Another impression on the weapons: As human, I've found that the Laser techtree kept me afloat for quite a good time.
The X-Ray Armor Piercing mod was the cherry on top
With Rapid Fire mod my (Heavy&Turbo)Lasers had enough punch, to not bother with other direct fire weapons for quite some time.
Only around Neutron Beams the Lasers could not keep up.
Only downside was that Lasers feel like a dead end.
You won't "change" the tech like with other beam weapons (ion, disruptor, neutron, primary beams, etc).
After reaching the end of lasers, I had to get out of my deep dug well and start again with ion beams, heavy ion beams, etc.
Which where underwhelming compared to high end lasers