Feral Hunter feral focus

[Chess Pwn]

feral focus:

At 1st level, a feral hunter gains a limited ability to change her shape into hybrid animal forms. This functions as the animal focus class feature, except that the hunter always applies the animal aspect to herself, and there is no limit to this ability's duration. She can end this ability as a free action.

When a feral hunter uses this ability, her body takes on cosmetic aspects of an animal, such as furry skin, longer nails, elongated teeth, and oddly colored eyes; these changes do not grant her any abilities other than what is stated in the animal focus, and end when she takes on a different aspect or ends the ability. This physical change is a polymorph effect, though the effects of the animal focus are not.
This ability alters animal focus and replaces the hunter tactics and speak with master class abilities.

So I'm confused still by this, does the feral hunter only get the 1 permanent focus or does it still keep the other minutes per level part too?
Ex. at lv1 can I have a permanent stag and then add tiger for 1 minutes as a swift?

[Chess Pwn]

bump

[Arcturus24]

I think it only gives one focus. The text says it functions like animal focus, except for the duration and other differences. There is no mention of another focus.

[Yamazakana]

Except for duration and some bestial features, feral focus works like animal focus.
So, feral hunter seems to gain additional permanent focus because of absence of AC.

[Arcturus24]

But you only get the extra bonus if your AC is dead. As you don't have one, it can't be dead, and you don't get the bonus

[Chess Pwn]

so we have a maybe you can have two and one that says you have only one, making worse than the normal hunter who doesn't have a companion

[Arcturus24]

I wouldn't sell it short on this particulier feature. It exchanges an AC for summoning and wild shape, and it should be considered over all class features. All in all, it seems like a pretty good archetype.

[Chess Pwn]

oh I'm not saying the archetype overall is worse, just this feature part is strictly worse than a normal hunter

[Yamazakana]

That make sense. When a hunter releases her AC voluntarily, she cannot gain permanent focus.

[Chess Pwn]

Can others comment on this? I'd like to hear from more than two people if possible

[Chess Pwn]

please

[Zwordsman]

This is all based off of what I last knew it was, I read the errata once and I dont' think it changed anything. But do read the errata if your going to try and use this in pfs.

If anyone sees anything incorrect feel free to point it out. I'm close to this class so I can miss stuff.

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feral focus excerpt:

At 1st level, a feral hunter gains a limited ability to change her shape into hybrid animal forms. This functions as the animal focus class feature, except that the hunter always applies the animal aspect to herself, and there is no limit to this ability's duration. She can end this ability as a free action.
+++

I read that. As the only portion it alters is who the animal target applies to

i.e. The only changes to the actual abilityh of Animal Focus is. That the target is now you instead of the animal. In all other ways it stays the same. Because the wording only alters a specific section, and states it acts as the class feature otherwise.

The important note: "THIS FUNCTIONS AS THE ANIMAL FOCUS CLASS FEATURE" Except for it's limitations (always applies the animal aspect to himself instead of the animal and it as no time limit, as per normal to the animal aspect applied to the AC)
So the first paragraph is unchanged because it does not list any changes to it.

So I'm quite certain the only change is to the animal companion focus portion.

So the permi-focus is always you, and causes the cosmetic changes. Then you also have the 1min per level swift action version that does not anymore cosmetic changes than a normal use.
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second animal focus at lv 8:

At 8th level, whenever a hunter uses her animal focus ability, she selects two different animal aspects for herself instead of one, and can assign two aspects to her companion instead of one. As with the companion's previous aspect, the second one does not count against the minutes per day a hunter can take on an aspect.

If the hunter's animal companion is dead and the hunter has applied the companion's animal aspect to herself, that aspect does not count toward her maximum of two aspects at once. The hunter can still apply only one of her dead companion's aspects to herself, not both.
+++

This refers to animal focus. Your feral Focus states that it acts as the class ability Animal Focus, except you are always the target (no matter what)
So at level 8, this class ability comes online (It does not replace that I noticed, in the class nor in the errata. But correct me if I missed it). "when the hunter uses animal focus she gets two" so your swift action you gain two temporrary ones. "can assign two aspedcts to her animal companion" due to feral focus you are your own animal companion with regards to those class effects. So you gain two permi effects.

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As to people saying you have no animal companion so it can't apply.
Feral focus states that it acts as animal focus but always applies to yourself.
The only portion in animal focus that did not already target you only(in the base version of hunter), was the portion that targets the AC. So the only thing it can actual alter at all is the portion regarding AC.

Your yourself are your own AC with regards to these class abilities onl. No feats no multiclass features etc. Because the wording does not call you your own AC. Which it would not because of all the feats and spells that would now apply to you if it did. They chose this wording as a limition so only the class effects would apply. Without them having to spend a paragraph saying which AC effects don't apply. Which would complicate the future releases as well. This wording allows them to make you your own AC while limiting it to the feral hunter/hunter abilities only

[mikkelibob]

Sorry to bump this, but so much errata and new material has dropped in the last month that I think its sort of fallen off the radar.

The errata was as follows: “This ability alters
animal focus and replaces the hunter tactics and speak
with master class abilities.”

I'm reading that as meaning it ALTERS but does not REPLACE, and therefore since nowhere else in the archetype do you lose SECOND ANIMAL FOCUS that you get to apply a second animal/feral focus to yourself. The language of "second animal focus" is squirrely, but the since feral focus alters, I think it trumps.

An even deeper reading is to note that there was a preliminary errata that specifically dropped second animal focus, but the official July 2015 errata let it stand.

See:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2rwsg?Three-ACG-Errata-You-Didnt-FAQ