Making Primal Infusion desirable

[Atarlost]

I wouldn't say Wyrmic is primarily Cunning.
Or that this item should be targeted at a few specific classes.

Cunning boosts mindpower. Devouring Flame, Icy Skin, Ice Wall, Static Field, Tornado, Acidic Spray, and Corrosive Mist are mindpower based. That makes it tertiary for almost any non-mindstar build and secondary for any mindstar build. On normal you can max three stats and I think on higher difficulties you can max two and almost max a third stat so inscriptions scaled to your tertiary stat are still useful.

And if it isn't to be targeted to a few specific classes then I think cunning is the most general stat.

Warriors:

• Berserker: Str/Dex/Cun should be viable. Bloodbath is the only thing that feeds off of crits, but Survival is unlocked to provide an alternate use for generics if Conditioning is left with minimal investment.
• Bulwark: Str/Dex/Cun should be viable. Nothing feeds on crits, but they have the Dirty Fighting tree and it's not like they have other pressing needs that would prevent an accuracy bonus based crit build from also maxing strength.
• Archer: Str/Dex/Cun should be viable. It's not like they have other pressing needs after strength and dex and poisons and traps are both cunning trees.
• Arcane Blade: Dex/Mag/Cun or Str/Mag/Cun should be viable. Crits feed into Arcane Destruction and 20% of cunning is added to spellpower by Arcane Cunning.
• Brawler: Cunning is one of their two primary stats for unlocks and a significant fraction of it is added to their tertiary stat by Unified Body.

Rogues:
All rogue subclasses except Marauder are cunning primary or secondary. Marauder is cunning tertiary.

Mages:

• Alchemist: He really only cares about magic and can afford to pick his secondary stat to match the inscriptions he finds if he wants.
• Archmage: Any stat combination that includes magic and not strength is viable.
• Necromancer: Probably as open as the Archmage.

Wilders:
Since cunning boosts mindpower and limits nature summons it's tertiary or secondary for all wilder subclasses except maybe stone warden.

Celestials:

• Sun Paladin: They need crits pretty badly for the Sun's Vengeance engine if they want to spend positive freely. I've done well with Dex/Mag/Cun with only enough strength for unlocks. Str/Mag/Cun is also possible.
• Anorthil: Anorthil need crits more than any other class to drive Corona. Cunning is also used for Twilight.

Defilers:

• Reaver: Doesn't much care about cunning.
• Corruptor: Wil/Mag and can choose any tertiary stat except strength.
• Doombringer and Demonologist: I don't have the addon, but I would guess one is mage-like and probably able to choose their tertiary stat like the Corruptor.

Afflicted:
They're mindpower users. Cunning is a possible tertiary stat if not secondary.

Chronomancers:

• Paradox Mage: Another Mag/Wil class that can choose any tertiary stat except strength.
• Temporal Warden: Can't afford to budge from Dex/Mag/Wil so no cunning.

Psionics:
They're mindpower classes and mindslayer even substitutes will and cunning for strength and dexterity. Cunning is secondary.

That's 23 out of 28 classes that can build cunning as at least a tertiary stat. The other general stat is will, but only if you count antimagic builds for the mundane classes. Arcane Blade, Shadowblade, Reaver, and the two Celestials are the five classes that probably have no use for it.

So the question of which stat is general among all classes has about the same answer as which stat is general among wilders.

[HousePet]

Really...?

There are only 6 stats in the game and you get enough points to max out three of them. Its almost guaranteed that any stat could be a tertiary (or higher) stat to any class.

But is that really a good way of picking the scaling stat?

[ricree]

Since affinity is already a thematic element, would it be too OP to give it a couple turns of immunity to new effects of whatever type was removed? Not many, just one or two, but it might be enough to make up for the randomized tri-type nature.

[Atarlost]

There are only 6 stats in the game and you get enough points to max out three of them. Its almost guaranteed that any stat could be a tertiary (or higher) stat to any class.

I don't think that's true. The stats are never equal and which stats are good or bad for any given stat are not uniformly distributed. Cunning is mediocre for most classes and good for rogues, crit fishers, and mindcasters. Will is mediocre for everyone non-celestial that cares about their resource bars and good for mindcasters. Strength and dexterity are good for weapon users (except strength is nigh useless for skirmishers) and bad for casters (including mindcasters barring a specific prodigy). Magic is good for magic users and useless for magic disusers. Con is pretty bad for everyone but mediocre for classes with conditioning.

[HousePet]

You pretty much just said that every stat was in general mediocre. Once you have taken out your primary and secondary stat, most classes are just left with 4 mediocre options. The only time a stat is better than mediocre is when it isn't a primary or secondary stat.

Also lol at "crit fishers".

[Atarlost]

You pretty much just said that every stat was in general mediocre. Once you have taken out your primary and secondary stat, most classes are just left with 4 mediocre options. The only time a stat is better than mediocre is when it isn't a primary or secondary stat.

Also lol at "crit fishers".

By mediocre I mean not one of your must haves, but still potentially worth taking. And if make an item scale off of any of the stats that are nearly useless for large sections of the class list it isn't a generally useful item even if it's the most important stat ever by a huge margin for the classes that do use it. If you make it scale off a stat that's in the running for #3 or #2 for most of the class list it is generally useful.

[HousePet]

Does it need to be generally great for everyone though?

[Davion Fuxa]

The Primal Infusion can probably use a bit of love.

While the Artefact infusion can be useful for removing a single status ailment, you lose control over what status ailment gets removed once you are hit with more then one. The Damage Affinity is interesting and unique since you can use it in conjunction to other inscriptions and not have overlapping effects. It is likely that one will only take the Primal Infusion if their current Inscriptions are quite poor, but replace it once they find some decent replacements.

I like the idea of a stat potentially boosting the effect of the Primal Infusion. I have no real thoughts on what stat would best be useful for it, but I would suggest away from Strength, Dexterity, or Magic. The Aim should be to try and make it useful for everyone so Constitution, Willpower, and Cunning would be the main picks. Of these stats, making Constitution buff the Artefact Infusion AND making it potentially buff it extremely well could perhaps be another way of trying to raise Constitutions profile; but, likely Willpower or Cunning should be picked, realistically.

I will add that I sort of like the potential idea of making it associated with Anti-Magic somehow too. If for example, it released a Silence, Mana Clash, or some other Anti-Magic styled sensation, I could see that perhaps giving some use to it - and polarizing its flavor versus the Rune of Reflection.

[jdisk]

I like the idea of a stat potentially boosting the effect of the Primal Infusion. I have no real thoughts on what stat would best be useful for it, but I would suggest away from Strength, Dexterity, or Magic. The Aim should be to try and make it useful for everyone so Constitution, Willpower, and Cunning would be the main picks.

The description claims that the Primal Infusion has evolved, i.e. adapted. Why not make is so that it adapts to the user and scales with the users highest stat.

[Davion Fuxa]

That would certainly be another way of making it unique.

[Atarlost]

I wouldn't say Wyrmic is primarily Cunning.
Or that this item should be targeted at a few specific classes.

Does it need to be generally great for everyone though?

You saying it shouldn't be just targeted at wilders is what started this.

I do think it's thematically inappropriate to target it at a metaclass that isn't wilder, though.

[grayswandir]

I will add that I sort of like the potential idea of making it associated with Anti-Magic somehow too. If for example, it released a Silence, Mana Clash, or some other Anti-Magic styled sensation, I could see that perhaps giving some use to it - and polarizing its flavor versus the Rune of Reflection.

Ooh, what if we tied it to what status effect was cured? If it cures a magical effect, it silences in radius 5, physical stuns, and mental confuses. For like 3 turns.

[HousePet]

You saying it shouldn't be just targeted at wilders is what started this.

I do think it's thematically inappropriate to target it at a metaclass that isn't wilder, though.

I was just questioning whether tailoring the item to a single meta class or for everyone is the right idea.
People have jumped to justifying why different scalings would be good for different groups, but we seem to have skipped any reasoning as to why is should be designed in such a fashion.
No other inscription appears to be designed for a specific metaclass, with the exception of Rune of the Rift, which while it is more useful to Paradox users for the Paradox lowering effect and the temporal damage synergy. Continuum destabilisation is an antisynergy for them, and the scaling stat is Willpower, which is a commonly used stat for non arcane classes.

If we wanted to go with symmetry arguments for deciding a scaling stat, the currently used stats for artifact inscriptions are Magic, Willpower and Mindpower. To balance that out, the logical choice is Physical Power/Strength.

[Atarlost]

You saying it shouldn't be just targeted at wilders is what started this.

I do think it's thematically inappropriate to target it at a metaclass that isn't wilder, though.

I was just questioning whether tailoring the item to a single meta class or for everyone is the right idea.
People have jumped to justifying why different scalings would be good for different groups, but we seem to have skipped any reasoning as to why is should be designed in such a fashion.
No other inscription appears to be designed for a specific metaclass, with the exception of Rune of the Rift, which while it is more useful to Paradox users for the Paradox lowering effect and the temporal damage synergy. Continuum destabilisation is an antisynergy for them, and the scaling stat is Willpower, which is a commonly used stat for non arcane classes.

If we wanted to go with symmetry arguments for deciding a scaling stat, the currently used stats for artifact inscriptions are Magic, Willpower and Mindpower. To balance that out, the logical choice is Physical Power/Strength.

I'm saying that whether it's designed for everyone or for wilders it should scale to either will or cunning. Will is probably slightly better if it's wilder targeted because wyrmics and that dwarven class might conceivably go dex tertiary and cunning for everyone else because will isn't very useful to stamina classes who don't go antimagic, but the two most general stats also happen to be the most common primary and secondary stats for wilders.

Also, I think on reflection that metaclass is the wrong way of thinking about this question. The Rune of Reflection, which is what the Primal Infusion has been compared to is keyed to classes that are arcane powered. The suggestion is that the Primal Infusion be keyed to classes that are nature powered. That happens to be synonymous with the wilder metaclass, but the important thing is that they're nature powered, not that they're members of the wilder metaclass. If nature hybrids were created in other metaclasses they should still be in the group of classes the Primal Infusion should be targeted at if it isn't targeted generally.

[Davion Fuxa]

I will add that I sort of like the potential idea of making it associated with Anti-Magic somehow too. If for example, it released a Silence, Mana Clash, or some other Anti-Magic styled sensation, I could see that perhaps giving some use to it - and polarizing its flavor versus the Rune of Reflection.

Ooh, what if we tied it to what status effect was cured? If it cures a magical effect, it silences in radius 5, physical stuns, and mental confuses. For like 3 turns.

Another idea is instead of having a fixed effect, maybe it instead removes a random effect on your character and applies that same effect to enemies within X Tiles.