Ships Rate My PvE Cutter

So after a long time of messing around with builds, asking around here and other places and just messing around with my own testing. I think I finally got a build of my cutter that I enjoy PvEing in. But I'm not expert so before I 100% commit to the build what do you guys think of it?

Here she be.
 
7.5 / 10

Nice Cutter. Bonus points awarded for autoloader. Points deducted for low integrity.

I like all of your weapon engineering choices. Thermal vent beam, mixed in some corrosive and gobs of autoloader.

But I also feel there's just too little integrity. Those shields are massive. But the Cutter is a big target, and in the event those shields were to collapse, there's not enough meat on the bones to ensure survivability in my view. If they collapse it takes a half hour to get them back, and I think a big relatively slow target like a Cutter should have a more robust hull to make good the escape.

With my Cutter I went a different route, but it's also used for a different role, freight train. Not a combat ship so not a comparison. But even here I opted for some integrity at the cost of shields.

Preacher's Daughter Cutter -- Freight Train
 
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One easy way to boost the integrity is to put heavy duty and deep plate on your stock bulkheads. That will get it to 1000.

Here's your ship with a few alterations. Just an alternative view, but blaze your own. Several of the resistance augmented boosters were swapped to thermal resist to raise that. A couple GSRs replaced with HRPs, which lowers power draw and therefore heat. It also allows less overcharge on the PP to lower heat a little more. I did swap your class 5 collector for a class 3 while sacrificing the supercruise assist. So what I was looking to do was trade some mj for better integrity, better thermal resist and lower heat.

 
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7.5 / 10

Nice Cutter. Bonus points awarded for autoloader. Points deducted for low integrity.

I like all of your weapon engineering choices. Thermal vent beam, mixed in some corrosive and gobs of autoloader.

But I also feel there's just too little integrity. Those shields are massive. But the Cutter is a big target, and in the event those shields were to collapse, there's not enough meat on the bones to ensure survivability in my view. If they collapse it takes a half hour to get them back, and I think a big relatively slow target like a Cutter should have a more robust hull to make good the escape.

With my Cutter I went a different route, but it's also used for a different role, freight train. Not a combat ship so not a comparison. But even here I opted for some integrity at the cost of shields.

Preacher's Daughter Cutter -- Freight Train
Half an hour ? Did they cancel the magic reset? 5 seconds and half a shield is ready, the thicker the better.
 
I don't think so but I wouldn't shut down my ship in proximity to the ships that just shot away my shields, and with 700 integrity.

Is that what you're recommending, a ship reboot? OK, that's another option, but not one I use.
 
You do you, but what's that supposed to be? For an AFK build, it relies too much on ammo. For anything else in PvE combat, you don't need those shields. And if when those shields come down, you're dead. Even some small engineered MRPs/HRPs would help, as well as heavy duty'ing those lightweight bulkheads.
Maybe I never understood the niche of the Cutter - but as a combat build, I'd prefer the Corvette. As a (heavily armed) trader, you have too much stuff and too little cargo space.

As to your weapons choice: size 3 MCs have an awfully long spin-up time (the theorycrafted DPS don't take that into account). And it may just be me (never bothered to get the hang of FA off turns), but with the maneuverability of the Cutter, the low effective range of the laser is going to bite you. If you feel you need mixed weapons, putting the beams on the size 3 and a MC in the size 4 might be a better option.

For me personally, I don't like oc'ed PPs, with the possible exception of pure combat builds. I would put armoured/OC on the PP, then juggle around shield, reinforcements and boosters (together with power priorities) until everything fits. Oh, and talking about shields: NPCs rarely use plasma, but often use lasers - and only bring out the missiles once your shields are down (see above - you're dead in that case anyways). So balancing your shield resistances towards thermal/kinetics might be more sensible than simply piling on raw strenght and across-the-board resistances.
 
Cutter's main advantage is its speed. It makes it easy (not fast, but easy) to kill any Targroid Interceptor except the Basilisk.
Its speed allows it to keep the desired combat distance.
 

She's designed specifically to haul in open. Smuggling too.
Reverski spec ensures even a crap shooter like me can hit em and they die real quick.
But l guess we all have our preference
 
One of my latest things to meddle with is hardpoints that work well together based on positioning. The Cutter’s huge and two lower mediums worked pretty well with efficient PAs in each. It’s still not my favorite ship to fly, but at least I can do a ton of damage when those 3 hardpoints line up with a module target.
 
One of my latest things to meddle with is hardpoints that work well together based on positioning. The Cutter’s huge and two lower mediums worked pretty well with efficient PAs in each. It’s still not my favorite ship to fly, but at least I can do a ton of damage when those 3 hardpoints line up with a module target.
In my opinion, Plasma on large ships is only good for hitting such large ships, because any maneuvering ship will very often avoid damage.
 
I can categorically state. That the smallest npc I've been interdicted by, was a fdl. And several volleys of PAs and packhounds later (drag exp) he was no longer.
Mostly my Cutter gets interdicted by condas and type 10s. Even the odd mamba. Dunno if rank has nowt to do with it from a rng pov.
So reverski/ramming is very effective against both npcs and cmdrs.
 
I had a build where two of the med multis weere swapped with beams but I felt the DPS was just really low, any suggestions?

Just ignore the 'need ammo' persons. Just synth ammo for MCs. It costs very few and will take a long time to empty your bins. And if you do you can exchange 5-6 g5 mats to fill them up to max again. Rinse and repeat

To be salty:
Docking computer? Are your shields not beefy enough? And fit a armor.
 
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