I wonder if we can really critic LPHE and PBE at the same time. If you like dodge-fight, then you should like the LPHE, and a wing of PBE equiped Xenon is a little pleasure killer (until you realize that this makes you think more to find a way). If you don't like dodge-fight but just want to shoot to kill, then PBE is a good weapon.Killjaeden wrote: In vanilla it was always: Spam a carpet of slow ass bullets, hope for enemy to fly into it - if he does, bueno he is dead. If he doesnt - well your lasergenerator is now empty. Completely overpowered weapons like the flamethrower PBG (which did more damage the larger the target is) and the PBE increased this issue considerably.
Personnally, I really find the flamethrower as overpowered, and I think that the PBE should not make it on M4 (on M3 it is OK). But this is just a matter of tuning. And LPHE are great weapons, slow enough to be avoided by good pilots, powerfull enough to justify a M3 cost.
In X2 and X3, the thing is: with a good pilot and a good armament, you can beat the class just above in one vs one. Yesterday again, I was in a Mamba vs a Khaak corvette. Long fight, long pleasure. Next oponent was a M7 Xenon with its escort, i flew away. And I'm happy of that. (I'm less happy to see that an "easy" patrol lead to fighting a M6 and a M7 with my mamba alone) Where would be the pleasure if you could beat any ship with any other ? About flamethrower, just a thing: you see them from afar if used, and you can scan the ship if you're near: your scanner is more than 4km range, this weapon is less than 1km range!
This game is not just a shoot them up. Skill is important. Thinking also.