So I just got a weaponsmith down to D48 (died to a greater moloch). Here are my thoughts:
The corruption rate is still low. I only had 4 corruptions by this time, and I took my time exploring the lower levels including the mana side levels.
The monster distribution is definitely more manageable. I ran into titans, molochs, and ancient dragons from time to time, but not all the time. I did find one tension room full of ancient karmic wyrms which I quietly closed the door on, and another tension room on the Earth Temple level full of greater molochs. I think such things are appropriate. The number of monster per level could be a little higher to maintain the pressure.
I had a nasty suprise in the Mana Temple: Nurang-Vaar teleported next to me and started blasting away as soon as I entered the level. Is this intentional? He teleported away after fighting a bit, so I entered the temple proper anyway, but it seems a little odd that one could get the orb without entering his sanctum. Better tactics would be to wait until the player enters the temple room, then teleport into the corridor entrance to keep you in the open and prevent you from using the corridor as a bottleneck.
The elemental anomaly graphics are really pretty and I like the fact that the runes on the altars light up after you use an orb.
The unique monsters are noticably tougher but you're still not likely to meet them when they're a challenge. Although having said that, my daughter did get beat by Tikbuz the kobold int he SMC. I love the statues but still wish that we could look at them before stepping on their square.
Overall, very nice and stable version, but the end-game difficulty could be raised a bit.