I expected ascended tier to have a full different required materials.
I suggest having ascended to require a different set of materials that isn’t needed to craft the legendary. The purpose is to narrow the gap between exotic and legendary.
E.g. Players have gotten 250 Ectoplasm, would he hinder his process of getting a legendary by crafting an ascended by taking away 50×6 ectos?
If ascended and legendary requires different set of materials, it’ll help in making a proper progression between exotic and legendary. Players can work both at the same time, by getting ascended in 3 months, legendary in 6 months. Not getting ascended in 3 months and pushes back the legendary to 9 months.