Grind until eternity...... or you could fight eachother? NA was having a ton of fun fighting eachother till the UIF decided to ruin it all. Fight a war with each other where both sides can have fun with good ping at good hours? Why is that so hard to understand! Why do you think the devs split the map by server? to discourage this EU vs NA mentality, but the UIF is either too stupid or too stubborn to understand that.
I think the real problems started, when EU beaten clans would seek refuge in NA lands to be able to recover. Alliances were forged, caravans send out etc. So either side crossing the border, was in inevitable.
I heard EU leaders say it themsleves, that they had no interest in invading NA... but where to round op EU enemy clans on NA soil, take their villages and move out. I remember UIF even fighting there own, just too have some fun battle's, they had no interest in fighting NA. Things simply escalated.
I guess next strat if we get a similair setup NA and EU politics should be seperate. Maybe even make a border that cannot be crossed between NA an EU. So NA can play with themselves without EU, if this is what is wished for. But then you have the problem again with clans that have both EU and NA players in them, and wish to play together.
The EU NA split was chosen like this, because the attacking ping defender ping thing just didnt work out as they thought it would. So the map was split, that didnt mean NA and EU werent supposed too fight eachother.. but it would give a more fair feeling too both parties. I remember Mercs vs FCC last strat, FCC trying too attack Mercs and they would always had too fight on EU ping. Just sit back, reinforce the villages they attacked and counter attack FCC when they where low on resources. Wich was very frustrating for the NA players they had.
I dont see any way, how Strategus can be designed to cover all the wishes and playstyles the crpg clans have. So i guess we have to deal with things how they are now.