Question for Combat WtG

[Pyro XIII]

I have an early on WtG set up and it's working great, all except that they go into combat with what ever they happen to be carying, which in most cases decresses their effectivness. Is there an option that I'm missing to check or is this something I just have to deal with? As much fun as it is to watch my Gnomes beat a bear to death with a piece of cotton, it just becomes a little more frusterating on armered armed targets.

[The Duck Knight]

"retreat to equip uniform"
reduces the amount of crap they use to fight.
Just have a weapon/armor stockpile close to where you expect enemies.

[Pyro XIII]

I have them set to Way of the Gnome, so having them without weapons or armor, at this point is more benificial. Alas I already have it set to that, I may just have to deal with the fact that they'll go in until I train them with weapons, many thanks!

[The Duck Knight]

Originally posted by Pyro XIII:

I have them set to Way of the Gnome, so having them without weapons or armor, at this point is more benificial. Alas I already have it set to that, I may just have to deal with the fact that they'll go in until I train them with weapons, many thanks!

Many people do.
I can't agree on that.
Later you are not gonna play with unarmed soldiers anyway (exept when going for no pure soldier profession at all) and during early game, way of the gnome is not the savest choice.
Spend some time to build wooden shields, give everyone a shield and let them run with guard and shieldwall as perks. The combined blockrate, of these perks will keep your gnomes save against most enemies for the first few seasons. AT that point you wanna go for fulltime soldiers anyway.

[lPaladinl]

Way of the Gnome is extremely effective early on (moreso than sending fewer soldiers in armor when you can't equip many of them). Swarming basically stun locks enemies in place to the point where they can't even fight back as they're dog piled by Gnomes. It is literally the safest choice for a while.

Way of the Gnome also causes Gnomes to raise different stats than other setups. Even when you later start to equip gnomes as proper soldiers with weapons and armor, they'll carry over their training from Way of the Gnome, generally meaning they will be able to dodge more often and attack more quickly.

Way of the Gnome's effectiveness drops when your enemies start arriving in larger numbers. The more enemies there are, the more spread out your Gnomes are. The more spread out your Gnomes are, the less likely you are to completely overtake every enemy and leave them stun locked on the ground.

Even if Goblins show up in Armor, a swarm of Way of the Gnome Militia will still be able to lock them down and prevent them from attacking. It's when they show up with a lot of buddies that you need to start gearing up and changing strategies.

It's also worth it to train Gnomes in training fields with Way of the Gnome, and then equip them with armor for battle with other tactics.