I bought this for three non-idealistic reasons:
#1 The Shifter
#2 Animal Companion archetypes / options
#3 New player options (archetypes, feats, spells, etc)
Well - the shifter is a playable class, and I'm sure if I were to pick it up it'd be a decently performing martial in the early levels of the game, depending on my choice of aspects. That does not, however, mean that it lives up to my expectations at all.
A frequent complaint I have heard is that it is worse at shapeshifting than a druid with 7 wisdom - and it's objectively true. The whole class just feels like a mash of different non-important "copied-from-other-classes" abilities, with a thoroughly watered down wild shape, slapped on a d10 full BAB chassis. Even if you're buying the book for a "beginner level shapeshifting class", prepare to be frustrated as you are going to dive into rules lawyering 101 to figure out just exactly what you're getting from your shifting.
The archetypes and options presented, fortunately, have a lot of higher high points. Unfortunately, there's a -lot- of bloat when it comes to figuring out where the gems are at, and some of those that seem like gems (such as the Sylvan Trickster archetype), are either purposefully set up to be weaker than what might appear at first glance, or are simply missing an essential part of how the archetype is supposed to function. Similarly, quite a few of the feats introduced just feels like they could have been consolidated into expanded skill uses, rather than locking mechanics behind feats that seem.. less than desirable.
The animal companion options and feats, however, are great! They are without a doubt my favourite part of the book, and for anyone that'd want an animal buddy, I'd wholeheartedly recommend giving that section a read. You won't regret it.
The wilderness rules and the rest of it seems neat, but they are simply not relevant to my interests as a player, so they are not included in my rating. That said, I've got a good impression of it, and I have no doubt they'll come in handy for anyone planning to run a wilderness-oriented campaign.
That said, I'd expected a more coherent product, to be honest. Paizo is a company that has brought me a lot of good memories through their work, so I'm confident that they'll wow me the next time (please?).
