How do tribal starts handle Psychic or Poison ships

[mvargus]

Was playing a tribal start.  After 2 years I had a good base, but couldn't craft any firearms.  Then a poison ship falls.

I'll admit I screwed up badly on how I set up my attack, but all I can say is that my team was curbstomped.  The "heaviest" weapon I had was a great bow.  I did have some animals to try to take the melee part, but it didn't seem to matter when 2 scythers appear the instant I touch the ship chunk with a melee weapon.

So I question.  What do I do?  Do I try to have more animals?  Do I take time to build some defenses like sandbags or embrasures to give my people limited protection from the charge lance?

Help!

[Canute]

At first you just have limited time to prepare.
A poison ship expand his poison area more and more, and it will kill your plants sooner or later.
This neglet that you can grow more animals, but you can tame some, just as target dummies.

2 years, no other raids and they don't even drop some assault rifles, or caravans sold some, thats bad luck.
But great bow do a good job too.

Build some defence, i prefer 1x1 wall blocks, other prefer sandbags.
Create an animal area before that, for target dummy animals.
And pray that you don't get too much centipdes. Scyther are easyer to destroy and very inaccurate at max. distance.

[mvargus]

that's what I thought I should have done.  I actually have run into this 2 times as I managed to savescum the first time it happened.

The first time I had sent everyone and when the one melee fighter I had touched it, it activated the 2 scythers, who proceeded to wipe out my people as we were way too close.

The second time, I sent everyone to my walls, and sent just my melee fighter.  They didn't make it back to the walls, but then the scythers sat outside my range and sniped my people.  I didn't have enough animals to do anything against them at that distance.  They would have died during the charge.

Next time I'll try what you recommend.  put the animals in a confined area next to the ship, wall up defenses and then activate the defenders.

[khun_poo]

Build a wall around it but not too close. In A17 you'll alert the ship part if you build anything nearer than 4-5 tile around it (Not sure about the precise number). Build 1 door for entrance. The wall and door should be stone.

Next, tame all boomalope you could find on the map. Boomrat would do in a pinch too. Then set an animal area just around the ship part.
When all sacrifice animal is in position, poke the ship, get out of there, forbid the door and watch the whole room melt.

Oh! If the ship happen to crash on the desert. You can build wooden stool and place in there for fire fuel. Wooden wall will do too but you will have to make stone wall much larger.

[Canute]

Activate ship with an mellee is a VERY BAD idea !!
You can put the mellee at 1. line abit closer to act as 2. target dummy behind the animals, or behind to carry downed pawn to the hospital.

Oh! If the ship happen to crash on the desert. You can build wooden stool and place in there for fire fuel. Wooden wall will do too but you will have to make stone wall much larger.

- how he should start the fire as tribal without molotovs or launcher?
- wood is rare at desert, ok at the 2. year he should have some if he plant early some trees.
- arn't mechanoids pretty temp. immun ? I think there was a reason i didn't do that tactic anymore for ages.

[mvargus]

Activate ship with an mellee is a VERY BAD idea !!
You can put the mellee at 1. line abit closer to act as 2. target dummy behind the animals, or behind to carry downed pawn to the hospital.

Oh! If the ship happen to crash on the desert. You can build wooden stool and place in there for fire fuel. Wooden wall will do too but you will have to make stone wall much larger.

- how he should start the fire as tribal without molotovs or launcher?
- wood is rare at desert, ok at the 2. year he should have some if he plant early some trees.
- arn't mechanoids pretty temp. immun ? I think there was a reason i didn't do that tactic anymore for ages.

Hey, at least I can try again.  I've already dropped my next vic.. I mean sac... I mean colonist.  That's the word.  Colonist. 

Did make one small change.  I hated how few caravans I got last game so this time I set up on a road.  Be interesting to see if I get more visitors.

[khun_poo]

- how he should start the fire as tribal without molotovs or launcher?
- wood is rare at desert, ok at the 2. year he should have some if he plant early some trees.
- arn't mechanoids pretty temp. immun ? I think there was a reason i didn't do that tactic anymore for ages.

He can light fire by sacrifice restrict area those lovely chubby boomrat and boomalope near the ship. 
They will got targeted immediately by the mech after the ship got alert by bullet, arrow or whatever dmg it.
It's very important that never forget to forbid door when retreat after alert the ship. Sometime animal flee from mech via that door and make things complicate.

Mechanoid immune to the temp but what kill them is fire. They still catch fire from superheat temperature though.

[Shurp]

Two scythers?  Vs. a tribe with great bows?  That should be easy.  Just set up a sniper position 25 squares away and start plinking.  Your guys are behind cover and shouldn't get shot too often before the scythers die.  (Yes, you might lose one or two to stomach or head shots)

Sniper position layout:

  @    @    @    @    @
#~##~##~##~##~#

@ = pawn, # = wall, ~ = sandbag.  Ship part is 25 squares south.

[hunter2012]

could always pack up and move

[b0rsuk]

Dogpile on them in melee. Scythers fall pretty quickly. Centipedes are pretty much immune until you get high quality gear (and you should have EMP grenades by then).

EMP grenades are not too hard to get from a sapper raid or a trader.

2 years in you should have at least blacksmith equipment. When I played the Lost Tribe, I always prioritized Machining Table research. You can't beat kevlar vests at improving surivability.

[khun_poo]

Did roof collapse room vs crash ship still work?

I just test fire room a just now, it doesn't work anymore. The mech learn to dig -_-".

[TheMeInTeam]

By year 2 you have firearms in vanilla, even if you've teched nothing.

If you get them in 1st three quadrums, abuse doors and steel deadfall traps.  It is possible to win these encounters without taking damage consistently on extreme using only starting tribe tech.