Same here. I don't get the point. Those abominations are far too strong for that level of the game. I die several times a day while farming iron. Creatures in the plains are not even close to the abominations. To kill a bunch of fulings in the plains is a piece of cake and that's meant to happen after being armed with iron stuff.
I'm sure I'm doing it wrong, but before H&H the game was playable for me, in many parts too easy. Now I'm stuck in the swamp with a destroyed portal and most likely a ship with days of farming work on the bottom of the ocean.