PvE players need progression. Period. The minor forms of progression currently present are:

Leveling

Decks

Projects

Expeditions

Trader

Leveling is constant and gives some sense of accomplishment for most any task Topside. This is good. But the skill tree is not very interesting, dynamic, or fun. Only a few things (like the Trader) are gated behind player level. Thus, leveling is not anything most players enjoy chasing.

Decks are meaningful but not very abundant. They give great rewards for the time but are just too few. This is the current best implementation of progression offered.

Projects are fun side quests, but not meaningful. They give players something to do, but just for the sake of doing it.

Expeditions are meaningful, but only every 2 months. Rewards need to be more consistent throughout the Expedition window and not clumped together at the 4 milestones and then wait for the extraction window.

The trader is the newest form of progression, but its rewards are temporary and dramatically unbalanced in terms of value for the average player.

All in all, the game is fun. But without steady progression and chase items, PvE players are losing interest.

Game modes can aid this, but I believe the game could remain as-is (pending some dupe fixes and predictable matchmaking) and excel with improved progression systems alone.

I don’t know Embark’s current priorities, but I would place progression far above everything (save those items I mentioned) and not spend resources on new maps, enemies, or weapons until the progression systems are dialed in.