Acquiring character shards, active and inactive requirements are different.

For Inactive, the shard count is to unlock at that * level. For active, your numbers are based on advancing to a * level from a lesser current * level. Either way, the shard counts are the same.

So for Kylo Ren to be 4* I just need to collect 80 shards, since that is what he unlocks at. Similarly, for Nightsister Initiate to get to 4* from her 1* unlock, I need to get (10 (1* unlock) +15 (to advance to 2*)+25 (to advance to 3*)+30 (to advance to 4*)) 80 shards. You're not getting ripped off. It's all equal.