Astrotech beams need some love now that shipyards have nearly made them obsolete. Make it an effect system. I'll let your imagination come up with all the "offensive" weapon combos. I'm thinking healing nuke
The defensive effect is what I'm most interested in. I want it to only repair damaged but, not missing, hull and armor. This is how i think it should be balanced: You select the hull and/or armor you want it to repair. A 1:1 ratio of astrotech modules to armor for the full healing effect might be a good compromise. If no armor is selected it will attempt to repair all hull and armor on the ship, even the advanced armor toilets, so it would be prudent to select the plating covering your vital systems to maximize the effect. I also think it should be a bit different than other effect blocks in that it uses energy and can be controlled with logic.
The defensive effect is what I'm most interested in. I want it to only repair damaged but, not missing, hull and armor. This is how i think it should be balanced: You select the hull and/or armor you want it to repair. A 1:1 ratio of astrotech modules to armor for the full healing effect might be a good compromise. If no armor is selected it will attempt to repair all hull and armor on the ship, even the advanced armor toilets, so it would be prudent to select the plating covering your vital systems to maximize the effect. I also think it should be a bit different than other effect blocks in that it uses energy and can be controlled with logic.