To start I want to say we're a long ways off from release and we don't have a ton to go on, so a lot of this will be almost baseless speculation.
It seems to me that going off of the soldier field test that starfinder classes want to be distinct from pathfinder classes. Which is great. That is, in a way, how sf1e was too. But sf2e soldier, from what we've seen, is much more focused on one role. It makes me think the expectation is that pf2e classes being in starfinder is almost expected.
It's also my hope; being able to take established classes and races from pf2e and bring them into the future, outfit them with awesome tech weapons, armors and augments without jumping through hoops sounds amazing. There's really no reason in my mind why classes would cease to exist anyway. I do see why bringing sf2e characters to pf2e might pose a bit more of an issue, but I hope going from past to future is widely accepted at any table playing starfinder second edition (including sf2e sfs).
So all that said, I really really would love to have a page or two of starfinder 'specific' feats for pathfinder classes. Giving druids an expanded, alien species wild shape, an investigator a biohack methodology, or a swashbuckler hacking swashbuckling style (I've put no thought into this but wanted to put some examples down to maybe get others thinking).
Not sure if the core rulebook for sf2e would be an okay place since some have said it's supposed to be completely stand alone - maybe an separate smaller rules book? But for me that would be huge for selling me personally on the new edition (let's be honest I'll be buying it anyway but this sort of thing would get me much more pumped about it).
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The core rule book should be kept pure.
That said, I would love an expansion book that gives Starfinder themed subclass choices for PF2 classes. Things like Druid Orders, Bard Muses, Thaumaturge Implements, Wizard Schools, Witch Patrons, ...
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If they ever make a book of Starfinder choices for Pathfinder, I think it would be better to just make it go both ways. It sounds like the current plan is to make the games compatible and sometimes use creatures or items from one game in an adventure in the other. If they do ever do a deeper mix of the games, I think it will likely be at least a few years after Starfinder 2e is out. I think it's important for Starfinder to stand on its own before mixing it up more.
Archetypes might be a good way to take feats from the other game, especially after the first level.
Another thought is there could be traits telling if a feat or skill is only available in one game setting or the other or if it's universal between the two. If you want to get a skill or feat that is only available in the other game, you have to level up while in that game setting.
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You should never need to own a non-Starfinder book to play Starfinder.
But since the rules are compatible, and some Pathfinder classes are pretty setting-agnostic (like I *want* to play a Kineticist in space), you want to make sure that "this native Starfinder class is worse at a thing it's supposed to do than a Pathfinder class imported doing the same thing" since that's technically a thing you can do.
The question of "how much interplay there is between the two games" is still up in the air, but the guts of the system are going to be the same for both games so they will be technically compatible.
You should never need to own a non-Starfinder book to play Starfinder.
But since the rules are compatible, and some Pathfinder classes are pretty setting-agnostic (like I *want* to play a Kineticist in space), you want to make sure that "this native Starfinder class is worse at a thing it's supposed to do than a Pathfinder class imported doing the same thing" since that's technically a thing you can do.
The question of "how much interplay there is between the two games" is still up in the air, but the guts of the system are going to be the same for both games so they will be technically compatible.
Don't you mean "[we have to make sure] this native Starfinder class isn't worse at a thing it's supposed to do than a Pathfinder class imported doing the same thing"? I'm pretty sure this is a typo, just making sure ^^
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The SF1 CRB has the Pathfinder Legacy chapter at the end, so it's not like that game was 'pure' either (though I too want SF2 to not be viewed as just a sci-fi spice cabinet for PF2, much as ideas like playing a lashunta psychic in PF2 or some kind of far-future magitech thaumaturge in SF2 excite me as well) - I could see the (final, non-playtest) 2e CRB rulebook including a spiritual successor to that, with science fantasy-appropriate options for some PF2 classes and ancestries.
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Don't you mean "[we have to make sure] this native Starfinder class isn't worse at a thing it's supposed to do than a Pathfinder class imported doing the same thing"? I'm pretty sure this is a typo, just making sure ^^
Yeah. That's a typo. Someone who just has the Starfinder books and wants to play a Soldier shouldn't be worse at Soldiery things than someone who brought over a Fighter or a Gunslinger.
Which is going to be a tough needle to thread, since "legendary attack rolls" in PF2 are an incredible advantage over people who don't get those.
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Make a sword-and-planet book for PF2 and a fantasy legacy-heavy book for SF2 so that both sides have an incentive to rifle through the other's pockets :>
If nothing else, the Infinite crowd will have a field day with this!
The way I am reading this. it does look like Starfinder Classes are quite a lot more powerful than Pathfinder classes
The Field Test for the Soldier suggests they're actually quite comparable.
Like the soldier starts with Trained in Martial weapons, Trained in all armor, ETT saves, 4 skills, a key mechanic, a fixing ability, and a subclass.
This is pretty comparable to "what the Champion gets"