You really need to take these statements with a grain of salt.

Of course they're going to bill it as "exciting new elements in encounters" - they're enthusiastic about their game even over the smallest changes, and they've overhyped things like this since the beginning.

Here is, seriously, what could qualify as "new encounter design" in their eyes:

"The fights now have an announcer who reacts to what's happening during the battle!"

"There's heart meters above each player to let you know how many stacks you have!"

"The bombs have long and short fuses to indicate when they'll blow up!"

Don't expect this to become wildly different encounter design. There will be some nice new wallpaper, but it's still the same house.