Witchwarper archetypes, lv 5?

[Zwordsman]

Howdy

So i didn't find anything covering the archetypes post Playtest.
"2nd Level
You don’t gain the paradigm shift class feature at 2nd level. Instead, you gain that feature at 5th level."

I looked at the other archetypes for other classes for simliar language but nothing else has the "Instead, you gain that feature at 5th level"

Is this intending to say "you don't get it at 2, but you'll get the feature normally at 5" or is it saying "you're only delaying it to 5, then you get it" (i.e. resulting with 2 at 5)

This is further complicated by the next archetype switch out.
"4th Level
You don’t gain a paradigm shift at 5th level."

So if you take an archetype that switches 2 and 4. You lose paradigm shifts 2 and 5. But 2' states you get the feature at 5th. Which half looks like you get a shift at 5 from level 2, but still lose your normal 5.

Off hand my assumption is the most simple one. You get the class feature at 5, but if you've switched out 2 and 4 (i.e. 2 and 5 shift) you have the feature but nothing to use it with.

though I would love if you get it at 5 regardless. Thats the level where you can pick up the temp switching one.

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and to add further to it.
"6th Level
You don’t gain the alternate outcome class feature at 6th level. Instead, you gain it at 12th level."
"12th
If you have the alternate outcome class feature, you don’t gain an additional daily use. If you would gain the alternate outcome class feature at this level due to an archetype replacement, you gain it at 18th level instead."

This one specifically uses verbage addressing if you previously gave up a feature and recieve it at that level. .Which kind of pushes me more to assume if you switch out 2, you get it at 5; resulting in 2 paradigms or 1 if you also switched out 5

[E-div_drone]

The reason you don't see that wording anywhere else is that all other classes are structured such that they gain (a) class feature(s) at all even levels, and either a new feature, or a significant expansion of an existing feature, at level nine. Witchwarper is the very notable exception to this rule.

The first thing you need to understand is that not all archetypes replace the same number of class features. There are some that replace several, there are some that replace a couple, and there's one strange one (Battle Leader) that only has two required, but you can choose to give up the majority of your base class features to take additional archetype features. That is the reason for the seemingly vague if/and/or phrasing of the rules for applying archetypes to a Witchwarper.

If you take an archetype that has a level 2 feature, but not a level 4 feature, you would gain the initial use of Paradigm Shift at level 5, as per the rules for that feature as covered under the level 2 entry. You would not get an additional Paradigm Shift at level 5, or ever, as those are the only levels that you may gain those features.

Essentially the same exact principal applies for an archetype that has a feature at either level 6 or level 12 with regards to the Alternate Outcome class feature.

In either of those cases, if the archetype has features at both the affected levels (or allows you to take features, and you choose to do so), you don't gain the feature at all, as it has been entirely replaced with the features granted by the archetype.