Last War Hero Upgrade Priority and Resource Investment Guide

To progress efficiently in Last War, concentrate your Hero EXP, skill medals, and star shards entirely on your primary squad (Squad 1). Within that squad, upgrade your primary backline damage dealer first, followed by your main frontline tank. Spreading resources evenly across secondary marches or support units slows campaign clears and reduces your overall combat effectiveness.

Squad Focus: Prioritize Squad 1 Over Secondary Marches

Funnel all primary experience into your main five-hero march. In Last War, squad combat power scales heavily with concentrated investment. A single high-level primary squad outperforms rosters that split equivalent EXP across Squads 2 and 3.

Primary Squad (Squad 1): Clears PvE campaign milestones, eliminates high-tier world map objectives, and leads critical PvP encounters. Push these heroes to their immediate level caps, which are determined by your Headquarters and Drill Grounds.
Secondary Squads (Squads 2 and 3): Keep these at the minimum level required to gather resources on map tiles or assist with basic alliance activities. Only invest leftover EXP into secondary units when your main squad hits an unavoidable growth ceiling.

Hero Leveling Priority Within Your Main Squad

Leveling should follow role impact rather than an equal spread. Keep your primary damage dealer 10 to 20 levels ahead of your frontline defenders to clear enemy lines quickly and beat stage timers.

Primary Backline DPS (e.g., Kimberly): Highest priority. Fast burst damage removes opposing frontline units, cutting incoming damage before your own defense collapses.
Main Frontline Tank (e.g., Murphy): Second priority. Frontline survivability buys time for your backline carries to cycle through their abilities.
Secondary Backline DPS: Third priority. Adds complementary damage to secure eliminations if your primary carry is targeted.
Off-Tank / Second Frontline Hero: Fourth priority. Absorbs residual hits once the primary tank takes initial burst damage.
Backline Support / Buffer (e.g., Marshall): Fifth priority. Provides squad utility and stat multipliers that function effectively without high base-level stats.

Skill Upgrade and Medal Investment Order

Skill medals are time-gated, so prioritize active damage and mitigation skills over passive bonuses. Active skills trigger on specific turn or energy cycles and deliver the largest immediate combat return.

Role	Target Ability Type	Priority	Combat Impact
Primary DPS	Active Burst Skill	1st	Breaks through enemy frontline targets early in battle
Primary Tank	Damage Reduction / Shield	2nd	Keeps your frontline standing so your backline can cycle attacks
Primary DPS	Passive Attack Boost	3rd	Increases baseline damage across the entire fight
Support	Squad Buff / Morale Skill	4th	Multiplies overall team damage without requiring heavy hero stats
Secondary Tank	Defense / HP Passive	5th	Provides backup survivability if your main tank falls

Medal costs increase steeply at higher skill ranks. Once an individual skill's upgrade cost doubles, pause upgrades on that ability unless it directly scales your primary damage carry.

Star Promotions and Event Timing

Universal shards should go exclusively into your active Squad 1 heroes rather than unassigned Ultra Rare (UR) or Super Rare (SSR) units.

Promote Damage Carries First: Reaching 3-star and 4-star benchmarks unlocks vital attribute jumps and higher skill caps. A 4-star offensive carry can power an understarred support squad through tight stage timers, whereas a high-star tank paired with a low-star attacker will often stall and run out of time.
Avoid Low-Tier Traps: Minimize EXP and gold investment in Rare or basic Super Rare heroes once viable UR options are available. EXP resets consume valuable gems or reset tokens.
Time Upgrades for Events: Hold level-ups, shard promotions, and major skill milestones for relevant Arms Race stages or Alliance Duel hero advancement days. Cashing in your growth materials during these windows yields secondary rewards, including recruitment tickets, speed-ups, and bonus skill medals.