After having played the early game myself I have several suggestions:

• Revisit #148
• Revisit early game Botania (e.g., runes, tools, blocks)
• Maybe update some hearth well recipes
• maybe change some astral sorcery recipes
• Simplify cooking for blockheads
• Use ancient motive cores in the early game
• Make RS dependent on corporea
• Brewing stand recipe (see #139)
• Add slime saplings
• Use more ores: aluminum, nickel, silver, kappa, lead, tin, electrum, ender ingot (see #147)