Since PotD enemies get +2 PEN and +2 AC on top of reworked encounters, I was hoping we could get the same (but at a reduced effect) for Veteran. While the reworked encounters in Veteran are quite a bit better than what they used to be, it feels as if the modals on weapons, pen- or AC-increasing abilities and other pen-AC related mechanics are a bit useless in Veteran.
I would recommend either a game-wide +1Pen & +1 AC buff for enemies in Veteran, or otherwise a selection of +1/+2 AC or +1/+2 PEN for some enemies.
I think a good niche for Veteran in the game is as the difficulty level where most mechanics in the game needs to be exploited (including Pen/AC system, but also consumables, empower, etc.) but without absolute min/maxing, meta-gaming, cheesing or unforgiving character building required - all of these latter aspects I feel fit in nicely with the (eventual) difficulty level of PotD.
While Veteran has definitely increased in difficulty in the beta relative to release (specifically in the early game - hoping the devs will continue the trend for the later game), and it is definitely necessary to employ better tactics, consumables, resting bonuses and whatnot, the AC/PEN system feels mostly forgettable except for specific high-AC enemies.