HW:Captain Cutter

Captain Cutter
Leader overview
Game:	Halo Wars Halo Wars: Definitive Edition
Faction:	UNSC
Gameplay overview
Playstyle:	Infantry-focused
Starting units:	Warthog
Unique units:	Elephant ODSTs
Leader powers:	MAC Blast Heal and Repair Disruption Bomb Transport
Economy bonus:	Constructed bases start with more building sites

Captain Cutter is a leader available to play as in the multiplayer of Halo Wars. He was one of several leaders from Halo Wars to return in Halo Wars 2, see here for more information.

Universe and lore

Main article: James Cutter

Captain James Cutter is the commanding officer of UNSC Spirit of Fire.

Gameplay

Campaign

Throughout the campaign of Halo Wars, Cutter is the leader ostensibly played by the player. He is the only UNSC character aboard Spirit of Fire to never be used in a mission as a selectable unit, though the specific loadouts and units available vary per-mission and often differ from those of his multiplayer counterpart.

Multiplayer

Captain Cutter is the default UNSC leader, and likely the first one most players will play. He offers a balanced gameplay style with a focus on infantry-centric gameplay. This is enabled by his access to the Elephant, which is able to deploy on the battlefield to serve as a mobile Barracks, allowing troops to be trained in the field. Late in the game, Cutter can upgrade his Marines to ODSTs, giving him access to a unique leader power: the ability to drop ODSTs from orbit anywhere on the battlefield within his line of sight. This makes him able to respond to emerging threats quickly and project and maintain force close to the enemy, giving him map control.

Unique units

Cutter has two unique units. The first is the Elephant, which can be constructed at the Firebase HQ from a Tech level of 2. The second are the ODSTs, which act as the fourth and final upgrade for the Marines.

• 

  Elephant

• 

  ODSTs

Unique leader powers

Main article: Leader power

Name	Cost			Description
	Population	Tech	Resources
All UNSC Leaders
Disruption Bomb	N/A	0	450	Disrupts existing Leader Powers and prevents new Leader Powers from being initiated in a small area for 1 minute.
Transport	N/A	0	200	Call in Pelicans to transport a small group of units from one place to another.
Heal and Repair	N/A	0	350	Heal any units and repair any buildings in an area.
Captain Cutter
MAC Blast	N/A	1	600	Use Spirit of Fire's awesome Mass Accelerated Cannons to incinerate enemy troops.
ODST Drop	1	3	100	Requires ODST upgrade. Drops an ODST squad at target location.

• 

  Aiming the MAC Blast.

Economy bonus

In addition to the above, Cutter has a unique economy bonus. All firebases built by Cutter start at one upgrade tier higher than they would otherwise.

• The default starting base at game start is a Fortress instead of a Station, meaning that it starts with all seven building sockets available rather than the standard five.
• Newly-constructed bases start automatically as a Station rather than a Firebase, meaning that they have five building sockets and four turret slots available, rather than the default three with no turrets.

These upgrades do not apply in Deathmatch, as all bases start as Fortresses in that mode.

Strategies

• By constructing an Elephant early on, Cutter can offset his need to construct a Barracks, meaning that he is free to focus his initial building slots on Supply Pads and Reactors.
• Alongside the above, the lack of need to spend resources on upgrading bases means that Cutter is able to quickly build up large armies in the early game.
• Elephants can be used to rush enemy players early on in the match.
• The above qualities mean that overall Cutter is the strongest UNSC leader in the early game, though by the late game he becomes the weakest as his ODSTs are not as powerful as Anders' Hawks and Forge's Grizzly tanks.

Gallery

• 

  An overview of Captain Cutter in the Halo Wars manual.

• 

  Captain Cutter's personnel profile, included in the Halo Wars Limited Edition and as a Steam reward for Halo Wars: Definitive Edition.