I am not a programmer, but I understand how hard game tweaks can be.
EDIT: Ya you are all right, kill timer a bad idea with exploiting, something must be done though, lots of good ideas here.
That said, what I think cRPG really needs for general gameflow is a way to speed up the last player hiding in a bush or riding around with a xbow. What usually makes me quit the game and go play something else is the 5 minute wait.
I think the last player left should have a kill timer, if he doesn't kill or do damage to a player or shield in 30 seconds he dies. I understand the realism crowd might not like this, but there comes a point where every game has to sacrifice gameplay with realism and I think we are there.