I actually found it quite a kick-of-a-drive knowing there were people out there who were a threat to me. It gave me a reason to play for 48 hours straight, getting my claim and palisade up, whilst training up my Stats to defend myself.
Now I get the joy of crafting one of everything and poking at my curiosity box once in a while, whilst waiting for my hunger to decay enough to top it up with a fillet-o-fish once in a while.
This is actually a common problem with alot of games. They go for "realism", but neglect the fun-factor and playability.
Playability VS Realism being the main issue, which is usually down to the problem of not having the technological means to keep up with what realism would demand. Or, in Haven and Hearth's current problem, balance.