So am I just a huge noob or what?

Yes. You are indeed a huge noob. For not downloading Kwok's Balance Mod and forgetting that stock SE5 exists at all. Seriously though, it looks like you've run into a few of the many imbalances that plague stock SE5. If you arm your direct-fire destroyer with even a single PDC, you'll see another imbalance as 2-3 CSMs get swatted out of the sky with a single PD volley.
The best advice I can give you is to visit http://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php , and download the mod. It's no different to stock, other than the fact that a lot of work has been put into making it well, balanced.

Suction feet are not to be trifled with!

Huh. For some reason I didn't make the connection between BM and Balance Mod. What can I say except, owned.

Suction feet are not to be trifled with!

I'm enough of a Noob to bother actually READING posts before i respond...

ANYWAY:Rather, the fact that these have already come repeatedly proves you right, perhaps not in specifics, but as concerns.

Just btw:
most people complain drones do Too Much damage(its a bug),
and i have to wonder WHY on earth are you bothering launching them from a SHIP?

Missiles? there is a current thread, not even mine, about CSM's and torpedoes...
The "stay out of reach & fire missiles" - Parthian Shot is a well-known tactic- I consider it a valid one, but the AI does not adapt to it well... One proposed solution is to up the AI use of fighters...

the fighter imbalance is well known...

I'm sorry - in my opinion the answer you got was a little pat, and not worthy of your concerns, which were valid and well-expressed. I hope you find your future input better treated.

...in defense of the posting fellow, Balance Mod IS in my opinion a great improvement over stock - a pal of mine says stock should be treating as a "bug".
On the other hand, and at risk of being burnt at the stake:
BALANCE mod is NOT the only mod.
Peruse the list, is my advice.

The best anti-fighter defense in the SEV galaxy is emissive armor. The benefit of damage reduction stacks. A dreadnought with pure emissive armor (or a base for that matter) is completely immune to fighter attacks, as a matter of fact, lower level ships without mount benefits suffer as well. It's worth the research investment.

"Light travels faster than sound, that's why people seem bright until you hear
them."

hi Noob

A drone needs to be fitted with one or more warheads if you want it to do significant damage when it rams, which is what they're mainly designed for.

That said, I've rarely found effective uses for drones in SE IV, either.

"Good morning, Pooh Bear," said Eeyore gloomily. "If it /is/ a good morning," he said. "Which I doubt," said he.

and with that i can only assume is a bug in drones (if launched from a planet never run out of fuel. So when equipied with basic sensors make scouts once you edit there VehicleSizes.txt to give then a couple more engines

Well, for playing that much and not understanding much of the mechanics of your favorite weapons, yes. The Capital ship missiles are great, but they can be shot down by point defense weapons. (I started to build specialty, strictly point defense frigates to protect my drop ships when I try to capture planets. This is much more effective than just putting more shields on my drop ships.) The Drones are good, but I prefer not to use the fighters or drones. I run into too many ordnance and supply problems with drones. Instead of dealing with constantly resupplying my carriers, I am just sticking with the other ships.

In the stock game I found that the best defense against fighters is . . . your own fighters, but I don't play that any more for all the reasons listed on this forum. In the Balance Mod, however, it seems to me that the imbalance for fighters has gone too far the other way. I usually put two PD Cannons on each of my ships (that could arguably be a left over from my experience with the stock game), and have found that half a dozen destroyers and light cruisers can plow right through a fighter group of 40 or more. The only use for fighters in BM that I have found is to facilitate ground invasions. I don't think it's PD that is too strong as it seems about right (to me) against seekers. Maybe fighters need beefing up in the Balance Mod?

You should have good results if use an approximately equal kT of fighters versus ships.

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Space Empires Depot | SE:V Balance Mod

In early game, rocket pods are still really nasty - it only takes the fighter to fire once, after that he has pretty much done it's job.