@Atownplayer - absolutely, some of my most successful raids are against AFK bases where a lot of resources have accumulated in the farms and camels. The higher the base, the more the resources, and so by denying us the ability to attack bases more than one era above us does really hurt the weaker/lower players.
@GKO123 - too right; peace treaties are essential and the best ones come from the stronger players. And in that regard, perhaps this is a little bit of a crown grab by the devs to try to force us to buy more peace treaties, though I still don't get that vibe; I simply don't think the consequences of the balances have been thought through.