Corvette or Cutter? Advice needed.

[Hexagoros]

I've spent about 90% of my time in Elite Dangerous bounty hunting in my FDL and Combat-fitted Anaconda (mostly in my Anaconda)...but I've made about 75% of my money trading in my Type-9.

I was thinking it was time to upgrade to the Corvette, since that seems to the pinnacle of PvE combat. I'm also already a Chief Petty Office, so I've 'kind of' begun the grind already just by doing missions in Federal Space.

However, I really, really, really don't like the way it looks, and the cockpit is just...meh, honestly.

By comparison, I REALLY love the way the Imperial Cutter looks both inside and out. However, I've not even begun the grind to Duke.

Question, am I just being silly thinking the Cutter is at all a combat ship? And is the Corvette worth upgrading to from an Anaconda built and engineered for combat - even if I hate the way it looks?

[NobodysLaw]

The Corvette is a very good combat ship. It is quite agile for it's size and can be very tanky to take down.

The Cutter can also be a good combat ship, if you don't mind to make it more a flying fortress with automated turrets as the turn speed is hideous on that thing.

[misc65]

The cutter can be a very strong combat ship (arguably the best of the big ships) but its weaknesses are its turn rates being low and its distributor being smaller. The vette is generally considered the best pve ship in the game, though you can really get away with a lot if you only do pve combat. Which ship you want to use is mostly down to preference, though I believe the cutter is the best because it's essentially a giant python which can at least passably do whatever you want to do in game.

[JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi]

That's the first time I hear someone hate the way Corvette looks :-)

I loved it, inside and out, is a magnificent ship for every role.

I'll get the Cutter at some point as well, but really happy with the Vette.

[Dee]

Originally posted by JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi:

That's the first time I hear someone hate the way Corvette looks :-)

make it two, and in a day :) i think core dynamics started doing way too much dope after they designed the eagle.

[Toffe]

Cutter: Speed and demigod level shields. Limited options in regards to weaponry because of the worthless PD.

Corvette: Maneuverability and insane firepower in regards to the two C4 which have excellent placement. Extremely slow and DPS might actually fall behind the other two just because of the C3 Placement which is absolutely horrible, basically a wasted hardpoint.

Anaconda: Good all rounder, probably the best overall hardpoint placement and probably the ship that holds the highest potential DPS.

These are my thoughts, I own all the big 3 but I probably use the Conda and Cutter the most just because they're easy to travel around in. Corvette is without any doubt the most fun to fly though.

[Planewalker]

OP just be aware that "the big three" are slowboats, and they fly & play very differently from the smaller fighting ships.

The Anaconda = Exploration
The Corvette = Combat
The Cutter = Trading

^this is due to their respective peak abilities.

Anywho, the corvette is more or less a (really) big gun, where the cutter can play more towards a shield tank having the highest MJ shields in the game.

In short: Corvette for weapons, and Cutter for shields.

[geronimo]

Unless something changed massively since i've played last, the cutter has a useable jumprange, while the corvette is a 'do i strip it down or just pay for transfer' affair with horrible jumprange. But since you're now flying an FDL that should sound familiar.

It comes down to your fighting style and preferences. I would say the cutter and corvette compare a bit like python and FDL in my eyes.

The corvette turns a LOT faster, but is quite a bit slower in boost/speed. It has a higher DPS output thanks to more gun placements and a bigger distributor.

The cutter is also quite a bit more expensive to fully outfit than a corvette.

If you usually fly FA-off and are a hit and run (or a sit, tank and let the turrets do their work) kind of player the cutter will do you fine.

My personal vote goes out to the cutter;
- more fun to fly (harder)
- faster
- much better internal cargo layout for multipurpose stuff
- a better hardpoint layout (the two small hardpoint on corvette are basically useless unless for something like a multicanon with the damage boost, so if you subtract those the cutter has the potential for more damage output, as two huge deal less than one huge and 2 large, and one large two medium deal less than four medium)
- looks better, both exterior and interior
- wooooooooosh (amazing sound design)
- better jump range
- nothing can mass lock you.
- Save for an FDL, nothing dangerous can keep up with you

If you don't want to go all the way, the clipper will give you a good idea how the cutter feels to fly (cutter is slower though !)

[Agony_Aunt]

Don't worry about it. You don't need either. I only just got a Corvette and Cutter this year, and that was only because i decided it was time to get one of every ship in the game. Its not like i actually needed them.... and i've been playing since launch.

Take it easy, don't grind.

Go base yourself in a Federal system for a few months and work for the fed factions. When you have enough Fed rank, go play out of imperial systems for a few months until you have enough Imperial rank.

Credits are easy enough to get while you are gaining those ranks.

Oh, and while the Corvette is in principle the best PvE combat ship, its not necessarily the most fun to fly (depending on your likes). I wouldn't fly a Cutter for combat though, i like a responsive ship in combat most of the time. Even the Anaconda is more bearable than a Cutter when it comes to combat.

For combat and fun though, its the medium ships where the fun is really at.

[Mr Robert House]

Just buy based on looks. You have an fdl for combat and and a t9 so it doesn’t really matter.

[Eyks]

Someone already mentioned corvettes turning radius but I just want to help make it clear.

the vette turns really really well for its size, some even use it for mining, particularly subsurface in part due to its agility.

if you are used to the annie then you will feel like the cutter is a jetski in comparison, the vette and the annie have very simular cockpits too, so if you can tolerate the annie you should also be fine in a vette.

the cutter however is technically capable of more, and has more overlap in activities in elite, but flies more like a faster annie.
it sounds like you are more combat oriented though, so thats probably less relevant.

[Lightning]

Corvette is really a peak of battle-type ship. Go for it if you really want to go all-in for combat, but at a cost of being inflexible. You won't be able to use Corvette for any other jobs, it's not even decent at anything else, just purely for combat.

[Jack left town]

Anaconda is arguably better than both. More full frontal firepower. Cutter has shields that operate on a geological timescale and it's pretty fast for a ship that size, but forget about actually steering it.

[Toffe]

Originally posted by geronimo:

- a better hardpoint layout (the two small hardpoint on corvette are basically useless unless for something like a multicanon with the damage boost, so if you subtract those the cutter has the potential for more damage output, as two huge deal less than one huge and 2 large, and one large two medium deal less than four medium)

I found the best use for those hardpoints to be 2 Railguns with feedback cascade. You never know when you might need the effect. Also if if long range, they'll have some added utiliy being able to keep some pressure on something faster (much tend to be faster than the Corvette lol)

Personally I think the C3 HP is the worst on the Corvette. It really shouldn't be but for me it just ruins everything somehow. I've even resorted to putting turrets and missiles there because it's so hopeless.

[Agony_Aunt]

Originally posted by Eyks:

the cutter however is technically capable of more, and has more overlap in activities in elite, but flies more like a faster annie.

More like it flies like the Ever Given.

[JL::Jose-Juan Kenobi]

Originally posted by Lightning:

Corvette is really a peak of battle-type ship. Go for it if you really want to go all-in for combat, but at a cost of being inflexible. You won't be able to use Corvette for any other jobs, it's not even decent at anything else, just purely for combat.

Totally disagree there, is awesome at everything.
Only downside is jump range so yeah ok, maybe not exploring :-)

But I'm able to stack all sorts of missions, trading, combat, rescuing, etc... and all enemies sent at me from multiple missions, at the same time, are super fun to get rid of, and still have like 200t of cargo.

As to the OPs question: just get both. Which one first? whichever you think looks better.
I'm still surprised you claim the Vette is ugly, especially if you haven't flown it yet... I'm probably just dumb, but for a while I was just staring at it after I bought it hahah :-D

cheers, gl!! o7