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This is my last impressions post with Exemplar as we are on the last day of the playtest to answer the forms.
As I completed the Plaguestone speedrun this time I skipped to the 4th chapter of the first AoE book to playtest the 4th level.
This playtest will focus into exemplar only. For other classes I will post my impressions in their respective forums.
Party composition
A human Animist
A half-orc Exemplar
A half-elf Soldier (from SF2 Fieldtest)
A hobgoblin Alchemist
Build
At this level I noticed something that I hadn't paid much attention to before, which was the fact that there was no interesting feat to get.
This is actually a general problem that I felt in the exemplar the first time I read it. Most of the feats do not integrate. Many require specific types of weapons, give new transcendences that compete with those you already have, and also compete with each other. Which practically leads the player to consider taking an archetype to compensate for this.
In my case, as I already spent my archetype on the Sentinel to compensate for the lack of armor, I was left with no really interesting option and ended up taking Claim Initiate Domain, choosing protection as the domain, because basically I had to take something and it seemed to be the option most versatile available since the others wouldn't help with my life stealer build, at least the long-term protection one would give me a damage resistance spell and allow me to help some allies.
But honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I was already getting an archetype to wear heavy armor, I probably would have gotten a fighter dedication or similar to complete my combat abilities without competing with my Ikons.
Impressions
Nothing much new happened at this level other than access to Striking Rune. This restored the efficiency of my Drink of my Foes although in the end No Scar but This was still more reliable.
My conclusion
Exemplar was a fun class to play. It allowed me to make a melee character with a 2-handed weapon using D12 and good survivability due to the life recovery/steal abilities, which helped ease the pressure on the healer.
That said, the rest of the class didn't cheer me up at all. Several unrelated Ikons, several feats without any synergy, arbitrary decisions regarding the way in which the class has access to proficiencies, ikons and skills without any relation to the flavor or any other justifiable reason, in addition to a rotation mechanic of Ikons that seem more like a tax than a benefit or something interesting, if it weren't for the fact that the build I wanted to assemble and the weapon and body Ikon coincide with the idea of recovering life, my experience would have been much less pleasant.
In my opinion it is a class that needs a complete overhaul in practically every mechanical detail. Otherwise, it will lose out compared to the various other martial options.