I've been trying to get the bats and rats to not spawn. I'm unsure why they're still spawning, since the code that's run to actually spawn the bats/rats is not even in the new rocks/trees. I'll take another look later at it.

I'm glad that everyone here so far likes the update for the same reasons that we wanted to release it.

The reason we decided not to change EXP, or even give bonus EXP on combo break, was that you're consistently harvesting faster now if you're doing the mechanic.
Sure, you can still mine like you used to, and it'll almost always at least hit the damage that you used to (maybe a little lower), but you won't make as much money.
The whole point is that Ol'West is still a game. Mashing a button while facing an NPC is not a game. It's a boring grind. It'll still be a grind, but now it's more interactive, and feels more like an actual skill that you're improving not only in the game, but as a muscle reaction skill.

That said, everything about this update is subject to change in the coming weeks as we monitor how it does. We'll see.