Pretty much yes, most top players spend half their turns exploring (or cashing for cashers) in the last half of the reset. The risks of eating a retal from good players are too high in the late set. Ask any of the top 15 countries last reset, they all explore 20 turns daily, because there is little else to do with the turns.

There are simply too few countries, and the risks aren't worth the rewards. Even a just a _single_ successful NM thrown in retaliation will negate any gains out of hitting any country twice.

This game doesn't reward warring, it rewards netting, it is the _threat_ of warring that keeps everything interesting.