Re: why build starships
 

Use Heavy and Massive mounts on your starbase, and look at the range bonuses. Then consider, say, Ionic Disperser beams (which, at those mount levels, will readily immobilize an enemy ship at a pretty healthy distance), Repulsor Beams (which will fling them back across the map), and so forth. Some of the special weapons really don't have much of a weakness *except* low range, which these mounts really, really help.

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night