Question for those with Tier 4 Alpha

Just curious to see how you went about crafting your tier 4. I sat down last night and was looking at the progression to re-creating the Alpha enhancements to get my 2nd revamp enhancement to make my final Tier 4 and came across that you can use threads for some of the components if you don't want to go the entire Shard/Notice of the Well etc. route.

Has anyone tried this? Honestly when looking at the components needed if you do try to use threads for some of the enhancements instead it just looks like way too much work. Example, you can use a Thaumatic Resonator(threads) instead of trying to get a Favor of the Well to create your T4, but after looking at it, it boils down to something like 500+ threads needed to make the components to create it, or 30 Empyrean Merits.

Thankfully I had enough Shards and Threads saved up from everything I've done so far to basically re-create the first two Alpha enhancements needed, and about halfway through the 3rd, just need the rare component or a Notice of the Well to finish, but I'm just curious to see how long it took some of you to gather the components needed for the 4th tier and what route you chose in terms of threads/shards. I expect this will probably take awhile, given the fact I've yet to get anything but 2-3 uncommons in terms of the component rewards from trials and flashback arcs from Ouroborus, still waiting to get a rare or very rare.

Overall I just don't see much benefit in trying to get everything to T4 given the amount of time it will take, except for maybe my Lore slot. I have everything else at T2 now and just waiting on rare components to finish up my Tier 3s.

Rare and Very Rare components, as well as Empyrean Merits, are much easier to get via trials than via Dark Astoria, in my experience. Even with that, yes, T4 powers generally provide very little benefit over T3 powers, and are considerably more difficult to get.

I've got only three characters that have T4 alpha powers. One character got it because I had nothing better to do with a VR from an Underground run, the other two obtained it over a long period via Notices and Shards.

IMO, the first thing you should concentrate on is getting level shifts. The shifts are more beneficial and important than any T4. As Hopeling pointed out, there isn't a huge difference between T3 and T4. Components are harder to come by in DA than running trials so it becomes important to plan out your build to stock up on the components you'll need for destiny and lore; that's even if you don't currently have the slots open. I was pleasantly surprised at the rate of iXP you can earn in DA, it's not bad, so opening slots in DA is reachable in a reasonable time frame. Also, I would T3 interface and judgement before working on any T4, including alpha (Lore before Alpha isn't a bad idea either). I have only one character fully T4'ed out and maybe 3 others with T4 anything and I enjoy all of them.

So - It really depends on what you want from your build, your playstyle and character. This is the pattern that I worked out for my builds on any new incarnate, whether using the new DA or running iTrials.

Edit: I will state that my preference is to run iTrials cause I actually enjoy them, but the new DA is pretty fun.

I opened my alpha on my ice/ice/psi fender then ran a BAF, and rolled into the next iTrial (UGT)... t3 alpha, opened judgement & t2'd that... Few trials later I'm about to slot lore & open interface...

and I have to stress this.... this toon is a VERY casual project... Generally, I alpha up on the task forces & WST's... I hardly ever seek shard runs... I have several incarnate alts some w/ multiple t4 alpha's... t4 alpha is an indulgence (only mandatory if you have alt ocd). But the other incarnate powers offer alternatives into the T4 range that might be worth the extra effort.

I agree that level shifts are more critical than t4 performance.

You should avoid building a Very Rare from threads, if at all possible, because yeah, it's an insane number of threads (and 200m inf is not to a cost to sneeze at, either). Getting them randomly from reward tables, or guaranteed from empyrean merits, is far preferable.

I avoid using shards for anything except converting to threads now. When you need a rare/VR, run the newer/harder trials for a guaranteed drop.

I wait until the Very Rare drop on me or I curse the living daylight out of NPC. I avoid using astral merits and empyrean merits. But seriously i usually wait until the very rare drop or start collecting the rare and combine them.. although it may take a while since there isnt a huge difference between tier 3 to tier 4.