What gets me playing Draw Steel and not Pathfinder 2e?

[mamba]

Both Drawsteel and Pathfinder compete in the exact same niche: low roleplay tactical boardgame like experiences with map figurines that get to have names.

The other new RPGs went for new niches: Daggerheart sits in the middle between boardgame and roleplay

where does 5e sit?

 

[SteveC]

Both Drawsteel and Pathfinder compete in the exact same niche: low roleplay tactical boardgame like experiences with map figurines that get to have names.

I'd say that is very much your personal opinion. Neither of these games talks about themselves in this way and my experience running and playing Pathfinder, it has the same level of roleplay as a game like D&D has ever had. Which is to say it's what you make of it.

One of the Actual Play podcasts I listen to is Tabletop Gold, which is playing Abomination Vaults. That's a dungeon crawl AP. And it has some truly excellent roleplay segments. I suggest checking that out to see how roleplay is just as much a part of Pathfinder (and "D20" rpgs in general) as you wish.

 

[Retreater]

I'd be interested to know how they're doing so reliably, however; I played a gunslinger, and there's actually fairly few ways to push up your crit chance much (largely because guns are Fatal weapons, and as such do massive crit damage when they can).

He doesn't need it because the ACs have all been easily critted in the first attack (usually crits on a 14+) and has something like double shot where he doubles the chances.

Among other things if you're functioning as the only interceptor, the gunslinger should be having problems in their face at least some of the time, and its not like a routine hit is going to stop that from happening

Battlefield design is part of it. He can stand on elevation or at the back of a narrowish corridor. Also he has a feat that lets him move away and shoot (or maybe reload), also gets to move when he rolls Initiative, I think.
When we do large area combats, he can blast them before he's reached.
So if there's a small area, I intercept everything. If it's a large area, they die before they close the gap. If there are few enemies, we focus fire and drop them quick. If there's a lot of enemies, they're lower level and their defenses are so low that they are critted to oblivion.

 

[Enrahim]

But Drawsteel decided to go for "lets compete head to head with what many suspect is the number 2 RPG, one which has a great company it's fans love, top noche customer support, an insanely regular product release cycle, a huge library of adventures, the best online tools in the industry, communities that make it super easy to fill tables or find a GM, and has almost if not actually no negative vibes about it, and gives fans of it's playstyle almost exactly what they want...

yeah lets take on those guys."

To me that choice just seems really baffling.

My reading is as many others very different. I read it more as them actively targeting the players of the number 1 rpg, providing them something sufficiently different that it warrants the jump, while also providing a playstyle niche that has no big-name presence due to the 4ed taint.

They have been very explicit about hoping many will have this as their second game; not their third

PF2ed might be a tactical combat game; but it feels much more of the "select your next ability" style. Draw steel is a tactical positioning game. Think FF1-10 vs FF tactics. I think the two approaches speaks to different crowds. As such I think PF2 and DS can quite happily co-exist.