[Slick]

DUC's are good in the beginning, but there is much more to the game than DUC's.

Phased Poloron Beams skip normal shields. Use armor or Phased shields to block.

There are several long range weapons. Anti-proton beams are one of the best. There are others like Wave Motion Guns (huge damage, slower reload time)

You are correct in the unmodded game, ship based mounts don't increase range, but they do increase damage. But, there are mounts for Weapon Platforms and Satellites that do increase range. There is also Deathstalker's Mount Mod if you want mounts coming out the wazoo.

As for short range hideous damage weapons, Ripper Beams are unparalleled for Damage/(kt * turn); which is the traditional method of judging a weapon. This method does not take into account range, though.

Keep playing and you will see that there are uses for most weapons, either by damage, size, cost, time to research, etc.

Slick.