This is the most powerful setup I've been able to put together yet. Yes it was on easy. Being able to switch power from the drones to the engines during bursts made me nigh-unhittable and the pause in the drone attack this caused did not set back the attack like re-setting a weapon would. Highly micro-able and pleasing. My pilot and engineer did not max out because everything died before or during the first or second volley from the burst lasers. Never really targeted shields with the burst lasers as the ion and drones kept them off, the bursts were for their weapons.
Flagship only had one drone burst phase 2 (when I switched out a defense drone) and 2 laser burst phase 3 with the 2nd burst doing some damage.
Lucky drop with the 1st burst mk II and bought the 2nd. Sold pegasus, heal bomb, hull repair, personnel, ion augment and some other stuff I came across for 2nd and 3rd attack mk I and defense drone. Had to buy a lot of fuel as I made sure to hit every shop until I got the drone recovery arm; mass offense was an easy choice after that dropped.
Was not paying attention and did not move my power to engines on the 1st missile volley in phase 3 and took some hits.
Whether or not you get a drone recovery arm early seems to make a massive difference for the Torus since your firepower is otherwise fairly limited (with just three weapon slots, you can't be quite as adaptable as the more gunboat designs), but if you DO get it, drone spam can be very effective.
That's not how I win most of my runs. I often end up turtling on the first phase with defense drones and other defenses using so much power that even at max power I can't power both my weapons and max power to the teleporter until I finish using boarders on their weapons (except the laser weapon), then when its safe to redirect power to the weapons I use them to support my boarders in taking out the crew in the main body. Once I do that I can bring down their shield with boarders to kill them in subsequent phases. I rarely end up going the route of overwhelming weapon power.
