How exactly does Ranged Study work?

[Mashallah]

Ranged Study wrote:

You gain the bonuses for studied combat with your chosen weapon and can use studied strike with your chosen weapon as long as the target of your studied strike is within 30 feet of you.

There are two ways to interpret it:

1. Studied combat has no range limit, studied strike has a range limit of 30ft.
2. Both studied combat and studied strike have a range limit of 30ft.
Which is the correct interpretation?

P.S. On a semi-unrelated note, I find it really odd that Steel Hounds have to pay a tax of two feats just to have their class features work.

[Jesper Roland Sørensen]

Ranged study works in that way, that normally you can also use your studied strike with a melee attack so it allows for ranged studied strike with the weapon you choose.

Edit: was to quick on submit
The investigator can study any opponent he can see but he is limited in the use of the bonuses he get from studying them.

[Mashallah]

Jesper Roland Sørensen wrote:

Ranged study works in that way, that normally you can also use your studied strike with a melee attack so it allows for ranged studied strike with the weapon you choose.

That's not the question I asked.

Normally, studied combat is melee-only.
Thus, I now wonder, can you use studied combat from further than 30ft or not? After all, it's an entirely separate and independent class feature from studied strike.

[Mashallah]

Jesper Roland Sørensen wrote:

Edit: was to quick on submit
The investigator can study any opponent he can see but he is limited in the use of the bonuses he get from studying them.

That... still doesn't answer the question I asked.

[Jesper Roland Sørensen]

I say the feat allows you to gain the benefits of studied combat within 30 ft. you can study the target before it gets within 30 ft. but can't apply the bonuses before they are in that range

[Chess Pwn]

all withing 30ft.

[Mashallah]

Is there any FAQ or dev commentary supporting that notion, though?
RAW, the feat works the way I described in #1, not #2.

[Gisher]

The 30' restriction specifically refers to your distance from "the target of your studied strike." If you aren't targeting someone with Studied Strike then that restriction doesn't apply. So you can use Studied Combat (without Studied Strike) at distances greater than 30 ft.

[Ascalaphus]

The writers of the investigator were under the impression that the studied strike was the major ability. In my ability the studied combat ability is far more important.

[Mashallah]

Ascalaphus wrote:

The writers of the investigator were under the impression that the studied strike was the major ability. In my ability the studied combat ability is far more important.

The weirder yet part is that RAW, the bonus to damage from studied combat can be applied at range. Only the bonus to attack is melee-only.