Once you get past the initial shield for being a new player and join an alliance, you are forced to pay $$$ to keep a shield up to prevent a large opponent from wiping out your resources and your army after spending hours of gameplay to build up, which is frustrating and a waste. I can understand spending a few dollars to boost items and watching an ad now and then, but you have to spend hundreds of dollars at the least to be competitive enough to sustain your resources and army.