One of the things I didn't like about PF1 was that trying things outside of your spec was often a fool's endeavor. The chance of succeeding was so poor that it's practically a waste of an action or attempt. You're better off sticking to the things you're good at and never venturing outside of that.
Will this be fixed in PF2?
Will I be able to try a combat maneuver or a skill I'm not trained in and still have a good enough chance if it working? Will I be able to step outside my boundaries and try things I'm not specced for?
Yes, they said that you wll have realistic chance to succeed even at things you are not extremely focused on. Not as much of a chance as a specialist, of course, but it will at least not be a total waste of time.
Of course, one person's idea of "reasonable" and another's may vary.
Pretty sure that was their design goal for the proficiency system.
They've definitely compressed the numerical variation - the difference between legendary and untrained is +5, which is ~50% of the difference between level 1 characters in PF1 who are very specialized vs totally untalented.
What remains to be seen is how many skill-based abilities they lock up with skill feats. Will you need a skill feat to use Nature to calm down an animal? Will you need a skill feat to use Ride to do a fast mount? Will you need a skill feat to use Fly to hover? These are the sorts of things we don't know yet.
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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E.G in PF1 if I put skill points into a skill every level for 5 levels, by the time you hit level 15 those skill points are effectively wasted. In PF2, it seems, if you've bothered to get as far as, say, Expert with a skill you will stay that good.
PF1e skill points are only wasted if your GM makes everything harder as you go up levels. Your 5 ranks still let you do everything you could do at level 5. Especially if you are facing static DCs, those 5 points might be enough to last you until level 20. I get sporadic use out of completely untrained skills in PF1e even in levels in the high teens. I very often stop putting ranks in skills at a +10 or so in order to spread out. When I GM, sometimes the DCs at level 15 are still a 10 or 15. I want my PCs to know they've gotten better at things - if all the DCs go up just because they're high level it creates a treadmill.
In PF 1 Static DC are not a problem. Climbing that DC 10 tree is easy. Opposed DC are the problem. You are not going to lie to anybody that matters at lvl 15 with your +10 bluff skill that you punt 7 ranks into it.
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RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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In PF 1 Static DC are not a problem. Climbing that DC 10 tree is easy. Opposed DC are the problem. You are not going to lie to anybody that matters AR lvl 15 with your +10 bluff skill that you punt 7 ranks into it.
That's fair. I generally max skills with common opposed checks, and stop static skills after I can do most tasks taking 10.
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They've definitely compressed the numerical variation - the difference between legendary and untrained is +5, which is ~50% of the difference between level 1 characters in PF1 who are very specialized vs totally untalented.
What remains to be seen is how many skill-based abilities they lock up with skill feats. Will you need a skill feat to use Nature to calm down an animal? Will you need a skill feat to use Ride to do a fast mount? Will you need a skill feat to use Fly to hover? These are the sorts of things we don't know yet.
Remember that proficiency levels are not the only factors on your bonus. Specialized characters will likely have item bonuses and whatever else applies. The numbers are still small, though.