Obviously, this is subject to the specific circumstances of an individual game - if you’ve only got ten minutes on the timer left, the enemy team is turtling hard, and your team is massively ahead in points, then you might as well just wait out the timer rather than risk letting the defenders close the points gap. In Total Destruction mode, it is generally better to attack. In Total Destruction mode, you win by having more points at the end of the time limit (unless that is disabled, too) or, more commonly, by destroying every enemy command vehicle.
The exception is Total Destruction mode, where there is no point limit. Victory is judged not by how much of the map you control at the end of the match, but by who first reaches the point limit.
This means that it is generally better to defend, because defenders usually get more points than attackers. An alternative way to win is by killing every command vehicle on the map - however, you’re generally going to hit the point limit before you pull that off except in very unusual circumstances. Your main strategic objective is to accumulate the most points while feeding the enemy as few points as possible. In Destruction mode, points are gained by killing the other side’s units.
