Shops in hamlets.

[AmyRae]

The idea has merit but I think ultimately it depends on a number of factors.

How often does the Hamlet Defenses occur? Once or twice a day, no problem. Once or twice an hour (24 to 48 a day!), no way. An unpopular hamlet would always have its buildings in a perpetual state of disrepair which would drive people away from it and to the more popular hamlet.

Something else that would influence this is how much damage could a building sustain during an successful/unsuccessful Hamlet defense? Could it go from 100% to 1% in just one battle or over the course of a week's worth of battles? So, are you constantly and endlessly repairing buildings with little gain or is it something that needs a bit of player input every once and a while?

One way around this is the "If you build it, they will come," model.

That is, an unpopular, ignored hamlet doesn't get attacked as much, if at all, so it doesn't end up a constant, lost cause.

But the more a hamlet that gets its defenses raised (in whatever activities players can better prepare it for battle), the more it gets seen as a threat, and it's attacked by greater and more dangerous forces. And of course, the rewards for victory are all the sweeter, too, so this escalation is encouraged.

But if two or three people want to be heroes in a neglected hamlet, they could still raise its defenses and thwart a small invasion they can handle.