Ships Got myself a Cutter - How to outfit the hardpoints for a trader warship?

[WaveRider]

Oh, forgot to ask...
Engineering seekers - what do you guys recommend?

Again just starting out on the Engineers but Felicity does the FSD and then The Dweller does the Power Distributor 'Down to Earth Astronomy' has a good YouTube video:

Which blueprints should you pin? Elite dangerous Engineering - YouTube

I guess once you've done those 2 you will have an idea of what you want to do next (also which Engineers have been unlocked as you go along may also steer you a bit). Hope it helps!

 

[Bantha]

Again just starting out on the Engineers but Felicity does the FSD and then The Dweller does the Power Distributor 'Down to Earth Astronomy' has a good YouTube video:

Which blueprints should you pin? Elite dangerous Engineering - YouTube

I guess once you've done those 2 you will have an idea of what you want to do next (also which Engineers have been unlocked as you go along may also steer you a bit). Hope it helps!

Sorry, when I said Engineering seekers - what do you recommend, I meant engineering seeker missiles

I’m not too sure whether to go High capacity, or Rapid fire...

 

[WaveRider]

Sorry, when I said Engineering seekers - what do you recommend, I meant engineering seeker missiles

I’m not too sure whether to go High capacity, or Rapid fire...

D'oh! Well that decision is so far ahead of where I am, it's in a Galaxy far far away!

<O

 

[Nightjar]

For Engineering seekers seekers : https://inara.cz/galaxy-blueprints/
o7

 

[Bantha]

Personally I wouldn't recommend mixing roles in a single build because a ship will only perform partially as well as a dedicated build. That's my personal preference but I respect other peoples play styles. Different strokes and all that.

There are some good recommendations here. I'm disappointed but not surprised that shock canons weren't mentioned. Shock canons get overlooked because of their very low ammo capacity. But its my understanding that the OP intends to defend their ship from interdictions rather than hitting up a local RES or CZ with this build. Shock canons are perfect for this kind of limited engagement. They absolutely melt shields and chew through hulls. For a while I ran 3 large on my mission running Python, nothing else. It ruined everything except for the SCB spamming T-10s but those are easy enough to run from.

Besides ammo capacity, other drawbacks to shock canons are that they can produce quite a bit of heat if the distributor is drained. Also they don't have auto fire. But pulling the trigger for each shot is worth their destructive potential, even a bit satisfying if you ask me.

My recommendation would to be for 2 in the large slots, engineer one of the beam lasers with thermal vent experimental to offset any heat issues. Alternately you could go with 2 mediums and put them on the hardpoints over the nacelles. I recommend gimballed but turreted could be interesting on the nacelle placement and could make fire group assignment easier.

Since the OP seems interested in packhounds, my final recommendation would be to engineer them for rapid fire just for the full Macross experience. Its kind of hilarious but a potential drop in frame rates might be a possibility. Just depends on how many launchers are equipped and how fast they are fired.

OP, I hope you have fun with your build. Please update here when you finalize it and let the rest of us know how it works for you.

Big ol edit: Going back through this thread looking for ideas for theory crafting I see that I overlooked Vedmo mentioning shock canons. o7 Cmdr. Glad to see I'm not alone in my appreciation for them.

This is such a good reply

Thank you taking the time to put this together.

I must admit, my builds are usually much the same, Beams and MCs, and in PvE you can’t go wrong. But, with a trader Cuter there’s an opportunity to play around a little. I have never even considered Shock Cannons, but I will now!

 

[Screemonster]

I think another reason shock canons aren't often considered is the unlock requirements. Considering you have mentioned wanting to use packhounds and since that is a 4 week commitment then there is plenty of time to drive around on planet surfaces for the materials if you don't already have them. If you do go that route just be sure you have decided what size and targeting style you want because each is a separate unlock.

Though I mentioned its not how I have been role playing when trading, I agree that an armed trader is an opportunity to try things one wouldn't in a dedicated combat build. Also if that is how one wants to role play it can be a great way to break up the monotony of bulk trading. Plus with the recent bump in bounty payouts it might be a worthwhile supplement to trade payouts if you can dispatch those pesky NPC fast enough without taking any damage. That last part has me wanting to rethink that play style choice.

That last part is especially relevant. The difference between a trader build that can survive an NPC and a trader build that can defeat an NPC is razor-thin when it comes to its impact on carrying capacity. A 6A prismatic will cost you less than 10% of your potential cargo bay, a class 5 fighter bay even less, and weapons literally don't impact your cargo at all. Even a turreted laser T9 with a fighter can handle most single NPC pirates, never mind a cutter. After a while you start thinking of NPCs as a bonus payment and free materials.

 

[Northpin]

2 years ago I used to run a huge gimbaled mc with everything else as beam turrets.
Not anymore
Now i'm just running. 784t of cargo.
Using the Cutter to efficiently move cargo from A to B - and this kinda conflicts with combat.

 

[B.Roberts]

Ok so at last, at last, I’ve finally bought myself an Imperial Cutter.
Gonna do some trading, Old Skool style.

OMG she’s a real beauty. Turns like a beached whale but she’s so pretty I don’t even care.

Currently in the process of engineering her as a well armoured trader.

So, question... what to do with these hard points. I initially outfitted her with fixed all round, but those two at the back in particular, are just awful. What to do...?

Cheers all

This is one of my freighters that was used for some blockade running at some point. It was converted from something else, probably overkill but it worked great. https://s.orbis.zone/b-xn

 

[S0rkvild]

I'm build my trader Cutter based on Bigmaec's Cutter. I replaced corrosion rack with collector limpets and switched imp hammers to packhouds. Works very well, practially gank proof.

Just bought an Imperial Cutter... looking for build advice PVE, Multi-role

I flew a Python for a heck of a long time doing this, killing that, running passengers, goods, etc here and there. Then bought a Krait II when it came out. Loved it. Went back to the Python due to my fighting style.. more of a flip-around-shoot-while-moving-forward kinda guy. The Krait was...

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