Retraining a Feat - Basics

[Azothath]

Question: Can a character at level 2 or 3 retrain a feat taken at Level 1 and take a feat that he did not qualify for at the earlier level?
similar question asked in a different forum

Reviewing Ult Cmpgn;
"When you use retraining to replace some aspect of your character, you must meet all prerequisites, requirements, and considerations for whatever you’re trying to acquire."
 then
"FEAT You may change one feat to another through retraining. Retraining a feat takes 5 days with a character who has the feat you want. The old feat can’t be one you used as a prerequisite for a feat, class feature, archetype, prestige class, or other ability. If the old feat is a bonus feat granted by a class feature, you must replace it with a feat that you could choose using that class feature."
The example in Feats is for a Fighter but he has to take a Feat appropriate for his previous level.
Cost =10×Lvl×Days(gp), Default/generally 5 days. PFS PP cost =Days. 2PP≈750gp, 3≈1000gp

Thus No. It seems clear that the new Feat needs to be appropriate for what the character could have taken at the previous level. "considerations for whatever you’re trying to acquire" being the key phrase.

That does not consider rearranging your feat acquisitions so that you could insert a feat higher in the sequence so that the character would qualify for all the feats at the time of acquisition.

[Taja the Barbarian]

I believe previous delves into this question concluded that you only need to meet the new feat prerequisites now, so you can replace your 1st level feat (assuming nothing else you have depends on it) with a feat you didn't actually qualify for at 1st level but do now.

I don't like this myself, but that's the way the rules are written...

[I grok do u]

Might as well link and quote the FAQ

Retraining: Can I retrain a feat to replace it with a feat I didn't qualify for at the level I originally gained that feat?
Yes. As long as the new feat is a valid feat for your current character, you can retrain the old feat and replace it with the new feat.

For example, if you are a 3rd-level rogue who took Improved Initiative at 1st level, you can retrain that feat and replace it with Weapon Focus. Even though Weapon Focus has a prerequisite of "base attack bonus +1" (which means you couldn't take it as a 1st-level rogue), it is a valid feat for your current level (3rd), and is therefore a valid choice for retraining.

(Note: Likewise, the fighter class ability to retrain fighter bonus feats does not require you to meet all of the new feat's prerequisites at the level you originally gained the feat.)

posted October 2013

[Diego Rossi]

I think that the reason for that FAQ is that Pathfinder tries to limit bookkeeping, so you aren't assumed to keep a note of when you acquired a feat.

[Azothath]

okay, FAQ has the appeal to authority. Good to know & why I threw it out there.

PF1 does try to simplify things and that seems to apply here as everything is tracked ...
I personally never do this in PFS as it is cost prohibitive. I just spent 6PP to get a 3500gp item so retraining is basically a 3000gp avoidable mistake.