How to play as Captain Cutter - Halo Wars 2

Captain Cutter is one of the best leaders in Halo Wars 2. Out of the base three UNSC leaders (Cutter, Isabel, Anders), he's the strongest. He's arguably the best UNSC leader overall, including all DLC leaders - definitely A-tier.

Cutter is an early game leader who relies heavily on getting an early advantage and keeping the momentum by abusing his speed and harassment. Stuns from drops allow you to easily win every engagement and put a lot of pressure on your opponent. His Spartan Hero now has splash damage on the T2 Spartan Laser upgrade to help against blobs of infantry. He will fall off late game vs most leaders unless you are very far ahead, so typically you'll want to try and close out the game in under 20 minutes.

Why Cutter is Great

Excellent Drops

Every power Cutter gets is really good. The drops are insanely awesome:

• ODST Drop - Infantry drop with stun on landing
• Cyclops Drop - Vet 2 Cyclops
• ODST Assault Group - 2 ODST squads, Scorpion, Wolverine, 2 Cyclopes (all veteran)
• Close Air Support - Ultimate ability
• Turret Drop - Anti-air capable

Strong Throughout the Game

• Tech 1 and Tech 2: Cutter excels
• As the game progresses: More leader powers = stronger Cutter
• Good all around at every stage

Great Offensive Powers

• Close Air Support
• Archer Missiles
• Turret Drop
• Raid allows you to cap nodes quickly and move around quickly so you can outflank your opponent and dominate map control

Cons

Cutter struggles late game as other leaders have more powerful nukes and drops. Cutter excels at speed early and continuing that momentum is critical to win. If you don't, you'll find yourself behind other leaders with a stronger late game. Cutter also has a predictable infantry playstyle.

Build Order: Infantry Map Control

Opening Buildings

1. Supply Pad (first)
2. Supply Pad (second)
3. Train 2 Marines with starting 300 resources
4. Supply Pad (third) - Upgrade first supply pad when done
5. Generator (fourth)
6. Supply Pad (fifth)
7. Mini Base with Armory for Spartan

First Leader Point: UNSC Raid

• Faster capture speeds
• Infantry moves faster
• Great for getting head start on map control

Early Game Goals

• Send Marines to gather supply and power crates
• Multiple Marines to capture nodes (split them up - don't need 7 for one node)
• Take mini bases on your side

Vault Map Tip: Marines can stand at a specific spot and attack Sentinels without them attacking back.

Second Leader Point: UNSC Raid 2

• Further increases benefits
• Jackrabbits can now capture nodes as Cutter

Map Control Result

By 3-4 minutes, you can control almost every node with Marines already heading to more.

Tech 2 Transition

Building Changes

• Sack one Supply Pad for second Generator (need power for Tech 2)
• Build Garage for Warthogs
• Build Barracks for more infantry

Infantry Focus

Cutter's specialty is infantry:

• Hellbringers
• Snipers
• Cyclopes
• ODSTs
• Marines

All benefit from UNSC Raid upgrades and Cutter's support powers.

Third Leader Point: ODST Drop

Highly recommended:

• ODST Drop is excellent
• ODSTs stun on landing
• Fast-moving thanks to UNSC Raid

Leader Power Progression

Cutter's Wheel Analysis

Weak: Battle Hardened (weakest on wheel)

Strong Options:

• Mines - Good early game if not going Raid
• ODST Drop - Recommended third point
• Cyclops Drop - Excellent vs vehicles (drops Vet 2 Cyclops)
• ODST Assault Group - Huge army boost
• Close Air Support - Ultimate ability
• Archer Missiles - Great damage

Fourth Point Options

Depends on opponent:

• Cyclops Drop - If opponent makes lots of vehicles
• Archer Missiles - Against infantry-heavy opponents (like Yap Yap)

Marine Upgrades

Grenade Throw

Good upgrade for early aggression.

Combat Tech

Highly recommended:

• Excellent against air
• Combat Tech Marines can heal buildings
• Air is very beatable with upgraded Marines

ODST Assault Group

This power is incredible:

• 2 Vet 2 ODST squads
• 1 Vet 1 Scorpion
• 1 Vet 2 Wolverine
• 2 Vet 2 Cyclopes

All dropped with stun effect. Massive army reinforcement.

Close Air Support

Why It's Great

• Costs only 1500 supplies (no power cost!)
• One of the only ultimate powers with no power cost
• Very much worth the resources

When NOT to Use

Don't drop against heavy anti-air:

• Combat Tech Marines
• ODSTs
• Wolverines
• Will tear apart Close Air Support

Anti-Air Note

Many of Cutter's drops have anti-air capability:

• ODSTs
• Assault Group (Wolverine included)
• Turret Drop

Tech 3 Play

Key Upgrades

• Shock Rounds for Cyclopes
• Infantry Upgrade 3
• Vehicle upgrades if using Scorpions

Spartan Usage

Often better outside a vehicle than inside:

• Spartan Slam has fantastic stun
• Use slam against enemy armies instead of hijacking single vehicles

When to Hijack:

• Spartan is low health
• Target is high-value (Colossus, Grizzly, Scorpion, Vulture)
• Steals large pop from opponent

Army Composition

• Heavy infantry focus (Marines, ODSTs, Cyclopes)
• Support with Nightingales for healing
• Wolverines or Combat Tech Marines for anti-air
• Scorpions good on smaller maps (not great on large maps like Vault)

Counters to Watch

Early Game Threats

• Banished Choppers - Anti-infantry
• Mass Jackrabbits - Anti-infantry

Response: Numbers game - even if their units are better, more units often wins.

Key Takeaways

1. UNSC Raid first - Faster capture, faster infantry
2. Mass Marines early for map control
3. Take all nodes - Economic and vision advantage
4. UNSC Raid 2 lets Jackrabbits capture nodes
5. ODST Drop is excellent - third point recommendation
6. Combat Tech Marines counter air effectively
7. Close Air Support costs only supplies - great value
8. ODST Assault Group provides massive army reinforcement
9. Infantry is Cutter's specialty - lean into it
10. Keep foot on the gas - early advantage should snowball to victory