Need cutter build advice PVE - i'm a newbie

Don't have the rank for a Cutter, so I can't try it myself, but how about undersized shields, stock bulkheads and then go on a "retrieve black box(3) mission"?
I'm thinking, instead... hull tank. No shields. All module/hull reinforcement packages, heavy duty hull, drifts so hard you hit the brakes near Earth and end up sliding past Beagle Point. All minelayers on all hardpoints. And, of course, an Advanced Docking Computer because the AI can certainly handle all this.
 
Hi all,

I'm literally at day #3 of playing this game. I managed to follow youtube guides and made money mining, and ran missions to get rank, and now I bought myself a cutter.
I'm trying to load it out for a PVE build. I'm thinking of using it to run federation missions to get rank for corvette (i know, the irony).

Anyone got any advice for a good pve build for cutter? I just want to be able to gun down master level pirate missions with ease, and have good amount of cargo space to do some missions where i need to get goods from another station in.

I already have a good mining build for this thing, but if you'd like to share that, i'm all ears too. Thanks in advance!
I smell a troll. If you're not a troll, could you explain how you managed to rank up in two days? I think many would be interested.
 
Broken game.
I'm impressed a noob can pick-up the game, follow online guides, and get what he wants in 3 days. Half the battle is knowing what to look for. I always look for online guides when I want to try something new since I hate making mistakes and wasted effort.
 
And to those who suggested I sell it to learn other ships - thanks for the suggestion, I won't sell it, I have so much money. if anything I'll just go mine another 512 LTdiamonds and get more money again. Instead I'll just simply buy other ships, build them out and try them out.

Do that, get a smaller ship, med size is fine, and have some fun. If you don't have money problems it's fun to experiment and a few rebuys don't break the bank. It also takes the edge of seeing the rebuy screen, which is always good.

Off-topic a bit, but now I wonder if someone can build a Cutter so bad that it dies to an NPC.

I ran into a Corvette with 7 heatsinks and 1 PD, and it wasn't a shieldless build. Took 3 volleys from my conda and the thing exploded.
 
I'm literally at day #3 of playing this game.
It took me three months to get my Cutter on my alt CMDR, and this after playing my primary CMDR for about a year. It's not your fault, OP, but this game is so much LESS in my opinion now that people can get an "end-game" ship in three DAYS.

Do us a favor, please let us know when you quit the game out of boredom. Again, I'm not criticizing you, the OP. I'm criticizing Frontier. Of course they'll be the ones to reap the incredibly short player retention this encourages. Now if by some miracle you're still happily playing the game a year from now (which is a short time for a sandbox / MMO), then I'll recant everything I've said in this post.

In the meantime, I'll continue to proudly fly my Eagle in order to add some diversity to a game dominated by Cutters and Corvettes (and soon Fleet Carriers).
 
I smell a troll. If you're not a troll, could you explain how you managed to rank up in two days? I think many would be interested.

Odd that the OP can figure out the basics playing the game, gets a billion CR and a cutter from watching youtube videos in three days but comes to a forum for PvE build suggestions. I would have thought basic PvE build would be pretty easy and obvious in comparison. I guess blindly following someones instructions can get you far without understanding anything.
 
A cutter on day 3... what has the galaxy come to??

Seriously though, congrats on your cutter. I'm sure you will find many good builds here. The cutter is a great ship!
 
I've used a Cutter extensively for bounty hunting and CZs, but after 3 days in the game? There is literally no build I would recommend to you right now. It's a ship you fight with to get on target in a battle, even with gimballed weapons and don't get me started on how it handles when landing on high g planets (Ceres Tarn has a few of my imprints around the station from my early days with it).

Go with what others have suggested, or start with the Courier since you already have it unlocked. There's a ship that's a load of fun.
 
A Cutter is an awful ship. It drifts like a pig on a sheet of ice. Handles even worse. I can't imagine going back to Cutter with standard thrusters. Shields ( when engineered, and boosted, with an SCB ) are almost impossible to breach, but that isn't the problem. Getting your guns on target is the problem. Even gimbals don't help that much... turrets are useless and have their own issues with friendly fire. It's a freighter.. a big fast freighter. It excels at moving large amounts of stuff from one place to another.. and mining.

As others have suggested, you blew right past the best parts of the game with the smaller ships. A cobra is a JOY to fly. A Python is the workhorse of the entire universe ( 200 tons, medium landing pad, decent weapon placement ) and will do any mission, period. A small ship is a BLAST to fly, the Vulture is my personal favorite. There are tons of other things.. Rares runs and the Road to Riches.. Engineering your ship is a whole journey. But how do you know what to engineer if you haven't really played the game ? Each CMDRs build is custom made for them and their style/tastes.

But, you want a build ?

Just A-rate everything, fill it with boosters except for two point defense units on the back slots. Don't get beam lasers, they will suck a standard power system clean in 5 seconds. I'd suggest burst lasers on the pylons ( fire group one ), and mutli-cannons on the hull mounts ( fire group two ). Make all of them gimbaled, since the convergence is terrible and you'll have issues getting fixed weapons on target. Add a fighter bay, and hire a decent pilot. I'd upgrade the armor as well to military composite, and maybe a few MRE/HRE modules. Don't forget an SCB. That should do for a good basic build. Note that this is for PvE, a PvP'er will rip you to shreds with reverb cascade.

After that...

ENGINEERING : You need the FSD upgraded to level 5, level 5 dirty drive thrusters, and the shield and/or boosters upgraded and adjusted for resistances ( shoot for all to be over 40% ). Power Plant and Power Distributor as well, based on weapon load out. Get one of the multi-cannons modded with corrosive, the special doesn't stack with itself.
POWER PLAY : Prismatic shields are a must.. but that will take 3 weeks. Then engineer those for resistances.
GUARDIANS : FSD booster is a 'must have' item, the other stuff ? Meh, not so much..
 
There are many combos. I can post mine, but it is suited for thargoid interceptor combat. I'm not skilled to do cold running, so I go big on defense.
These links are from last year, but largely my build remains the same. Currently I have my ship outfitted for mass mining.
Anti-Xeno config: https://s.orbis.zone/3v6k
NPC Shooting: https://s.orbis.zone/6jwv

Now, this is overkill for npcs, but still. Also, I have become quite a good shot with rails, so the hammers work well for me. Hammers aren't for everyone. Also, you don't NEED the prismatics. Both the hammers and prismatics require more work. I went into an imperial exchange program to work for them myself (IE: joined and worked for blue hair for four weeks).

I have beams on one button and kinetics on another.

I don't know what you are flying now but the cutter isn't going to handle the same.
 
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