Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24184373-20131120014652/@comment-1863391-20131120051511

I created a new mediumcore character for 1.2. If that's too easy for you, you can try hardcore. If that's still too easy for you, you can play hardcore without picking up any Life Crystals.

Personally, I haven't noticed any difficulty changes, but it has been a while since I played. I do really recommend starting over (new world and character) and taking your time with the game like you did the first time, if you haven't already.