Primitive [1.6.7]

[LordKarasuman]

This character report also doubles as a guide for Insane/Adventure.
Honestly I don't know why you'd need a guide for this class.

So I had a lot of fun with the joke class that Vectorinox included here with his Discordant addon:

https://te4.org/games/addons/tome/discordant

Certainly it does look like Vectorinox had a bit too much fun frontloading you with so much benefits for each class, but in practice it's pretty fun coming right out of the gates swinging, and then building up a character into slow but steady invincibility and big damage. Primitive, despite its name, is actually the most advanced in unga bunga technology.

I actually messed up on my first attempt playing this honestly very simple class. Going 4 in Leap Strike and Bash ASAP fixed whatever issues I had immediately, and I ended up cruising through T1's. T2 had a few close calls because I'm a mediocre player, but after getting my first Prodigy it was pretty much smooth sailing everywhere until Dreadfell, where I had to muck around with my infusions/runes a bit. Ran Mental + Shatter for a while, then went to 2x Shatter once I found a Clear Mind Torque. I think Tinkers could have also been viable but I always run Tinkers, so I wanted something different this time around.

Windblade could have been Flexible Combat but I barely ever taken Windblade, and on a class as crazy as this, why not? Paid off very easily.

Giant Leap was half a meme choice and half a legitimate need for both an escape and another gap closer. The fact that it is instant is well worth the 20 CD IMO, but it's definitely not a top tier prodigy, far from it. I couldn't imagine taking it on anybody other than Primitive to be honest.

At the final boss, I went to close the portals as usual. Somehow Argoniel deaggroed off of Aeryn and ran over to me.

One: The last time I chose to fight Argoniel before Elandar, I'm pretty sure it was pre-1.5.
Two: I have never spanked Argoniel as fast as I did then.

Insane Charsheet: W
(Windblade + Giant Leap, 2H + 1H)

Insane Charsheet: W
(Windblade + Giant Leap, 2H + Shield)




Gameplay Overview

One look at Primitive's class trees should tell you everything, but your five activated talents can be summed up as such:
"Run up and hit something"
"Hit something as a free action"
"Hit everything around you like it's a mini-Windblade"
"Hit something three times"
"Heroism + Regeneration"
Oh, and of course, you have big meaty BUMP ATTACKS.
Oh, oh, and all your attacks debilitate with status effects.
You do big, BIG damage and with your big, BIG stats and big, BIG DR and regen, nothing should kill you. Go out there and smash.




Which Races?
I went Cornac but I'm pretty sure literally anything works.
Do keep in mind this class has dual wielding built into it, if that will affect your choices at all.




Which Prodigies?
Green represents a backbone-level prodigy. Red represents a prodigy I don't recommend.

Flexible Combat is fantastic as always. You have one multi-hit skill and one free action hit skill which can make use of this easily.
Windblade is pretty damned solid; if you're surrounded and Spin Attack and Gash didn't kill them, this almost certainly will.

Giant Leap also works, especially if you need another closer, but honestly you're probably taking it second (if at all).
Irresistible Sun is cute; if only the CD weren't so long.
Cauterize might be alright, but honestly what can kill you when you're L42 and everything is operational?

ICCTW is redunant on top of all your strength, I wouldn't recomend it.



Core Talents
Technique / Basic Combat
````Leap Strike & Bash
Your gap closer. Also lets all your attacks stun stuff.
4 ASAP for the range.

````Spin Attack & Gash
Radius 2 area-of-effect melee attack centered on you. Also lets all your attacks inflict Bleed.
1 Early, 2+ Core.

````Quick Thrust & Maim
Attack that spends 0% of a turn. Also lets all your attacks inflict Slow.
1 Early, 2+ Core.

````Triple Hit & Rend
Attack that hits three times. Also lets all your attacks inflict save and armor reduction.
1 Early, 2+ Core.


Technique / Primal Might
````Primeval Force
Adds Strength and +phys crit%, removes penalty against stealthed/invisible creatures at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core (but do it late).

````Primordial Fervour
Adds Strength and +phys dam%, gives +100% Disarm Immunity at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core.

````Ancestral Power
Adds Strength and +phys respen%, gives the ability to wield a 2H and an offhand at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core (possibly ASAP dependent on your gear findings).

````Apex Predator
Adds Strength and +phys attack speed, +1 Size Category at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core.


Technique / Primal Grit
````Primeval Heart
Adds Constitution, armor, life regen, and gives +100% Bleed Immunity at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core (though should be done later.)

````Primordial Vigour
Adds Constitution, spell save, disease resistance, and gives +100% Poison Immunity at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core (though should be done later.)

````Ancestral Resolve
Adds Constitution, Stun and Confusion resistance, and gives +100% Knockback Resistance at 5.
2+ Early, 5 Core.

````Apex Survivor
Adds Constitution and +max life%, and gives +1 Size Cateogry at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core (but should be done later.)


Technique / Primal Agility
````Primeval Zeal
Adds Dexterity, armor pen, accuracy, and lets you dual wield any type of 1H weapon.
1+ Core, 5 ASAP depending on whether you want to unlock Windblade.

````Primordial Speed
Adds Dexterity and Movement Speed, and +100% Pinning Immunity at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core.

````Ancestral Guile
Adds Dexterity and reduced critical hit damage done to you, and +20% Armour Hardiness at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core.

````Apex Hunter
Adds Dexterity and +global speed%, and +50% slow projectiles at 5.
1+ Early, 5 Core.



Technique / Inoculation
````Magic Inoculation
Adds +res% and flat damage reduction for arcane, fire, light, and cold damage.
1+ Early, 2+ Core.

````Nature Inoculation
Adds +res% and flat damage reduction for nature, mind, blight, and acid damage.
1+ Early, 2+ Core.

````Star Inoculation
Adds +res% and flat damage reduction for darkness, light, temporal, and physical damage.
1+ Early, 2+ Core.

````Rejuvenation
Gain regeneration and maximum life (including temporary life) for 10 turns.
3+ Early, 5 Core.


Technique / Combat Training
````Thick Skin
5 Core.

````Heavy Armour Training
3 Early, 4+ Luxury.

````Light Armour Training
0 or 2+ if gear permits.

````Combat Accuracy
2+ Core.

````Weapons Mastery
2+ Core.

````Dagger Mastery
0 or 2+ dependent on gear.


Cunning / Survival
````Heightened Senses
1+ Core.

````Device Mastery
5 Core.

````Track
1+ Core.

````Danger Sense
0-1 Core.




Stats and Talent Leveling
STR > CON > CUN > DEX.
You could probably level Strength, put points in Constitution when you can't level Strength, and then level Cunning afterward. Leftovers could go in Dexterity.
I actually stopped leveling Constituion (only put enough to get Thick Skin to 5 ASAP) and started leveling Cunning at 50 at some point.
Some room for adjustment here to taste, to be honest.

Leap Strike & Bash needs to be 4 ASAP.
I had 5 ready for Primeval Zeal when I could take it due to wanting Windblade ASAP.
Ancestral Fervour and Primordial Fervour took points because respen and damage are important.
I think I went Guile 5 early because of Armour Hardiness.
Primordial Fervour was also probably 5 early because Disarm SUCKS.
Apex Hunter and Apex Predator could use like 2-3 points, but investing more than that when you need immunities feels like a waste.



Category Points
As a Cornac who didn't go Antimagic:
Movement Infusion -> Inoculation -> Primal Agility -> Dissipation -> Escort/Sandworm Queen Tree



Inscription
As a Cornac who didn't go Antimagic:
1x Movement, 1x Regen, 2x Shatter Afflictions, 1x Dissipation, with a Clear Mind Torque.
Until you get a Clear Mind Torque, replace 1 Shatter Afflictions with 1 Wild (Mental).

If you're going Tinkers:
1x Movement, 1x Regen, 2x Injectors, and that last slot is either Dissipation (if you're not antimagic) or whatever you want (if you're antimagic).




What Equipment Should I Be Looking For?
+Life (Early On).
Crit Multiplier.
Blindness Immunity.
Changes Damage mods, probably Physical.
Reduced Critical Damage done to you.
Stun Immunity, Confusion Immunity.
Resists.
Armor.
Silence-clearing Torque (if you're not antimagic and leaning hard on Shatter Afflictions).

2H + 1H is probably going to be your biggest damage especially when you get 5 in the relevant size category-boosting talents.

1H + 1H is also fine. I'm sure Malediction + Wintertide or some other mix of fixedarts or randarts can get pretty crazy.

2H on its own probably also works.

Using a Shield can work, but isn't really worth it since you don't get extra attacks. I slapped Summertide on a winner and just rolled with it for the rest of the game because I had no interest in going through vaults for alternative Blindness 100% gear.

Daggers seem iffy but you can get a crazy amount of Dexterity so it's not like it won't work, but with other options it's like, why?

If you need mapping and want it on equipment, Burning Star is the best at this. If you're antimagic or can't find it, then look out for X-Ray Goggles and Omniscience are fixedarts that can accomplish something similar.





Alchemist Rewards
Focus is pretty good, Foundations less so. I'm also exceptionally fond of Precision.

Lifebinding Emerald is the best end quest reward IMO.





Zone Order Guide
As usual, Cathbald's guide is here.

I will say though, Primitive is so strong that you can probably do certain areas early. I went and hit Weirdling Beast almost immediately after I was 25, for instance, and normally I'd save him for later.

Lack of caution can still kill you though; while it's obnoxiously OP, this still isn't the Hulk addon.





Charsheets

Insane Charsheet (1.6.7): W, 0 Deaths
(Windblade + Giant Leap, 2H + 1H)

Read earlier for the writeup on this.




Insane Charsheet: W, 5 Deaths
(Windblade + Giant Leap, 2H + Shield)

Used Summertide as a shield for the 100% Blindness Immunity. Pre-High Peak 11 everything was easy, so I thought it'd be fine going into the final fight. However, while Elandar went down fast, Argoniel actually took three of my lives. Her Hex spam is honestly fairly ridiculous and you should not underestimate it no matter what kind of OP class you're using. I probably should have switched from 2H + Shield to 2H + 1H once Elandar died, but I wanted to see if it was possible to kill Argoniel with 2H + Shield. It is, but honestly it was tough going even with a hilariously overtuned joke class like Primitive.




Changelog
5/31/2020 - Added another Insane winner.