Big 3 for daily use

[B.Roberts]

Good time of the day or night to everybody. My friend asked me recently how is it to fly Cutter and I didn't had any straight answer. I figured there are many Commanders out there working their way towards one of the Big 3. This is their goal and reason to play. I've been there myself until I sailed away from Jameson on my new Cutter several months ago. Here's my question to all you senior pilots who flies heavy stuff. How is it to live with Anaconda, Cutter or Corvette as a primary ship? Does it makes any sense considering all the expenses and limitations? Would you still buy it if you could only have one ship? How often you wish you were flying something smaller? What do you think?
As for me personally, I love my Cutter. I fight, travel and sometimes live in it when away from the bubble and rarely missing my smaller ships.

 

[Captain Willard]

I have the big four.
Beluga, Cutter, Corvette, T-10.
I fly them the least. Beluga more so for passenger missions and obscure mats. Cutter for various CG, Vette for certain CZ, T-10 yet to be approved.
Small and medium ships is me for combat. Solo and PG only.
Personally I'll never own an Annie.

 

[BrazHos]

No Corvette but I do fly three Anacondas and one Cutter. The Cutter is mostly just a powerful hauler that can kill anything that wants to try and stop me. I rarely fight in it. Each Annie has its own purpose. One miner, one explorer and one battleship. I love the Anaconda.
Just a FYI.. You can buy an Anaconda, equip it for mining and in 1 trip pay for itself.

 

[B.Roberts]

No Corvette but I do fly three Anacondas and one Cutter. The Cutter is mostly just a powerful hauler that can kill anything that wants to try and stop me. I rarely fight in it. Each Annie has its own purpose. One miner, one explorer and one battleship. I love the Anaconda.
Just a FYI.. You can buy an Anaconda, equip it for mining and in 1 trip pay for itself.

Yeah, between Cutter, Anaconda and Corvette Anaconda is probably the best bang for your buck. I could probably buy few of them for the price of my Cutter. Lol

 

[Shadowed]

Cutter and Corvette are great for combat. I prefer Cutter for combat due to its speed though. Conda is a space taxi for me now...

 

[Stealthie]

The first big ship I bought was a Cutter cos, at the time, it had the biggest cargo capacity.
That left the Annie and the Corvette.
The Corvette's jump-range sucks so when I decided to build a large multirole ship I picked the Annie.
Which just left the Corvette.
So, when I decided to build a large combat ship, the Corvette got that job.

With hindsight, they'd all probably be decent enough combat ships and I could have picked any for that job.
The Annie's jump-range is the best so that's always going to be the first choice for a ship that needs to travel a lot.
The Cutter's cargo capacity is now a bit lower than a T9's, IIRC, but it's much, much better at shooty stuff.

As to the questions asked by the OP, I'd probably go for an Annie as a "main ship" cos, for me, a "main ship" needs to be a multirole and I reckon the Annie's the most versatile.
My 2nd choice would be the Cutter, simply cos it's got an okayish jump-range, which means travelling around in a multirole Cutter wouldn't be terrible.
Bottom of the pile (as a "main ship") would be the Corvette, simply cos it's jump-range sucks.
The Corvette makes a terrific combat ship but it's jump-range means it wouldn't be the best multirole so it wouldn't ever be my "main ship".

Then there's the T10.
It's a dinosaur.
It's the ship you fly when you're determined to be different to everybody else.
And for no other reason.

 

[Rat Catcher]

T10 isn't a bad ship, I flew one out to the Explorer's Anchorage CG fully equipped for mining (with 256 Limpets) and guns etc. for pirates. I did try AX combat in it, but I'm not skilled enough...

 

[Dillon Fallon]

The Cutter is great for shifting stuff and combat where you want that nice comfy feeling that nothing is getting through the shields. The mess you can make of NPCs when you boost into them and unload a set of frags can be entertaining as well.

It does get a lot of use but I couldn't live with it every day as after a while I tend to develop a need to fly something more manouverable. Still, I get that feeling flying my Python so that may just be me.

 

[NCFCpaul]

I keep my Corvette for PvE combat from time to time, it's really good for harvesting mats.

I sometimes use an Anaconda for exploration, mostly because it can take all the goodies I could possibly want. Although in supercruise the AspX is far superior.

I keep trying the cutter and then selling it, I can't get on with the flight model at all, although I know others love it.

Having tried them all, my view is that I simply prefer the medium ships. The greater variety and simply fun is why I fly them. However, if I didn't have the big three, I would definitely NEED to get them, just because

 

[d8veh]

You don't go for the best ship and use it for everything. Instead, you choose the most appropriate ship for the task in hand. The Cutter is good for cargo and mining. The Corvette is good for battle, and the Anaconda is good for travelling. There are always smaller ships that can be more enjoyable to use for whatever task you want.

 

[Flatkat]

I have a Battle Conda and a General purpose Conda that i use 70% of the time. She's well armed, carries EVERYTHING and can jump. Plenty of space to quickly fit out for mining or Passengers. My Vette is just a PvE destroyer.

 

[sollisb]

Horses for courses... I have multiple of each of the big 4, Vette, Cutter, Conda and T10. Depending on my humour will dictate what I take out..

Vette.. packs a punch, very agile, a good beamer and a good MCs boat. A brick has a better jump range.
Conda.. G5 engineered, as good as the vette.
Cutter.. Bask city arizona. Packs a huge punch, take a huge beating, not as agile, but agile enough and a decent jump range.
T-10.. G5 engineered, is a different kind of beast. Lays down some serious hurt, but falls down int he shields department.

For an all rounder, to trade, defend, battle, jump, feel protected, I'll take my one of Cutters. If exploration might take in part of the journey, then I'll take one of my Condas. If mining, i'll take the T-10, and for local HazRez I'll take either one of my Vettes or one of the Cutters. Unless, I want some top-gun combat in which case, I'll take either a Vulture or one my FDLs (beamer or MCs)

Horses for courses

 

[BDelacroix]

Good time of the day or night to everybody. My friend asked me recently how is it to fly Cutter and I didn't had any straight answer. I figured there are many Commanders out there working their way towards one of the Big 3. This is their goal and reason to play. I've been there myself until I sailed away from Jameson on my new Cutter several months ago. Here's my question to all you senior pilots who flies heavy stuff. How is it to live with Anaconda, Cutter or Corvette as a primary ship? Does it makes any sense considering all the expenses and limitations? Would you still buy it if you could only have one ship? How often you wish you were flying something smaller? What do you think?
As for me personally, I love my Cutter. I fight, travel and sometimes live in it when away from the bubble and rarely missing my smaller ships.

I generally use 2 ships. Cutter (for shoots) and Krait MK2 for moving about. I have to say the cutter is a lot less painful on long distance trips with the guardian booster in it.

 

[Old Duck]

I have a Cutter and Conda, and both sit parked most of the time. Since my daily activity is BGS-related these days, my Vulture is my primary multi-purpose "daily use" mission runner, switching to its big brother (Dropship) for cargo hauling missions (outpost to outpost).

I've been thinking about "what if" I switch to a different platform and start the game from scratch. What ships would I want to focus on getting? None of 'the big three' are on my list.

 

[GeneralIdea1964]

Yeah, between Cutter, Anaconda and Corvette Anaconda is probably the best bang for your buck. I could probably buy few of them for the price of my Cutter. Lol

I have had a annie for a while, set up very generically to do a bit of everything.
Have just bought a corvette and while I like it, I always end up wondering if I was involved in the result of a fight or if its size and slight maneuvering advantage over the annie.
Maybe its because the annie is a bit heavy due to shields, hull, big modules. It's tough, but maybe slower.
Jump range on annie is much better than corvette.
Using Annie by preference except if I need cargo space when the corvette can be a real advantage.

 

[Quantis Trap]

I have the big four.
Beluga, Cutter, Corvette, T-10.
I fly them the least. Beluga more so for passenger missions and obscure mats. Cutter for various CG, Vette for certain CZ, T-10 yet to be approved.
Small and medium ships is me for combat. Solo and PG only.
Personally I'll never own an Annie.

I have the big five! ... because I do fly the Anaconda and enjoy it more than any of the other big five. I fly all of the other big ships for specific purposes and then put them away.
Now days for me the Anaconda, the Krait's and various small ships are my goto ships most of the time and the rest are special purpose.

 

[Backelaer]

I have a Cutter and Conda, and both sit parked most of the time. Since my daily activity is BGS-related these days, my Vulture is my primary multi-purpose "daily use" mission runner, switching to it's big brother (Dropship) for cargo hauling missions (outpost to outpost).

I've been thinking about "what if" I switch to a different platform and start the game from scratch. What ships would I want to focus on getting? None of 'the big three' are on my list.

Funny, most of my play time is also BGS. And the Anaconda is actually the ship I spend the most time in. As I never know what kind mission will give the most inf I like to run a ship that can do it all without having to change the loadout all the time. For me only the Anaconda is fit for all purposes.
Well, Cutter as well, I just don't like doing combat in it because of it's sluggishness. I only use that for mega-hauling (wing mission deliveries, cg's etc)

Just for fun I sometimes switch to a krait, fdl, fas, courier or clipper, but the Annie is my main ship.

 

[Old Duck]

Funny, most of my play time is also BGS. And the Anaconda is actually the ship I spend the most time in. As I never know what kind mission will give the most inf I like to run a ship that can do it all without having to change the loadout all the time.

Do it all except land at an outpost.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not "anti" the big three (otherwise I'd sell mine for a ton of cash), but lately I have more fun flying some of the less popular, smaller ships. Now if big ships felt like big ships, with a proper NPC crew and related gameplay, along with the sense of scale one gets with space legs, then I think my feelings toward the big 3 would change.

 

[Jethro49]

I bought and engineered all the big ones. Actually the big 6 : Corvette, Cutter, Beluga, T9, Anaconda and T10.

- My Vette is built for PvE combat, but currently ongoing on an extensive dusting endurance... It's parked, it has a bounty (I have no idea how it got that) and every time I say to myself "time to clean the Vette", there's something else more fun to do.

- My Cutter is built for jumprange and is able to survive a bit against PvE encounters (only the time to flee like brave Sir Robin : no weapon aboard !). She went out for some passengers rides several days ago, but finally I decided to take my new ASPX to Gandarvi, in order to retrieve...

- My Beluga ! Fitted for exploration, and passenger transportation of course. Runs hot, scratches the toaster every time, but a joy to fly !

- Then comes my T9 : the king of haulers... I use it for hauling stuff that need to be hauled. Fitted for... hauling, but safety hauling (shields, "speed" and mine launchers for careless NPCs). When it comes to hauling, the T9 is the right ship : practical jump range, easy to dock, vast cargo, enough protection to flee... Did I mention that it excels in hauling vast amounts of merchandise around the Bubble ?

- I have 2 Condas : the fake brothers. The first one is basically a pilot seat strapped on a FSD, with some cardboard around to protect me against the strong lights of distant stars. Although this is a good ship, I won't fly this one soon again : the cockpit view and horrible SC handling overweight its jumprange. The second Conda is a battle hauler, for the cases where the T9 can't do the job (because sometimes, mine launchers aren't enough).

- And the T10 was bought, armed with conventional weapons, engineered, flown once, then stripped and stored until better days ! I think there's something to do with, but I haven't seen what to do with yet.

So back to the question in few words : daily use ?

• Vette, Cutter and T10 : not used on a daily basis, because I prefer other tools
• Beluga : yes, because it's good for carrying pax, fun to fly, and finally quite a good explorer
• T9 : yes, for hauling stuff. What else ?
• Condas : yes, its versatility is beyond compare, feels nearly like a cheated god ship of killing death. Fortunately, its drawbacks (cockpit, limited view and SC maneuverability) alleviates the culpability of flying a cheated ship

 

[DragonIV]

I have a Fed Vette, T9, Cutter, Anaconda, T10 and Beluga, and the order listed indicates how frequently I fly each.

The Vette is my delivery/fetch mission runner, and also doubles as my bounty hunter and primary war machine. Only the AspX sees more time from me, but the Python isn't far behind.

T9 used to be a hauler, now it's a dedicated miner. Cutter is the primary bulk hauler today. With the T10 I keep trying to find it a role, but so far, no luck. Anaconda is my rescue ship today, but as wrecked stations appear to be in the rearview mirror, maybe I'll fit it for exploration. The Beluga is still sitting in Quince--maybe I'll retrieve it someday.