I assure you, if he was attacked by Star Gods or Mercenaries, it wouldn't go the same way
Anyways monthly retals are set to start around Christmas 2601 (on Jack Sparrow), so.
As a wiever, I am torn on this. I like to watch base defences because they're hard and full of adventure, otoh they're indeed a bit repetitive and take soooo much time. Even with heavy melee setup, while I am able to beat them off in less than 16 turns, more than half of that is slow and boring clearing of hangars.
However, decreasing difficulty is just that, I don't consider it a cheat or whatever.