Super new to PD2 so unsure of whats "Meta" etc, but have lots of experience with D2/D2R just not sure what the level of "progression" looks like.

Any builds are viable, so just make what you want and enjoy
If you look at the "whats gonna be your starter" poll in pd2 disc youll see it’s pretty damn close on all char. Theres no really meta, everythings good

When I played season 1 or 2 i forget which one I played druid summoner until like level 55 or so with zero gear. Meaning naked. No assistance.

Picked up some gear at about Nightmare diablo and started trading for aldurs set. Was about the same last season with necromancer summoner.

I cant imagine it being the same for every build, but the build diversity and overall simplicity in PD2 is far more accessible, yet the endgame is much harder. Its not just "hurdurr another baalrun." Tier 4 maps are nearly impossible to do solo for any build. And people had better gear in PD2 than you could possibly get in vanilla and still couldnt do them because of the build itself.

A+ mod. But I still miss old school median xl.