Idk so much about the balance changes, but season 1 feels pretty uninspired to me. The core mechanic of it sort of feels like they just combined the gem/aspect crafting and called it new. The enemies/dungeons associated with the malignant don’t feel very different from the ones that were already in the game. Overall, it doesn’t feel very engaging to me. Granted, I’ve only just started a seasonal character, so maybe it gets better as you level up, but I don’t really see how it could change that much as you progress.