I’ll just make two points on this and leave it be, because I know it isn’t going to change.
Point One: The drop rate for Primals is so stupidly low that they had to implement at least one guaranteed drop at 70, just to prove they actually exist. There’s something deeply broken about that.
Point Two: The argument I most frequently encounter in defense of that laughably low drop rate is how “powerful” they are. Well…they aren’t. On top of the fact that you’re nearly guaranteed to get a Primal you absolutely cannot use (i.e. not just something that isn’t for your build, something stupid like a Follower token, Blackthorne, or one of the many non-legendary Legendaries; those which do not have a unique affix), there also exists the high likelihood that the Primal you do get will roll a combination of stats which puts it directly in the trash anyway.
We can’t have every possibility forcibly and carefully calculated to the minimum possible chance to be of any use. At least something has to work out for the player, else it starts to cultivate an environment of complete hopelessness and futility. Why bother even trying when the odds are so low that some players have literally never seen a natural drop?
I like the idea of a cube recipe. It would have to be expensive enough that you don’t get players rolling 100% primals within a week. It would have to be reliable enough that players could eventually get what they want (with a little effort). It would have to offer enough control that a player can target specific primals (or at least a specific type of item). Without those three qualities, the wheel is just too big to ever see the ball land on your number.
For myself, I just don’t expect to ever see one. I occasionally get surprised by a red beam, but I don’t think “WOOHOO, a Primal Ancient!”; I think “Oh, hey. 15 Forgotten Souls.” That reaction will be blamed on a terrible attitude by some users here, but the reality is that it’s been earned. You can’t blame statistics on the observer; RNG is unbiased.
I’ll leave you with a quote by one Nathan Ford: “I know the key to a good game is balancing boredom and frustration. If the puzzle is too easy, the mark -the player- gets bored and walks away. If the puzzle is too hard, the player gets frustrated and quits in a rage.”
We have to have rarity in the game; we absolutely do. But should that rarity be so vastly overtuned that a player subconsciously quits the idea that it will ever happen? Getting a perfect primal? No…getting even a usable primal is less likely than winning the lottery while being struck by lightning twice…and the lightning is also made of winning lottery tickets.
