I feel like all monsters hit somewhat harder in the 3.3.3 version. I switched to it from 3.1.0 so I'm not sure if I missed something.
On the other hand, some balance things may potentially make the game easier.
For one, in the past ~3 games, I've had more water than I needed and I use these potions liberally.
It used to be a scarcer good and the balance was right but now it feels like I can easily bless anything and everything since water is abundant.
This probably has something to do with the guaranteed shop with an altar right next to it. I've seen the store restock 5-6 times, with 5-6 potions of water restocking each time.