Just thought I'd put on my captain obvious hat for a minute and opine on the Cutter and it's effectiveness in trading post-2.1
I mean, it has always been the trade king ever since it broke onto the scene with its massive cargo hold, but now, following 2.1 and its bevy of aggressive AI's with super autocannon plasma guns (I know they've supposedly been removed, but I'm talking even before their removal here), the Cutter is the absolute master trader in the game - bar none now.
Two words: obscene speed
I have A-rated thrusters and power distributor coupled with a 6A shield generator (smallest you can fit). Those are the only things that matter for purposes of this post. At first, I was finding that I could escape Elite and Dangerous interdictions from Anaconda's with ease, just by submitting, then boosting like a boss to get away from them. Rarely would I be hit by anything other than missiles (which were being spammed in my direction). I think my outer shield ring was taken down once, but that's about it. Dangerous FDL's posed a little bit more of a problem at first, one taking my shields to about 50% at one point before I escaped.
However, by adding on a couple of point defense modules and spamming chaff as soon as I submitted, I find that now, with the speed of the Cutter, coupled with the fact that nothing can mass lock it, I escape with almost no shield damage whatsoever. A 6A emitter was enough to stop what the point defence and chaff couldn't.
Interdictions have become nothing more than a minor annoyance at this point.
I'm not sure that any of the other trading ships can boast being able to do this ... without of course the Engineers upgrades to boost the thrusters beyond the anemic 240kps speed (I think?) of the 'Conda.
This isn't a gloat-post about having a Cutter, but rather to point out to all traders that they might want to focus on thruster speed over FSD range, as it would be tempting to do, following 2.1.
Makes those thruster upgrades all the more appealing to all non-Cutter owners, and I would imagine, would make a Trade-Conda or 'Vette all the more viable given the interdiction-happy 2.1 NPCs.
I mean, it has always been the trade king ever since it broke onto the scene with its massive cargo hold, but now, following 2.1 and its bevy of aggressive AI's with super autocannon plasma guns (I know they've supposedly been removed, but I'm talking even before their removal here), the Cutter is the absolute master trader in the game - bar none now.
Two words: obscene speed
I have A-rated thrusters and power distributor coupled with a 6A shield generator (smallest you can fit). Those are the only things that matter for purposes of this post. At first, I was finding that I could escape Elite and Dangerous interdictions from Anaconda's with ease, just by submitting, then boosting like a boss to get away from them. Rarely would I be hit by anything other than missiles (which were being spammed in my direction). I think my outer shield ring was taken down once, but that's about it. Dangerous FDL's posed a little bit more of a problem at first, one taking my shields to about 50% at one point before I escaped.
However, by adding on a couple of point defense modules and spamming chaff as soon as I submitted, I find that now, with the speed of the Cutter, coupled with the fact that nothing can mass lock it, I escape with almost no shield damage whatsoever. A 6A emitter was enough to stop what the point defence and chaff couldn't.
Interdictions have become nothing more than a minor annoyance at this point.
I'm not sure that any of the other trading ships can boast being able to do this ... without of course the Engineers upgrades to boost the thrusters beyond the anemic 240kps speed (I think?) of the 'Conda.
This isn't a gloat-post about having a Cutter, but rather to point out to all traders that they might want to focus on thruster speed over FSD range, as it would be tempting to do, following 2.1.
Makes those thruster upgrades all the more appealing to all non-Cutter owners, and I would imagine, would make a Trade-Conda or 'Vette all the more viable given the interdiction-happy 2.1 NPCs.
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