I've made a great deal of this in the concise write-up. The changes to Eastern Tundra, Berserker Camp and Hos, coupled with the Witch and really strong subdungeons really make the East the easiest direction to go. Only major roadblocks are Creeplight Ruins and apart from that Namtars Lair.
The west is the hardest - Western Jungle is pretty difficult in the early game for non-fighter types (and oddly enough the fighter), Havendale Bridge is actually hard, Magma Mines is meh, and the Labyrinth is the hardest hard.
Odd, but true.