The problem was that I could take down a destroyer in an arrow. I could take down a ralari in a hornet (I think I came across one in a hornet, somewhere), but you couldn't punch up a Ralatha in a Sabre, or a Broadsword. However the shields work, I think the issue wasn't type (phase or meson) but rather strength. Even in action stations, they said that, if enough fighters concentrated enough on one spot in a big ships shields, they would break it and get through to the hull. If it were just a matter that "Big ships guns are the only guns that can break through", then what made those big guns so special, aside from the amount of power they put out. However, in WC2, the shields on a Kamekh were weak enough that you could pound one with your guns. Same with a Dorkathi. But, then, in WCP, you couldn't do much to a big ship by using your guns, unless you used that mass-ass plasma gun. The guns on the smaller fighters, in theory, COULD punch through, but they just didn't deliver enough damage quickly enough. I think that's the whole dilema in a nutshell.