The current ballistic meta in Star Citizen feels like it's reducing the depth of space combat instead of adding to it. Because ballistic weapons bypass such a significant portion of shields, one of the game's core defensive mechanics often feels irrelevant. Rather than managing shields, positioning, or timing engagements, many fights simply come down to who can apply the most ballistic damage the fastest. This also shifts the balance heavily toward numbers over individual skill. Coordinated groups should absolutely have an advantage, but the current meta makes outnumbered fights feel almost unwinnable regardless of pilot ability. A skilled pilot can outfly opponents, manage distance, and make smart decisions, but none of that matters much when multiple ships can ignore your shields and melt your hull in seconds. Medium and large ships are affected even more. Unlike smaller fighters, they can't effectively rotate shield faces to spread incoming damage, so they have very few meaningful defensive options against concentrated ballistic fire. Their larger profiles also make them much easier to focus down, which removes a lot of the tactical gameplay that should come with flying bigger ships. Space combat is at its best when multiple mechanics work together—shield management, positioning, target prioritization, energy management, and pilot skill all contributing to the outcome of a fight. Right now, ballistics overshadow many of those systems and flatten engagements into simple DPS races. Ballistics should absolutely have a role, but they shouldn't make shields feel optional or reduce combat to "bring more ships and more guns." A healthier balance would reward good flying and smart decision-making while still giving coordinated groups a clear advantage. Higher ballistic absorbtion on shields and an overall nerf to ALL ballistics would make the game feel so much better.