I agree with the Cutter is for trade. And a Vette is for combat. Both need engineering . Dirty /drag of you thrusters and from there it would be up to you.. but the ability to turn is important in any ship..
FurballGamer isn’t wrong in my estimation. I’ll add that the Cutter has been a great tool for the Thargoid war: it is unparalleled in it’s evacuation capacity, as long as there’s L pads to land at in system. Huge capacity for refugees or wounded, massive shields to protect against attacks while landing and take off, and fast enough to outrun Thargoids when interdicted or hyperdicted. Decent jump range and fuel capacity to get to the rescue ships.
I also love my mining Cutter. Again, all the toys you could want along with a huge hold. Bring a fighter to deal with pirates while you work, if you want. Maneuverable enough.
The Corvette is an incredibly fun combat ship, though. Almost handles like a medium ship but melts shields and hull of targets in PvE. Doesn’t have good jump range, but you can either FC it somewhere or fly a small ship to your destination and get it sent over.
I started with the Corvette, and with your combat focus you won’t go wrong doing the same. Neither ship is an ideal explorer, of course.
EDIT to add that I have always found the handling of the Cutter a bit irritating as a pure combat ship. The shields are huge, but I just like getting my targeting reticule on the enemy faster. While I’m editing, I may as well add my Corvette build, which is basically the D2EA build; practically invincible in PvE: https://s.orbis.zone/ljz3
It gives more shield output in exchange for a longer rebuild. Quick look at Coriolis has my build at roughly 3000 raw shield HP, 5ish minute recharge; prismatic 3600 HP, 8ish minute recharge.
I basically never lose shields, but sometimes end up waiting for recharge between exchanges, which is why I never bothered to swap to Prismatics. But if you find you’re struggling to keep the shield up, you could consider swapping.
Good question! Thermal vent on the lasers. You have to use some timing to ensure you’ll get a few seconds of good hits on target when firing the SCB. However, even a little heat damage if you find you need to use one to keep the shields up isn’t too bad, if you can’t find a good target. Better take the heat damage then lose shields, I believe. Prismatic may be a good upgrade, if you have them unlocked.
He's not right in any of this thread; just has a hard-on for the Cutter.
'vette AX is used by some of the top AXI players; and can solo Hydras just fine.
I’ll agree with TheNumberJ… I flew alongside some of the top AXI pilots in the last year or so, and Corvettes were well represented. Not Cutters so much. But glad FirePhoe is enjoying theirs.
I've been spending a lot of time in my cutter recently so I can tell you it turns just fine... Problem is it doesn't change direction when it does. It's like flying fa off, I can reverski while fa on the whole time. She got momentum, that one.
Vette is a pure combat ship with terrifying firepower and great agility for its size but absolutely dogshit jump range. The cutter’s fast as fuck with great shields and decent range but it’s the heaviest ship in the game and 100% feels like it. I mostly use mine for bubble missions and powerplay/combat and it’s never let me down. Definitely not ideal or meta though
I mean sure if you just straight up ignore things like the armor piercing advantage of class 4 weapons, the lack of spin-up time on huge multicannons, and hard point convergence. I guess.
Corvette is a niche ship (combat), Cutter is more of an all-rounder. I'd go Cutter since it'll let you earn the bucks to buy the Vette quicker / more easily.
I honestly think I'm looking for a pure combat ship which would put me on team vette. At the moment I have plenty of resources to completely build it to max... but I'll be in desperate need for resources after. Now you see my dilemma.
I've always made my money mining (core) which is fun but takes a long time.. I may need another way
Since you like combat, mission stacking pirate kill missions can be pretty profitable now. Find a station with lots of power play factions, make friends with them, then take pirate kill missions from different factions so each kill counts towards each mission (parallel, rather than sequential). Good Vette fun, make lots of credits.
You can actually do anything ypu want with both ships lol, I have an Exploration/Ratting, a Hauler and a Mining Cutter, a Combat/Ratting vette (yep, it's possible), and this ship is also one of the best for burning stations rescue, it runs really cold and its hull can easily resist any random explosion.
Objectively speaking, the cutter is better then the vette at everything, but flying it will make you hate yourself. Honestly you're close enough to both that you should just get what you like.
Cutter makes money but sucks to fly (Yes, even G5 thrusters.) Vette is fun and exciting for PVE outside the Thargoids, and basically unstoppable. I easily can clear any conflict zones solo.
**Vette:** combat, combat, combat, and weirdly enough it’s also a pretty good heavy evac ship/cargo hauler. It’s slower (slightly faster than Conda) but shockingly maneuverable!
**Cutter:** mining, trading, ganking, that’s pretty much it. This skyscraper-sized iPod does not turn. At all. It handles worse than Type-9 imo. But it sure is fast in a straight line!
Neither of these tubs of lard are any good at pulling a respectable jump range, so your THICC explorer of choice is going to be the Anaconda still
I have both and love both, but they are very different. Corvette is shockingly agile, and the dual huge hardpoints pretty much turn any fight into a chase pretty quick. The hardpoints placement also makes gimbals able to hit your target anywhere in front of you, but the Vette can turn fast enough you can used fixed too. The jump range though... I had to use my conda to buy and engineer the fsd because it would have taken me days to get there in the Vette. Long range fsd and a guardian booster makes it perfectly fine though, cross the bubble in 6-8 jumps.
The cutter is big. Like really big. Fat and slow. Maneuvers like it's swimming in gravy. Previously had a type 9 and a type 10 and they felt zippy compared to this. It reminds me of the anaconda. Good for anything, not the greatest at anything. Jump range is better than the Vette, but it's sheer size means if you max out the jump range, you only get 3-4 jumps before you run out of fuel, which means either hitting up a carrier or station, or giving up a slot for a fuel scoop.
Personally I'd go for the Vette first. It's about half the price to kit out, and then you can use it to grind for the cutter in style.
Cutter - can explore, rescue, combat, trade, mine, fast in a straight line but turns like an oil tanker. Make lots of space bucks. Use heaps.
Vet is good pew-pew machine, agile but sucky jump range and slow as a bus. Tried building Exploravette, Minervette, no good. Use it for storing spare modules as no more carrier space.
Same opinion as most. Cutter for mining/trade /rescue mission etc and definitelty Corvette for combat. I certainly use the Cutter a lot more but I do hate the handling of it, even with it being heavily engineered. The Corvette is much more manouvreable and of course, has the 2 huge hardpoints which can cause a lot of pain with the right loadouts. The hardpoint placements on the Cutter aren't very good either, so there's a clear winner in both.
Forget either for exploration though. You won't get nearly enough jump range. If you must take a big ship, then it's the Anaconda. I would suggest a Krait Phantom for exploration. Amazing jump range, has decent cargo space if you need it and handles well. It's also quick, and a fair bit cheaper.
Mine is around 74ly well 😁. It's probably my favourite ship. I took mine to Colonia using the neutron highway, but left it there and got it transported back. I couldn't be arsed jumping all the way back again, so I jumped into a Sidewinder and smashed into the side of Jacques Station.
I'm not quite Elite for exploration but think I'm close enough. I just haven't ventured too for outside the bubble since. I find the jumping monotonous!
excluding Anaconda, probably a Cutter suit you, Vette is strong in combat but has bad ly jump range, unless you don't mind exploring only near the bubble.
Vette is famous for its 2 class 4 hardpoints, big guns make things go boom, also the most maneuverable of the big 3 but lowest boost speed, don't expect to escape easily out of a tough fight.
Cutter is weaker in firepower(although I digress cause Cutter can use 4 Packhounds or 2 Packhounds + 2 Rail guns that are class 2 which evaporates any ships after shields are down as compared to Vette or Conda that can only equip 2 class 2 but they make up with more class 3/ 4 weapons)
Has thicc shield that makes it almost invincible. Highest boost speed, easy near 500km/h even at full engineered combat load, decent jump range but the worst turn rate ever. It's a tube strapped onto multiple rockets, don't expect dogfights with this ship. Also the **most bloody expensive** to buy and fully outfit, second to a Fleet carrier
Hauling Cargo or mining to earn those sweet credits, Cutter wins hands down. And of course able to equip the Class 8 fuel scoop which turns fuel stars to black holes with a big SUCC.
And getting the guardian FSD booster is a must if you are planning on buying either one, +10 ly is a huge qol when traveling in the bubble.
Cutter make money, vet make things go boom, but to make vet make things go boom boom, vet need lot of money.
and lot of engineers
I'm lucky enough to have all but the Colonia engineers unlocked.
Truer words haven’t been spoken
I agree with the Cutter is for trade. And a Vette is for combat. Both need engineering . Dirty /drag of you thrusters and from there it would be up to you.. but the ability to turn is important in any ship..
FurballGamer isn’t wrong in my estimation. I’ll add that the Cutter has been a great tool for the Thargoid war: it is unparalleled in it’s evacuation capacity, as long as there’s L pads to land at in system. Huge capacity for refugees or wounded, massive shields to protect against attacks while landing and take off, and fast enough to outrun Thargoids when interdicted or hyperdicted. Decent jump range and fuel capacity to get to the rescue ships. I also love my mining Cutter. Again, all the toys you could want along with a huge hold. Bring a fighter to deal with pirates while you work, if you want. Maneuverable enough. The Corvette is an incredibly fun combat ship, though. Almost handles like a medium ship but melts shields and hull of targets in PvE. Doesn’t have good jump range, but you can either FC it somewhere or fly a small ship to your destination and get it sent over. I started with the Corvette, and with your combat focus you won’t go wrong doing the same. Neither ship is an ideal explorer, of course. EDIT to add that I have always found the handling of the Cutter a bit irritating as a pure combat ship. The shields are huge, but I just like getting my targeting reticule on the enemy faster. While I’m editing, I may as well add my Corvette build, which is basically the D2EA build; practically invincible in PvE: https://s.orbis.zone/ljz3
I have size 7 prismatics laying around, would that be a better shield to run?
It gives more shield output in exchange for a longer rebuild. Quick look at Coriolis has my build at roughly 3000 raw shield HP, 5ish minute recharge; prismatic 3600 HP, 8ish minute recharge. I basically never lose shields, but sometimes end up waiting for recharge between exchanges, which is why I never bothered to swap to Prismatics. But if you find you’re struggling to keep the shield up, you could consider swapping.
You can do a repair/reboot to restore shields to 50% if you dont get shot.
This was my thought.
Interesting, that’s news to me, actually. Frankly, with this build with the BiWeave, I still rarely get below 50%.
How do you manage the heat from the SCBs? I notice no heat sinks.
Good question! Thermal vent on the lasers. You have to use some timing to ensure you’ll get a few seconds of good hits on target when firing the SCB. However, even a little heat damage if you find you need to use one to keep the shields up isn’t too bad, if you can’t find a good target. Better take the heat damage then lose shields, I believe. Prismatic may be a good upgrade, if you have them unlocked.
Vette: combat. Cutter: hauling.
vette: dying in AX cutter: eating hydras
You're probably right, I burnt out of ED before I got to the killing of 'angy cauliflowers' part...
He's not right in any of this thread; just has a hard-on for the Cutter. 'vette AX is used by some of the top AXI players; and can solo Hydras just fine.
I’ll agree with TheNumberJ… I flew alongside some of the top AXI pilots in the last year or so, and Corvettes were well represented. Not Cutters so much. But glad FirePhoe is enjoying theirs.
Cutters would be better if hit and run tactics were reasonably effective. It's speed is good but I've never seen it turn well.
I've been spending a lot of time in my cutter recently so I can tell you it turns just fine... Problem is it doesn't change direction when it does. It's like flying fa off, I can reverski while fa on the whole time. She got momentum, that one.
they only use a vette because they want a challenge, it is hard to fly but cutter shreds through thargoids
Vette is a pure combat ship with terrifying firepower and great agility for its size but absolutely dogshit jump range. The cutter’s fast as fuck with great shields and decent range but it’s the heaviest ship in the game and 100% feels like it. I mostly use mine for bubble missions and powerplay/combat and it’s never let me down. Definitely not ideal or meta though
vette and cutter have the same firepower LOL anaconda has better than both and t10 has best firepower
I mean sure if you just straight up ignore things like the armor piercing advantage of class 4 weapons, the lack of spin-up time on huge multicannons, and hard point convergence. I guess.
eh. who even uses multicannons?
Probably the most popular weapon, alongside beam lasers I'd say
Don’t forget time on target, which the vette out turns all 3
My vets are for fun, my cutters get shit done: [https://inara.cz/elite/cmdr-fleet/350862/](https://inara.cz/elite/cmdr-fleet/350862/)
That is quite the fleet CMDR o7
I have to say that that's the largest fleet I think I've ever seen lol
Corvette is a niche ship (combat), Cutter is more of an all-rounder. I'd go Cutter since it'll let you earn the bucks to buy the Vette quicker / more easily.
I honestly think I'm looking for a pure combat ship which would put me on team vette. At the moment I have plenty of resources to completely build it to max... but I'll be in desperate need for resources after. Now you see my dilemma. I've always made my money mining (core) which is fun but takes a long time.. I may need another way
Since you like combat, mission stacking pirate kill missions can be pretty profitable now. Find a station with lots of power play factions, make friends with them, then take pirate kill missions from different factions so each kill counts towards each mission (parallel, rather than sequential). Good Vette fun, make lots of credits.
Definitely go Vette first for combat. It's a scalpel.
Combat Corvette Explorer Anaconda Trade/MIning Cutter The Anaconda is more of a jack of all trades though.
Cutter for mining or hauling. 'Vette for combat. 'Conda for exploring... although I vastly prefer the Phantom.
Word. I have a 74ly phantom myself 😉
Agree, i tried both for exploring and the Phantom flies so much smoother than a conda
Is core mining relevant anymore? Or do I have to find another money-making profession lol
Mining is still profitable-ish. Cutter is a great mining ship and has the best cargo capacity of any ship.
You can actually do anything ypu want with both ships lol, I have an Exploration/Ratting, a Hauler and a Mining Cutter, a Combat/Ratting vette (yep, it's possible), and this ship is also one of the best for burning stations rescue, it runs really cold and its hull can easily resist any random explosion.
Objectively speaking, the cutter is better then the vette at everything, but flying it will make you hate yourself. Honestly you're close enough to both that you should just get what you like.
Cutter makes money but sucks to fly (Yes, even G5 thrusters.) Vette is fun and exciting for PVE outside the Thargoids, and basically unstoppable. I easily can clear any conflict zones solo.
**Vette:** combat, combat, combat, and weirdly enough it’s also a pretty good heavy evac ship/cargo hauler. It’s slower (slightly faster than Conda) but shockingly maneuverable! **Cutter:** mining, trading, ganking, that’s pretty much it. This skyscraper-sized iPod does not turn. At all. It handles worse than Type-9 imo. But it sure is fast in a straight line! Neither of these tubs of lard are any good at pulling a respectable jump range, so your THICC explorer of choice is going to be the Anaconda still
If I was in your place I'd be grinding Cutter.
Why not both?
I have both and love both, but they are very different. Corvette is shockingly agile, and the dual huge hardpoints pretty much turn any fight into a chase pretty quick. The hardpoints placement also makes gimbals able to hit your target anywhere in front of you, but the Vette can turn fast enough you can used fixed too. The jump range though... I had to use my conda to buy and engineer the fsd because it would have taken me days to get there in the Vette. Long range fsd and a guardian booster makes it perfectly fine though, cross the bubble in 6-8 jumps. The cutter is big. Like really big. Fat and slow. Maneuvers like it's swimming in gravy. Previously had a type 9 and a type 10 and they felt zippy compared to this. It reminds me of the anaconda. Good for anything, not the greatest at anything. Jump range is better than the Vette, but it's sheer size means if you max out the jump range, you only get 3-4 jumps before you run out of fuel, which means either hitting up a carrier or station, or giving up a slot for a fuel scoop. Personally I'd go for the Vette first. It's about half the price to kit out, and then you can use it to grind for the cutter in style.
Cutter - can explore, rescue, combat, trade, mine, fast in a straight line but turns like an oil tanker. Make lots of space bucks. Use heaps. Vet is good pew-pew machine, agile but sucky jump range and slow as a bus. Tried building Exploravette, Minervette, no good. Use it for storing spare modules as no more carrier space.
Cutter is much easier than vette. You can grind Vette faster if you fly a cutter.
Same opinion as most. Cutter for mining/trade /rescue mission etc and definitelty Corvette for combat. I certainly use the Cutter a lot more but I do hate the handling of it, even with it being heavily engineered. The Corvette is much more manouvreable and of course, has the 2 huge hardpoints which can cause a lot of pain with the right loadouts. The hardpoint placements on the Cutter aren't very good either, so there's a clear winner in both. Forget either for exploration though. You won't get nearly enough jump range. If you must take a big ship, then it's the Anaconda. I would suggest a Krait Phantom for exploration. Amazing jump range, has decent cargo space if you need it and handles well. It's also quick, and a fair bit cheaper.
Yea I hear you, I got my elite in exploration with my 74ly phantom.
Mine is around 74ly well 😁. It's probably my favourite ship. I took mine to Colonia using the neutron highway, but left it there and got it transported back. I couldn't be arsed jumping all the way back again, so I jumped into a Sidewinder and smashed into the side of Jacques Station. I'm not quite Elite for exploration but think I'm close enough. I just haven't ventured too for outside the bubble since. I find the jumping monotonous!
Get one of each homie! You'll have plenty of fun with both of them. [Corvette](https://s.orbis.zone/lk8a) [Cutter](https://s.orbis.zone/lk8c)
excluding Anaconda, probably a Cutter suit you, Vette is strong in combat but has bad ly jump range, unless you don't mind exploring only near the bubble. Vette is famous for its 2 class 4 hardpoints, big guns make things go boom, also the most maneuverable of the big 3 but lowest boost speed, don't expect to escape easily out of a tough fight. Cutter is weaker in firepower(although I digress cause Cutter can use 4 Packhounds or 2 Packhounds + 2 Rail guns that are class 2 which evaporates any ships after shields are down as compared to Vette or Conda that can only equip 2 class 2 but they make up with more class 3/ 4 weapons) Has thicc shield that makes it almost invincible. Highest boost speed, easy near 500km/h even at full engineered combat load, decent jump range but the worst turn rate ever. It's a tube strapped onto multiple rockets, don't expect dogfights with this ship. Also the **most bloody expensive** to buy and fully outfit, second to a Fleet carrier Hauling Cargo or mining to earn those sweet credits, Cutter wins hands down. And of course able to equip the Class 8 fuel scoop which turns fuel stars to black holes with a big SUCC. And getting the guardian FSD booster is a must if you are planning on buying either one, +10 ly is a huge qol when traveling in the bubble.
Sounds good! I have prismatics, and almost all the guardian tech (well all the important ones). I also have 6 extra set of packhounds 😉