So I'm aware conventional wisdom says that firearms aren't particularly good outside of a few specific builds, mostly based on the gunslinger or trench fighter, and that most of the archetypes that add guns to other classes tend to be considered somewhere from unviable to weak-but-playable-I-guess.
My next campaign is very likely to have the commonplace guns rule, and quite a few potential advanced firearm drops, meaning the PCs get relatively easy access to them despite the price.
How much does this help the ordinarily weak firearm builds? Does the smaller investment required to reload as a free action, greater range for touch attacks, and reduced impact of misfiring mitigate the downsides of the fighting style? Or are they still going to significantly weaker than the alternatives?
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If they are considered martial weapons, and advanced ones are available, then they'll make better ranged backup options for other melee only types than a sling or bow would. For a dedicated ranged combatant, a bow will still have far more range and the ability to add static damage boosts without requiring a specific class feature. That's what I've expect, at least.
I once was in a "Wyld West" game with the guns everywhere option in force, and every martial able character sporting 6 shooters and winchesters... my ranger was very happy, even though I had to negociate with the DM to make up a "firearm" combat style. advanced firearms as martial weapons were perfectly viable.
Advanced firearms are definitely the big factor here. The commonplace guns rules don't change too much, and tend to be more helpful for characters that want to use firearms as their secondary weapon rather than primary. For specialists, it saves a bit of money on lower costs and that's it. Advanced firearms, however, are game-changers. They're significantly more powerful than early firearms, and their very existence makes guns the dominant weapon class.
Commonplace Guns: While still expensive and tricky to wield, early firearms are readily available. Instead of requiring the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat, all firearms are martial weapons. Early firearms and their ammunition cost 25% of the amounts listed in this book, but advanced firearms and their ammunition are still rare and cost the full price to purchase or craft.
Under commonplace guns rules, a early-firearm pistol would cost 250 gp rather than 1,000 gp. That will still keep it out of the hands of 1st-level characters. Some 2nd-level ranged-combat characters will acquire firearms instead of bows, especially in areas where monsters have natural armor. Melee-based characters probably won't acquire firearms since bows and slingsa are cheaper. Since advanced firearms are still rare and full price, they won't affect the setting until higher levels where the party will routinely encounter unusual people.
Even advanced firearms are subject to misfires, and a lone gunman NPC will need a way to fix a firearm broken by a misfire: Gunsmithing feat, Quick Clear deed, Make Whole spell, or lots of ranks in Craft(firearms). Make Whole is only on the cleric/oracle and sorcerer/wizard lists. Therefore, the only people armed with firearms will be gunslingers, gunslinger-like archetypes, spellcasters who can cast Make Whole, and city people with access to gun shops that fix jammed firearms.
The bigger change is that in such a setting, armor and natural armor will be less valuable. A CR 8 Stone Giant (AC 22, touch 11) would be scared of a 4th-level party if he spots a gun barrel anywhere. Heavy-armor fighters will be less common, monks and gunslingers will be more common.
I run an Iron Gods campaign with Emerging Guns rules. I decided the initial town of Torch is one of the places that PCs can find firearms. The party ended up with a gunslinger and a gunslinging bloodrager with a homebrew archetype to give her firearm proficiency.
The encounter, and expected later encounters with laser pistols and other technological firearms, did cause the party to put a low priority on good armor and a high priority on mobility. They did not want the slowdown of medium or heavy armor.
Make Whole is only on the cleric/oracle and sorcerer/wizard lists.
The Mending cantrip works just as well, and is much less exclusive. It's a preferable option unless you need to fix a firearm that was completely destroyed.
To add a bit more context, I'll be running using En Publishing's 'Zeitgeist' AP. The country the PCs start in is just on the verge of an industrial revolution, blackpowder weapons are ubiquitous in use by the military, and advanced firearms are just starting to spread in from more technologically advanced countries.
The AP is pretty good about giving PCs access to equipment - generally when you level up you get given about wbl as a stipend to spend on gear, although you have to 'rebuy' anything major you wanna keep, and you aren't normally able to sell loot. Pretty early on, probably the second session, the PCs get 1,000 gold each, which helps anyone who wants a sidearm. You can also call in favours to requisition stuff on the spot if you need.
My expectations are that heavily gun focused characters should be able to get their mitts on a revolver or rifle pretty early on, depending on how much money / favours they wanna splash on it, or how lucky they get.