I have played the beta on classic because I guess the game will be balanced around this.

 

In PoE1, the difference between difficulty levels was which enemies are in an encounter and how many of them you face. Only PotD increased their stats and you had all enemies from all lower difficulties together.

 

Is it the same in PoE2 or did they change what the difficulty level does?

I imagine it is the same, though I have been sticking to veteran only - if PotD still boosts stats I find it not very helpful to test gameplay around it.

I am pretty sure Josh mentioned that AI becomes more aggressive. Easier levels even give player more aggressive AI by default to make things easier. 

I usually play the first playthrough with a second-hardest difficulty and then the second playthrough on the hardest one.

 

I'll probably do the same here.

It's pretty much the same, though I feel like the higher difficulties aren't quite as aggressive with the number of enemies, even relative to the smaller party size.

If you play on Path of the Damned, you get bonus attention from nearby girls because of your mad skillz