From the Idris fights what it seems to me is all the S4 weapons matter only if you’re repelling fighters. They don’t seem to matter with these cap ships. It is whether the railgun hits or misses that determines the battle and you’ll see there were quite a few missed. Also my guess is, such battles will rely heavily on damage control. Undercrewed ships that can’t access proper damage control abilities will bow out early.
If you have the opportunity, buy the M. That railgun is in a completely different class than the laser.
So, the ship seems to be perfectly functional with player crew, apart from the ramp I guess. Why isn't it in backer hands yet?
Or to rephrase, how many years do you figure it will take them to fix that ramp so it can be properly released?