How do i progress after finding the second npc?

I unlocked the first 2 npcs and then did that stag deer quest and after that i have been doing random quests in the open world for hours and i'm getting a lot of resources but nothing new is unlocked for me

My level is 20 15 and I still have only 2 npcs in my base no new weapons or armour, only 2 motes i got hours ago and i'm not getting any new motes

Is it just rng and i'm unlucky or am i missing something?