Balance perceptions are rarely universal and quite difficult to get right. The exact same set of conditions can be perceived by someone as too easy or too hard. Make it easier and the prochamps complain that the game is boring. Make it harder and the casuals complain that it's impossible to solo.

On our server where we have a full 10 players running we've had no problems at all cooperating to get loot. Even a duo has proven to be far safer than going solo.

And this isn't even the endgame yet, it's just the midgame. There's more biomes to go and more bosses planned. It's only going to get harder from here. One of the best ways to deal with it is grinding skills up because having 70+ bow and sneak and shield skills improves survival tremendously.