[Suicide Junkie]

May I ask why you see the ablative armor as too powerful?

It is quite tough in terms of hitpoints, up to 60% stronger than shields per KT, but they cost a lot, and take ages to repair.

Eg. Take a 4 shield BB/DN (160kt defence). gives 1400 shields. 1400 hp. of ablative armor takes up 100kT.
Looks good, BUT:
-armor can't regenerate during battle
-1400 hp armor takes 13 turns to repair with a repair bay III!
-armor dosen't come back between fights during the same turn!
-Costs 4x the price per KT!
-shields cost 0.47 minerals per hitpoint, while ablative armor V costs 5.7 minerals per hitpoint (12x the price of shields)

Also, the Ablative III's have roughly the same costs as the V's, but the provide fewer hitpoints.

The ablative armor is "one-shot survivability, at a price."

Ships with only ablative armor will not survive a second battle.
Ships with only shields might not survive the first battle.

[end rant]