Primals Unquestionably Bad

[Enkidoh]

The fact is though, the Primals have a negative, corrupting influence by their very nature - it's how much or how little they spread that influence with which they each differ by. Ifrit and Garuda are clearly the most dangerous ones (excluding Odin and Bahamut of course), Ifrit due to his liberal use of tempering to indoctrinate both his amalj'aa kin and other races alike, and Garuda due to her insanity and bloodthirsty nature. The other Primals seem to be more content to just protect their specific lands, (ala Titan, Ramuh), or haven't yet been summoned (Leviathan, Shiva), but it's inevitable conflict caused by the influence of these Primals will occur in the future.

This also leads to an interesting comparison between the Primals - ala, tempering. Of all the Primals, Ifrit seems to be the only one directly shown tempering both the amalj'aa and members of both other beast tribes and the five races alike. Titan isn't shown tempering at all, and even Garuda only resorted to it on a single occasion after the player defeats her and she springs back, intending to make an example of the player to punish them by making them her slave for eternity. Of course, this backfires on her.

So, the fact only Ifrit seems to be hellbent on creating an army of zealous mindless worshipers seems to suggest Ifrit is somewhat insecure in his strength - seeming to enslave almost the entire amalj'aa race doesn't seem to be enough for him, and hence he resorts to tempering other races as well. As a Primal's power is directly tied to how many believe and worship them, well, it's obvious he feels the more the better in his case.

This also juxtaposes the situation with the dragonkin in Coerthas - Ishgardians regard those who have been influenced by the dragons as heretics to be killed, and in fact, on several occasions the player is shown not only is this all too real, in fact those unfortunates seem to show all the signs of tempering - just like Ifrit's tempered, they seem to be mindless slaves of the beastmen zealously devoted to them, although who or what is the dragonkin's Primal has not been revealed. So, does that mean the dragonkin's yet to be seen Primal has in fact been tempering long before the amalj'aa summoned Ifrit? I've heard Bahamut constantly mentioned as the dragonkin's Primal, but considering Ishgard has been at war with the dragons for years even while Bahamut was still confined in Dalamud, I don't think this is the case at all. Tiamat perhaps? Or another dragon Primal? Either way, it's a very interesting idea.