Wow! Looks like your players min-maxed the hell out of things. That they were attempting to build the best combat monsters that they could.

Yes, they were. My players generally min/max as hard as they can. Granted, I was running sample combats to see how the combat system works, so they had very little reason to build for anything else. Still, if I was running a campaign I'm certain at least one of them would build this same character. 

I may have to look into putting some more controls/breaks on what sort of Talents can be purchased or on how bonuses from multiple talents can stack... Perhaps not allow magic skills (Magecraft & Spellcasting) and Combat Skills to be selected for Natural Talent. And perhaps make it so that Background ranks do count against the limit of 5 per level. Will definitely have to give it some thought...

I think having the Background ranks count as regular ranks for the purposes of the cap would help. It would delay getting the ranks up to the stat cap by a few levels. Natural Talent looks like a bit of a problem. If it doesn't work with Magecraft, Spellcasting, and Combat Skills it becomes much less attractive (since it looks like almost every character will want to use one or two of those skills). If it does work, it is so attractive that it's almost an automatic choice (since it gives a bonus that always applies to a skill most players will want, for a moderate cost).

You might consider not having the bonus from Natural Talent stack with the bonus from Combat Training, but I don't know if you want to get into "bonus types."
 

Query -- how many CP did they pay for their skill ranks? The first two ranks should have cost 1 CP each, while the other 3 should have cost 2 CP each, for a total 8 CP. Plus they spent 8 CP on those two talents (Natural Talent (5 CP) and Weapon Focus (3 CP). The only left them 14 CP for development of other skills/talents. Remember, they only get 30 to start with.

The Skill Costs Chart on page 19 seems to indicate that Favored skills cost 1/1 for the first five ranks, so they paid 5 for the ranks, and 8 for the talents, for a total of 13 CP. If I misread that chart, that might be a significant part of the problem.

Query -- what race are the characters? Did they choose dwarves? or come up with a back story that explains their background?

A human and a half-elf, if I recall correctly. Again, I was just testing out the combat rules, so I didn't ask for (or expect) any kind of background.

Most characters will NOT have Attack Bonuses that high. And the DEF of the monsters IS figured in the same manner as that of the players. (base + stat + profession (all treated as Rogues) + any specials)

I think I missed that part. Where does this Profession bonus come from?

But let me point out that I really really DO appreciate this feedback, as that is part of the whole reason of having an Open Beta - to find and try and resolve potential issues BEFORE the book is finalized!

So, thanks again.. and I look forward to more feedback from you...

Glad to help. I'm looking for a substitute for 3.5 DnD to run some Planescape in ( I dislike 4th Ed DnD, and Pathfinder is just 3.5 with a different colored shirt). So, I'll keep testing things and (hopefully) generate some useful feedback for you.