Given the state of the game this may be premature; I figured you'd like feedback anyway.

On shield arms, I feel like blocking damage is an essential feature of a shield, where as the bash - using a defensive item offensively - is more like an advanced ability.

The unlocked abilities can be underwhelming. Some of them are factually great - hail mary does a lot of damage, but "just more damage" is a little flat, especially given that the base ability feels more like a crowd control weapon.  Certainly there is a place for bigger damage, but it feels like it would be appropriate on a more focused weapon like the small missile launcher, while a volley pod could increase area.  Or perhaps a death blossom effect that did a little damage in a large area around the servo.

Overall I'd like abilities, especially late game unlocks, to feel powerful.  A lot of this can actually be cosmetic. Clearly this is tricky now - art may simply be not ready, and doing special effects for abilities that are likely to be moved around is premature.

Crazy idea you likely either already have, or don't have the budget for: You know how in anime and such characters often have signature abilities with their own names and cutscenes?  It's currently easy to miss that someone has gone rank four, but hearing "Hail Mary!" lets you know you are in for some hurt. Going too cinematic with ability activation could break the flow of the game, but having a voice call and even just a static pop-up panel of each pilot shouting could help punctuate the battles a bit.