Troll defense and aesthetics (i hate moats)

[h3idi9000]

I like the look of small settlements (probably I'm an outlier here) and I like the way the stake fence looks.

Q 1: Is my only option a double ring of fencing if I don't want to build a moat or build up?

Q 2: what's the actual range on the troll with the aoe log whomp damage?

I was fine with Kiting Trolls Away as my strategy until I got two at once at night in the rain and had forgotten to eat. Was easy enough to reclaim my items from the grave ten meters from my setttlement, lol. But still.

I guess what I'm looking for is options that will allow me to ignore the raid events that are something other than build super high stone wall, build moat, build a tree house. If those are my only options, well, so be it.

[Ghryphen]

I dislike the look of typical moats as well, however I dug one that was just high enough mobs can't climb, and then flattened the outside edge and replanted grass so it basically became a one-sided moat, the house is pretty much on a short plateau.

I do also have a ring of 2 star wolves around the outside of the moat too, but the howling.... omg the howling.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2463364648

[Cougarific]

^Yeah you can even re-grassify the moat itself to make it look nicer.

[Lenny Rat]

Originally posted by thommix777:

I have a huge base and never had to dig a moat. Just build walls that enemies cant see over. They stay away and dont even hit your walls. Only if you are next to them they agro and hear you. If a troll comes, just run out and hit it with an arrow and it ignores your base, they also ignore you 99% of time if they cant see you or hear you. Simple,easy, no need for exploits or anything.

^This

As long as they cannot see items they want to destroy (including you) the event will end on its own.

I dug a moat around my main base and love the look of it, but I kept my base slightly higher than the fence so I could see over it, then back filled the other side. The mobs can't get to me, so arrows are the only damage that hits some of my walls and maybe a few ax strikes on my gates, then it's over.

Wolves look like a fun idea, but if there is non-stop howling, I'm not going for it.

[Probitas]

Hunter bow and iron arrows, hit them in the face, three or four and they tend to drop rather quickly. Also, put up those little garden gnomes to help protect your stuff from the mobs.

[BladeofSharpness]

Add archers in towers using 'Friendlies' mod? ;-)

[Asheira]

Originally posted by h3idi9000:

Okay related question : if a troll steps on a floor tile with Red structural integrity will it break?

I'm thinking I could have a hidden moat that way and just field the repairs later.

This would be nuts for tower defense =)
One can leave a small gap like 1 missing floor tile and a troll won't get across.
So long as you can make the jump you should be fine.

[Salt Strider]

I had a similar experience with trolls constantly attacking my lighthouse. A friend I was playing with helped me and built a wall by using stone to elevate the ground. Trolls would walk up to it and just turn around as if all they could see was a wall of dirt.

[BGratz]

well thats not really a troll defense. For that i would have made the wall so big that there would be a space between wall and Cabin. And i would have made it higher.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2463704262
But my point is that it is still possible


My mainbase anyway will be guarded by wolfes, together with a defined by me area where enemys can spawn
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2463088757

[Gargales]

After a log troll slayed my pigs through an earthen wall, I'm also concerned with designing a troll-proof base.
After some research, I came to the conclusion that a moat and an inward facing safety zone would make it impossible for a troll to damage the base.
The last question to be answered was how large the AOE range of a log troll is. Since I could not find any reliable information about this, I made a test.
I dug a square trench of single width and maximum depth. At the bottom the trench is 2 m wide, at the top 4 m wide, outside 36 x 36 m. In the center of this square is a square base of 16 x 16 m. This gives a safety zone of 10 m in all directions (4 m trench + 6 m undeveloped area).
After some waiting, there was a troll attack.
The base was not damaged, so a log troll can't hit further than 10 meters. So you are on the safe side.

However, I would be interested to know if it is possible to make the safety zone even smaller. I have already done a test setup by placing test beams in the safety zone to see up to which the troll can do damage. Now I'm waiting for the ground to shake, or for someone who has already tested it and tells me.

[h3idi9000]

Originally posted by Gargales:

After a log troll slayed my pigs through an earthen wall, I'm also concerned with designing a troll-proof base.
After some research, I came to the conclusion that a moat and an inward facing safety zone would make it impossible for a troll to damage the base.
The last question to be answered was how large the AOE range of a log troll is. Since I could not find any reliable information about this, I made a test.
I dug a square trench of single width and maximum depth. At the bottom the trench is 2 m wide, at the top 4 m wide, outside 36 x 36 m. In the center of this square is a square base of 16 x 16 m. This gives a safety zone of 10 m in all directions (4 m trench + 6 m undeveloped area).
After some waiting, there was a troll attack.
The base was not damaged, so a log troll can't hit further than 10 meters. So you are on the safe side.

However, I would be interested to know if it is possible to make the safety zone even smaller. I have already done a test setup by placing test beams in the safety zone to see up to which the troll can do damage. Now I'm waiting for the ground to shake, or for someone who has already tested it and tells me.

Omg thank you for testing!

Was about to try it myself but I'm experimenting with a fence of stairs at the moment. Seems to generally disrupt pathing and yet the greydrarves don't seem to attack it. I still have some gaps where the stairs reach into the earth too much and have to test against trolls. I assume the aoe dmg will damage the stairs but so far I like the look better. Will report back when I have the kinks worked out.

[Chaoslink]

Depending on the size of the base you’re trying to protect, you could try an experimental defense I was looking into awhile back. Basically, you knock down some thick trees and push the logs up against your palisade. Since the logs aren’t owned by you, the mobs won’t attack them and it puts a gap between them and your walls so they can’t attack. It worked for greydwarves and fulings, but I never had the chance to test it against troll raids. It might have been a solid idea, maybe not. Pushing the logs into place was a bit of a pain, but it seemed like a pretty nifty idea.

[[DN]-rednex]

Originally posted by h3idi9000:

Was about to try it myself but I'm experimenting with a fence of stairs at the moment. Seems to generally disrupt pathing and yet the greydrarves don't seem to attack it. I still have some gaps where the stairs reach into the earth too much and have to test against trolls. I assume the aoe dmg will damage the stairs but so far I like the look better. Will report back when I have the kinks worked out.

screenshot please :)

[caroraim]

Had a wooden wall and a complete moat. Built ramparts on the wall, completely covered and made the perfect bow platform literally all the way around the base. A log troll did manage to hit the corner rampart and do some damage, so I replaced the wooden wall with stone. It's good now and doesn't get damaged, but my gate houses get wrecked. Any ideas on those?
Thanks, fellow Vikings!

[Pitchforque]

I used to use a stone wall and no terrain defense, with stone floors going right up to the wall on the interior. Trolls commonly damaged 2 rows of floors in from the wall, and occasionally the 3rd row. This was a 1m thick stone wall and 2m floors, so you're looking at a cleave range of about 5-6m.

[Gavener]

never has a troll/s broke down a stake wall they swing at it once and leave every time, only my big double doors do they break down