Has anyone compared these two classes.
Ignoring the social half of the vigilante, because I don't see it being used in many adventures, it seems like the Alchemist has it all over the Warlock.
The Alchemist starts with light armor and bombs without having to need any discoveries.
If the dev team needs a measuring stick to bring the Warlock to a better place, maybe they should start comparing the two. Personally I think if they're going to keep spell casting progression as a purchased ability, then they should be at least able to cast in medium armor without spell failure for free.
And make the whole social part of the vigilante an overlay for all characters (players) playing in a specific adventure path.
Right now we're comparing apples and oranges when looking at the Vigilante compared to any other class. If the "social" part of a Vigilante is added into the consideration for overall power of the Vigilante class, then this class is going to fail. It is a mechanic that no other class has, even in as passing compatibility. I realize there are some classes that don't fit well in some adventures (Druid in a city adventure), but most of those classes have archetypes that help with that. Do we need an archetype that gives this functionality to all the other classes out there, or do we need an archetype that takes the "social" mechanic away from the Vigilante?
The answer is to just make it an overlay for ALL classes playing in a given adventure path, especially since not all adventures work well with this mechanic.
I do like the mechanic myself, but I don't think it belongs in one class by itself. It just muddies up the overall concideration of power level and causes the dev team to over hamper the spell casters of this class.
Just my 2cents.
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I agree with your premise. The Alchemist is good measuring stick to compare the quality of life of the warlock against. (It was the number one measuring stick I used for Warlocks during playtest 1.)
Both classes have 4 skills, d8 HD, 3/4 BAB, and 2 good saves. They are comparable in spell progressions IF you maximize your Arcane talents with the warlock. (They still aren't 1 to 1 though.)
So the differences (ignoring the social aspect)
Alchemists get bombs, mutagen, throw anything, poison use, poison resist at level 1.
Alchemists get a discovery at every even level.
Alchemists pick up some misc skills as they go. (Swift alchemy, increased poison resist, swift poisoning, persistent mutagen, instant alchemy)
Warlocks gain a talent at level 2, 10, 18, and 20.
Warlock gets Startling appearance at 5, frightening appearance at 11, stunning appearance at 17, and vengeance strike at 20.
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I disagree with some of the conclusions however.
1) I don't think automatic armor is that logical answer. I don't think all warlocks need it, but I like it as an option.
2) I think the social side HAS to be included when measuring the overall power of the class, even though the social aspects won't impact many scenarios and adventures. The class just needs to have enough tools to still be interesting and useful when not doing what they do best.