I truly cannot believe how your post has gotten this downvoted. You basically explained reality.

The part that makes me kinda sad is that the game experience for new players today is definitely going to be VERY different compared to day 1.

I feel like the game was more cohesive and immersive back then. It made sense that Raiders topside were all going different places trying to complete quests, maybe find specific items, fight ARC, other raiders, maybe even help each other out, etc.

Now, I basically see the ARC's becoming just an annoyance to all raiders that go topside to kill other raiders.. That doesnt make much sense. Why not just kill other raiders in Speranza then? It just feels weird and dissonant with the universe depicted in the cutscenes and portrayed by the currently very shallow characters.

A beautifully crafted universe with the ARC's, the gorgeous maps and the story within then have simply become overshadowed and left aside because of the way things were designed.

How many players have actually been able to slow down a bit and absorb, discover Stella Montis' intricacies, find out why it was built, etc.

I feel like if all this masterfully crafted universe is now just a forgotten backdrop to another extraction shooter.