We plan on keeping the 250 honeycomb 'safety' limit, so no worries on that side!
As for the honey thief, sending minimal attacks to keep your honeycombs low will result in low share of the prize pool, it's aimed at players looking to do PvE with their honeycombs. So although you might not want to play PvP, honeycombs could still have a use case in defence and to get a bigger share of the boss rewards.
We feel there are plenty of opportunities for earning potential, from booster flipping to the 3 available payout pools. There is no 'correct' strategy, only 'your' strategy. Enjoy the buzz!
RE: Sloth(buzz) Mining War and the Experimental Account