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Arya Jan 5, 2019 @ 6:46am
Imperial Cutter; what are they like to own?
After a bit over a thousand hours I have a nice little ship collection, but there's something missing. I don't have anything by Gutamaya(I don't count my Imperial Eagle, it's a Core Dynamics hull)

I favour firepower and defense over agility, and really enjoy big powerful combat ships like the Corvette and Anaconda. Looking at the Cutter on paper, it seems like a natural fit for me. But stats don't tell you the whole story, and I'm hoping some of you can tell me a little more about the Cutter and what it's like to actually own one.

Mainly I'm interested in the practical questions, the stuff I can't learn from stats or pictures. How hard is it to dock manually? What is the weapon convergance like? How does it handle PVE combat? And how is the situational awareness in combat? The bridge window looks pretty restrictive from the outside.
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Originally posted by JessyJams:
Originally posted by Wolfey:
After a bit over a thousand hours I have a nice little ship collection, but there's something missing. I don't have anything by Gutamaya(I don't count my Imperial Eagle, it's a Core Dynamics hull)

I favour firepower and defense over agility, and really enjoy big powerful combat ships like the Corvette and Anaconda. Looking at the Cutter on paper, it seems like a natural fit for me. But stats don't tell you the whole story, and I'm hoping some of you can tell me a little more about the Cutter and what it's like to actually own one.

Mainly I'm interested in the practical questions, the stuff I can't learn from stats or pictures. How hard is it to dock manually? What is the weapon convergance like? How does it handle PVE combat? And how is the situational awareness in combat? The bridge window looks pretty restrictive from the outside.


I can't really give you any hard info that hasn't been given already, but I can tell you my experience/perspective on the matter. I recently bought mine and outside of an unfortunate ganking, it's been smooth sailing (that was before I engineered her)

I love the cutter. As I was doing the rep grind, and reading about it, I started having doubts, but once I got a hold of her, I fell in love.

The handling is not nearly as terrible as people say. It's mostly hyperbole. Sure, it won't turn like an eagle, sorry. It will turn though, and it will turn faster than you think. Especially with G5 dirty drives and FA off.

SPeaking of FA off, this is the ship it was meant for. FA off feels very nice in this ship, giving it feedback and sensitivity rivaling that of a ship much smaller.

WHile the turning is still objectively worse than other ships, it's more than serviceable. It's far better than the type 9 which I hated. Besides, when you're faster than anybody who could actually hurt you, there is plenty of time to turn because by the time they turn you're 3km away. At some point, faster turning doesn't really net you much, and this ship is fast enough. Your time on target will be a bit lower, but you more than make up for it with huge defenses and good (not amazing) firepower.

There is talk about the distributor being undersized.. No.. it's a freaking size 7. That sucker is a monster. It isn't an infinite energy well ofcourse, but why should it be? The reason people complain is because if you try to fire off all of the ♥♥♥♥ tons of hardpoints at once you'll go dry pretty quickly... yeah... and your enemy will be a sizzling pile of shrapnel.

Jokes aside, it's plenty power to get the job done. It does lag behind others though. So if you like running lasers and all high p owered weaponry, the cutter will struggle far more than a Corvette or an Anaconda. It's not impossible to do though.

Drift is really what people complain about. Turning is good enough, straight speed is just insane, but drift is YUGE. If you boost, you're going in that direction for the next 3km minimum even with A rated G5 Dirty Drives. Whether you like this or not is subjective, but just know that drifting isn't a penalty.It just requires a different flight style.

I would recommend trying out the clipper, then imaginging that in slow motion with enough shields to shrug off the death star, 5 excellent hardpoint convergences, a fighter bay, and some serious sex appeal.

It's damn near graphic ramming ships in this sucker, but holy damn is it hawt. This ship should be only for those 18 or older. Best ramming ship in the game for sure and has the shape to match! A boosting Cutter will knock a planet out of orbit and utterly crush ANY other ship in the game. It's like being hit in the face with an atomic bomb. The ship itself is like a size 10 hardpoint.I like playing pool in the Rez sites with anacondas as the que ball. Nothing, I repeat nothing will keep this ship from getting to where it wants to go(it can't even keep itself from getting to where it wants to go : ) ).

The biggest negative is by far the rebuy and fitting cost. For the price of one fully fit cutter rebuy, you can go through 10 pythons, and it's not worth 10 pythons. WHile I love the ship, it's high maintenance. You gotta watch out for those girls. Usually, you don't want to marry one, but..... the ride sure is nice :)

To fit the ship will cost you , wait for it...., 1.1 billion credits or more. Also, this is a ship that demands to be fully A rate fit and G5 enhanced across the board. Compare that to what it costs to fit an Anaconda or Corvette and you're looking at quite the premium according to Coriolis. Point being, cutter is in it's own league regarding expenses.

I cna't say what it is like compared to the other 2 of the big 3. I would assume they are equally awesome in their own ways. I got the cutter first, and it leaves me wanting for nothing. It's my main ship at this point, and I can't see that changing any time soon. Why'd I choose it? Because I love the imperial ship designs. The stats are secondary to feeling the love.

If you don't care for the look of the Cutter, you won't find stats to really scream "better" than a corvette or an anaconda because it isn't better. I would recommend going Anaconda or Corvette in that case (primarily corvette given what you said you like in a ship).

So, in closing, I think that the corvette is probably closest to what you claim to want. This difference, however, is small enough that merely liking the style of ship should matter. Any of the big ships can compete with the others if fit and piloted right, I'd assume.

Go Cutter if you like FA OFF, lots of drift, ramming so hot it makes Ron Jeremy blush, and defense over firepower.

Go Corvette if you like face melting power, snappy maneuvering, little drift, FA ON , and more combat focus.

Anaconda if you want something between those two.

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Showing 1-15 of 62 comments
/me Jan 5, 2019 @ 7:02am 
The window is good, no obstacles in your view. But only in default view / mode. While offering a complete view of whats in front of you, with a headtracker or VR you'll see mostly cockpit interior when you start moving your head.

Shields and speed are incredible. Possible firepower is adequate but below Corvette / Conda.
You have the huge hardpoint below, aiming at targets over 300m distance is relatively easy should you choose a fixed gun. Two large hardpoints are on top, also usable for fixed guns.
The medium hardpoints however are placed at the nycelles on top and bottom rendering them mostly unusable for fixed weaponry.

Agility is mostly bad.... usable in the throttle-blue-area but going full speed will reduce its turning speed equal to an old tanks turret - literally if not worse.

A fully shield-engineered Cutter in PVE is almost invincible to any human-foe with the exception of those response teams they addind some time ago or a station.

I found manual landing mostly easy aslong as you don't rush and remain at moderate speed. It just takes some practice to hit the blue spot on touchdown. You also should be aware of the Cutters width when entering the mailslot.... your nycelle could get stuck on the entrance if you don't leave enough space to your right / left.
#1
Wolf Jan 5, 2019 @ 6:33pm 
theres no shields or armor stronger than the cutter, and shes the fasted large ship in the galaxy :)
#2
Inscydeus Jan 5, 2019 @ 8:21pm 
Originally posted by wolf:
theres no shields or armor stronger than the cutter, and shes the fasted large ship in the galaxy :)
Shields yes, but both the Conda and the T10 have higher potential integrity and the T10 has the highest hull hardness in the game.
#3
Casual Overload Gaming Jan 5, 2019 @ 9:22pm 
Driiiiiffffttttt......

The Cutter, once moving in a given direction, tends to stay moving in that direction for kilometers.You'll have to get used to using your thrusters to reverse or hault your momentum - something I never quite mastered. I had one with shields well over 3k and hull over 5k, and there are others who get it to do much better. It's a beast, great to have in a fight if you're on the same side.

Rebuy, should you end up there, is in excess of 55 million credits.
#4
Arya Jan 5, 2019 @ 9:37pm 
Originally posted by wolf:
theres no shields or armor stronger than the cutter, and shes the fasted large ship in the galaxy :)

And that is what I most wanted to hear. Thanks.

Originally posted by Calean:
Driiiiiffffttttt......

The Cutter, once moving in a given direction, tends to stay moving in that direction for kilometers.You'll have to get used to using your thrusters to reverse or hault your momentum - something I never quite mastered. I had one with shields well over 3k and hull over 5k, and there are others who get it to do much better. It's a beast, great to have in a fight if you're on the same side.

Rebuy, should you end up there, is in excess of 55 million credits.

Thanks, that's exactly why I made this thread. You can't find that on Inara. It sounds like a challenging beast to fly, but I really welcome that. That's partly why I enjoy these larger ships, you can't just spin around like a Faceroll-e-Lance, they're not forgiving of overshoots, you've got to think about positioning and manuevers more. And so the Cutter's weight and drift sounds perfect for me.

Rebuy is very steep, but that's alright. I'm comfortable paying that, I have the income to cover it. And I always keep enough cash on hand to afford my most expensive rebuy.
#5
WRONGTURN Jan 5, 2019 @ 10:09pm 
Originally posted by Wolfey:
Originally posted by wolf:
theres no shields or armor stronger than the cutter, and shes the fasted large ship in the galaxy :)

And that is what I most wanted to hear. Thanks.

Originally posted by Calean:
Driiiiiffffttttt......

The Cutter, once moving in a given direction, tends to stay moving in that direction for kilometers.You'll have to get used to using your thrusters to reverse or hault your momentum - something I never quite mastered. I had one with shields well over 3k and hull over 5k, and there are others who get it to do much better. It's a beast, great to have in a fight if you're on the same side.

Rebuy, should you end up there, is in excess of 55 million credits.

Thanks, that's exactly why I made this thread. You can't find that on Inara. It sounds like a challenging beast to fly, but I really welcome that. That's partly why I enjoy these larger ships, you can't just spin around like a Faceroll-e-Lance, they're not forgiving of overshoots, you've got to think about positioning and manuevers more. And so the Cutter's weight and drift sounds perfect for me.

Rebuy is very steep, but that's alright. I'm comfortable paying that, I have the income to cover it. And I always keep enough cash on hand to afford my most expensive rebuy.
if it's just for pve... you won't need the 400 million credit hull for it .. That will save a lot on rebuy cost. i run class 6 prismatic shields on both of mine but I do have a set of class 8 prismatics if I decide to go play with it . But for everyday use, I cannot give up my precious class 8 cargo slot when a class 6 prismatic shield will protect me just fine for a few fights.
#6
WRONGTURN Jan 5, 2019 @ 10:11pm 
weapon wise......the cutter is simply underwhelming , but you can tank the damage untill you do finally kill something lol. but then,, i use turrets
#7
Honoré de Balzac Jan 6, 2019 @ 2:14am 
Originally posted by WRONGTURN:
weapon wise......the cutter is simply underwhelming , but you can tank the damage untill you do finally kill something lol. but then,, i use turrets

Ew...turrets...
#8
darkflemish Jan 6, 2019 @ 3:05am 
Cutter is my first one of the biggest ships in E:D
I love to fly with it, it is fast.
I'm still in the process for unlocking it's true fighter power.


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1599366548

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1600764973


My Cutter from the cockpit of Corvette
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1594640165
#9
Qrazy Jan 6, 2019 @ 4:29am 
Originally posted by wolf:
and shes the fasted large ship in the galaxy :)

The Orca and the Clipper say hello.

Flying the Cutter is...interesting. You need to think ahead where you want to go. For combat I can't stand using it. My ham fisted throttle "technique" doesn't do me any favors in that regard. For trading and mining I love it. Plenty of room for all the things. Exploration is "decent". It won't have the range of the conda or some of the more popular medium ships. But it will look better doing it. The cockpit view is pretty good as well.
#10
WRONGTURN Jan 6, 2019 @ 6:24am 
Originally posted by Plumbus:
Originally posted by WRONGTURN:
weapon wise......the cutter is simply underwhelming , but you can tank the damage untill you do finally kill something lol. but then,, i use turrets

Ew...turrets...
ya, but they way the cutter turns......it's the only way to get decent time on target. I might try a gimbled build , But i just don't see it working myself.
Last edited by WRONGTURN; Jan 6, 2019 @ 6:25am
#11
DuDun Jan 6, 2019 @ 9:25am 
People recommend Drag Drives straight because of the numbers. I go with Driving ditributors on the Cutter, slightly lower top speed and turning rate, but it does get a 'little bit' a of better maneuvering ship (in other words, it drifts slightly less... didn't stop me from naming mine Hyper Heavy Drifter tho)

You also don't have to engineer a Cutter to be heavy all around, you can have some light engineered modules without hurting its survivability.

You CAN'T engineer a Cutter to be a maneuverable ship, but you can engineer enough to make the dragging less annoying. you don't engineer a Cutter to be faster, you engineer it to improve its performance curve.

As for practicity unless you are engineering a Cutter as a destroyer class battleship, there isn't a single module you can't fit without compromising the grade of another.
#12
The Nameless Jan 6, 2019 @ 11:33am 
You'll want to engineer it unless you want a trade cow, because its lack of agility and hugely long shield recharge rate are crippling as any kind of combat ship.

Once engineered however, it is nearly invincible and powerful enough. It takes some tricky flying to get an enemy in your sights, but it can carry a lot of SLFs and they help a lot. As does the speed; it can get away well enough to snipe from a distance (LR weapon mods) or just get the enemy back in front if you don't snipe much.

Ultimately though, with engineered shields and engines, you never really have to fight. Nothing can masslock a Cutter and nothing can take your shields down before you get away, and only the Type 9 can match its cargo capacity (and that's new; it used to be that even it couldn't.)
#13
Sheev Jan 6, 2019 @ 11:38am 
imagine flying an oil tanker with huge rear thrusters, but the turning thrusters are almost nonexistant. It drifts more than any other ship in the game, and i'm not talking about Initial D type drifting like the FAS, i'm talking about drift that forces you in the direction you boosted for several kilometers before it slowly starts slowing down with cheese for brake discs. The pitch, roll and yaw are obviously awful aswell, but it's still good enough for supercruise and getting in and out of stations. It becomes a problem when it comes to combat, but if you know how you can actually use the massive drift of the ship to deal with the horrible pitch. Even then, i would recommend just getting a corvette for combat. It's definitely the best trading ship though.
#14
Lywelyn Jan 6, 2019 @ 11:39am 
cutter is millions credits worth of joy, best haul, best shield, best drifts, you can do everything in that ♥♥♥♥, and it's a fancy ship beside a fancy cockpit view.

#15
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Date Posted: Jan 5, 2019 @ 6:46am
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