So i struggle through my first lvl 70 rift on my witchdoctor (season non-hardcore) and identify with much excitement my first primal.
-> Primal Skywarden (2-hand crusader mace)
I am a fan of having the excitements and disappointments of RNG. But seriously… the first primal could really be fixed to the class you’re playing. Or am i asking too much with this?
Smart Loot v2 means that 85% of loot that drops will be for the class you are playing at the time it drops. The other 15% of loot will be for other classes and/or have a different main stat to that of your current hero. This applies to absolutely all loot that drops, whether it’s legendary, ancient or primal.
This got a special mention in the Season 16 blog…
https://us.diablo3.com/en/blog/22820656#_Quality_of_Life
Finally, we want to make sure everyone is clear when they can start collecting Primal Legendaries; upon completing your first Greater Rift 70 or higher Solo, you’ll receive an achievement indicating your accomplishment and the Greater Rift boss will be guaranteed to drop a Primal Legendary. This drop is subject to all other loot rules—meaning while there’s a large chance it will be suited for your class, randomness does play a factor.
The primal guarantee was a massive lie anyway. I completed my first GR 70 on 3 different platforms (Mac, PS4, Switch) and unlocked primals after season 16 and NONE OF THEM dropped any primal until a random one a long long LONG time AFTER that first GR. You’re lucky you got any primal at all on your first 70 rift.
Personally I’m not motivated to try to get primals at all. The chances of one dropping, being the right class, being the right item to fit into very strict gear setups, is extremely unlikely, as in winning the lottery 37 times in a row and then being struck by lightning 2,896 times in a row while your kitchen cleans itself.
The guaranteed primal is for your very first solo GR70 (or higher) in a season. There’s no guaranteed drop for subsequent heroes or in non-seasonal play.
Generally, they’re only really of importance for weapon slots, where the maximised weapon / elemental damage gives the biggest basis for your skill multipliers to act on. Having said that, they’re just as likely as legendaries and ancients to drop with bad affixes, even if the values of said affixes are max’d out. Most legendaries and ancients get salvaged and so are primals, for exactly the same reasons.