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Right. The class doesn't qualify for that archetype, so no errata is needed.
Interaction with Flexible Spellcaster was one of the first potential abuse cases that came to mind with the Animist, but then I looked at the class archetype's requirements and, ambiguous as they are, they exclude the class from picking it, which is just as well. The issue here I think is less that the Animist can pick this for a free power boost, as thankfully they can't, but more that the Animist is the only full prepared caster in the game who can't access this class archetype if they wanted to.
I was half expecting th real answer to be yes but onyl at level 10 for some reason but their spellcasting kinda bats them making them the only true prepared caster with no way to fix that even if they wanted to which is good because of their low spells per day. If Flexible caster was written a way where you remove 1 total slots of spells then it be fine. So 3 becomes 2 and 2 becomes 1.
This essentially makes flexible spellcasting a free and good choice for them, from what I can tell, all you lose are 2 cantrips and a second level feat, which is probably worth it for flexible spellcasting.
Exactly. Free and good choice... all you lose are 2 cantrips and a second level feat.
Which is too good to be true.
The requirement is:
Prerequisites: You must have a class, such as clerics, druids, witches, and wizards, that prepares spells in spell slots using the same number of prepared spells per day.
Focusing only on the 'same number of prepared spells per day' part makes it seem like a class that has 2 spell slots per level would qualify because 2 is the number and it is the same for all spell levels.
But, as mentioned earlier, that would be too good to be true because then the Flexible Spellcasting table would remove no spell slots. You would still have 2 spell slots per level after applying the changes.
So the proper interpretation of that requirement is that you have to have the same number of prepared spells per day as those example classes of Cleric, Druid, Witch and Wizard. What we often call a 3-slot caster.
Back during the WoI playtest, I suggested an alternative implementation of the Animist's spell slots that would have worked with flexible spellcasting: you were a three-slot prepared spellcaster, but could also use your spell slots to cast spells from your apparition repertoire instead of the prepared spell. This would've been a buff to the class, especially at early levels, and so would likely have required further changes (maybe you had to leave spell slots unprepared to use them for apparition spellcasting?), but it would've allowed the class to pick up the Flexible Spellcaster archetype without any trouble and at an appropriate tradeoff, among other clarity and usability benefits.