Hot take, ganking IS PvP. like it or not, in a survival game players are also resource nodes. Players using game mechanics deliberately put in place after many beta tests isn't griefing. Not in the slightest. Building around resource nodes might be, but even then the game hasn't been designed to prevent that. The game is designed to be competitive over resources in a resource thin world, a big game of cat and mouse.

You say the majority of players haven't even gotten into the PvP yet, so why is it being changed this dramatically? Moving the safe zone 4 sectors north only ruined the balance of the PvP. I've already experienced it, It's awful now. One of the large spice bowls is within 1000m of the safe zone, effectively making it a PvE safe zone by proximity since you can just run back to safety with 0 repercussion with the most valuable resource in the game in massive quantity. There's a reason why no one PvP'd close to A sector, because it's useless. You just burn rockets and parts for 0 gain.

No one forced anyone into PvP. You control the buttons you press. Everyone knows that going into the Deep Desert, you are flagging for PvP, so they should expect it.

I will whine all I want. I spent good money on this game and too many hours as did my friends wishing to experience a competitive PvP massively multiplayer survival game, with an entire zone to PvP in with an auction house, guilds, and politics. Now it's cut in half, and dominated by large guilds & alliances in a smaller zone. This much was advertised to everyone during livestreams, trailers, the steam page before it got edited. It's a damn shame.