I was talking commercially as well. It can be related into gameplay, but when everyone already HAS a top-tier weapon, very few ships will have the reactor power to support a second such weapon, so selling them lower-powered "extras" will be more successful.Ruinsage wrote:I wasn't talking in a gameplay sense, I was talking commercially. These sectors are at the center of federal space, security is (or in this case, was) top notch. When your customers are packing top notch military hardware, you don't show them your collection of the cheapest lasers used by people who made a freighter into a pirate ship, you show them the best hardware available, or they go to someone who have the best available.
Also, many of these sectors have been consistently controlled by pirates for some time, or were abandoned to the Lanius, or are controlled by a specific, relatively insular race, and NOT directly controlled by the Federation. Even the ones which are truly Fed-friendly have been ravaged by war and are now filling up with pirates. If you don't want a swarm of pirates ripping you apart for them, you probably shouldn't be showing off your best weapons. You'll keep those mounted on your ship in case of someone trying to rob you.
"Oh, you have a Glaive Beam? Well, that will be a great 'donation' to the Rebel cause. No, you DON'T have a choice in the matter. If you don't like it, well... it was nice knowing you. What do you mean 'discount'? You're DONATING it, REMEMBER?" *cue evil laughter as 3 ships line up their Flak IIs on the station*