James Cutter/Gameplay

Halo Wars

In the skirmish and multiplayer modes Cutter acts as a leader with a unique set of units, abilities, and upgrades.

Abilities

• Leader Power - MAC Blast (600 resources and a tech level of 1)
• Unique Unit - M312 Elephant (400 resources)

Upgrades

• Base Bonus - New bases start as Stations and the starting base is a Fortress.
• Super Unit - ODST. Final upgrade for Marines.
• MAC Upgrades - Medium MAC Blast (fires two rounds, 700 resources and a tech level of 2) - Large MAC Blast (fires three rounds, 1,000 resources and a tech level of 3) - Super MAC Blast (fires four rounds, 1,400 resources and a tech level of 4).

Strategic tips

• The cost for his Super Unit upgrade is 1800 resources. This upgrade allows the player to use the Hot Drop Ability, which deploys up to ten ODST squads to the selected area before recharging one squad at a time.
• Cutter's leader power is the slowest and most noticeable of the three (Cutter's MAC Blast, Sgt. Forge's Carpet Bomb, and Anders Cryo Bomb). It is smart to use Cutter's leader power against a Deutoros-pattern Scarab, or an enemy base.
• Cutter's main advantage is that he can gain an early foothold in any Skirmish since his starting base is a Fortress, which makes him very good at rushing the enemy.
• It is preferred to send a scout Warthog to see what the opponent foe is doing at the early stages of a Skirmish. However, since Cutter can produce Elephants, it is common to send an Elephant to an enemy base and continuously harass the foe with infantry while a larger force is assembled at the player's base.

Halo Wars 2

"As Captain of the Spirit of Fire, Cutter can send in powerful orbital support, drop in specialized UNSC units, and enhance currently deployed units."

— In-game description of Captain Cutter.

• Unique Units: Jerome-092 (Hero unit) and ODSTs
• Privileges: Infantry can move faster, and can use Archer Missile Bombardment for infantry support.
• Tier 1 Leader Powers
  • UNSC Raid I: Units capture at a faster rate, while infantry units move faster.
  • UNSC Raid II: M121 Jackrabbits can capture points, while infantry units gain another movement-speed bonus.
  • Battle Hardened I: Units gain veterancy at a faster rate.
  • Battle Hardened II: Units gain veterancy at an even faster rate.
• Tier 2 Leader Powers
  • Lotus Mine I: Cloaked mines dropped.
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 25
    • Power Cost: 100
    • Cooldown: 105 seconds
  • Restoration Drones I: Units and buildings within area are healed.
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 200
    • Power Cost: 50
    • Cooldown: 160 seconds
  • Restoration Drones II: Increases power of Restoration drones
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 350
    • Power Cost: 125
    • Cooldown: 160 seconds
  • Restoration Drones III: Increases power of Restoration drones
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 400
    • Power Cost: 150
    • Cooldown: 160 seconds
• Tier 3 Leader Powers
  • Archer Missiles I: Fires staggered pairs of missiles in a lane. Damages all unit types and buildings.
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 300
    • Power Cost: 200
    • Cooldown: 228 seconds
  • Archer Missiles II: Increases damage and lane length of Archer Missiles.
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 400
    • Power Cost: 300
    • Cooldown: 228 seconds
  • Archer Missiles III: Further increases damage and lane length of Archer Missiles, and ignites drop area.
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 500
    • Power Cost: 400
    • Cooldown: 228 seconds
  • ODST Drop: Drops three ODST squads into battle.
    • Population Cost: 12
    • Supply Cost: 800
    • Power Cost: N/A
    • Cooldown: 180 seconds
• Tier 4 Leader Powers
  • Turret Drop I: Drops a temporary Base turret into battle.
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 400
    • Power Cost: 25
    • Cooldown: 203 Seconds
  • Turret Drop II: Increases Turret damage and duration of Turret Drop
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 550
    • Power Cost: 50
    • Cooldown: 203 seconds
  • Cyclops Drop: Drops a veteran Cyclops into battle.
    • Population Cost: 4
    • Supply Cost: 145
    • Power Cost: 180
    • Cooldown: 135 seconds
• Tier 5 Leader Powers
  • ODST Assault Group: Drops multiple veteran units including ODSTS, Cyclops, an M9 Wolverine, and an M808S Scorpion
    • Population Cost: 27
    • Supply Cost: 1650
    • Power Cost: 625
    • Cooldown: 360 seconds
  • Close Air Support: Calls in four G77S Pelican gunships in a certain area for 30 seconds.
    • Population Cost: N/A
    • Supply Cost: 1500
    • Power Cost: N/A
    • Cooldown: 360 seconds

Strategy

• UNSC Raid allows players to seize Power Node faster and often unintentionally hire the localAggressor Sentinel to guard the Power Node.
• It's best to have several armored units, such as Scorpion, Wolverines, and Kodiak to support the infantries. This was practically due to Captain Cutter's specialty relies on infantry movements.
• For the elements of surprise, ODST Assault Group, Cyclops Drop, and ODST Drop can be dropped simultaneously to give the opponents a brief time of stun and chance of surprise attack.
• Conserve your units as much as you could since Battle Hardened allows all units except Nightingale to earn veterancy faster, making them more efficient at late game.