"May I have this dance?"
— Primrose, before a random battle.
Primrose Azelhart is one of the eight playable characters in Octopath Traveler. She was only one of the two playable characters in the Project Octopath Traveler Demo, the other being Olberic. Primrose was a member of the once proud House Azelhart, until one fateful night changed her life for the worse. Now, she takes the front of a dancer in Sunshade as a means to try and track down the men who murdered her father.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Primrose has long brown hair that falls past her waist and is tied up into a high ponytail. She possesses a slim yet curvaceous build, has olive skin, and wears makeup. Considered very beautiful, she is adorned with jewelry, such as golden loop earrings, bracelets, and a necklace that may have been given to her by Helgenish, her former employer. As a dancer who works in an establishment meant for the pleasure of the watchers, Primrose predominantly wears a red dancer outfit consisting of a short top and a high slit skirt that leaves much of her bare skin showing. On her feet are brown sandals.
Personality[]
After the death of her father, the loss of her home, and the persistent disgrace Helgenish brought upon her while she worked at Sunshade, circumstances forced Primrose to mature quickly. She lives to enact revenge on the three men who took her father's life, and she is willing to endure anything - the jeers of the other dancers, the cat-calling of her customers, and Helgenish's daily abuse - in order to obtain leads on their location.
Yusufa describes Primrose as a woman of few words, who rarely discloses information about herself. Primrose may come across as aloof and distant, locking up her true desires and feelings, but Yusufa believes that Primrose still has a good heart. Primrose acts courageous and righteous, standing up for Yusufa when no one else did, and she was bold enough to anger Helgenish by leaving the tavern in pursuit of the man with the mark of the crow on his left arm.
Primrose is also noted to be a good actor. She constantly put up the façade of an ignorant and obedient woman when, in truth, she despised every moment she spent under the watchful eye of her employer. She holds strong control over her emotions, rarely raising her voice even when experiencing intense rage, although her emotional control does have its limits. When Yusufa lays dying at Helgenish's hands, she tells Primrose that until then, she had never heard Primrose shout. Above all else, Primrose exhibits cunning and ruthlessness in her search for the men who killed her father, yet still has a kind enough spirit to put the well-being of others before her own. She will not willingly endanger innocent lives for the sake of her revenge.
Beneath her aloof, seductive facade, Primrose is a melancholy and lonely woman. Her loving father's murder left her with an empty hole in her heart, and she reflects to herself that the pain of the abuse she endures while working for Helgenish is nothing compared to the pain of losing her father. She may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, as she has frequent nightmares about the night her father was murdered years, even ten years after the incident. Enacting her revenge on the three men who ruined her life has become her only reason to continue living.
Simeon, the man marked by the crow on his neck, points out that Primrose's quest for vengeance is only an excuse, motivated by her inner desperation to find peace despite her loss and loneliness. When he asks Primrose whether she felt any contentment after killing his associates, she realizes that Simeon is right: Avenging her father's death will not ease her suffering.
At the same time, Primrose's suffering has enhanced her empathy toward the plights of others, as despite her slowness to socialize, she remains kind and gentle to those who aren't targets of her anger. She reveals a more relaxed and playful side during much of her Travel Banter with the party, flirting and jesting with them. As such, she seems to open up much more easily around those she considers friends. Over the course of her journey with the other travelers, she comes to the realization that she is not alone anymore, and that having companions gives her strength.
History[]
"Your name is Primrose, and you are a dancer. You ply your trade in the pleasure district of the town of Sunshade, shrouded forever in darkness. But in truth, you are a highborn daughter of the once-proud House Azelhart, an identity you conceal from all. "Three men bearing the mark of the crow. They took my father from me." But you will have your revenge."
— Primrose's description when selecting her.
Prior to Story[]
Ten years ago, Primrose watched three men break into her home and murder her father. All three men wore the mark of the crow somewhere on his body: one on his left arm, one on his right, and the last on his neck. As she was only a child at the time, Primrose could do nothing but hide in fear as she watched these events transpire. After her father's death, she left her home and began traveling from place to place, searching for leads on the whereabouts of the three crow-marked men.
Two years later, Primrose's information-gathering led her to the town of Sunshade, where she was taken in by Helgenish and fashioned into a dancer. She endured eight years of his abuse in the hopes that she might find one of the men who murdered her father. At the start of Octopath Traveler, she is still dancing for Helgenish, persevering through his cruelty towards his dancers.
Chapter 1[]
While enduring another night of work under Helgenish, Primrose spots a man with the mark of the crow on his left arm at the tavern. She attempts to pursue him, but Helgenish stops her outside thetavern. Her friend Yusufa offers to distract their employer while Primrose goes after him.
After following the man, Primrose discovers him handing a map to Helgenish. She follows him deeper into the Sunshade Catacombs, but as she exits, she is greeted by Helgenish, who has captured and tortured Yusufa. After Helgenish murders Yusufa in front of her, Primrose attacks him, leaving him dead in the sand. Taking the map for herself, she sets off for Stillsnow in pursuit of the left-hand man.
Chapter 2[]
At Stillsnow, Primrose reunites with Arianna, a woman who used to work for House Azelhart. Arianna reveals that after House Azelhart fell, she began working at a brothel owned by the left-hand man. Primrose managed to convince Oren, a stagecoach driver, to take them to the Obsidian Parlor.
There, she infiltrates the parlor and exacts her revenge on Rufus. Before he dies, Rufus tells Primrose that she must return home to Noblecourt in order to find the truth.
Chapter 3[]
Upon arriving at Noblecourt, Primrose notices that crime has become more frequent since the fall of her house. She is soon reunited with Revello, a man who used to work for the city watch, and Simeon, a writer and former gardener for House Azelhart who captivated her as a child.
Revello accompanies Primrose into the Obsidian Manse in pursuit of the right-hand man, who they soon realize is none other than Albus, a captain of the city watch thought to have died. Enraged by his betrayal, Primrose exacts her revenge on Albus as well.
When Revello leaves, Simeon suddenly appears in the room and stabs Primrose, revealing himself as the head of the crows who killed Geoffrey Azelhart. Primrose collapses, rescued by Revello to recover at his home.
Chapter 4[]
After her wounds have healed, Primrose makes for Everhold, Simeon's home. Simeon prepares a play mocking her life in an attempt to distract her from her goal, but she persists and confronts him at the amphitheatre balcony, where he attempts to psychologically break her. Overcoming his words, Primrose finishes her quest for revenge.
At last, Primrose returns to Noblecourt and visits her father's grave. Although her journey has ended, her heart still aches with hollow pain. She does not yet know what she will do with her life, but until then, she resolves that she will dance.
Relationships[]
Helgenish[]
The employer of Primrose and an acquaintance of one of the men who murdered Primrose's father, Helgenish gave her a roof over her head while she searched for the whereabouts of the "crows." Many times, Helgenish displays his true colors as a swine who takes advantage of his dancers, threatening them and forcing them to earn their keep while using them to satisfy his own twisted pleasures. When his dancers have no use to him anymore, Helgenish "puts them down" by beating them half to death and throwing them into the gutter.
Helgenish constantly dotes upon and abuses Primrose. He manipulates her into remaining in his employ, treating her as his possession rather than a free woman. Primrose harbors strong feelings of hatred towards him, but she conceals them in order to maintain his favor. After Helgenish murders Yusufa, her only friend, Primrose declares that her accomplishments are her doing alone, and that Helgenish never helped her in the first place. Primrose therefore kills Helgenish without compunction.
Yusufa[]
Yusufa was Primrose's only friend while she worked under Helgenish. Primrose always defended Yusufa, who had been sold to Helgenish at a young age, when the other dancers picked on her. Despite their employer's abuse, Primrose managed to bring Yusufa happiness. Although Yusufa did not know much of Primrose's background, the fact that Primrose stayed at her side was enough reason for Yusufa to help her in chasing down the man with the mark of the crow. Yusufa offers to distract Helgenish while Primrose makes her escape, even though this scheme eventually leads to Yusufa's own death.
During her last moments, Yusufa reveals her upbringing and describes how she yearned to be friends with Primrose, who made her depressing life a bit better. She dies happily, knowing that Primrose saw her as a friend. After killing Helgenish, Primrose keeps the handkerchief that Yusufa gave her throughout her travels.
Simeon[]
When Primrose was a child, Simeon worked as the former gardener of House Azelhart. A passionate writer, Simeon had a way with words, writing poems that captivated Primrose. Years later, when meeting her at Noblecourt, Simeon still enamors Primrose, praising her for becoming such a beautiful woman.
Simeon's kind demeanor, however, is later revealed to be a façade. In truth, he is a sadistic man who enjoys toying with others to make them suffer, glorifying their despair through his twisted "art" of screenplay. As the leader of the Obsidians, he is ruthless and devoid of compassion, manipulating Primrose even in his final moments.
Battle[]
Primrose is a Dancer, gifting the party with various buffs and Dark-elemental magic. She can initially only equip daggers and her buffs are all single-target, though this can be circumvented later by the Dancer Divine Skill, Sealticge's Seduction. She has high speed and evasion compared to the rest of the travelers, allowing her to act before her allies in order to provide buffs and making up for her low health and defenses. If she wears magical-focused equipment, she deals good damage with Moonlight Waltz and Night Ode and her buffs can be lengthened with her native support skill, The Show Goes On.
Primrose's Path Action, Allure, allows her to recruit an NPC as a temporary companion in battle. These guests are untargetable and uncontrollable, but will attack every turn and offer a rare chance of protecting her from a direct hit. They will leave the field after a few turns and can be resummoned a set number of times before they are released. NPC strengths and abilities vary greatly, so with careful planning and preparation, Primrose can add considerable value to the fight. Allure is a Rogue Path Action, however, resulting in reputation loss if it fails.
- Primrose is elementally inclined, making Scholar an effective subjob. Access to three additional elements allows Primrose to take on an offensive role when the party is not in need of buffs and combines well with her native dark magic.
- Thief can be a great supportive option as well, as it allows her to provide debuffs alongside buffs for the team. Primrose is also a great user of the Divine Skill Aeber's Reckoning as her own high natural speed, alongside the Thief's speed, boosts the damage quite well.
- Merchant can be an interesting supportive option, as she gains access to Donate BP and Hired Help for greater supportive measures. She also obtains wind magic to complement her native dark spells and Rest allows Primrose to restore her own SP so she can continue to attack and support.
- Cleric turns Primrose into a pure support character, giving her the one status buff that is not available to the Dancer. However, Primrose's naturally low Elemental Defense causes her to struggle as a healer. However, the Cleric subclass begins to shine when you gain access to her Divine Skill, Sealticge's Seduction. When this buff is applied, it allows any spell that is normally single target to cast onto the group instead. Combining this with the Cleric's Reflective Veil constitutes an incredible countermeasure for any spellcasting enemy, as it shields the entire party at once from magical attacks.
Once advanced jobs become available, Primrose is a strong candidate for the Sorcerer job. Even more than the Scholar, Primrose can combine her native buffing abilities with powerful offensive magic and her naturally high speed makes it easier for her to break the enemy before they can damage her.
Recommended support skills for Primrose include: Inner Strength (early-game), Saving Grace, Elemental Augmentation (early-game), SP Saver, Surpassing Power (late-game), The Show Goes On, Second Wind, Fleetfoot (early-game), Patience, BP Eater, Divine Aura, Stronger Strikes, Augmented Elements, and Elemental Edge.
Due to the flexibility of subjobs, any character can fill any role with the right equipment and skills. With proper planning, any of the travelers can perform decently on any subjob.
Dancer Skills[]
| Skill | SP | Damage Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lion Dance | 4 | Augment a single ally's physical attacks for 2 turns. | |
| Moonlight Waltz | 7 | 
|
Deal heavy dark damage to a single foe. |
| Peacock Strut | 4 | Augment a single ally's elemental attacks for 2 turns. | |
| Mole Dance | 4 | Augment a single ally's physical defense for 2 turns. | |
| Night Ode | 10 |
|
Deal dark damage to all foes. |
| Panther Dance | 4 | Augment a single ally's speed for 2 turns. | |
| Bewildering Grace | 25 | Cause a curious effect to occur one time. | |
| Sealticge's Seduction | 30 | [Divine Skill] For 3 turns, skills performed by a single ally that usually target one foe* will affect all foes instead (this will not affect divine skills). |
*Buffs that usually target one ally will also affect all allies.
Support Skills:[]
| No. of Skills Unlocked | Total JP | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 130 | The Show Goes On | Status augmentations you grant to allies will persist for one additional turn. |
| 5 | 630 | Eye for an Eye | Gain a 50% chance of counterattacking after being targeted by a physical attack. |
| 6 | 1,630 | Second Wind | Recover a certain amount of SP each turn. |
| 7 | 4,630 | Encore | Once per battle, upon being incapacitated, you will recover with 25% of your maximum HP. |
Subjobs:[]
Below are the sprites and appearance changes for Primrose with each basic Subjob:
Each time a subjob is selected, the appearance of the character will also change. The first sprite is the appearance with no Subjob equipped.
Quotes[]
- "Wouldn’t you like to watch?" —When selected from the main screen
- "And so I must pursue the foul crow. Don't get involved. This is my problem, not yours. But... I suppose you're free to do as you please. Come on already, if you're coming." —Joined the Party
- "Call me if you need me. I am ever ready to take the stage." —Tavern Dialogue
- "Faith shall be my shield." —Primrose's Catchphrase
- "With the grace of Sealticge!" —Using Sealticge's Seduction
- "It can't end like this..." —Defeated
- "It would seem the people here aren't enamored of me." —When attempting to Allure with damaged reputation
Gallery[]
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
Etymology[]
Primrose (prɪmrəʊz) is a European plant of woodland and hedgerows, which produces pale yellow flowers in the early spring/a pale yellow color. Origin: late Middle English: compare with Old French primerose and medieval Latin prima rosa, literally ‘first rose’.
Trivia[]
- Although Primrose has green eyes in her sprite, her character design shows her to have brown eyes.
- This isn't the only case where the eye color or overall color scheme of a character is different from their overworld sprite. Another case is H'aanit, who has pale clothing in her artwork, while her sprite shows red clothing.
- Primrose is the only female protagonist familiar with romance, as demonstrated by the For Women's Ear's Only Travel Banter. When asked what kind of man she fancies, however, Primrose notes that the girls are out of drinks and runs.
- Primrose is one of only two characters whose main chapter bosses are all human, the other being Therion.
- Primrose is also the only traveler whose starting location is not where she returns to when her story is finished. Instead of returning to her starting town of Sunshade, she returns to her town of birth, Noblecourt.
- This makes the Sunlands the only confirmed area in Orsterra which none of the travelers actually hail from, although Therion's birthplace is unknown.
- Primrose is one of 2 characters, the other being H'aanit, who kills every boss in their story (although it's left ambiguous if the Lord of the Forest is mortal or a guardian spirit).
- Likewise, both are the only characters who don't use their Path Action in their final chapter to complete their story.
- Primrose is the only character with a story cutscene that takes place during a thunderstorm, in her opening Chapter 1 flashback.
- In Champions of the Continent, the game actively prevents Primrose from interacting with Simeon, as she isn't supposed to meet him at all until Chapter 3 of her story. As such, Simeon will disappear as an NPC from his usual location if Primrose is the party leader and only reappears if she has been swapped out. Likewise, cutscenes featuring Simeon will force another traveler in the party to stand in as the Chosen One.
- According to an allured Merchant NPC by Atlasdam Palace Gate, Primrose smells like jasmine and honey.
- Primrose is the only character of the original eight travelers to appear in a main story cutscene in Champions of the Continent, albeit very briefly; this is during the Master of All storyline, where Helgenish introduces her to "Charles," "El," and Solon. The others are limited to their individual character quests and the Octuplet quests.
- Primrose's Chapter 2 reveals that House Azelhart has a dark history of sabotaging—and even murdering—its rivals. The house reached the height of its power by inviting its liegelord to a castle feast, then slaughtering him in cold blood. The Azelhart family held on to the political power that they gained thereafter to become one of the predominant houses in Noblecourt.
- During her Chapter 2, Primrose mentions that her father taught her how to wield a sword.
- Primrose's Chapter 3 is the only chapter in the game in which its protagonist's main theme ("Primrose, the Dancer") is never played.
- Primrose's story is also unique in that half of its chapters (3 and 4) don't require the use of her path action to advance the storyline.
- At the mural within the Ruins of Eld, Primrose confesses, "Those paintings scare me. I don't think I've seen anything quite so... spooky."
- In Tressa's Chapter 4 banter, Primrose gives the young merchant tips on fending off stage fright. First, Primrose advises, "Pretend everyone is a fish." When dancing, Primrose claims to imagine that she is a fish, "swimming in an endless sea."
- This could have been the inspiration for the creation of Hermes, an NPC dancer in Octopath Traveler II, who uses similar terms to describe and advertise her dancing.
- In the Four Talents banter, Primrose is revealed to often leave her companion's company so that she can practice her dancing in secret, as she refuses to perform an imperfect dance in public.
- Primrose was one of the earliest characters created for Octopath Traveler. The developers tested out various scenarios, initially creating her as a soldier named "Shannon." [1]
- Interestingly, Primrose's Chapter 4 actor proxy is also named Shannon, which is probably a nod to her early name.
- When drawing Primrose, artist Naoki Iskushima strove not only to capture her allure, but also to encapsulate the strength and sorrow that dwelt within her. He sought to reflect these aspects both in her physically and in the elegance of her contours.[2]
- Primrose was initially planned to fight with a weapon concealed within an ornate folding fan.[3]
- According to developer Shizuka Morimoto, because Primrose's clothes are simple, her sprites were created with careful attention to the flow and silhouette of her hairstyle. In his words, "Her poses are sometimes sexy, sometimes cool, sometimes capable, like an older-sister type." He even created a full animation of her dancing, but it was scrapped due to the amount of work required to translate it into other job sprites.[4]
References[]
- ↑ Octopath Traveler devs on character origins, visual style, initial HD Rumble plans, much more. (Date Posted: Nov. 3, 2018).
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 12.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 13.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 17.