Let's try an actual on topic post for a change.
When I started playing, all NPCs were red, there were red grand Mech Observers that spawned (perhaps by artifact hunters) right outside ICS Alpha that vaporized my yagel ... I could walk roughly 1200 m from ICSA and try and farm a lvl 4 Ewar/ lvl 2 light spawn on my trial which dropped occasionally a T3 lwf. It felt pretty special. I lost a lot of bots but learned to kite effectively, learned to replace losses, learned to value T3 gear ... And it was a challenge. When I got better I could find harder spawns to challenge my skills, and earn better loot. Nia was dangerous. The roaming observers on Alpha were an event, you either avoided them or died, or tried with others.
I guess the first step away from this set up was players complaining about it being too hard, miners were dying to roaming observers .... So they were removed from Alpha.
Then, for the sake of new players spawns were converted to orange in the new areas. Mining now was risk free, afk friendly, and challenges, and entertainment value for new players decreased. Easier had no effect on player retention.
Then, the chain mechanic which allowed kiting and reliable farming was changed, wealth generation too easy?
A number of changes have followed, leaving absolutely no challenges on alpha (risk) and orange spawns on Betas that are not even worth the ammo to farm them.
All incentives for player interaction with NPCs have been slowly removed, to what end? Better NPC ai? And this will do what? Give the player a better gaming experience? Unlikely. Things like teleporting Jihadist NPCs were introduced, which couldn't be replicated by any in game mechanic or available mod, simply to ... prevent players killing NPCs efficiently. Now we have (or had, I don't play so I don't know) exploding beta NPCs that don't drop loot and other nerfs which ... DISCOURAGE ... or ARTIFICIALLY INCREASE THE DIFFICULTY of farming NPCs, for what end? A better gameplay experience? You are getting the opposite and losing paying customers in the process.
You the Devs HAVE to do 2 things.
1) sit down and plot a path of what you want the entire game to be. You have made so many reactionary minor changes to make "better NPC ai" you have killed NPC farming, and the fun in it.
2) PLAY THE DAMN GAME!
Too many players have their own agendas, good or bad, that the forum feedback is just a cesspool of politics. Play the game. Play the changes you have made. Go find an old build of the NPC mechanics from 3 years ago and play them, then decide what is more enjoyable. The old mechanics are far superior to today's patchwork garbage of changes. The biggest issue with the old system was ease of kiting, maybe a simply improvement to the chase AI of the NPCs, like forcing them to return to their original spot rather than stand at the end of the "leash" and get slaughtered would have been a far simpler change, and far more effective.
Just some thoughts, on topic, and political bullshit free. Think about it.