Equipping Soldiers|Equipping Soldiers]], below, for details.)
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Once the first squad has been created, you can then fill out the squad with any military-capable dwarves in your fort. No more than ten dwarves can be assigned to any one squad. When you add a dwarf to one squad they will be removed from another; for this reason you will always see the majority of your dwarves in the rightmost pane. Dwarves that are already in a military squad will have the name of that squad in the uppermost box, allowing you to skip them over if necessary.
  
While quite confusing, the military system makes up for its initial impenetrability with its versatility. Squads can be assigned, reordered<sup>(how?)</sup> and restructured<sup>(how?)</sup> at will, and each soldier can be set to equip a highly-specified uniform along with the rest of their squad or stand out and equip something unique.
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==Equipping Soldiers==
  
===Forming Squads===
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In the military screen, press {{k|n}} to open the '''uniforms''' tab. Each listing under the 'Uniforms' header is essentially a pre-designed set of equipment that you can quickly apply to any individual soldier or entire squad, much like a template. You can create new uniforms if you want, and add or remove items from any uniform (even the standard ones). Uniforms are only ''created'' or ''modified'' in this tab, not applied.
  
Before you can do anything with your military you will want to go into the '''noble''' screen ({{k|n}}) and designate a '''[[militia commander]]'''. Subsequent squad leaders can also be designated through the nobles screen; once you designate a militia commander it will open up a slot for a '''[[militia captain]]''', and once you designate one of those it opens another captain slot, etc. These roles are all functionally equivalent.  
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While still in the military screen, press {{k|e}} to open the '''equipment''' tab. The default sub-tab, {{k|V}}iew/Customize, will be open.  We'll come back to that in a moment. To apply one of your uniform templates, press {{k|U}} to open the Assign Uniforms sub-tab. Make sure the squad you want is highlighted under Squads/Leaders and then move the selector to the Position Uniform header. Pressing {{k|enter}} will apply the selected uniform to the individual dwarf of your choosing, and {{k|shift}}+{{k|enter}} will apply the selected uniform to the entire squad. If you edit a uniform after this, you will need to reapply the uniform for the dwarves to recognize the changes.
  
When you have designated a commander/captain, going to the military screen will show that dwarf under the "Squads/Leaders" heading and you'll notice an option to create a new squad. You can also create a new squad before you designate your militia commander; the first dwarf you choose will automatically be thrust into the position. Creating the squad moves the display of the dwarf from the 'available' heading to the squad heading. You can then fill out the squad with any dwarf in the fort. No more than ten dwarves can be assigned to any one squad. When you add a dwarf to one squad they will be removed from another; for this reason you will always see the majority of your dwarves in the rightmost pane. Dwarves that are already in a military squad will have the name of that squad in the uppermost box, allowing you to skip them over if necessary.
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In the {{k|V}}iew/Customize sub-tab, you can select individual dwarves (technically squad positions) and apply individual pieces of equipment to them - {{k|A}}rmor, {{k|L}}eggings, {{k|H}}elms, {{k|G}}loves, {{k|B}}oots, {{k|S}}hields, and {{k|W}}eapons. You can also specify {{k|M}}aterial and {{k|C}}olor depending on the piece of equipment highlighted.  Finally, there are two settings that can be toggled for each dwarf: ''Ove{{k|r}} clothing'' and ''Partial {{k|m}}atches''. These are both on (highlighted) by default.  ''Over clothing'' means the dwarf will do his best to wear his uniform in addition to his civilian [[clothing]]; if toggled, it becomes ''Replace clothing'', and the dwarf will strip naked before donning his military gear. ''Partial matches'' means that if a dwarf cannot satisfy an equipment assignment, he'll substitute something close; if toggled to ''Exact matches'', he'll go without rather than making do with a substitute.
  
===Equipping Soldiers===
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To select a specific piece of equipment (such as an artifact), select 'specific _____' under that equipment type (e.g. 'specific armor' in the Armor field); for your convenience, highest-quality equipment is listed first.
  
In the military screen, press {{k|n}} to open the '''uniforms''' tab. Each listing under the 'Uniforms' header is essentially a pre-designed set of equipment that you can quickly apply to any individual soldier or entire squad, much like a template. You can create new uniforms if you want and add or remove items from any uniform set by navigating this menu. Uniform templates are only created in this tab, not applied.
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You have the option to wear equipment over clothing or to replace clothing using the {{k|r}} key on the equipment screen. Wearing armor over clothing can cause problems as some civilian clothing (caps, gloves, and shoes) will conflict with their military counterparts (helms, gauntlets, and boots).  Even though the '''equipment''' tab will show that these items have been assigned to a solider they will not actually wear them. To avoid this use the ''Replace clothing'' option. As armor counts as clothing, dwarves will not get bad thoughts if only wearing armor.
  
While still in the military screen, press {{k|e}} to open the '''equipment''' tab. The default sub-tab, '{{k|V}}iew/Customize will be open. In this screen you can select individual dwarves and apply individual pieces of equipment to them, from {{k|A}}rmor, {{k|L}}eggings, {{k|H}}elms, {{k|G}}loves, {{k|B}}oots, {{k|S}}hields, and {{k|W}}eapons, as well as {{k|M}}aterial and {{k|C}}olor depending on the piece of equipment highlighted.<!--WHAT DOES 'r' FOR 'over clothing' DO? AND 'partial matches'?--> To select a specific piece of equipment (such as an artifact), select 'specific _____' under that equipment type (eg. 'specific armor' in the Armor field); for your convenience, highest-quality equipment is listed first.
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For ranged soldiers, open the '''ammunition''' tab ({{k|f}}) to assign [[ammunition]] to your dwarves. If you chose the ''Archer'' uniform when you created the squad, then the game has already assigned 250 bolts to this squad. Otherwise, you must assign them some ammo (Important: The assigned amount of ammunition refers to the total amount which is carried by the whole squad--you'll generally want about 30 bolts per soldier). If you don't care what type of bolts they use, just pick "bolts" and they will use any bolts they can find. Also note that [[quiver]]s must be available for marksdwarves to equip bolts/arrows. They are not assigned under the '''equipment''' tab and are automatically retrieved by dwarves that require them.
  
To apply your preset uniform templates, press {{k|U}} in the equipment tab to open the Assign Uniforms sub-tab and move the selector to the Position Uniform header. Pressing {{k|enter}} will apply the selected uniform to the individual dwarf of your choosing, and {{k|shift}}+{{k|enter}} will apply the selected uniform to the entire squad. If you edit a uniform while it is equipped, you will need to reselect the uniform for the dwarves to recognise the changes.
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If you want them to train at an [[archery target]], you may want to assign lower-quality [[wood]] or [[bone]] bolts for training use. While this prevents your dwarves from wasting high-quality bolts, it can cause problems when training or combat bolts become "stuck" in inventory{{bug|4530}}. By default, both training and combat use are allowed for all assigned ammunition; use {{k|C}} and {{k|T}} to toggle these settings. If the letter is present next to the ammunition the use is turned on.
  
You have the option to wear equipment over clothing or to replace clothing using the {{k|r}} key on the equipment screen. Wearing armor over clothing can cause problems if the soldier is wearing many items of clothing on a particular body part, causing the soldier to repeatedly drop and reacquire equipment, with the resulting hauling jobs preventing training and other duties. If your soldiers are constantly shuffling equipment, order them to replace clothing.
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Soldiers who have more than one item to put on will not use distance to determine which of the remaining items will be equipped next. Therefore it is best to keep all dwarf-usable equipment within a small area, ideally near your [[barracks]].
  
For ranged soldiers, open the '''ammunition''' ({{k|f}}) tab and assign them something from there. If you don't care what they use, you still need to give them ammo - just pick 'bolts' and it will default to any bolts they can find. Assigning at least TWO piles of ammunition with two separate use designations is recommended. Assign one pile for training and one for fighting, or they will use all of their bolts training and end up attempting to whack enemies with their crossbows. By default, both training and combat use is turned on. Use {{k|C}} and {{k|T}} to toggle these settings. If the letter is present next to the ammunition, the use is turned on.
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The {{k|m}}ilitary-{{k|e}}quipment screen can also be used to ''see'' what equipment has been assigned, without changing it.  A green checkmark will appear next to each equipment that has successfully been assigned to a dwarf (which doesn't necessarily mean the dwarf has actually picked it up yet). For example, if your 9th and 10th squad members don't have a checkmark next to their gauntlets, then you may want to make some more. Pressing {{k|P}} lets you see ''precisely'' what items the dwarf has been assigned.
  
Soldiers who have more than one item to put on will not use distance to determine which of the remaining items will be equipped next. Therefore it it best to keep all dwarf-useable equipment within a small area.
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Dwarves do not share weapons and armor even if in the same squad and even if the equipment is currently unused by another squadmate who is off duty. This means, for example, that you cannot have one set of armor for a squad of four dwarves who share guard duty one at a time. When one dwarf is relieved from duty, he may take off his armor (if set to wear civilian clothes) but the new dwarf going on duty will not then pick it up and wear it. Each dwarf in a squad needs his own uniform.
  
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===Changing Equipment===
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Let's suppose you started with the ''Leather armor '' uniform and then smithed some metal armor, and now you want to change your squads to the metal armor. From the military screen {{k|m}}, access the '''equipment''' view {{k|e}}. Then open the uniforms sub-view {{k|U}} which will show the standard Leather, Metal, and Archer uniforms on the right (if you haven't deleted them). To change a full squad, select the squad on the left, then select the uniform (metal) on the right, and hit {{k|shift}}-{{k|enter}} (if you only hit {{k|enter}} it will only apply the change to the lone selected squad member). Just hope you have enough metal armor and that Urist goes and picks it up!
  
====Changing from Leather to Metal====
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Dwarves will not always pick up their military equipment immediately. An off-duty dwarf will sometimes prefer to perform one of his civilian jobs rather than putting on armor.  Giving squads an [[#Orders|order]] will put them on duty and force them to gather their equipment with a bit more hustle.
If you start with leather armor and then smith some metal armor, you'll want to change your squads to the metal armor. From the military screen {{k|m}}, access the '''equipment''' view {{k|e}}. Then open the uniforms sub-view {{k|U}} which will show the standard leather, metal, and archer on the right (if you haven't deleted them). Now to change a full squad, select the squad on the left, then select the uniform (metal) on the right, and hit {{k|shift}}-{{k|enter}} (if you only hit {{k|enter}} it will only apply the change to the lone selected squad member). Now just hope you have enough metal armor and that Urist goes and picks it up!
 
  
====Equipping Bone and Shell Armor====
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===Equipping Bone and Shell Armor===
One peculiarity for equipping [[bone]] and [[shell]] armor is that, for the purposes of the '''equipment''' and '''uniforms''' tabs, bone and shell are metals.  Further, they are not explicitly listed in the {{k|M}}aterial of the {{k|V}}iew/Customize sub-tab.  A workaround for this problem is that bone and shell are the only "metals" that are both white colored and can be used to make armor by default.  So, to add bone or shell armor items to a preset uniform template, you need to add a specific type of armor (a helm, for instance) with the modifiers of "white metal" (thus, a "white metal helm").  This workaround is ONLY effective if you also have no unique artifact armor made out of a white metal (such as an Aluminum Breastplate, Platinum Helm, or Silver Low Boot).  It also requires that the armor template be for "Exact matches" (not "Partial matches") using the {{k|m}} in the Uniforms tab.
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One peculiarity for equipping [[bone]] and [[shell]] armor is that, for the purposes of the '''equipment''' and '''uniforms''' tabs, bone and shell are white.  Further, they are not explicitly listed in the {{k|M}}aterial of the {{k|V}}iew/Customize sub-tab.  A workaround for this problem is that bone and shell are the only materials that are white colored and can be used to make armor by default.  So, to add bone or shell armor items to a preset uniform template, you need to add a specific type of armor (a helm, for instance) with the modifiers of {{k|C}}olour "white (dye)" (thus, a "white helm").  This workaround is ONLY effective if you also have no unique artifact armor made out of a white metal (such as an Aluminum Breastplate, Platinum Helm, or Silver Low Boot).  It also requires that the armor template be for "Exact matches" (not "Partial matches") using the {{k|m}} in the Uniforms tab.
  
==Direct Commands==
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===Equipping Leather Shields===
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[[Leather]] is not a selectable material in the uniform screen. However, its uniformly brown colour means that you can order dwarves to use only brown-coloured [[shield]]s and be reasonably confident that they will choose only leather shields. Leather and wood are quite similar as shield materials, but if your leatherworkers make better shields than your carpenters you may want to use their products instead. [[Highwood]] shields are also an option with this uniform setting, and will be chosen if their value is appropriately high.
  
Getting your military to actually ''do'' something is a lot less difficult than it once was; gone are the days of stationing a squad near the enemy and hoping for the best. You can now give '''direct orders''' to '''attack''' one or more specific targets or to '''move''' to a specific location at will through the {{k|s}}quads menu.
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==Orders==
  
There is now a clear discrepancy between ''active'' orders and ''passive'' orders-- the latter is programming that a dwarf will follow to the letter and acts more as a defense method, and the former is used for taking the fight to the enemy. The ''squads'' menu is predominantly used for active commands, and the ''alert'' and ''scheduling'' menus are used for passive commands. This article will focus on the '''active''' commands you can issue your squads.
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Getting your military to actually ''do'' something is the second step.  Squads receive '''passive orders''' through [[scheduling]], and you can give '''direct orders''' to '''attack''' one or more specific targets or to '''move''' to a specific location at will through the {{k|s}}quads menu.
  
A squad that is following an ''active'' command is free to go wherever it is ordered to go unhindered by any '''[[burrow]]''' restrictions.
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Passive orders are programming that a squad will follow in the absence of direct orders.  Passive orders are typically used for training and defense, while direct orders are used for taking the fight to the enemy. The ''squads'' menu is predominantly used for direct orders, and the ''Alerts'' and ''Schedule'' tabs of the ''military'' menu are used for passive orders. This article will focus on active commands; for more information on passive orders, see [[scheduling]].
  
For more information on '''passive commands''', see '''[[Scheduling]]'''.
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A squad that is following a direct command is free to go wherever it is ordered to go, unhindered by any [[burrow]] restrictions.
  
 
===Selecting Squads/Soldiers===
 
===Selecting Squads/Soldiers===
  
In the military, soldiers operate much more like part-time militia than full-time warriors. When soldiers are not passively doing their civilian duties or following their schedule programming, they can be actively sent to do small tasks to aggressively defend your fortress. After these orders have been carried out or cancelled, your dwarves will happily return to their passive programming as if they were never interrupted.
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When needed, soldiers can be sent to do specific tasks to <strike>satiate the blood god</strike> defend your fortress. Once these orders have been canceled, your dwarves will return to their passive orders (if on duty), or their civilian lives (if off duty). Note, however, that your dwarves may continue to move towards their prior objective and mill about for some time afterwards. For this reason (and because canceling orders causes your dwarves to immediately drop any [[wear|worn-out]] clothing) it is best to order your dwarves back to a safe area '''before''' canceling their orders.
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In the {{k|s}}quad menu, you can press {{k|a}}/{{k|b}}/{{k|c}}/etc to select the squad that will execute an order, or hold {{k|shift}} to select multiple at once. You may press {{k|p}} if you want to toggle between having an individual dwarf or the squad perform the order.
  
In the {{k|s}}quad menu, you can press either {{k|a}}/{{k|b}}/{{k|c}}/etc to select the squad that will execute an order, or hold {{k|shift}} to select multiple at once. You may press {{k|p}} if you want to toggle between having an individual dwarf or the squad perform the order.
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If a squad is off duty when you give them an order, they will switch to on-duty status before carrying out the order. This may mean they need to pick up new equipment before they will carry out their orders.
  
There are two types of active orders that can be given to your dwarves:
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There are two types of active orders that can be given to your dwarves: a move order or an attack order.
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===Nobles in Squads ===
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Here's a link to the DF forum, with some not always correct speculation on if you should put any nobles in the military:
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http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=113639.msg3467517#msg3467517
  
 
====Move Order====
 
====Move Order====
  
A '''move order''' is issued by pressing {{k|m}}, choosing an area, and pressing {{k|enter}} after you have selected a squad. Soldiers on a move order will attack any hostiles they encounter on their way to their destination as well as wild animals and whatever other creatures they might encounter, whether you like it or not. This replaces the previous version's 'Station Squad' command and can be used to control squads in a similar manner as in 40d.
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From the {{k|s}}quad menu, a '''move order''' (also known as a ''Station'' order) is issued by selecting a squad, pressing {{k|m}}, choosing an area, and pressing {{k|enter}}.
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Each dwarf in the squad will select a random (reachable) point within 3 tiles of the spot you specify, and will move directly to that point.  He will stand there until you cancel the order, or until he is overcome by [[hunger]], [[thirst]], or [[exhaustion]].
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On-duty soldiers will pursue and attack any hostile targets they see, either en route to their station point, or after arriving.  Hostile targets may include certain wild animals that are deemed dangerous. If the dwarf loses sight of the enemy, he will return to his chosen station point.
  
 
====Attack Order====
 
====Attack Order====
  
The '''attack order''', or '''kill command''', allows your military to focus their attack on one or more specific targets. It is a very unsubtle way of beating into your dwarves' booze-addled minds that they are to kill your target or be killed in the attempt. It may very well be your last command to your dwarves if things are getting desperate.
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The '''attack order''', sometimes referenced to as the '''kill command''', instructs your squad to pursue and attack one or more specific targets. It is a very unsubtle way of beating into your dwarves' booze-addled minds that they are to kill your target or be killed in the attempt. A kill order can be used to chase a kobold thief or goblin snatcher who is running away with your precious loot, or it may very well be your last command to your dwarves if things are getting desperate.
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After selecting which squad will execute the kill order, press {{k|k}} to Attack. You now have several options: you can move the cursor to what you want to attack and press {{k|enter}}, press {{k|l}}ist and select what you want to attack from a list, or {{k|r}}ectangle to select an area of things you want dead. Upon pressing {{k|enter}} your dwarves will happily run off to execute the order by executing the target.
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Each dwarf in the squad will attempt to move toward the target until he is within striking distance.  Ranged attackers will not do anything clever like climbing up to the top of your archery tower.  If you want them to fire from a specific position, use a move order instead.
  
After selecting which dwarves will execute the kill order, press {{k|k}} to 'Attack'. Now you have several options: you can move the cursor to what you want to attack and press {{k|enter}}, press {{k|l}}ist and select what you want to attack from a list, or {{k|r}}ectangle to select an area of things you want dead. Upon pressing {{k|enter}} your dwarves will happily run off to execute the order by executing the target. This order will remain after the intended victim is killed, leaving your squad standing over the corpse of their slain enemy waiting for new orders. Similar behavior will emerge if the intended target is caught in a [[trap|cage trap]]; when the caged target is hauled to the animal stockpile, the dwarves given the orders to kill it will follow the cage as it is hauled and wait around it once it is stockpiled until the kill order is canceled.
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This order will remain after the intended victim is killed (fixed in some of 34.* - in 34.11 they will cancel order when target is terminated), leaving your squad standing over the corpse of their slain enemy waiting for new orders. Similar behavior will emerge if the intended target is caught in a [[trap|cage trap]]; when the caged target is hauled to the animal stockpile, the dwarves given the orders to kill it will follow the cage as it is hauled and wait around it once it is stockpiled until the kill order is canceled.
  
Currently dwarves go about this with a little more vigor than required and will also attack any other creatures nearby. As a result it is very difficult to attack members of an enemy group with any sort of precision, and if your dwarves cannot take down their target there is no real way to get them out of combat; it's do-or-die. It is unknown whether this is a bug or a feature.
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Dwarves go about this with a little more vigor than required and will also attack any other creatures nearby. As a result it is very difficult to attack members of an enemy group with any sort of precision, and if your dwarves cannot take down their target there is no real way to get them out of combat; it's do-or-die. It is unknown whether this is a bug or a feature {{version|0.34.07}}.
  
 
====Cancelling Orders====
 
====Cancelling Orders====
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''Full article: [[Scheduling]]''
 
''Full article: [[Scheduling]]''
  
Squads can also be assigned order schedules which are '''passive''' commands that can be set for each month of the year which they will automatically perform whenever they are not busy with any active commands you are issuing. From the squad menu you can toggle through any order schedules you have defined quite quickly by pressing {{k|t}}. This will set the order schedule for the entire squad even if you only have a single dwarf selected.  
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From the squad menu you can cycle through any alerts you have defined quite quickly by pressing {{k|t}}. This will set the order schedule for the entire squad even if you only have a single dwarf selected.  
  
To edit an existing order schedule or create a new one you need to visit the military-schedule screen. This can be done directly from the squad menu by pressing {{k|s}} or alternatively you can back out of the squad menu and use {{k|m}},{{k|s}} to get to the schedule page from the military screen. The details of setting up an order schedule are described on the [[schedule]] page.
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To edit an existing order schedule or create a new one you need to visit the military schedule screen. This can be done directly from the squad menu by pressing {{k|s}} or alternatively you can back out of the squad menu and use {{k|m}}-{{k|s}} to get to the schedule page from the military screen. The details of setting up an order schedule are described on the [[scheduling]] page.
  
==Reported Squad-Related Bugs==
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==Bugs==
 
* When selecting new dwarves to place in a squad the cursor always returns to the first available dwarf instead of remaining where it is.
 
* When selecting new dwarves to place in a squad the cursor always returns to the first available dwarf instead of remaining where it is.
* Soldiers who have completed a kill task do not cancel their kill task. This may be intentional. Workaround - set a {{k|m}}-move task, then {{k|o}}-cancel it.
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* Dwarves handle equipment conflicts poorly, often resulting in an ill-equipped military.{{bug|535}}
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* Military dwarves may constantly perform "pickup equipment" jobs {{Bug|2687}}
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* Military equipment interferes with civilian equipment (picks/axes/crossbows/quivers).{{bug|1451}}
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* Training or Combat bolts become stuck in inventory, preventing acquisition of combat or training bolts respectively.{{bug|4530}}
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* "Long Patrol" negative [[thought]]s seem to escalate, even with long break.{{bug|3190}}
  
 
{{Military}}
 
{{Military}}

Latest revision as of 13:33, 6 July 2014

This article is about an older version of DF.


A squad is a group of military dwarves who share the same schedule and active military orders. Squads are a fundamental part of your fortress' military — they are the units who carry out all the orders you give them. Your ability to manage these iron-blooded dwarves could spell the difference between a healthy fort's life and death.

For quick reference: from the main menu the military screen is accessible through the m key and the squads screen is accessible through the s key. The military screen and all its tabs are mouse-compatible, and can be navigated through mouse clicks rather than strictly keys (when in windowed mode).

For a simple, very basic, unarmed/unarmoured "How to attack a creature", see attack.

Forming Squads[edit]

Before you can do anything with your military you may want to go into the nobles screen (n) and designate a militia commander. Your fortress can only have one militia commander, who acts as the commander-in-chief of all squads. The militia commander also serves as the leader of your first squad.

Each squad after the first will have its own captain, who reports to the militia commander. Squad captains can be designated through the nobles screen, or by creating a new squad on the military screen and then assigning a dwarf to the first position of that squad.

When you have designated a commander or captain, going to the military screen will show that dwarf under the "Squads/Leaders" heading and you'll notice an option to create a new squad. You can also create a new squad before you designate your militia commander; the first dwarf you choose will automatically be assigned that position.

When you create a squad, you will be asked what uniform to give them. The game creates three uniforms by default; if you aren't sure what to use, or if you want to customize their uniform, choose No uniform. (See Equipping Soldiers, below, for details.)

Once the first squad has been created, you can then fill out the squad with any military-capable dwarves in your fort. No more than ten dwarves can be assigned to any one squad. When you add a dwarf to one squad they will be removed from another; for this reason you will always see the majority of your dwarves in the rightmost pane. Dwarves that are already in a military squad will have the name of that squad in the uppermost box, allowing you to skip them over if necessary.

Equipping Soldiers[edit]

In the military screen, press n to open the uniforms tab. Each listing under the 'Uniforms' header is essentially a pre-designed set of equipment that you can quickly apply to any individual soldier or entire squad, much like a template. You can create new uniforms if you want, and add or remove items from any uniform (even the standard ones). Uniforms are only created or modified in this tab, not applied.

While still in the military screen, press e to open the equipment tab. The default sub-tab, View/Customize, will be open. We'll come back to that in a moment. To apply one of your uniform templates, press U to open the Assign Uniforms sub-tab. Make sure the squad you want is highlighted under Squads/Leaders and then move the selector to the Position Uniform header. Pressing enter will apply the selected uniform to the individual dwarf of your choosing, and shift+enter will apply the selected uniform to the entire squad. If you edit a uniform after this, you will need to reapply the uniform for the dwarves to recognize the changes.

In the View/Customize sub-tab, you can select individual dwarves (technically squad positions) and apply individual pieces of equipment to them - Armor, Leggings, Helms, Gloves, Boots, Shields, and Weapons. You can also specify Material and Color depending on the piece of equipment highlighted. Finally, there are two settings that can be toggled for each dwarf: Over clothing and Partial matches. These are both on (highlighted) by default. Over clothing means the dwarf will do his best to wear his uniform in addition to his civilian clothing; if toggled, it becomes Replace clothing, and the dwarf will strip naked before donning his military gear. Partial matches means that if a dwarf cannot satisfy an equipment assignment, he'll substitute something close; if toggled to Exact matches, he'll go without rather than making do with a substitute.

To select a specific piece of equipment (such as an artifact), select 'specific _____' under that equipment type (e.g. 'specific armor' in the Armor field); for your convenience, highest-quality equipment is listed first.

You have the option to wear equipment over clothing or to replace clothing using the r key on the equipment screen. Wearing armor over clothing can cause problems as some civilian clothing (caps, gloves, and shoes) will conflict with their military counterparts (helms, gauntlets, and boots). Even though the equipment tab will show that these items have been assigned to a solider they will not actually wear them. To avoid this use the Replace clothing option. As armor counts as clothing, dwarves will not get bad thoughts if only wearing armor.

For ranged soldiers, open the ammunition tab (f) to assign ammunition to your dwarves. If you chose the Archer uniform when you created the squad, then the game has already assigned 250 bolts to this squad. Otherwise, you must assign them some ammo (Important: The assigned amount of ammunition refers to the total amount which is carried by the whole squad--you'll generally want about 30 bolts per soldier). If you don't care what type of bolts they use, just pick "bolts" and they will use any bolts they can find. Also note that quivers must be available for marksdwarves to equip bolts/arrows. They are not assigned under the equipment tab and are automatically retrieved by dwarves that require them.

If you want them to train at an archery target, you may want to assign lower-quality wood or bone bolts for training use. While this prevents your dwarves from wasting high-quality bolts, it can cause problems when training or combat bolts become "stuck" in inventoryBug:4530. By default, both training and combat use are allowed for all assigned ammunition; use C and T to toggle these settings. If the letter is present next to the ammunition the use is turned on.

Soldiers who have more than one item to put on will not use distance to determine which of the remaining items will be equipped next. Therefore it is best to keep all dwarf-usable equipment within a small area, ideally near your barracks.

The military-equipment screen can also be used to see what equipment has been assigned, without changing it. A green checkmark will appear next to each equipment that has successfully been assigned to a dwarf (which doesn't necessarily mean the dwarf has actually picked it up yet). For example, if your 9th and 10th squad members don't have a checkmark next to their gauntlets, then you may want to make some more. Pressing P lets you see precisely what items the dwarf has been assigned.

Dwarves do not share weapons and armor even if in the same squad and even if the equipment is currently unused by another squadmate who is off duty. This means, for example, that you cannot have one set of armor for a squad of four dwarves who share guard duty one at a time. When one dwarf is relieved from duty, he may take off his armor (if set to wear civilian clothes) but the new dwarf going on duty will not then pick it up and wear it. Each dwarf in a squad needs his own uniform.

Changing Equipment[edit]

Let's suppose you started with the Leather armor uniform and then smithed some metal armor, and now you want to change your squads to the metal armor. From the military screen m, access the equipment view e. Then open the uniforms sub-view U which will show the standard Leather, Metal, and Archer uniforms on the right (if you haven't deleted them). To change a full squad, select the squad on the left, then select the uniform (metal) on the right, and hit shift-enter (if you only hit enter it will only apply the change to the lone selected squad member). Just hope you have enough metal armor and that Urist goes and picks it up!

Dwarves will not always pick up their military equipment immediately. An off-duty dwarf will sometimes prefer to perform one of his civilian jobs rather than putting on armor. Giving squads an order will put them on duty and force them to gather their equipment with a bit more hustle.

Equipping Bone and Shell Armor[edit]

One peculiarity for equipping bone and shell armor is that, for the purposes of the equipment and uniforms tabs, bone and shell are white. Further, they are not explicitly listed in the Material of the View/Customize sub-tab. A workaround for this problem is that bone and shell are the only materials that are white colored and can be used to make armor by default. So, to add bone or shell armor items to a preset uniform template, you need to add a specific type of armor (a helm, for instance) with the modifiers of Colour "white (dye)" (thus, a "white helm"). This workaround is ONLY effective if you also have no unique artifact armor made out of a white metal (such as an Aluminum Breastplate, Platinum Helm, or Silver Low Boot). It also requires that the armor template be for "Exact matches" (not "Partial matches") using the m in the Uniforms tab.

Equipping Leather Shields[edit]

Leather is not a selectable material in the uniform screen. However, its uniformly brown colour means that you can order dwarves to use only brown-coloured shields and be reasonably confident that they will choose only leather shields. Leather and wood are quite similar as shield materials, but if your leatherworkers make better shields than your carpenters you may want to use their products instead. Highwood shields are also an option with this uniform setting, and will be chosen if their value is appropriately high.

Orders[edit]

Getting your military to actually do something is the second step. Squads receive passive orders through scheduling, and you can give direct orders to attack one or more specific targets or to move to a specific location at will through the squads menu.

Passive orders are programming that a squad will follow in the absence of direct orders. Passive orders are typically used for training and defense, while direct orders are used for taking the fight to the enemy. The squads menu is predominantly used for direct orders, and the Alerts and Schedule tabs of the military menu are used for passive orders. This article will focus on active commands; for more information on passive orders, see scheduling.

A squad that is following a direct command is free to go wherever it is ordered to go, unhindered by any burrow restrictions.

Selecting Squads/Soldiers[edit]

When needed, soldiers can be sent to do specific tasks to satiate the blood god defend your fortress. Once these orders have been canceled, your dwarves will return to their passive orders (if on duty), or their civilian lives (if off duty). Note, however, that your dwarves may continue to move towards their prior objective and mill about for some time afterwards. For this reason (and because canceling orders causes your dwarves to immediately drop any worn-out clothing) it is best to order your dwarves back to a safe area before canceling their orders.

In the squad menu, you can press a/b/c/etc to select the squad that will execute an order, or hold shift to select multiple at once. You may press p if you want to toggle between having an individual dwarf or the squad perform the order.

If a squad is off duty when you give them an order, they will switch to on-duty status before carrying out the order. This may mean they need to pick up new equipment before they will carry out their orders.

There are two types of active orders that can be given to your dwarves: a move order or an attack order.

Nobles in Squads[edit]

Here's a link to the DF forum, with some not always correct speculation on if you should put any nobles in the military: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=113639.msg3467517#msg3467517

Move Order[edit]

From the squad menu, a move order (also known as a Station order) is issued by selecting a squad, pressing m, choosing an area, and pressing enter.

Each dwarf in the squad will select a random (reachable) point within 3 tiles of the spot you specify, and will move directly to that point. He will stand there until you cancel the order, or until he is overcome by hunger, thirst, or exhaustion.

On-duty soldiers will pursue and attack any hostile targets they see, either en route to their station point, or after arriving. Hostile targets may include certain wild animals that are deemed dangerous. If the dwarf loses sight of the enemy, he will return to his chosen station point.

Attack Order[edit]

The attack order, sometimes referenced to as the kill command, instructs your squad to pursue and attack one or more specific targets. It is a very unsubtle way of beating into your dwarves' booze-addled minds that they are to kill your target or be killed in the attempt. A kill order can be used to chase a kobold thief or goblin snatcher who is running away with your precious loot, or it may very well be your last command to your dwarves if things are getting desperate.

After selecting which squad will execute the kill order, press k to Attack. You now have several options: you can move the cursor to what you want to attack and press enter, press list and select what you want to attack from a list, or rectangle to select an area of things you want dead. Upon pressing enter your dwarves will happily run off to execute the order by executing the target.

Each dwarf in the squad will attempt to move toward the target until he is within striking distance. Ranged attackers will not do anything clever like climbing up to the top of your archery tower. If you want them to fire from a specific position, use a move order instead.

This order will remain after the intended victim is killed (fixed in some of 34.* - in 34.11 they will cancel order when target is terminated), leaving your squad standing over the corpse of their slain enemy waiting for new orders. Similar behavior will emerge if the intended target is caught in a cage trap; when the caged target is hauled to the animal stockpile, the dwarves given the orders to kill it will follow the cage as it is hauled and wait around it once it is stockpiled until the kill order is canceled.

Dwarves go about this with a little more vigor than required and will also attack any other creatures nearby. As a result it is very difficult to attack members of an enemy group with any sort of precision, and if your dwarves cannot take down their target there is no real way to get them out of combat; it's do-or-die. It is unknown whether this is a bug or a feature v0.34.07.

Cancelling Orders[edit]

Pressing the o key in the squad screen will cancel the selected dwarves' active orders, sending them back to their civilian or pre-scheduled military lives. It appears that this does not always work properly; as a result, your over-eager dwarves may get themselves into some trouble. Take caution when sending them deep into unfamiliar territory.

Order Scheduling[edit]

Full article: Scheduling

From the squad menu you can cycle through any alerts you have defined quite quickly by pressing t. This will set the order schedule for the entire squad even if you only have a single dwarf selected.

To edit an existing order schedule or create a new one you need to visit the military schedule screen. This can be done directly from the squad menu by pressing s or alternatively you can back out of the squad menu and use m-s to get to the schedule page from the military screen. The details of setting up an order schedule are described on the scheduling page.

Bugs[edit]

  • When selecting new dwarves to place in a squad the cursor always returns to the first available dwarf instead of remaining where it is.
  • Dwarves handle equipment conflicts poorly, often resulting in an ill-equipped military.Bug:535
  • Military dwarves may constantly perform "pickup equipment" jobs Bug:2687
  • Military equipment interferes with civilian equipment (picks/axes/crossbows/quivers).Bug:1451
  • Training or Combat bolts become stuck in inventory, preventing acquisition of combat or training bolts respectively.Bug:4530
  • "Long Patrol" negative thoughts seem to escalate, even with long break.Bug:3190
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