
Fuzzy-Wuzzy |
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You clearly ought to be able to, but RAW you can't.
Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up, just like cantrips are.
I expect most GMs outside PFS would be happy to let you undercast a cantrip or focus spell anyway. An official erratum on it would be nice, though.
EDIT: Really looking forward to this forum getting a FAQ Button or moral equivalent!

Castilliano |

You can't undercast, in that it's at the highest level, which is good when it comes to Dispel or other countering effects. I do not know of any instance where a higher level worsens an issue (except I guess re: cost of items).
Whether you can choose a different size (et al) from a lower level version is a different question. The immediate impression is you can't by RAW, but as well as odd & counter-intuitive, that's also silly. How silly? Well because by that same reasoning your 12th level Druid has no shape to transform into because there are no 6th level options for Animal Form. That's how silly. Who's going to say you're cut off from lower level options then?
So of course the 6th level version can get access to the 5th level forms, meaning yes, sometimes a higher level version can get access to a lower level form without it being explicitly mentioned in RAW. Following from that, the 5th & lower versions should also have access to their lower level forms.
Paizo has explicitly said it wants PF2 rules to be interpreted generously rather than rigorously. And there's no rule, general or specific, saying you're forced to choose the highest available version lower than the level you're casting. It's just in most cases, why would a person use a higher slot?

Joyd |

There's niche other cases where it might be useful to not automatically heighten. For example, the Cleric focus power Dazzling Flash gains a larger area at level 5 (spell level 3). Normally, this is great, but it can also make it more awkward to avoid hitting allies with the cone. (The power hits everybody.) It's clearly a net advantage, but situations where the smaller cone is better aren't inconceivable.