While the heavy metal slugs and flechettes thrown by projectile weaponry tend to be more damaging, the lack of recoil for non-Heavy energy weapons makes them more accurate, granting them a +1 bonus to hit rolls.
Energy weapons are very popular on more advanced worlds, as a soldier can carry far more ammunition in the form of energy cells than they can carry bullets. Range and accuracy are often superior, though the infrastructure necessary for maintenance and repair of these weapons is substantially higher.
Rifle-sized energy weapons count as two items of encumbrance.
Distortion cannons are among the most sophisticated man-portable weapons. These two-handed energy weapons rely on the same principle as does a spike drive, manipulating the underlying fabric of space to disrupt a target. Provided the wielder can see a target within range or accurately fix its location within one meter, the distortion cannon can ignore up to one meter of solid cover between the gun and its target.