RPG, please get someone from outside the dev team to rework construction. RPG Lead: "Should builders get "free kills"?" That question alone...tells you an outside voice is needed. Things an outside voice can tell you: 1. How much time it takes to build a base. 2. Are the "automated" defenses working? 3. How many "can't do this or can't do that" messages does a builder get? 4. How long does a builder spend in an Ant? 5. Is the risk vs reward remotely balanced? Things your inside voice has told you? 1. 2. 3. 4. KDR is everything. 5. . . 99. KDR is everything.
If one has to work for the kill, it is not free. If kills from automated weapons are counted as free, then please delete all mines from the game, as they, too, provide free kills. Same goes for all weapons that feasibly one-hit an enemy without much in the way of having to aim and/or account for outside factors (since they only require looking in a specific direction and click, which is the same amount of effort going into placing mines and construction).