Costly Noob mistake

Saving to upgrade my Cutlass black for the last couple of weeks and last night I eventually made the my target of 150k to buy the weapons and shields that I wanted.
I bought 4 very expensive size 3 ballistic cannons… I thought the range would be great as I could pick things off from a distance… I didn’t consider that most things can fly faster than me.
They’ve also got a very slow rate of fire and because they’re fixed position it’s hard to aim. Never before did I realise just how much the damn thing handles like a bus.
On the plus side I can kill most little ships with just a couple of hits but doing So is a bit tricky.

Anyone got any tips for what I should have done? At least if I’m careful now I can do the claim jumper missions on my Todd. So it should not take too long to save up again.

With the current state of the game, using gimbled weapons is best. Yes you must go from an S3 to an S2 but you hit far more often.

S2: Scorpion GT-215 ballistic repeaters, CF-227 Badger laser repeaters, NN-14 Neutron energy or M4 laser on S2 gimbles.

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For the Cutlass, I say go for the S2 Gimbals NDB-28s and 30s on the turret. Decent damage and you don’t have to worry about ammo.

laughs in freelancer

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Lol, I did think about the Freelancer but having one free already made me give it a miss.

I would offer the NDB-28 as a viable size 2 also, though it’s range is more conducive to more nimble ships than the Cutlass. Still its DPS plus up and lack of ammunition requirements is an argument in its favor, even on a Cutty. I’ve had good success with a comparable loadout (albeit one size bigger) on a MIS with 4 x NDB-30s.

The new Lightstrike energy weapons released in 3.9 offer increased range and are also viable if you want to go laser cannon route- I’m enjoying them more than the comparable Omniskys. The offer more range han he NN-## neutro cannos at the cost of a somewhat lower DPS.

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Hi Janich,
What weapons does the MIS have? It just reads on the website that it has the turret and missiles. Is there something that I’m missing?? (There usually is).
I have the loot and Scoot package for the cutlass but I’m quite happy to melt it down if something else is available over fleet week.

MIS has two unmanned turrets controlled by the pilot, each with two size 3 gimballed weapons- so, in total, four size 3 gimbaled guns controlled by the pilot. Four size 3 forward firing gimballed guns (the same as all the Freelancer variants) is very decent firepower (obviously in addition to the missiles carried by the MIS). The stock guns on the MIS are GT-220s.

It also has a manned turret on the top, aft end of the ship with two size 2 guns. Those are more of an afterthought operationally IMHO, though additional DPS is DPS if you can crew the turret…

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Damn it. I’m supposed to be saving to get engaged. Damn you SC! Damn you!!!
Fingers crossed that it’s available during fleet week.

For what it’s worth, I don;t think there are many people who would say that having a MIS in your hangar is a bad idea. It’s a versatile, enjoyable ship to fly, and sees a good deal of air time in org ops.

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I believe all the ships are available and definitely the more military ones should be.

My MIS is my main get-around ship. By default it comes with a Crossfield quantum drive, which is one of the fastest for that size. Large quantum fuel tank, good frontal firepower, fast quantum and the ability to carry some freight if you want.