Dot for interest.
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Okay, so I've noticed that there's still a bit of debate on how Phantom Steed works. Here are my issues in a nutshell.
How much distance can one travel with a Phantom Steed in one hour? The steed has a speed and duration based on the level of the caster, but exactly how far can the steed travel? Factors like, is it alive, can it run continuously, does it breath/eat/rest?
Well, since an hour consists of 600 rounds, it can travel at 600*Speed ft per hour. Since it has no listed exceptions to fatigue rules, it can hustle (double-move) for up to an hour but that makes it fatigued.
What can the steed see? (Low-light? Darkvision?)
It's a quasi-real horselike creature, so it probably has the same stats as a horse unless specified otherwise. I think horses have low-light vision.
Does the steed benefit from Haste (I think this was answered but I'm not sure), enlarge person or any other spell?
It's a creature so it can be hasted. It's not a humanoid so it can't be Enlarge Person-ed.
Can the steed be used in combat but not attack on it's own? (i.e. Mounted combat) (Again, i think this got answered but I'm not 100% sure)
"It does not fight, but animals shun it and refuse to attack it."
By my reading, it does not make any attacks, but Mounted Combat could be used to protect it. (It's fairly fragile.)
Those are all good questions and I marked your post as a FAQ. The problem with Phantom Steed is that, even though the spell description clearly states it's a creature, it's described more like a non-creature spell effect like an Unseen Servant or an Interposing Hand.
EDIT: I agree with Ascalaphus -- many questions (but not all) could be clarified by saying "use the stats of a horse except for the following..."
I'll speak to the movement rules. You can read the full rule set here but I'll give you the condensed version:
For every 10 feet a creature can move in a move action, it can cover a mile in an hour. A normal medium creature can do 30' a move, so 3 miles an hour, 24 miles in an 8 hour day.
So a phantom steed cast at level 9 will have a movement speed of 80'. This means it can do 8 miles an hour, which is 64 miles in a day (eight hours) of travel. At level 10, the creature will have a 100' speed, thus 10 miles an hour or 80 miles a day.
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It's an annoyingly vague spell, to be sure. I'm frankly disappointed by how fragile the steed is. I'm fine with the steed not attacking anything, but can it at least be able to take one or two AoE spells before expiring? Getting dismounted during combat because your mount couldn't stand the heat is a real bummer, and for an out of combat spell level 3 is on the expensive side, quickly made obsolete by teleport and overland flight.
I would argue that Phantom Steed has great utility and is on par with overland flight.
Teleport is awesome... if you've been to the place before. If not, you've got to get there somehow.
Overland flight is awesome... but you're only going 64 miles a day and you can't fly in especially unpleasant weather. If there is a storm, or you just want to avoid notice, you're probably not going to want to do this.
At level 8, the steed travels just as fast as overland flight, albeit lacking in the ability to soar over mountain ranges and caverns. At level 10, it can move faster than overland flight (80 miles a day) and at 14 it can fly too.
Another major difference - The steed can carry you + 10 pounds per caster level. Overland Flight can carry you and no additional weight; in fact, you'll go even slower if you have a medium or heavy load.
The steed isn't meant to get into combat, but neither is a wizard using overland flight and no points if the fly skill. At least with the steed you can summon another one... if a Roc takes you out of the air, you may not get a chance to cast the spell again.
PS much faster than OF.
OF is self only. PS even has a 'communal' version.
I don't understand the 10 minute casting time for Phantom Steed. Just...why?