One of the major problems encountered at higher levels is the amount of various stacking bonuses. It makes it difficult for the DM to use many types of NPCs effectively without extensive preparation time and can slow down the game substantially when various bonuses are applied or removed mid-game.
It is a bit sad that there was and is not any time allocated specifically to discussing systemic issues, as this is, of course, a systemic issue (as are many other problems in 3.5E), but since equipment accounts for a lot of the stacking, this might be a good place to discuss it. Some systemic issues are not resolvable without fundamentally altering the system, which is not on the cards for the Pathfinder RPG, but the matter of bonus types is different. One of the principal causes of this problem is the sheer number of bonus types, but it also makes the issue resolvable with bonus type consolidation, rather than making some huge systemic alterations.
I originally started a thread on the matter on the General Forum: Link
Here is a simple system of consolidated bonus types that I would like to suggest. The idea was to keep the basic 3.5E system and consolidate some bonuses where I thought they fit together conceptually and where consolidation would not cause too many problems. The emphasis is on backward compatibility and simplification at the same time.
The revised list of combined bonus types:
Armor = Armor
Circumstance = Circumstance + Luck
Competence* = Competence + Insight
Deflection* = Deflection + Shield
Divine* = Sacred + Profane
Dodge = Dodge
Enhancement = Enhancement + Resistance + Alchemical
Inherent = Inherent
Morale = Morale
Natural Armor = Natural Armor
Unnamed = Unnamed + Racial + Size
This yields 10 + 1 bonus types, which is approximately half that in 3.5E D&D.
*There might be better terms than these. The term ‘competence’ could be replaced with ‘insight’, ‘deflection’ could be replaced with ‘shield’ and ‘divine’ could be replaced with ‘moral’ or ‘ethical’ for example.