Don't under estimate many of the weapons and utilities.
Losing shields to those pesky celestials? Take a shield boost and shield drones.
Schillae photons and wanderer missiles hammering through those new shields? Try out an upgraded missile jammer with laser drones.
If you know your cornered about to take a full broadside from that incoming fleet then reorganise your fleet and call up a small ship as a sacrificial shield or strip a ships expensive weapons to take one for the team then losing that ship doesn't hurt so bad.
There is a use for everything in this game, even tractor beams and bolter fighters have amazing uses with a little thought because it's less about what you can afford and more about using what you have... unless your in a lone nightengale surrounded by 15 Celestial heavy cruiser carriers then maybe you're not gonna make it much further
