I've only played in Single Player or with my friends, and I always used the Orkulus as VR with three upgrades on weapons, four on armor, and one on the Frontal Deflector Shield.

Would it be convenient if I upgraded the Hangar bays, rather than the weapons? Can 14 strikecraft make up for the lack of the Disintegrator and the Phase Missiles, considering that the base Pulse Gun of the Orkulus has Anti-heavy damage, rather than Capital Ship-type like all the weapons on the other starbases?