To tier or not to tier
No, you only need to slot a single T3 Alpha power. The only time you need an additional T3 is to make a T4 (as any T4 requires any 2 T3s as part of its recipe). but just having any T3 or higher Alpha ability in your alpha slot means you will be 50+1 everywhere.
To slot a T3, you first need to create the following:
T1 (all salvage)
T2 (previous power + salvage)
T3 (previous power + salvage)
At this point, you have 50+1 everywhere, and good enhancement values from your boost.
To slot a T4, which does nothing beyond giving a couple more percent enhancement value (which may or may not be interesting to you), you need to get a second (different) T3 (so salvage, previous power+salvage, previous power+salvage) and then combine them: T3 + T3 + salvage.
Obligatory wiki link - clicking on the bold names of the abilities brings you to the page where their recipes are available.
Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
City Info Terminal: http://cit.cohtitan.com
Mids Hero Designer: http://www.cohplanner.com
Thank you!!! This forum is the best
I'm about to slot up the cardiac alpha power. I'm still new at this. My goal is to become plus 1. Is it necessary to fill up every tier entirely in order to be plus 1?