"Again, if you look at it in terms of research invested, APB XII's do slightly higher average damage but take longer to research and are countered by low level shields that PPB's ignore."
"I tend to look at weapons in terms of the damage per turn per KT of the component. PPB's are WAY ahead of the other weapons."
One or the other Tezzezar. Don't use one when I'm responding to an argument based on the other!
APBs also have longer range. WMGs have a 30% to-hit bonus, and can run away between shots. Meson BLasters take about as much research as PPBs but don't drop off, so they do better damage/kt at max range. Ripper beams do much more damage at close range. Null-space cannons don't care what defenses you have, but are expensive to use (not to research, they cost less than APB).
PPBs are a bit imbalanced, but only because phased shields cost so much to research.
Phoenix-D