Diablo III game director Jay Wilson posted in twitter the monster damage has been doubled from level 1-13. It’s unknown how much this will affect the gameplay, but sounds like good news. I have died maybe twice across all my characters since Diablo III beta started. This will of course encourage people to use the Blacksmith early in order to survive the initial levels.

Jay Wilson: “Doubled monster damage from levels 1-13 (trailing off to level 20). Feels pretty good! Hopefully we can keep it.”