Note that you can take full control of the level-up for the pre-gens, you just cannot change their starting state. An example of this would be your starting tank, Valerie. Valerie is a Fighter(Tower Shield Specialist) but her backstory says she is a failed Paladin. Hence she has a *lot* of Charisma for a Fighter, its her second highest stat, but she can't do a lot with it. (Strength is her *third* highest stat.)

Valerie also has the Exotic Weapon Proficiency(Bastard Sword) feat as her level 1 feat. This isn't bad, there are several really good bastard swords in the game, but because of a relatively low strength score she's not particularly accurate or deadly with them.

The problem is that magic items cannot. Also mundane items are essentially just food. Skill boosting mundane items, such as thieves tools, do not exist. There are crafters (many of which are still getting some bug fixes) so loot and equipment is not zero-sum, but you only have partial control over their actions, such as telling them the category of what you want them to make instead of a specific item.

I think that Cohh has a point in his claim that Owlcat has the POTENTIAL to be one of the upcoming, big game studios. While the "world and lore" isn't theirs but Paizos, they have succeeded in making a game that is immersive, interesting, fun and VAST. The potential for spending HOURS in that game is huge. Cohh is, at this point, 130 some hours into his first play-through, and while he's at act...5? Yeah, 5, he isn't close to the ending, yet.

...!
Stoke Mandeville, Esq & The Victorian Ballsmiths
"Nobody Want Verdigris-Covered Balls!"

Oh, one thing that some people looking into this might want to know. There is a pseudo time limit. As the 'story' advances there are quests that pop up that damage your kingdom's stats at regular intervals if they aren't cleared (example: a horde of rampaging trolls attack you kingdom.)

Under most default difficulties, having your kingdom fail is an automatic game-over, and clearing one of these quests advances the story and queues the next quest. You usually have a fair amount of time to adventure on your own before the next thing kicks off, but this isn't forever.

Also, the game suggests you go to your capital and go into the kingdom management screen at least once a month. It isn't joking.

I'll admit that the choice is a little unusual though, as the Kineticist is one of the...less optimal classes? (Only the last class of Pathfinder: 1st edition, the Shifter, is generally rated worse.)

I wonder how they are planning on changing the Kineticist for its PC debut though. The Kineticist is one of the most complicated classes in the tRPG. They pay for almost all their abilities by taking non-lethal damage, and IIRC Owlcat's game doesn't have non-lethal damage at all. I thought of a couple of ways you could do it without too much difficulty, but I am not sure what way they are going to lean.

The real question is whether I am going to restart the campaign (again). I really like the Kineticist, but I'm not sure how well the character is going to be built.

... as for 'optimal' ... if that was the way I played things I'd be single-classing a Vivisectionist rather than making the above Scaled Fist/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple mashup that's basically a Muscle Wizard.

I've found the companions to not be too bad. Not perfectly minmaxed, but none of them is a disaster ... other than Tristian I guess, but that's down to both his stats and his kit being worth a facepalm.

For the others, the leveling system has enough give to make for some interesting combinations (Still laughing like a maniac after the one time I made Jaethal a druid with a smilodon animal companion) if you don't feel like going the vanilla route. And Nok-nok, Ekundayo and Octavia are very well made for what they're supposed to do anyway.

In my very first play-through I liked Tristian a lot, once I dropped a ranged weapon into his hands (crossbow at first, then a powerful magic bow after giving him Bracers of Archery). You just have to use him as he is, a wizard who just so happens to cast from the Cleric's spell-list. Of course in that playthrough he was the first cleric I got so I grew attached.

My second play-through has been as a Hospitaler Paladin, who are Paladins that give up some of the Smite Evil uses for the standard Cleric's Channel Powers. I also didn't get Tristian until the start of Chapter 2, soI'm not feeling as attached.

Sometime after you start chapter 2 (I had to leave town for a few days and come back) she'll ask for your help in the throne room. Complete her quest to add her as a companion and, if you a through enough, add a resource opportunity to your kingdom.

Owlcat went the way I thought they would with the Kineticist, using your burn abilities basically racks in as unhealable damage. The damage goes away on your next rest and there is a cap to how much you can hurt yourself between rests.

Important note, many Kineticist abilities require your character have their hands free. The first thing you need to do is make your blast (or related ability) an auto-attack or your Kineticist will try to punch something in the face.

As a companion the new Tiefling Kineticist is actually well stated, with the Con bonus a Kineticist needs to fuel their abilities, and the Dex to actually hit someone with it. I won't talk about feats or power choices to avoid spoilers, but I'm actually fairly impressed.

Also, she's another council option.