The Imperial Cutter fulfils a similar role to the Corvette for the Imperial Navy. The design philosophy reflects Imperial sensibilities as it is faster and more elegant than the Corvette, but doesn't quite match it in firepower. As with other Imperial warships the Cutter is also used for projecting soft power, via diplomatic missions and support for friendly powers. It is possible, although rare, for a well connected client or patron to own one of these ships. Like the Corvette, some models can deploy two small fighter sized ships, although civilian models are restricted to one.
— In-game description
The Imperial Cutter is a ship manufactured by Gutamaya for the Empire. It serves as the Imperial Navy's counterpart to the Federal Corvette, and purchasing it requires achieving an Imperial Navy rank of Duke. The most expensive ship on the market, the Imperial Cutter epitomizes Gutamaya's synthesis of form and function. While the Federal Corvette surpasses it in terms of sheer firepower and the Anaconda excels at versatility, the Imperial Cutter still wields a formidable array of weapon hardpoints, the largest maximum cargo capacity of all ships, and enough armour and shields to shrug off damage from all but the most tenacious attackers.
Overview
The Cutter is a heavily armed ship, featuring four medium hardpoints: two on the nacelles and two on the chin; two large hardpoints on top of the ship and a single huge hardpoint on the chin. The pilot's seat is offset to the right of the ship, one co-pilot's seat being located to the pilot's left and the other one behind this. Notably, the exterior lights on the ship change color from blue to red once hardpoints are deployed. It has 8 utility mounts and can carry a Fighter Hangar for Ship-Launched Fighters.
With a staggering 792 tons of max cargo capacity, the Imperial Cutter has the largest cargo bay of all playable ships in the game, making it an ideal ship for traders. However, it is also the most expensive ship in the game at a cost almost three times higher than a Type-9 Heavy, which has a max cargo capacity of 788 tons; only 4 tons less. It also has a lower cargo capacity when shielded, as the Type-9 can equip a lower class Shield Generator. The very high rebuy and repair costs of the Cutter makes shieldless runs incredibly risky, so it is important to keep this in mind as every bump and scratch will cut rather heavily into profits and like the Type-9, it is very difficult to dodge an Interdiction in the Cutter. Combined with its required Imperial Navy Rank can make the Cutter a much less appealing ship for traders.
Unlike the Type-9 Heavy, it is extremely well-shielded, very fast for its size, and heavily armed, giving it far greater survivability and allowing much better use of it as a combat ship, especially in the piracy role, as it is capable of rivaling a Federal Corvette, Anaconda or Type-10 Defender in combat. In addition, with plenty of internals available to mount mining accessories while still leaving the largest open for cargo holds, excellent speed for moving from asteroid to asteroid, and a sufficiency of medium weapon mounts, the Cutter is an excellent choice for mining; if rather excessive. Keeping a shield generator on will let it handle most NPC pirates; however, the Type-9 will outdo it in terms of cargo capacity in this scenario.
When compared to the other two of the big three, the Corvette and Anaconda, the Cutter has several notable downsides; other than just the price tag. It has a much lower jump range than the Anaconda; though better than the Corvette and while it has impressive combat potential, its Class 7 power distributor isn't quite as able to effectively keep all its hardpoints effectively powered when compared to the Class 8 of the other two; thus the ship slightly pales in combat potential compared to the other two. While its manoeuvrability may be off-putting to some, it can easily be alleviated with Engineering, allowing the Cutter to reach slightly over 28 degrees of pitch on certain builds. Compared to the significantly cheaper Type-10, it has the same manoeuvrability and fewer hardpoints although its superior placement and good speed give it a huge advantage over a Type-10 in combat; it also has much higher pitch and yaw speeds.
The Cutter is a very effective multi-purpose ship. The ship sacrifices the exploration focus of the Anaconda and combat focus of the Corvette for trading potential. Thus traders looking for a powerhouse ship complete with style will usually find the Cutter very satisfactory, while fighters and explorers may find the Corvette and Anaconda more useful respectively, depending on preference.
The Imperial Cutter has an available 12 piece cosmetic ship kit that can be purchased from the Frontier store which allows you to "remodel your ship in your personal style". The ship kit is purely cosmetic and does not affect gameplay in any way.
Purchase Locations
| System | Station | Date Seen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shinrarta Dezhra | Jameson Memorial | Always available | 10% discount, Founders Permit needed |
| Brestla | i Sola Prospect | Always available | 20% surcharge |
| Avalon | Noctilux | Feb. 10, 2018 | |
| Guuguyni | Shen Terminal | Nov. 8, 2017 | |
| Harm | Gentil Hub | Feb. 1, 2018 | |
| Nahua | Fuller Vision | June 18, 2017 | |
| Minanes | Rutan Terminal | Sep. 1, 2017 | |
| Giryampi | Cottenot Terminal | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Lampade | Charlois Dock | Apr. 29, 2018 | |
| Arjung | Hiyya Orbital | June. 28, 2018 | |
| Yimanbin | Farkas Port | May 26, 2018 | |
| Tialocan | Richer Port | August 28th, 2018 | |
| Arjung | Hiyya Orbital | Oct. 30th, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Ct Tucane | Arantila | 31.10.2018 |
Outfitting
All ships are highly customisable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Imperial Cutter.
| Category | Default System | Default Rating | Default Class | Max Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Hardpoint | Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 |
| Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Large Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 3 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 3 | |
| Huge Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 4 |
| Utility Mount | Empty | -- | -- | 0 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Bulkheads | Lightweight Alloys | I | 1 | 8 |
| Reactor Bay | Power Plant | E | 8 | 8 |
| Thrusters Mounting | Thrusters | E | 8 | 8 |
| Frame Shift Drive Housing | Frame Shift Drive | E | 7 | 7 |
| Environment Control | Life Support | E | 7 | 7 |
| Power Coupling | Power Distributor | E | 7 | 7 |
| Sensor Suite | Sensors | E | 7 | 7 |
| Fuel Store | Fuel Tank [x64] | C | 6 | 6 |
| Internal Compartments | Shield Generator | E | 8 | 8 |
| Cargo Rack [x128] | E | 7 | 8 | |
| Cargo Rack
[x32] || E || 5 || 6 | ||||
| Empty | -- | -- | 6 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 6 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 5 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 5 | |
| Cargo Rack [x4] | E | 2 | 4 | |
| BDS | E | 1 | 3 | |
| Empty (Military Compartment) | -- | -- | 5 | |
| Empty (Military Compartment) | -- | -- | 5 |
- (L) = Loaned
- [x#] = Capacity
- BDS = Basic Discovery Scanner
Notes
Videos
Gallery
References
| Playable |
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| NPC-only |
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| Lore & Concepts |
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| Ships marked with H can only be purchased and operated by players who pre-ordered Horizons. | |||||||||||||||||||||