[CodeCat]

Well if you look at the avenger weapon code:

Weapon AvengerTargetDesignator
  PrimaryDamage       = 200.0       ; How long (msec) we put the status on the target (should equal or exceed DelayBetweenShots)
  PrimaryDamageRadius = 0.0
  AttackRange         = 200.0 
  DamageType          = STATUS      ; We put an Object Status on the target
  DamageStatusType    = FAERIE_FIRE ; And here is what
  WeaponSpeed         = 999999.0     ; dist/sec 
  DelayBetweenShots   = 200         ; time between shots, msec
  ClipSize            = 0            ; how many shots in a Clip (0 == infinite)
  ClipReloadTime      = 0            ; how long to reload a Clip, msec
  LaserName           = AvengerTargetingLaserBeam
  LaserBoneName       = TurretFX03
  FireFX              = WeaponFX_AvengerTargetDesignator
  FireSound           = AvengerPaintWeaponLoop
  FireSoundLoopTime = 120                ; loop the firing sound until there's this much delay between shots 
End

...you'll see that you can easily change this to use a different bonus instead. Plus, the effect is applied just like a regular weapon, so increasing the damage radius will get it to affect a larger area of units.