Connection strategy and primal bridges
Reference tables and habits for joining aspects by hand. Everything here is computed from the same recipe data the solver uses.
Bridges between the six primals
Primals never link to each other directly, so the first question on most notes is what goes between two of them. 10 of the 15 primal pairs share a compound and can be joined with a single cell. The other 5 pairs have no shared compound and need at least two.
| Pair | Chain | Cells to fill | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aer – Terra | Aer → Motus → Iter → Terra | 2 | 5 |
| Aer – Ignis | Aer → Lux → Ignis | 1 | 2 |
| Aer – Aqua | Aer → Tempestas → Aqua | 1 | 2 |
| Aer – Ordo | Aer → Motus → Ordo | 1 | 2 |
| Aer – Perditio | Aer → Vacuos → Perditio | 1 | 2 |
| Terra – Ignis | Terra → Vitreus → Ordo → Potentia → Ignis | 3 | 5 |
| Terra – Aqua | Terra → Victus → Aqua | 1 | 2 |
| Terra – Ordo | Terra → Vitreus → Ordo | 1 | 2 |
| Terra – Perditio | Terra → Victus → Mortuus → Perditio | 2 | 5 |
| Ignis – Aqua | Ignis → Gelum → Perditio → Venenum → Aqua | 3 | 5 |
| Ignis – Ordo | Ignis → Potentia → Ordo | 1 | 2 |
| Ignis – Perditio | Ignis → Gelum → Perditio | 1 | 2 |
| Aqua – Ordo | Aqua → Victus → Sano → Ordo | 2 | 5 |
| Aqua – Perditio | Aqua → Venenum → Perditio | 1 | 2 |
| Ordo – Perditio | Ordo → Permutatio → Perditio | 1 | 2 |
Cost is the synthesis cost of the cells you fill, with each primal counted as 1. Where two chains tie on length, the cheaper one is shown. The chain reads the same in either direction.
The pairs without a one-cell bridge are Aer–Terra, Terra–Ignis, Terra–Perditio, Ignis–Aqua, and Aqua–Ordo. If a note prints one of these pairs in adjacent-but-one hexes, no single aspect will join them, and you have to route around.
Filling a gap that is longer than the chain
The table gives the fewest cells. Notes often leave more cells than that between two endpoints, and every cell on the path has to hold something.
The cheap way to add length is to step back and forth between two aspects that link. Aer and Motus link, so Aer → Motus → Aer → Motus is valid for as long as you like, and each extra pair of cells costs 3. Any compound and one of its components can be used this way.
This padding always adds cells two at a time, which leads to a parity problem. If the shortest chain between your endpoints fills one cell and the note leaves you a path of two, bouncing will give you three, five, seven, never two. To change parity you need a triangle: three aspects that all link to one another. Volatus is the handiest example, because Volatus = Aer + Motus and Motus contains Aer, so Aer, Motus, and Volatus are mutually connected. Stepping Aer → Volatus → Motus instead of Aer → Motus adds exactly one cell. The second worked example is built around this.
Other base triangles work the same way: any compound whose two components are also directly related, such as Herba with Victus and Terra, or Limus with Victus and Aqua.
Hub aspects
An aspect with many neighbors gives a route more ways to continue, which matters when several endpoints have to meet in the middle of the note. These are the best-connected base aspects.
| Aspect | Neighbors | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Victus | 9 | 2 |
| Aer | 8 | 1 |
| Motus | 8 | 2 |
| Instrumentum | 8 | 11 |
| Terra | 7 | 1 |
| Perditio | 7 | 1 |
| Humanus | 7 | 10 |
| Ordo | 6 | 1 |
| Vacuos | 6 | 2 |
| Ignis | 5 | 1 |
Primals and cheap two-primal compounds fill most of the list, because so many other aspects are built straight from them. When three or more printed aspects need a common meeting point, a primal in the center is usually the cheapest junction. Among compounds, weigh the neighbor count against the cost: a well-connected aspect that costs 10 or more is a junction of last resort.
Dead ends
25 base compounds are not a component of anything else in base Thaumcraft 4, so each links only to its own two components: Alienis, Arbor, Auram, Corpus, Exanimis, Fabrico, Gelum, Iter, Limus, Lucrum, Machina, Metallum, Meto, Pannus, Perfodio, Permutatio, Sano, Sensus, Telum, Tempestas, Tutamen, Venenum, Vinculum, Vitium, Volatus.
These are poor choices for a cell in the middle of a route unless both of their components are exactly what you need on either side. When one is printed on the note, plan its exit first, because it has only two. Addons can add compounds built from these aspects, so in GTNH a few of them gain an extra neighbor. Each aspect’s page lists its full neighbor set including extensions.
Habits that save points
- Start from the awkward endpoint. The printed aspect with the fewest or most expensive neighbors limits everything else. Decide how to leave it before placing anything near the easy ones.
- Join endpoints into one tree, not pair by pair. Three endpoints meeting at a shared cell use fewer placements than two separate paths.
- Check the whole path before the first placement. Points are spent on placement. Count the cells, check parity, and confirm each neighboring pair against the recipe list.
- Spend what you have, not what is theoretically cheap. Six points of an aspect you have hundreds of cost you less than two points of one you are nearly out of. The Common ranking and the availability toggles exist for this.
- Mind the missing hexes. A gap in the note can turn a three-cell straight line into a five-cell detour and flip the parity of the route.
The solver does this bookkeeping for you, but knowing the patterns makes it easier to judge the routes it offers and to adjust one by hand.