Anyone know how to farm incarnate shards?

[redendermen]

recently I've been starting to fill out my incarnate powers, and I've been frustrated at how frigging rare these things are, does anybody know how to farm them?

[Placta]

First, you don't need shards for anything, you can use thread components which are easily gotten through trials and Incarnate arcs.

 

If you're really determined to get them, though, best advice I can give is do stuff like ship raids or zone invasions (Rikti, zombies, Nemesis) where you're defeating a lot of enemies quickly. Windfall temp powers may help. I don't know.

 

 

[Greycat]

Yeah, I pretty much ignore them, honestly, and wish they'd just get folded into threads.  ITF used to be "the thing" to farm for them, as I recall.

[Six-Six]

If you're really after shards... for some reason or the other... then I may have a way to "farm" them. They're just regular drops as you play content any content, but from what I've noticed, they tend to drop less than threads. One way to get shards is to join iTrials where you can earn a Notice of the Well/Favour of the Well. I think WST ones do this (sorry, haven't played incarnate content in a while). You can then breakdown or side grade these into shards or shard-based components.

[Bill Z Bubba]

4 hours ago, Placta said:

First, you don't need shards for anything

 

This. I have yet, after what.. two years now?, to create a single incarnate power from anything shard related. They all get converted to threads.

[InvaderStych]

This is why multiple currencies for the same goal should be discouraged.

 

Ignore Shards, Convert Them To Threads.

 

Yes, a person can use Shards and that salvage tree for building an Alpha.  No, it isn't worth tracking the two currencies to do so except by the narrowest of "savings" margins.  IMO, not worth the effort, just dump them into Threads.

[Hedgefund]

A few things.

 

Shards won't drop from any incarnate content, so don't do iTrials with the expectation of obtaining shards, you'll get none.

 

Hami mitos have a great drop rate, something like a 1/13 chance to drop from a defeated mito, if you happen to do Hami raids.

 

Personally, I save shards to create the t4 pieces.  I'll use threads for going up the alpha tree to t3 twice.  Then use shards, I need 40 but they do drop, frequently enough that Alpha may not be the last incarnate power to get to t4, depending on how VR drops go.  You can converted Notices to shards (4-6, depending on the RNGods favor).  I also choose the shard components rather than merits for the 2 TFs.  For example for Musculator Radial I'll need 2 ITFs, unless I want to spend more shards.  

 

The term "upgrade" is most unfortunate on the menu to "upgrade" shards to threads.  The conversion rate is 10 shards to 10 threads, every 20 hours.  10 shards to 5 threads if you just can't wait.  10 threads is trivial.  That's 1 Ephram Sha mission.  I do not recommend converting shards to threads, a lot of value is lost and very little is gained for speeding up going up any incarnate tree.

[Marshal_General]

I think you still get shards from the signature story arc mission each week. I don't remember if it is just for one or for each mission. I used them until I ran out and then used threads.

[Without_Pause]

I did a character's Alpha using Shards. It was the last aspect to get to T4. As in all of the other powers were at T4 before I got my Alpha done. I'll likely do the same going forward simply because the conversion rate is just so terrible. Part of the issue outside of the drop rate for Threads being so much better, Threads can essentially be farmed by doing the daily DA mission and taking the 10 Thread reward. I think one should get a Shard on level up or three when you get a Vet level. This would put getting the T4 for Alpha done right around the time the rest of the T4s are done. Hell, getting any amount of Shards for doing the daily would be great as well. It is frustrating since Shards are used as currency along with rewards for doing the WST and players are doing those by default for the extra Merits.

 

Love CoH to where I have obsessed over it. There are dev decisions which as simply asinine. The use of Shards and Threads is one of them.

[TheZag]

I didnt read super carefully but i only saw ignore shards and use threads but not anything about the tiny scroll bar on the component section.  Alot of players that are trying to get shards dont know about the absolutely tiny scroll bar in the recipe section that has the thread recipe under the shard one.  They are told to use threads but dont know about the hidden boss scroll bar.

[Zhym]

Not only do you not need shards, you don't really need to farm threads, either.  Instead, farm components.  It takes 20 threads to make even a common component, so it's far more efficient to go for the components directly.  You can do that by running iTrials or Dark Astoria content. 

 

By far the quickest way, if you're just farming, is to run Heather Townshend's "Burden of the Past" arc over and over.  Once you're used to the arc, it takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on the character.  Not only does it reward an incarnate component as part of its rewards table, but you also get an emp merit and another random incarnate component.  And the XP for the arc isn't too bad, either, which helps you get those emp merits for leveling the first few veteran levels.   Oh, and you'll also get a few threads, too.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Zhym

[Ukase]

7 hours ago, redendermen said:

recently I've been starting to fill out my incarnate powers, and I've been frustrated at how frigging rare these things are, does anybody know how to farm them?

They can't be effectively farmed any more than threads. BUT - let me share some facts that a LOT of people don't know. 

1. Shards won't drop for incarnate content. So, you can BAF all day long and never get one. You can zip through the Dark Astoria & Incarnate Cim arcs and never get one. 
2. Anecdotally, shards drop very frequently compared to threads when I discount the drops for dinging a new vet level in certain content. What content is that? 
MSRs and Hamidon Raids. The mito clearing stage tends to give me 3-4 each round of hami. 

Do NOT make the mistake of simply using threads for alpha, unless and until you have the other slots completed without considering this next point. 
All the shards you get can only go towards your alpha. All the threads you get can go towards 
Alpha, Judgement, Interface, Lore, Destiny and Hybrid. Doesn't it make sense to use shards as you can, for your alpha, and use threads to complete your Lore & Destiny for those incarnate level shifts before you fuss with Judgement & Interface? It does to me. You do you. 

The t-1 alpha requires 12 shards or 60 threads. Or - if you're inclined to do certain task forces, you can forgo the reward merits for a specific common salvage to help complete the recipe. The MSR also allows you to exchange Vanguard Merits for a Gr'ai Matter incarnate component, saving you 4 shards. So, if you enjoy task forces, there's no reason you can't run 3 task forces and use those reward components to craft your t-1 with no shards. 

So many folks get shards so rarely that they insist shards are too rare and threads are easier. I do state that you can only go with what the RNG gives you. But if you're just doing BAF and Speed Lambdas, you're never going to get any shards. So, of course, they're rare for you. 

The problem with shards for Alpha for me is that the t-3 is always gated by the notice of the well. You can only get, at most, 2 per week. One from the weekly, and one from exchanging the Flames of Prometheus (from Mortimer Kal SF) for another Notice. But, after you've exchanged it, you can't repeat Mort. Kal for another Flame and get another notice. It's a one time deal. So that's 3 weeks at least you have to wait to get your t-4 if you only use shards. 

The way some folks do iTrials all day - they can often get so many incarnate drops, that they're t-4'd pretty quickly, if the RNG gave them some love with Very Rares & Rares. It's all random, though. Some folks will swear, that if they don't do Underground (100% chance of rare or very rare) they'd never get a rare or very rare. 

 

There's no wrong way - but it makes sense to me to use shards when you can. Try to conserve threads for the other slots, because while threads may drop 5x as often or more, you need 5x as many. It's all about the rng, of course. And, of course, when you get 120 threads for vet levels 1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11, that's 960 threads just by doing anything that gives xp. 

With all that said, in my afk fire farms, my new 50's will sit in there and get plenty of shards while I'm afk. They don't drop as often as in a Hami Raid or an MSR, but they do drop a lot, simply because of the number of mobs that get clobbered. So, there's always an actual farm to farm them. 


Oh - if anyone tells you to "Ignore shards and use threads" - they are giving you an incomplete picture - and candidly, they're telling you the wrong thing. They are wrong for doing so. It's an incomplete answer. What we need to start saying is that "It Depends", like so many other things in game. It depends on what you're doing, and what the rng gives you. 
Will using threads exclusively work? Sure. Will using Shards exclusively for Alpha work? Sure. Is there a "best"? No. Because it all depends on the content you do and the RNG. 

And there's no reason, if you're in a hurry, that you can't use threads (and shards if you have them) for your t-3 alpha, for the level shift, then from that point, use shards only, conserving threads for the other 5 slots, and just letting the shards accumulate until you can get the t-4. 

[iBot]

I think the very first component I made for incarnates was using a shard because I didn't realize that threads were easier.  Also, recently I just use emp merits for anything that doesn't drop.  The first 21 vet levels rain enough emp merits to easily get T4 alpha and at least T2 or T3 of others depending on what else drops for you.  Running arc 22.07 in ouro rewards an easy component and can be done in under 10 minutes (or even 6 - 8 minutes with awesome map and placement).  Even a team can do the mission in around 12 minutes due to the larger spawns.  This is by far the fastest and easiest way to earn components to craft incarnate powers since any level will drop as the reward.  Several times I've gotten enough VR to get alpha and another power to T4 in just a few runs.  No threads or shards needed.  It does help if you know what components you need prior to the reward window popping up but really only important if running with others that are speeding.  Otherwise you can take your time and bring up the incarnate window to make sure you pick what is needed for the next component you want to craft.

[tidge]

34 minutes ago, Zhym said:

By far the quickest way, if you're just farming, is to run Heather Townshend's "Burden of the Past" arc over and over.  Once you're used to the arc, it takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on the character.  Not only does it reward an incarnate component as part of its rewards table, but you also get an emp merit and another random incarnate component.  And the XP for the arc isn't too bad, either, which helps you get those emp merits for leveling the first few veteran levels.   Oh, and you'll also get a few threads, too.

 

I'd like to add a few further recommendations to the above suggestion. This arc is a very good one to 'farm' for many reasons. I would typically run it at +0x8.

• With Incarnate level shifts, the enemies become MUCH easier to defeat. The XP may be less, but the drops are just as good.

When I try to 'farm' this arc, I usually go for the first level shift from Alpha, and if the character needs an AoE I will grab a Judgment... but otherwise I'll try to get the other two level shifts... one is Lore, which can help clear maps. Most of my characters I do this with can clear all the maps at 0x8 in about 30 minutes. There is roughly a 50% chance to get a level 50 PVP or Purple drop from this effort. A few of the enemies contribute to badges as well, if that's in your jam.

 

If you just want to stealth the arc for components (or Super Inspirations!), even the clumsiest of characters should be able to do it in under 15 minutes.

 

Lately: I've been VERY lazy about filling in Incarnates on my characters. The IO system makes them very powerful in (non-incarnate) content, and I've had plenty participate in the "level 50" non-incarnate content without even having Alpha slotted. When I do get around to slotting the Alpha, I find that I almost always have enough shards, Vanguard merits and Notices of the Well to build at least a T3. The second T3 is usually made from threads and then I again use Shards and Notices to make the T4.

[Zhym]

2 hours ago, tidge said:

If you just want to stealth the arc for components (or Super Inspirations!), even the clumsiest of characters should be able to do it in under 15 minutes.

Side note, that's probably obvious: never ever take the "Two Super Inspirations" reward at the first rewards screen.  Super Inspirations are always offered as "consolation prizes" for incarnate components, and the rarer the component, the more Super Inspirations you'd get as an alternative.  The worst you can do is get offered two Super Inspirations instead of a common.  So there's no downside to trying the component lottery to see if you can get more than just the two Super Inspirations.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Zhym
Clarifying (hopefully)

[Hedgefund]

I also want to point out the reward menu for Hamidon defeat includes a 4 shard option.  Most raids have multiple runs and since the merit rewards half after the first time you claim them and you can only choose an HO once, for one rune I'll select the shards if I'm building up an alpha.

 

Edit to add - it's empyreans, not shards that's an option on the Hami defeat reward menu

Edited December 29, 2021 by Hedgefund

[Ukase]

29 minutes ago, Hedgefund said:

I also want to point out the reward menu for Hamidon defeat includes a 4 shard option.  Most raids have multiple runs and since the merit rewards half after the first time you claim them and you can only choose an HO once, for one rune I'll select the shards if I'm building up an alpha.

I'm sure this is an oversight, but it's a 4 emp merit reward, allowed once per 18 hours..or is it 20? I'll just say once a day because I can never remember the number of hours. 

Additionally, if you've the time and interest - running an Aeon SF on Relentless is pretty simple on any team, provided you have good team composition. The players don't even need to be that competent. It's just run in, do as much damage as you can, rez up and repeat - if your tactics and team buffs/debuffs are insufficient to carry you through each fight. Yeah, it'll take a long time if your team isn't that great - but you get a lot of astrals, can choose the 4 emp merit reward at the end, and you'll probably get a lot of emps worth of astrals. 

I can't recall how many astrals I started with - less than 5, or I'd have converted them, I'm pretty sure. But I finished with 40 astrals - which is 8 emps worth. 

The team I was on, we had 6 barriers and 2 incans. We timed the barriers for one cast every 30 seconds...and since they recharge in 2 minutes, we were never without good buffs. It made the whole thing as easy as a speed itf. Took less than an hour. It may be telling, but we also only had one tank and 7 corruptors with various buffs/debuff secondaries. So, solid team comp in that regard. 


Unless....I'm so accustomed to choosing Emp Merits for round 1, reward merits for round two & three, that I've completely overlooked a 4 shard option OR it's something in the latest patch. Haven't done a hami in a month or so...

Edited December 29, 2021 by Ukase

[srmalloy]

4 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

This. I have yet, after what.. two years now?, to create a single incarnate power from anything shard related. They all get converted to threads.

Actually, I find that by the time I'm ready to make my T3 Alpha, I'll have run a WST and have the eight shards (or four and a G'rai Matter, depending on the type) to be able to use them to make the T3, saving the Empyrean merits for the higher slots or the T4.

[Hedgefund]

I haven't done a Hami in maybe a year.  I do believe you're right that it's 4 emps, not shards.  I was looking at this page on the HC wiki https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Incarnate_Shard_Component#How_to_Get which states "Successfully defeating the Hamidon gives the option of four Incarnate Shards" but the Wiki is wrong.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Hedgefund

[tidge]

1 hour ago, Zhym said:

Side note, that's probably obvious: never ever take the "Two Super Inspirations" reward. 

 

I'll disagree. I have a couple of characters with maxed out vet levels, and all the extra Incarnate abilities I want. Were talking many different Lores, extra Judgements (woot, fire fighting) etc. etc. I'll take the Super Inspirations and drop them in the SG base.

[Luminara]

You could pick @Bill Z Bubba's pocket when he's not looking.

 

Oh... shards, with a D.

 

Avoid that pocket.

[Zhym]

58 minutes ago, tidge said:

 

I'll disagree. I have a couple of characters with maxed out vet levels, and all the extra Incarnate abilities I want. Were talking many different Lores, extra Judgements (woot, fire fighting) etc. etc. I'll take the Super Inspirations and drop them in the SG base.

I'm not saying not to take Super Inspirations.  I'm saying that if you want Super Inspirations, you may get more of them (and won't get any fewer) if you select incarnate components first.  The table for each category of incarnate components also offers Super Inspirations, and the number of Super Inspirations you get goes up with the rarity.  IIRC, it's 2 for a common, 3 for uncommon, 4 for rare, and...well, I'm not sure how many Super Inspirations you can get instead of a Very Rare because I never looked when a VR popped up.  But if you just click "Super Inspirations" as your reward at the first screen, you may be missing out on as many Super Inspirations as you can get by rolling the dice for components first.

 

For example, I just did a Heather Townshend run, and here's the rewards table, which offers two Super Inspirations as an option.  

 

But I selected Incarnate Components instead, which gave me the option of getting an Uncommon component or three Super Inspirations:

 

So there's no reason (other than not wanting to click an extra button) not to pick Incarnate Components at the first screen even if what you really want is Super Inspirations.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Zhym

[Neiska]

I do something a bit differently.

 

I have a rolling "bank" of emp merits that I mail to myself. When farming in AE I save up 50, turn them into a transcendent merit, and mail it to myself. I do this on 3 different accounts. If you don't plan on going full t4's you can accumulate quite a bit of merits this way. Then when I make an alt, as soon as their Alpha slot is unlocked I use merits to go t3 for their first level shift, and go from there. After playing them for a time I may or may not decide to go fully t4s, but sometimes I go with just t3s. It varies.

 

Anyway, If I had to guess, I would say I have roughly 800 or so emp merits at any given time in my banks to pull from. And it isn't difficult at all to fill them back up again with just what you get from veteran levels.

 

Not saying its the most expedient, or the best, it's just what has worked very well for me.

[Ukase]

2 hours ago, Hedgefund said:

I haven't done a Hami in maybe a year.  I do believe you're right that it's 4 emps, not shards.  I was looking at this page on the HC wiki https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Incarnate_Shard_Component#How_to_Get which states "Successfully defeating the Hamidon gives the option of four Incarnate Shards" but the Wiki is wrong.

I took the liberty of editing this page just now. I simply removed that line about the shards, as declaring it rewarding 4 emp merits didn't really jive with the shard info. 

[Ukase]

16 minutes ago, Neiska said:

I do something a bit differently.

 

I have a rolling "bank" of emp merits that I mail to myself. When farming in AE I save up 50, turn them into a transcendent merit, and mail it to myself. I do this on 3 different accounts. If you don't plan on going full t4's you can accumulate quite a bit of merits this way. Then when I make an alt, as soon as their Alpha slot is unlocked I use merits to go t3 for their first level shift, and go from there. After playing them for a time I may or may not decide to go fully t4s, but sometimes I go with just t3s. It varies.

 

Anyway, If I had to guess, I would say I have roughly 800 or so emp merits at any given time in my banks to pull from. And it isn't difficult at all to fill them back up again with just what you get from veteran levels.

 

Not saying its the most expedient, or the best, it's just what has worked very well for me.

I do this with my farmers. When they reach vet level 48, I recycle them, and they will either melt down the emps for reward merits into converters, or send transcendent merits to the new alt for quick level shifts. Just depends on which need is greater.