Is the new system being designed entirely around archetypes and feat options to make available the kinds of things that used to be prestige classes?
It seems likely. Feelings will remain mixed on this until we see it in play, and then probably continue to feel mixed for as long as the system exists, or so my experiences on these forums would lead me to believe.
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I think in the Know Direction interview Logan Bonner mentioned something along the lines of "there will be something which may have once been a prestige class".
My guesses are Antipaladin Paladin archetype and Dragon Disciple as a Sorcerer archetype.
I could do without prestige classes, although I think that with enough improvement and modernisation, they could still be very interesting.
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The new feat system seems flexible enough to just allow certain classes to select many of the prestige class special abilites as class feats, as long as the requirements are met.
That is what I was thinking too. I am just curious about how this is going to stack with archetypes. If My character starts off as a fighter, and in game, eventually wants to become a hellknight, and the hell knight is an archetype, would I have to retrain my fighter to be a hellknight archetype? Is Hell knight going to be more of a fluff role and my fighter will just have to be as armor focused as a fighter can be to match it?
Right now I think the answer to all of these questions is, "we will have to wait and see..." but I do hope that it is not too difficult for story-related character development in the new system, as I have always felt the most connected to characters who became what they were because the adventure demanded it. (not in a rail-roading sense, but in a "Sarenrae has appeared before you to give you this boone for purifying her shrine." now my ranger is converted and starting on the path to inquisitor and possibly sentinel down the line.)
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I love Prestige Classes but I am a little worried they might disappear in 2E. If Prestige Classes became something that are strictly associated with an organization/religion/faction/school/etc. And required some level of association with that group, along with a selection of specific skills/feats/class abilities/archtypes/etc. I think that would be an acceptable evolution of Prestige Classes and the term Prestige Class would still be appropriate.
I don't think Prestige Classes are going to be part of PF2, Paizo has never liked them much, and instead introduced Archetypes which in PF2 are going to be in the Core rulebook, I don't think it is much of a stretch to think that Prestige Classes were removed fro Core to leave word count to Archetypes. Also, I have the feeling that Archetypes are going to be similar to Starfinder, being no class specific working like a combination of Prestige Class with PF1 Archetypes.
I like archetypes a lot more than prestige classes. I do NOT like the Starfinder style universal archetypes... the ones they published for Starfinder are boring and terribly weak. I want to see PF1 style class-specific archetypes, each and every one done up to the standards of the Archaeologist or Lore Warden or Goliath Druid.
I think generic prestige classes are going away (Arcane Archer, Mystic Theurge, etc). I think some of the campaign specific ones will eventually live on in some form (e.g. Hellknight, Aldori Swordlord, etc). If they exist however it's going to be in a lot different form.
I love Prestige Classes but I am a little worried they might disappear in 2E. If Prestige Classes became something that are strictly associated with an organization/religion/faction/school/etc. And required some level of association with that group, along with a selection of specific skills/feats/class abilities/archtypes/etc. I think that would be an acceptable evolution of Prestige Classes and the term Prestige Class would still be appropriate.
I think this the right track. Probably wont see shadow dancer or dragon desciple as PRC anymore. Though with a focus on Golarion will probably see Hellknight and redmantiss assassin. I hope something from Aspis too.
I think in the Know Direction interview Logan Bonner mentioned something along the lines of "there will be something which may have once been a prestige class".
Given how coy they're being I expect it will be a bolt on paragon path/variant multiclassing type thing. Where it either bolts directly on top of your character and doesn't require you to give up any class features. Or it replaces general feats and such so that your class features remain in tact but it's optional whether you take the "prestige class" or if you just remain single classed.
Can't prestige classes wait until a later book to become part of the rules? Stick them in the ACG 2.0 or something.
I do think it's a good idea for most prestige classes that are "you can do one thing and also an unrelated thing well" to become things people can do from first level onwards, and to leave prestige classes to things that are actually prestigious or are very narrow or which involve things a 1st level character should never have (e.g. Mammoth Rider).
^Don't you mean APG 2.0? ACG 2.0 would be awfully long to wait -- this would be most of the time elapsed towards Pathfinder 3rd Edition . . . .