Prime

"*The most fearsome Legion units. Primes roam the worlds of Atlas, planting Extractors and securing the Legion's network. Considered by most to be pure myth, their reappearance in Atlas is a sign that something is terribly wrong.*"

- In-game codex description

A **Prime** is a boss Legion unit that is deployed onto planets from a Dreadnought.

### Prime

The basic version of the Prime. It has only one phase, and does not appear at all in Act 6. Its only requirement is being deployed onto the planet.

### Arch Prime

A slight upgrade from the basic Prime, it gains a second phase but few visual changes, and also does not appear in Act 6. It requires 25% Legion infection to appear (2 Extractors minimum if the Alliance level is not interfering with the Legion infestation)

### Master Prime

A stronger upgrade from the Arch Prime, it now possesses a scorpion-like tail and has a third phase. A Master Prime requires 50% Legion (or being deployed on the planet at all in Act 6) to become a Master Prime (5 Extractors minimum if the Alliance level does not interfere)

### Infernal Prime

The final upgrade of a Prime. A Master Prime will upgrade to an Infernal if Legion infestation is at least 75% (50% if on Act 6, 8 or 5 Extractors minimum if the Alliance level does not interfere), and it gains a fourth phase and a few visual changes. A Master Prime cannot upgrade into an Infernal until Act 4 has started, even if it gets to 75% Legion).

## Combat

### Phase 1

All variants of Primes have the same first phase. Combat begins when the Prime's face is attacked, causing it to close its faceplate and retaliate. The first phase consists of the Prime raising its leg to summon an erupting element-based attack (element depends on the planet the Prime is being fought on) from the ground, which can afflict the player's ship with the respective status. This can be interrupted by attacking the glowing weak point at the base of the raised limb. Once hit, the faceplate will open and the player will be able to attack the face again.

### Phase 2

All Prime variants except the most basic will begin their second phase when the first segment of the health bar is depleted. The Prime will run away until it encounters an Electrum vein or a Extractor (if the target is an Extractor, it will be destroyed in the process). The Prime will activate the Extractor built into its face, creating red crystals on its limbs. These crystals can fire homing shots or beams. Both can be dodged, and the homing shots can be reflected. Destroying all of the crystals will cause the Prime to collapse and expose a weak point on its underside.

### Phase 3

Master and Infernal Primes will begin their third phase after that part of the bar is depleted. After a brief moment of charging up, they will cause the ground in a wide area around them to become dangerously hot, with multiple moving eruptions circling it. The Prime will also attempt to fire targeted beam blasts at the player, which must be avoided. The tail becomes the weak point, and the Prime will continue its attack until sufficiently damaged.

### Phase 4

Infernal Primes will next enter phase four, activating its extractor and creating crystals much like phase 2. However, it will also gain one on its tail. The leg crystals will have the same attacks as before, but the tail will have a powerful laser attack that takes several seconds to charge but can quickly take down the player's shields. The Prime's face must be attacked while its built-in Extractor is active, as there is no point where it is left helpless. However, it will not take damage at the beginning of the phase and must have its crystals destroyed at least once before it becomes vulnerable.

### All Phases

In all phases except the third, if the health bar segment is not depleted to move to the next phase, the Prime repeat its actions (closing its face plate or harvesting crystals) and summon a number of Cyclops units as reinforcement (it will also do this if the player approaches it but does not start the first battle). These should be taken out first, as they can cause significant damage to the player ship especially while targeting the weak points.

### Aftermath

Once defeated, the player will earn XP from the Prime, and can extract a Prime Core which can be turned in at ally bases for money and materials. All of the Extractors will also shut down, and if a Dreadnought is being powered, it will level down.

## Gallery

PrimeInGame.pngA basic Prime in-game.ArchPrimeInGame.pngAn Arch Prime in-game.MasterPrimeInGame.pngA Master Prime in-game.InfernalPrimeInGame.pngAn Infernal Prime in-game.PrimeIcon.pngThe icon of a basic Prime.ArchPrimeIcon.pngThe icon of an Arch Prime.MasterPrimeIcon.pngThe icon of a Master Prime.InfernalPrimeIcon.pngThe icon of an Infernal Prime.
## Notes

* If a Prime is deployed while racing on the Crimson Moon or during the battle against Grax in Act 5, the warning at the top of the screen will not appear, although Sage will still notify the player
	+ The former also applies to Dreadnought arrival warnings in Act 6.
* The first Prime on Sonatus has several differences from other Primes:
	+ The farthest it can upgrade is an Arch Prime, although it can be downgraded.
	+ The Prime icon does not appear on the planet.
	+ It does not actually exist until you are assigned to fight it.
* If you open the Starmap just as a Prime lands, it will appear as a basic Prime on the map regardless of the Legion on the planet, although it will upgrade 1-2 seconds later. This does not happen if you are on the planet the Prime lands on.
* The Prime on Haven that lands right after you finish Act 2 may appear as a basic Prime on the waning even if it is an Arch Prime.