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So back in the day of 3.5, you needed a magical weapon to be able to even have a chance of hitting an incorporeal creature. Even then though, it was 50/50 unless it was ghost touch. However, in Pathfinder I'm reading that even a rock can do damage to a ghost? It just doesn't get sneak attack bonuses unless it's ghost touch?
That can't be right.
You're not reading it right.
Incorporeal (Ex) An incorporeal creature has no physical body. It can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons or creatures that strike as magic weapons, and spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It is immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Even when hit by spells or magic weapons, it takes only half damage from a corporeal source. Although it is not a magical attack, holy water can affect incorporeal undead. Corporeal spells and effects that do not cause damage only have a 50% chance of affecting an incorporeal creature. Force spells and effects, such as from a magic missile, affect an incorporeal creature normally.
An incorporeal creature has no natural armor bonus but has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (always at least +1, even if the creature's Charisma score does not normally provide a bonus).
An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid objects, but must remain adjacent to the object's exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to its current location, but enemies have total concealment (50% miss chance) from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In order to see beyond the object it is in and attack normally, the incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks. An incorporeal creature cannot pass through a force effect.
An incorporeal creature's attacks pass through (ignore) natural armor, armor, and shields, although deflection bonuses and force effects (such as mage armor) work normally against it. Incorporeal creatures pass through and operate in water as easily as they do in air. Incorporeal creatures cannot fall or take falling damage. Incorporeal creatures cannot make trip or grapple attacks, nor can they be tripped or grappled. In fact, they cannot take any physical action that would move or manipulate an opponent or its equipment, nor are they subject to such actions. Incorporeal creatures have no weight and do not set off traps that are triggered by weight.
An incorporeal creature moves silently and cannot be heard with Perception checks if it doesn't wish to be. It has no Strength score, so its Dexterity modifier applies to its melee attacks, ranged attacks, and CMB. Nonvisual senses, such as scent and blindsight, are either ineffective or only partly effective with regard to incorporeal creatures. Incorporeal creatures have an innate sense of direction and can move at full speed even when they cannot see.
Format: incorporeal; Location: Defensive Abilities.
The first paragraph states an incorporeal creature can only be harmed by magical weapons, spells, etc, while it's immune to all nonmagical attack forms. It goes on to say that even when hit by magical weapons, an incorporeal creature takes only half damage.
So it still works just like in 3.5.
Yes, for some reason the PRD (for many, perhaps all, incorporeal creatures) only links to the incorporeal subtype entry, even for the "defensive abilities" sections, which should link to the universal monster rules for incorporeal.
What changed is that in 3.5, you had a 50% miss chance when attacking incorporeal creatures with magic weapons (unless they were ghost touch); now, you can hit them just fine, but they always take half damage, barring Ghost Touch or Ghostbane Dirge.