Anything is strong enough to take down the supershield, what are you talking about :|
Just shoot it with the burst laser you start with, if you want.
I see you are unfamiliar with Boss Form Three. The supershield recharges.
You're doing it wrong if you're relying solely on the Artillery Beam to take down the final boss and his super shield.
I had to sell my weapon a bit into the game to afford repairs+fuel after a surprisingly nasty drone battle (I mean, it's not like it was useful against anyone I was fighting, since it couldn't pierce their shields and I was winning through beam+boarding most battles no problem).
I did not expect to never ever encounter a single other weapon or offensive drone for sale throughout the entire remaining course of the game. I did not expect the artillery beam to be so incredibly terrible against super shield.
I just... don't get it. The beam is slow, has weak damage output, it can penetrate shields but hell that's not exactly a big whoop, missiles/bombs can do that way more effectively, and it so freaking expensive. You can get a glaive beam+bomb launcher active and working for half the price of a fully upgraded artillery beam, to much greater effect. It's not worth combining it with existing weaponry, since it's pitiful damage output/slowness means you'll likely get a couple of points of damage in before the enemy ship destroying. It's clearly not something you can rely upon on it's own. You guys suggest "turtling" with it, but it seriously gimps your defensive ability by filling the cloak slot.
I just don't understand how it's appealing in the slightest. o_o