The difficulty levels are easier in DKS than the original release of D2:ED. That's why a nightmare difficulty mode was added; 'hard' wasn't particularly hard (at least for those with a decent character build, or who had played D2:ED).
I played a ranger in DKS on nightmare, with some unarmed combat early in the game. While playing the original release certainly gave an advantage knowing the best quest solutions, etc, there were also balancing and skill changes in DKS that made the game easier. I used a bow a bit with my warrior in D2:ED, but mostly just to draw opponents to me early in the game, and I never invested in any bow skills. That being said, I had an easier time playing a ranger in DKS (where I stopped distributing stat points after level 15) on nightmare than a warrior in D2:ED on normal. There were still places I had difficulty, of course, but particularly early in the game (where quest experience was increased in DKS, etc to make levelling faster), there were a few places my ranger did much better than my warrior.
