Looking over the Starfinder rules, I wonder about the effect of how combat maneuvers are handled. As opposed to Pathfinder, making a combat maneuver attack is rolled against the target's KAC plus 8.
This seems prohibitively high of a target number to me; lower level characters will almost never attempt CMs because their success rate will be so low compared to making a standard attack. I also wonder if using KAC is the best measure of determining the target number--it includes armor bonus, which under most circumstances shouldn't make someone harder to trip, for example.
On the plus side, this method makes calculating the target number very simple, which is helpful. But does this make combat maneuvers a poor tactical choice overall? Even against an unarmed opponent, the target number will be 18. A 1st-level character with 17 Strength and +1 BAB will only have a 30% chance of success with a combat maneuver. Simply stabbing or bludgeoning that same unarmored target has a 60% chance of success.
There are a few feats characters can take to make CMs more feasible, but does this come at too high a cost to the character?
Is KAC + 8 too high? Anyone have any actual in-game experience with combat maneuvers in Starfinder? My campaign hasn't started yet, so I can't unequivocally state whether CMs are a problem area or not.
Thoughts?
Spoilers for Dead Suns AP book 1
a CR3 bone trooper has KAC 14 and a CR3 Damaged Security Bot has a KAC 16.
What's interesting is you use your melee attack roll, and weapons DO affect your Combat Maneuver attempt. You can get a disarming weapon to add +2 to a disarm check. An operative weapon you can use your Dex instead of Str on your melee attack roll (and hence your combat maneuver). A tripping weapon is +2 to trip attempts. You can use personal upgrades (like Synaptic Accelerators) to get a further bonus to an ability score. Improved Combat Maneuver grants you a +4 to combat maneuvers. If you're spec'ing to be a combat maneuver specialist there are lots of options.
If you wanna be good at grappling, the skittermander gets a +2 to grapple checks.
Objectively. Best. Huggers.