I think in large scale-wise, as other people have mentioned, there are several mechanics to prevent your worries from happening. However, I believe that there is absolutely no function on the small scale to stop this from happening.
Open world full loot PVP games always ends up getting dominated by one side after a while because you're literally losing your stuff. It is difficult for one little guy to play his game on his own unless he always hides in safe zones because he WILL get ganked by big bad demons when he decides to be brave and visit a different planet. I think this is a huge reason why games like Albion easily decline. Runescape is simply old school for some people, but honestly I hate full loot garbage really. I will give this game a try and see if they really deliver their "novel" experience.