I concur, there are astonishing good builds in PF that you can use that are much more effective than others, and there are a lot of power-gaming guides and posts in the net about the game, but you can beat P: K with a party of 6 bards or a solo water-earth kineticist If you want to (well, if you do not play in insane mode, you need a min-max party builds to play in the highest difficulties, the game is hardcore).
RPGs are a niche genre, but I think that DnD is the mainstream within this niche (or Pathfinder for those who still think that 3E was the best).
I like the changes from 5E, but I can understand when extreme hardcore fans call it "dumbed down" ( a term that I do not like at all, some people use it on everything they do not like) while "casual players" (whatever that is) call it too complicated.
Only time can tell who is right, but I think Larian did some market research before working on a new game.
The word I usually hear about 5e is even stronger than "dumped down", Its "Dumbed down" haha... and I think 5e is, in fact, more simple in character creation and mechanic-wise, it's laxer about the rules but that gives you more space to roleplay for the players and to homebrew for the DMs. Some people like it, some don´t.
Former D&D editions and PF1e are like Harrod´s where they give you a product polished for years and they take it to your home and assemble it for you. It´s ready to go but if it breaks you need a Ph.D. to repair it and 5e is like Ikea, they give you the simplest, basic setting and rules and you have to put it together yourself, but you can paint it pink and make a two-story sofa if you want to without a sweat, anyone can learn to do it in a few.
Using the SRD you can easily create star wars 5e, Witcher 5e, Sword Art 5e , etc...and many more you can find in the net.
Personally, my choice would be PF 2e: It has the middle term between roleplay and complexity, at least I found it very enjoyable in that regard. It would be nice if some studio could make a game using 2e.
