I like the character system of PoE2.
You have many options but its relatively intuitive how to build the char you want.
And yes, there are massive differences in power between several chars when you select the right classes, abilities and equipment.
There is only a handful of players who have beaten the ultimate challenge in this game,
but most players should have little problems to finish the game on normal if they do nor cripple their char intentionally.
This goes for normal. Now PoTD in PoE2 is a different beast. It is the hardest RPG I have ever played by far, to the point of some parts making me rage quit and stop playing for days.
Apparently when the game came out some masochistic douches complained that PoTD was "too easy".
I think this has something to do with the way communication works.
In game forums you will probably find more "nerds" than "normal players".
Not because there are more of them, but because they are more active in forums.
No matter how hard a game is, some players will always say its too easy because they found a way to beat the highest regular difficulty without problems.
Some players (not me) think that the highest difficulty is the only acceptable way to play a game.
In online forums you will probably always find more players saying its too easy than those who say its too hard.
And when somebody complains its too hard then come the expert and says: "You are an idiot noob. Learn to play."
When PoE2 was released it was way too easy (on normal). You could just auto attack everything without problems.
The devs admitted that it was too easy and that they did not listen to the players who said it is too easy because of the stuff I wrote above.
Then they made it harder until the players who played PotD stopped saying its too easy.