Energy leechers are great. :) I've got a couple of them, and they (usually) let me fire four beam weapons at once without running out of energy. The problem is mashing the three/four buttons it takes to fire the weapons.

So, I set up a macro to fire whatever's bound to keys 1 - 4 repeatedly (every tenth of a second or so). All four beam weapons fire and retarget automatically. It's awesome. :)

The only problem is missile-heavy mobs; missiles don't seem to give energy for hits, so missiles drain my energy rapidly if I don't set the target with the mouse pointer.

Anyhow, I'd suggest that firing solutions like this actually be a part of the game. (If nothing else, it's more ergonomic. :) )

Set up some anti-missile system, or get an artifact class one. Those will (most likely) redirect the incoming missile, or fire flac shells to destroy it. These weapons are require very high power capacity, so you will need an additional generator I think. :)

For me, I use a different style. I "trained" my ship's explosion resistance, as well very high amount of shield, and fast regenerating items. With this my heavy flagship is barely receive damage from missiles or mines (however the special effects still affects the ship). Also I use a heavy mine whic can destroy entire fleets if I time the explosion correctly. It isn't a normal mine, it is a legendary class one. :)

Sadly I have this game from Soldak, and not from GOG.com. Maybe sometime I will buy from here too.