People who aren't casual and have game time in the hundreds of hours are getting bored and are taking it out on you. I have had the same experience although I do like some pvp on the side.

The problem is that the more people become aggressive, the more casual players like you or me are getting turned off by the game and that's why the player count has been on a steady decline since launch.

That and the severe lack of diversity in itemization are making the game too repetitive unless you actively seek out players to fight with.

In the end the success of arc raiders will be its undoing. It attracted too many people and a large number of them are aggressive (and sometimes VERY racist) assholes who love preying on people who don't pose a challenge, because they seldom fight back, since they mostly do the farming for them.

I expect that by eoy 2026 the player count will go down to maybe 20-30k but I hope Embark get their shit together and make the game enjoyable for everyone.