PvE is dying and Carebears are responsible
Don't blame embark.
This PvE playstyle is the reason for the new PvP being enforced. Was it not clear when we all played the tutorial, what type of game was intended? We defended ourselves from bad actors, looted, and yes predation is a part of the game. It's PvPvE.
Carebear lobbies should never have been a thing. This I believe spawned from the first expedition requirement of $5M. Smart Raiders quickly optimized and figured out the best way to succeed. Cooperation. Working together. Excess wealth. Its a mockery how many people voluntarily reset, to lose all those guns, blueprints, progress, coins.
It's not a zero sum game, where a minimal amount of loot is available. Maybe in the map, but start a new one, and its refreshed with more. It was bound to happen, it removed the pressure of fighting to survive. Rich carebears were playing a different game from the rest of us.
They pressured or manipulated friendly servers. Evident with any normal actions being called foul and embark coddled them. These guys were hoarding Millions in stash value. Keys for rooms never to be opened. Matriarch cores on shelves not used. Do you know people complained about the limit on how many items they can hoard?
Meanwhile I'm out here with a free kit trying to eat for the day. Where one whales loot, just 2% of his net worth was enough for me to get excited. But then they started to punish me or target my previous playstyle for it with no remorse. It forced Raiders to resort to predatory tactics. The game allowed the allocation of wealth to be hoarded by few Raiders, is this part of the game? So is extraction shooting, betrayal, fake friendlies. I started to go along with it, and it worked, I'm on my third expedition no problem.
Now most trials are about getting damage in certain events. When I go into Matriach events, if I'm lucky enough to start at the 30 min mark, shes dead in less than 5 mins. The carebear economy is so efficient, I'm struggling to stay in hotshot solo. Then everyone high fives and hands out cores, loot, in the same display of excess. Like it doesn't matter anymore, I can't spend my $7M coins on anything worthwhile or fast enough. I stopped crafting and just go to the traders.
I miss the days I had to fight, attack, earn for myself. Carebear lobbies spawned more toxicity from the inequality, envy which lead to predation, rats on rats, just for fun. Embark isn't pulling the game in the wrong direction, its a correction or return to the core. What a joke the lore becomes when I'm surrounded by millionaires. If they allowed this to continue, humanity would be back on its feet, and then what?
TL;DR: Carebear lobbies are why PvE had to be shut down. Embark received too many complaints about normal gameplay.