So this is one of those things that a little hard to deal with. Compared to shooting a gun, a laser is a lot simpler from the actual firing perspective. No Recoil, no moving parts, no bullet drop. Point and click. From the simulationist stand point using a laser should considerably simpler that using an actual firearm. Of course there are risks using a laser just like any weapon. Keep in mind, you can't see a laser fire, it makes no noise, you will know you hit if your target if suddenly has a hole burned into it.
So breaking even and calling it an exotic weapon, is as good a compromise as any imo.