The original concept documents I read for Notum Wars gave the defender the advantage, but it really hasn't worked out that way.
- Neutralizers were supposed to be costly, but they aren't.
- Attackers can blitz a controller and take it down in about 10 minutes, with no time for the defenders to stage an effective defense. This is especially a problem with ql150 controllers being attaced by lvl200 players.
- A coordinated attack involving many attackers is very effective in terms of being able to establish full teams with maximum buffs.
- In contrast, defenders arrive in partial teams, needing buffs, and are easily dispatched by coordinated attack teams. The defenders have little choice because if their controlelr is being blitzed, they can lose their base in 10 minutes.
- The tower attack channels are not working. Many organizations are being attacked and don't even realize it. This severely hampers a coordinated defense.
- Defenders have been burned by calling allies to defense when there was a small attack force (1-3 people) that virtually dissapears when any defenders show up. This means that defenders have to wait to assess the situation to know how many defenders to call.
The bottom line is that the attackers have the upper hand. Aggressive organizations and griefers are experiencing more success than defensive organizations that are just trying to hold on to the one or two lands they have.
A simple suggestion would be to have shield neutralizers take 5 minutes to do their work. 5 minutes is not a long time, but it would give defenders at least a small jump on calling allies and mounting a defense. It would also be a deterent against griefers who are just causing havoc and doesn't really have any intention of attacking the controller.
If the entire system wasn't so lopsided in favor of attackers, such a suggestion would not be necessary. But as it is, I feel that this would be an effective way to level the playing field until needed fixes to the tower channels and other problems are resolved.