I'm not sure if people have posted this before, but has anyone else noticed that while the GEP gun's HE (high-explosive) round supposedly inflicts 300 base damage, and can destroy a military bot in two or three hits, a LAW can destroy it outright in one though it has a stated base damage of just 100?
 
The LAW's damage radius is greater than the GEP's. Its visual explosive effect is more stunning than the GEP's. Plus, firing a LAW missile a ruined car length or two will kill the player outright regardless of Augs. Maybe this was just a simple mistake that was ignored through the years because the game was so fun to play and successful.

I think we should disregard the official stats and just switch the base damage numbers between the GEP gun and the LAW in the GiantBomb article.

I think it was to compensate its lack of usability. also splash damage is different than damage. the LAM for example have a wider splash damage area than the GEP.
The GEP is much more a precision missile launcher
The LAW is a pinpoint use rocket launcher
and the LAM is a versatile explosive
 
The LAW lack of usability is IMO due to a few things, First it's rare, and second you can carry only one, no matter how your inventory is empty or have only the space to get one.
So its massive blast radius allow to take down a tight group of robots. a thing you can do in some circumstances.
 
Deus Ex is unfortunately not a very well balanced game, that's a bit like system shock 2, these two games shares a bit some great and not great common points, sure they are great games but they aren't great in therms of being flawless, but much more for the experience we have by playing them. For me the LAW if it has to be rebalanced have to loose have of its blast radius and being transportable in a  few number, just because it takes as much space as the sniper rifle, that means once it's fired you pop up an other LAW 
 
The stats only mentions the damage a weapon does, not its blast radius or anything.
The GEP gun has two rocket types, and each rockets doesn't have the same splash damage area, the HE rockets have a small area and blow up anything, while the WP rockets sets things on fire in a wide area.