I've been playing Valheim regularly since about 2 weeks after launch... with the notable exception of the addition of the Abominations, the swamp doesn't feel any harder to me than it used to.

Running into "Abe" as I call him can be a disaster early on. But even he's quite manageable once you know the tactics.

I prefer mace, shield, and maxed out troll leather (don't care for the movement penalty of the bronze armor). +1 on the poison mead ... and stamina/health meads "in case of emergency." My first batch of iron always goes to upgrading the shield/mace!