As I read and re-read the Firefight and Tech Burner rules with intense/obsessive/downright creepy enthusiasm, I am struck by a real inequality among the weapons (see table, p. 517). Specifically:
Why would anyone in Iron use any weapon but a fusor?
Yes, I know, “close combat” . – but you can carry a SCREW or a CEBW as your sidearm for a mere Ob 2 Resources test, and that’ll do you better in tight quarters than trying to make your main weapon do both long range and point blank.
Yes, I know, “heavy (6)” – but if you’re going to be part of a hereditary warrior elite, you really ought to hit the gym until you reach Power 5; your Iron will take you the rest of the way (Power Assist, pg. 545).
Yes, I know, “Squad support weapon, 4 pts” against your Resources instead of 3 points for an Assault weapon (p. 382; this is assuming you’re not just buying an “appropriate weapon” for 1 point during character generation) – but that’s a very small price to pay for vehicular-scale damage and longer range.
And once you’ve talked yourself into a Squad Support Weapon, the fusor does more damage than everything but the Heavy Laser – which at “heavy (8),” is really a bit much to haul – and has the “Blast” and “Devastator” traits to take out your target’s squadmates and armor respectively.
Am I missing something here? Clearly normal human troops in Anvil or (snicker) Ballistic Armor can’t haul fusors, and even Iron squads will need specialists with particular weapons, but I just don’t see any reason why the default weapon for someone in Iron shouldn’t be the fusor.