There have been many people calling for more of a sense of danger when out in the field, and Yoshi P did address this in one of his letters... so this is basically what we got. Since 1.18 there are more aggressive monsters all over.

I do admit that it can be somewhat frustrating at times, but it sure makes things a lot more exciting.

The other day I was doing Dunesfolk for Dinner by myself.
While fighting 2 Blotched Mongrels for the leve, I was suddenly engaged from behind by a Dwarf Diremite and a Miteling. Desperately casting cures on myself and blasting away with AoE attacks in between, I barely survived the fight. But it was memorable and exciting.

Still, I think I'll follow Mariya's advice and pay more attention to what's around before I engage leve targets -- making sure to clear nearby aggressive monsters first. ^^;