@Cartaga - two-handed swords destroy armor easily. A good hit to a flying Anemo slime causes it to burst like a ballon. For everything else, there are elemental reactions.
@sagat101 - it's a matter of how strong you are relative to them. If you keep your level and level of your weapon up to enemies' level, they should remain relatively easy.
But in practice, world level always seems to grow faster than mine. I only catch up when I hit adventuring level cap.