>>24576674
Planeswalkers weren't always so direct in their interactions with non-walkers. Sometimes they'd just set up shop on a plane and start a cult, and nobody would even know they were a Planeswalker (or what a Planeswalker was), they just figured they were a deity. The old-school Planeswalkers could also all shapeshift, so they'd often do their scheming behind the scenes, posing as mortals.
In addition, the old Planeswalkers rarely cared about anything but controlling (or saving, I guess) the multiverse. This meant that, in general, most of their scheming would focus on other Planeswalkers (mostly killing them), instead of on the unknowing millions scattered across the planes. Their fights might spill over onto populated planes, but as often as not the people living there would have no fucking clue what was going on.
Recently, with the newer Planeswalkers coming into the lore, they've become much more direct when dealing with the general populace.