Friendly Fire Maneuvers
You and your teammates can anticipate one another's ranged attacks and stay out of each others' way.Prerequisite(s): Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot.
Benefit(s): Allies who also have this feat cannot provide soft cover to enemies, allowing you to make attacks of opportunity against an enemy even if those allies grant you soft cover against that foe's attacks. If an ally who also has this feat casts a spell that targets the area you are in as it allows a Reflex saving throw to avoid the effect (such as fireball), you gain a +4 dodge bonus on that saving throw.
So now allies do not provide soft cover to enemies in any circumstances? Or does this only apply to attacks of opportunity? It is weird they mentioned AoO in a teamwork feat specifically designed for ranged characters, maybe it was an error?
Snap Shot lets you make AoOs with your bow, so there is a reason to mention them in a ranged feat.
As for your first question, it says "cannot provide soft cover"--I read that to mean that you don't take the -4 for firing through cover. If the target creature is large or bigger, technically your allies would provide only "partial cover" instead of "soft cover," but I think this feat should still apply. (The reasoning being that if they don't provide soft cover, they can't provide partial cover either, since partial cover is essentially soft cover over half of you body only.)
Remember that this only counts allies who have the teamwork feat. A single ally without the feat between you and your target causes soft cover.
Soft Cover is Cover. Cover prevents AoO. So ordinarily if you had Snap Shot and Improved (which would let you threaten at range) or if you're using a reach weapon and there was an ally adjacent to you with an enemy directly across from them, you couldn't make AoO against that enemy because they have Cover (Soft Cover, specifically).
Your allies not providing your enemies Soft Cover against you means that not only do they not get the +4 bonus to AC, but they also provoke AoO from you. Additionally, you still have Soft Cover against those enemies, so they cannot make AoO from you (probably, unless Soft Cover wouldn't ordinarily prevent whatever specific AoO we might be talking about).
It's not an error.
1) Snapshot line of feats exist which allow you to make ranged attacks of opportunity.
2) Cover rules say:
Cover and Attacks of Opportunity: You can't execute an attack of opportunity against an opponent with cover relative to you.
3) Reach weapons use the ranged weapon rules for determining cover.
When making a melee attack against a target that isn't adjacent to you (such as with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.
So yes, it does let you ignore soft cover provided by allies with the feat (which makes it function a bit like Improved Precise Shot, and I find it to be really effective for an archer Inquisitor until they meet the prereqs for IPS).
But it could also be helpful to reach weapon build or to archer who use Snapshot.
Your allies do not provide soft cover ONLY if they also have this feat. It does function at all times, as long as that ally has this feat. Attack of opportunities was included in the event you have an ability to threaten at range or for usage with Wounded Paw Gambit (possibly) or for reach weapon usage. Technically if you attack a target from behind an ally, they provide Soft Cover to the enemy, which is silly; however, the AoO clause allows reach weapon users to make AoO.
Now, if you're a ranged inquisitor, then this feat is pure money. If that is the case, FFM should be the very first Teamwork feat you take without fail.
*EDIT*
Reposted from your other thread.
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It's not an error. It's specifically there because of snap shot, which allows for attacks of opportunity with ranged attacks. So allies who also have this feat never provide soft cover for enemies. Essentially improved precise shot but requiring more than one PC to have taken the feat, unless of course you're a ranged inquisitor, at which point the feat is a near must have.
As written, this looks like it would also work with reach weapons. The fluff section mentions ranged attacks, but the benefits section just says no soft cover. Since soft cover blocking AOOs is one of the bigger drawbacks to a reach build, that could be pretty good there.
Yeah friendly fire maneuvers is basically a poor man's Improved Precise Shot for any Inquisitor that retains Solo Tactics. It's an amazing feat to have.