The original idea with the triple forward and double rearward cannons was to add more firepower and a bit of extra spread, but it was mostly due to there being no health/damage system that could be balanced accordingly.
Now that we have, it might be a better idea to let the player weapons deal more damage on lower skill levels, and (maybe) instead mount the two extra front cannons diagonally, to make players slightly less dependent on aim and quick maneuvers to take out tricky enemies and bases.
The original idea with the triple forward and double rearward cannons was to add more firepower and a bit of extra spread, but it was mostly due to there being no health/damage system that could be balanced accordingly.
Now that we have, it might be a better idea to let the player weapons deal more damage on lower skill levels, and (maybe) instead mount the two extra front cannons diagonally, to make players slightly less dependent on aim and quick maneuvers to take out tricky enemies and bases.