Cutlass Blue or Freelancer MIS?

[Richard Bong]

As the title says, I have an X1 LTI I upgraded to a Cutlass Blue, but I am debating making that a Freelancer MIS. My main job ingame is gonna be running the TEST Wet Wolfy bar and data running, but I want a decently armed light hauler for the flexibility and to do quick booze runs. Thanks guys, love you all and remember to vote for Space Kitty's!

For light hauling the Black is better than the Blue. The MIS may or may not still have the ability to remove the missile racks, making its hauling capability anemic, if it can't. Further in the comparison remember that missiles are likely to prove expensive.

Now the Freelancer does have the ability to mount 2 computers, so it might be a better choice to supplement data running, and who would expect a Freelancer as a data runner?

Comparing the Freelancer to the Cutlass, the Freelancer has better shields and the Turret covers the rear better, but can't fire much forward.
The Cutlass is a little faster and has a slightly better turn rate (Based on the ship matrix). The Cutlass turret is bigger and fires forward but leaves most of the rear uncovered.
They both fill the same role, I guess the most important question is which one looks better to you. :)

 

[Richard Bong]

My hazy memory recalls the early MIS documentation specifically pointing out that it was "prone to accidental explosion" since the freelancer was never intended to be fitted with missiles.

If that's true then you wouldn't want to haul anything important in a MIS. Some other freelancer, sure. But not a MIS.

Maybe that has changed, I haven't paid much attention recently.

Filled with missiles. :) It was clearly designed to be fitted with them. LOL. A magazine hit is very likely to be catastrophic, but the same can be said for most ships with internal ordinance. :)

 

[Stevetank]

I would heavily disagree with this. If you look at the documentation for Drake, their ships are reliable, cheap to run, and cheap to replace. The freelancer may be comparably better in that department, but Drake ships are not known for breaking down.

Agreed!

 

[Richard Bong]

Well.... Now I have the Blue.... but yesterday I show this video:

Soooo.... on the nesxt sale I'll get a blue to mis ccu and just wait on it (because the Blue will come before the MIS. When the MIS comes I'll see it and decide).

The specs on the MIS page are wrong and his interpretation is even more wrong.

The rear turret is missing from the sheet, and the guns he is saying were size 5 are the two unmanned turrets with 2 size 3 guns each are the same guns the rest of the series has. It is not quad size 3 on the back.

 

[maynard]

...Comparing the Freelancer to the Cutlass, the Freelancer has better shields and the Turret covers the rear better, but can't fire much forward.
The Cutlass is a little faster and has a slightly better turn rate (Based on the ship matrix). The Cutlass turret is bigger and fires forward but leaves most of the rear uncovered...

I just looked at the ship matrix again

it says the MIS now has two remote turrets, each with two S3 guns

dorsal and ventral?

fore and aft?

Left and right?

I'm curious to see what shows up in my hangar

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Well.... Now I have the Blue.... but yesterday I show this video:

Soooo.... on the nesxt sale I'll get a blue to mis ccu and just wait on it (because the Blue will come before the MIS. When the MIS comes I'll see it and decide).

No offense intended to anyone but this guy is very often wrong. He is interesting, but he allows wishful thinking to define every opinion. All the Lancers originally had an S1 turret in back and there is no reason to suppose they will change that. A quad mount is a little crazy sounding to me. Probably it carries 4S4 + 2X8S2 missiles for a total of 20, not 36. I don't think 36 missiles will fit on this bird even if you used all the cargo space. The guns however have always been big, and despite some have said they were nerfed, if it carries 4S4 Ballistic Cannon, when it hits a target that target will suffer terribly. Same is true of the guns on the Cutty though, it has guns! I would say if you like missiles, go with the missile boat. If missiles aren't that fun for you, go with the Cutty.

However, if you really want missiles, I suggest fly an Andromeda. It has more than twice the cargo room as the others, twice the guns, more than twice the missiles, much more powerful shields, more ability to custom out your rig, is faster and rotates as well as the Lancer. The only down side I can see is it needs more turret gunners, but all three of these ships need turret gunners, and you will make more money faster with the Connie. If you don't need missiles galore, you can get into a Taurus for only a little more than the Lancer and be hauling probably 5X as much as the Cutty and Lancer.

 

[Xist]

Filled with missiles. :slight_smile: It was clearly designed to be fitted with them. LOL. A magazine hit is very likely to be catastrophic, but the same can be said for most ships with internal ordinance. :slight_smile:

You may be looking at it with rose-colored glasses.

The MIS was an afterthought. The community screamed and yelled and said they wanted to fit missiles into a freelancer since it wasn't possible on any freelancer variant.

Some time later CIG responded by introducing the MIS and specifically saying "you can put missiles in it, but you really shouldn't. It will blow up."

If you have missiles in your MIS there is no room for cargo. If you don't, what is the point in having a MIS at all?

 

[Richard Bong]

I just looked at the ship matrix again

it says the MIS now has two remote turrets, each with two S3 guns

dorsal and ventral?

fore and aft?

Left and right?

I'm curious to see what shows up in my hangar

They are the same turrets on the base Freelancer. Port and Starboard.

 

[maynard]

No offense intended to anyone but this guy is very often wrong...

pot, meet kettle - the MIS now has:

2 remote turrets, each w/ 2 S3 ballistic cannon

4 S4 missiles

32 S2 missiles

28 units cargo space

 

[Richard Bong]

You may be looking at it with rose-colored glasses.

The MIS was an afterthought. The community screamed and yelled and said they wanted to fit missiles into a freelancer since it wasn't possible on any freelancer variant.

Some time later CIG responded by introducing the MIS and specifically saying "you can put missiles in it, but you really shouldn't. It will blow up."

If you have missiles in your MIS there is no room for cargo. If you don't, what is the point in having a MIS at all?

Sorry I wasn't clear. The ship is clearly fitted with missiles. On the wings and ready to fire on the top mounts. The lore has the explosion in the reloads. So filling the cargo hold with explosive ordinance is the reason for the mishaps, not having missile mounts.

And I have looked at the MIS, my thought is to remove the reload racks in order to carry cargo, which still gives me the additional 4 Size 2 mount points on top, unless I specifically need the reloads for a particular mission. I am not sure it is worth the money or the hope that the idea of removing the racks is worth it, especially since the Max now has the same loadout as the base Freelancer, and the Max is likely to be able to carry a buggie, unlike, the MIS, the base Freelancer or any of the Cutlasses.

Can't throw a bounty into the trunk of a bike. :)

 

[Richard Bong]

pot, meet kettle - the MIS now has:

2 remote turrets, each w/ 2 S3 ballistic cannon

4 S4 missiles

32 S2 missiles

28 units cargo space

Note that the Base Freelancer has 2 remote turrets with 2 size 3 ballistic cannon plus a manned turret with 2 size 2 weapons (Currently M4A Lasers). The MIS is missing a turret, it is most likely the top turret, and very likely an error to have it missing. The gun loadout was always the same as the base Freelancer.

 

[maynard]

Note that the Base Freelancer has 2 remote turrets with 2 size 3 ballistic cannon plus a manned turret with 2 size 2 weapons (Currently M4A Lasers). The MIS is missing a turret, it is most likely the top turret, and very likely an error to have it missing. The gun loadout was always the same as the base Freelancer.

I don't think it's an error

the DUR, with an equal reduction in cargo volume, has no manned turret either. My thinking is that the missile racks or scanning gear sit where the manned turret access would be.

the MAX, with no gear installed in the cargo bay, has the same loadout as the base 'Lancer

 

[Shadow Reaper]

pot, meet kettle - the MIS now has:

2 remote turrets, each w/ 2 S3 ballistic cannon

4 S4 missiles

32 S2 missiles

28 units cargo space

Touche'. Do we have confirmation that it really carries 32 S2's?

I would also note that with missiles, the important issue is not only how many it carries, but how many launchers it has. Even if the MIS has 32 S2's, it only has 2 S2 launchers. Most conflicts will not last long enough for them to be fired. I still like the Andromeda more for missiles.

And I have looked at the MIS, my thought is to remove the reload racks in order to carry cargo, which still gives me the additional 4 Size 2 mount points on top. . .the Max now has the same loadout as the base Freelancer, and the Max is likely to be able to carry a buggie. . .

I had the same thoughts. I am hoping what we'll see with the Max is when it is empty it really screams along, which is a big selling point especially if it still has the 2X2S4. But I still prefer the Andromeda. The current page doesn't say how many launchers, but IIRC, it originally had 2S2 and 4S1 launchers, which is enough to keep a whole squadron of fighters busy dodging for some time. I think this is the reason CIG was selling the Andy as a pirate command ship.

 

[maynard]

...I would also note that with missiles, the important issue is not only how many it carries, but how many launchers it has. Even if the MIS has 32 S2's, it only has 2 S2 launchers. Most conflicts will not last long enough for them to be fired...

the MIS won't be much good in a dogfight, but is well suited to fleet actions and piracy

with its S2 missiles you can apply just enough damage to cripple a larger ship without destroying it or the cargo

 

[Takeiteasy]

I would heavily disagree with this. If you look at the documentation for Drake, their ships are reliable, cheap to run, and cheap to replace. The freelancer may be comparably better in that department, but Drake ships are not known for breaking down.

lol just because a ship isn't number one in a certain department doesn't mean I'm making it out to be piece of unreliable junk, it is running good components but you wouldn't see them being mil spec, still good and cheap but not number one. The freelancer on the other hand makes a huge deal about its component choice and development so if I were to place my money on something lasting longer it's going to be on the Freelancer.

 

[Jastorin]

What's gonna set the Blue and Black apart will be the types of components they can install. If the Blue installs Military comps and the Black can install Stealth, it will be 2 very different performing ships.

Don't go off the stats on the ship matrix it has the same exact stats as the black same missiles and all and it says it adds more. My guess is it pry won't be accurate until they actually do the full rework to the variants. If I were to guess I would say it will pry end up being comparable to the MIS but instead of double shields it will have more armor and be a little more maneuverable since that seems to be the biggest difference between the stock freelancer and the Black. the Black and the Blue are setup to be a militia/boarding/dropship while the MIS is a missile gun boat not really setup to do that. So really the question is what kind of gameplay do you want outside of running the Wet Wolfy?

I was debating on upgrading to the Blue to use in Merc/Yellow Jacket stuff since that's mainly what I plan on doing but I have the funds together to get a Vanguard Hoplite if it goes on sale for the $225 it was before. Otherwise I will be getting a blue.

 

[CrudeSasquatch]

CUTLASSSSSSS WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

[Richard Bong]

I don't think it's an error

the DUR, with an equal reduction in cargo volume, has no manned turret either. My thinking is that the missile racks or scanning gear sit where the manned turret access would be.

the MAX, with no gear installed in the cargo bay, has the same loadout as the base 'Lancer

If that is the case, then, for me, the MIS is out. Base or Max, or lose the medium size ship altogether.

 

[Jastorin]

If that is the case, then, for me, the MIS is out. Base or Max, or lose the medium size ship altogether.

Well it makes sense since the Aquila, Cutlass Red and the F7C-R Hornet all lost a turret for the long range scanner. Seeing that they removed the manned turret from the matrix for the DUR only makes sense and it’s slated for a rework. It wouldn’t make sense for every other expedition or ship with a long range scanner to lose a turret but the DUR get to keep its turret.

 

[Talonsbane]

Well it makes sense since the Aquila, Cutlass Red and the F7C-R Hornet all lost a turret for the long range scanner. Seeing that they removed the manned turret from the matrix for the DUR only makes sense and it’s slated for a rework. It wouldn’t make sense for every other expedition or ship with a long range scanner to lose a turret but the DUR get to keep its turret.

I thought that the long range sensors in the DUR were housed in the bulges in its unique nose ahead of the cockpit. Otherwise, I don't see a point to them being there.