Missiles and PvP

[Taelessael]

Back when beta started, hit-an-run was a reasonable combat style, as was building to try and burn through a target's armor or cripple its external elements with an up-close opening salvo...

 

...Now we have shields...

 

Combat has shifted in to a game of damage output over time and range-control.
-A ship with rails will land shots at even the longest ranges, but has the lowest sustained damage,
-A ship with cannons needs to get up close to land its shots, but does the most damage over time,
-A ship with lasers offers a solid middle-ground between range and sustained damage,
-A ship with missiles looks cool, but it isn't going to win a fight unless they're "punching down" and firing at a target they'd have beaten regardless of weapon choice.

Yes, a missile-ship can fire more or less backwards, but by the time it's gotten close enough to land a shot the laser and cannon ships have either come to a stop so they can put all their effort in to just tracking it and letting their superior dps win them the battle, or they've accelerated to a speed such that the missile ship cant manage quick maneuvers, and are now drifting while putting all their effort in to tracking it, and still letting their superior dps win them the battle.

 

Make no mistake, I don't want an uber-weapon, they very much need to not be able to win every fight, but their only win conditions shouldn't be "the opposing pilot is incompetent" or "couldn't lose the fight regardless of weapon choice".

As such I'd like to propose a few options.
1) Boost the damage: If the weapon's range is to remain as egregiously short as it is, increase its sustained dps accordingly. Close-range weapons in a game really shouldn't be matched or exceeded in damage output by longer range weapons when being used in close range.
2) Boost the range: If the weapon's sustained damage output is to remain where it is, increase its range so that it isn't being hopelessly out-ranged by weapons that also exceed its sustained dps.
3) Make them weird: If the weapon's damage and range must remain as they are, then let them do something unusual, like having the ability to use any of the 4 types of damage instead of just being locked to 2.

What do you all think, I'm not just missing something here, am I?