It's mostly a pointless topic if he doesn't intend to tackle Turn 5 anytime soon. You can beat 1-4 purely in Darklight. So if Turn 5 is not an immediate possibility, feel free to gear your alts.

It just doesn't matter. 2.1 is December, and it will likely be till February/March for 2.2, which is when there will be actually content progressing from Turn 5. 2.1 is a hard mode dungeon and crystal tower, all likely below Turn 5 in difficulty and rewards.

You have a LONG, LONG time before you need to start worrying about being geared for the next difficulty tier.