Hero Guide (Pre-Season 1)

How Heroes Work in Last War

Heroes are your army. A squad of 5 heroes is your fighting force. Each hero provides:

• Base stats — Attack, HP, Defence (scale with level)
• Skills — active and passive abilities that define their combat role
• Gear slots — 4 pieces of gear (Gun, Chip, Armor, Radar) that boost stats
• Troop type — Tank, Aircraft, or Missile Vehicle (determines squad bonuses and combat triangle)

Hero Rarities

Pre-Season Hero Tier List

S-Tier (Top Priority Investment)

A-Tier (Strong Investment)

B-Tier (Situational)

Detailed Hero Breakdowns

Kimberly (S-Tier — Tank DPS)

Kimberly is the pre-season queen. Her AoE damage output is unmatched in the early game, and she remains relevant well into Season 1.

What makes Kimberly dominant:

• AoE damage — her skills hit multiple enemies simultaneously. This means she does not just kill one hero, she damages the entire enemy squad
• Scaling — her damage scales excellently with gear and star upgrades. A 4-star Kimberly with gold gun does far more than a 2-star Kimberly
• Versatility — effective in PvP, PvE, rallies, and garrison defence. There is no game mode where Kimberly is bad
• Accessibility — as a Tank UR hero, her shards are among the easiest UR shards to acquire in pre-season

Key skills:

Investment priority: Kimberly is always your #1 investment target on a Tank squad. Gun first, then star upgrades to 4, then skills. Everything feeds her damage.

DVA (S-Tier — Aircraft DPS)

DVA is the late-game carry. Once Aircraft becomes the dominant meta (around day 70+), DVA is the hero everyone fears.

What makes DVA dominant:

• Single-target burst — DVA's ultimate skill targets the most dangerous enemy hero and eliminates them before they can contribute. In PvP, this often decides the fight in the first few seconds
• Crit scaling — DVA's kit revolves around critical hits. With high crit rate and crit damage from gear and skills, her damage output becomes exponential
• PvP dominance — in Arena, Cross-Server PvP, and alliance wars, DVA-led squads have the fastest kill times
• Late-game ceiling — while Kimberly falls off slightly in Season 1+, DVA keeps scaling

Key skills:

Investment priority: DVA is your #1 investment on an Aircraft squad. Do not start building Aircraft until you have DVA and can commit to starring her up.

Murphy (A-Tier → S-Tier — Tank)

Murphy is the most important tank in the game and one of the few heroes who gets better over time rather than worse.

What makes Murphy exceptional:

• Layered damage reduction — Ironclad Barrier cuts your front row's Physical Damage taken and hands Mitigation stacks to three random allies, while Stand Firm cuts all damage taken for the whole front row. He has no HP buff and no attack buff: this is a purely defensive kit
• Durability — Murphy has the highest effective HP of any hero when his skills are active. He simply does not die
• Exclusive Weapon — Murphy's Exclusive Weapon (available later) is one of the most effective in the game. It makes him viable even in non-Tank squads (the Murphy Exception in Aircraft squads)
• Cross-type flexibility — Murphy is the only hero regularly used outside his own type's squads

Key skills:

Investment priority: Murphy is your #2 investment on a Tank squad (after Kimberly). His Radar is the second gold gear piece you craft.

Williams (S-Tier — Tank)

Williams is the purest defensive hero in the game, but be precise about what he does. Iron Will is a Defense buff, not damage reduction, and it lands on two targets in your own front row — it only covers the whole squad from 3 stars. His 30% damage reduction is a separate passive and applies to himself alone. A higher Defense stat does more work against harder-hitting enemies, so the "better against big hits" instinct holds; it is just not a team-wide mitigation aura, and below 3 stars it is not team-wide at all.

What makes Williams critical:

• Percentage-based, not flat — Iron Will raises the front two units' Defence by 50% of their own, and All-Around Armor removes 30% of whatever damage reaches Williams. Both stay proportional however hard the enemy hits, so he absorbs more in absolute terms the bigger the incoming hit
• Low investment floor — Williams works at low star counts. His damage reduction is meaningful even at 1-2 stars, which is why he is invested in last on the Tank squad
• Universal defence — his reduction applies to both physical and energy damage, protecting against all enemy types

Key skills:

Investment priority: Williams is #5 on the Tank squad investment order. He works well even at low investment because percentage-based damage reduction does not need high stats to be effective.

Tesla (S-Tier — Missile DPS)

Tesla is the Missile squad's energy damage carry. If you are building Missiles, Tesla is your main damage dealer alongside Fiona.

What makes Tesla dominant:

• Lightning Chain stacking — Tesla's Inductive Current mechanic means his damage ramps up over time. The longer the fight lasts, the more devastating he becomes
• Energy damage specialist — Tesla bypasses physical defence entirely. Against heavily-armoured front-line tanks, this makes him exceptionally effective
• +30% Energy Damage — on Tesla himself. Electric Power Boost reads "Boosts this hero's Energy Damage". It is not a team buff, and it does not touch anyone else's skill damage. It is still a large number; it just belongs to him
• Electric Grid Lockdown — backline nuke that targets the enemy's damage dealers directly, bypassing the front line
• Counter-pick specialist — Missile squads counter Aircraft, and Tesla is the hero who makes that counter work

Key skills:

Investment priority: Tesla is #1 or #2 on a Missile squad alongside Fiona. Tesla handles energy damage while Fiona handles physical — together they cover both damage types and prevent enemies from stacking one type of defence.

Marshall (A-Tier — Tank Support)

Marshall is classified as a Tank hero but plays as a Support — the only UR support hero in the game. He is a force multiplier who makes everyone else deal more damage.

What makes Marshall valuable:

• 16.5% team-wide attack buff — Marshall's Command Strategy buff applies to the entire squad. This is not additive with other buffs — it multiplies your DPS heroes' existing damage, which means the stronger Kimberly gets, the more valuable Marshall becomes
• 30% cooldown speed — on Marshall himself, not the squad. This is the most commonly misread thing about him. It does not make your other heroes cast more often; it makes his squad-wide attack buff come back up almost as fast as it expires, which is what turns an 8-second buff into near-permanent uptime
• Damage reduction on your carry — his passive also cuts damage taken by the allied hero with the highest Attack. That is automatic, it always lands on your carry, and it is a large part of why he is worth a slot in a squad that already has a tank
• Universal utility — Marshall's buffs work regardless of squad type, making him relevant in mixed squads and World Boss
• Low gear priority — Marshall does his job effectively even with modest gear, which means resources can go to Kimberly and Murphy first
• Exclusive Weapon (Season 3) — makes Marshall the undisputed top support hero in the UR class

Key skills:

Investment priority: Marshall is #3 on Tank squad investment. His value comes from buffs, not stats, so he needs less investment than the carry or main tank.

Stetmann (A-Tier — Tank DPS)

Stetmann is the Tank squad's secondary damage dealer. He deals energy damage like Kimberly, but where her Barrage Strike spreads eight smaller rockets across random targets, his Lightning Rush concentrates into three much heavier hits — so he adds burst against priority targets rather than a second damage type.

What makes Stetmann valuable:

• Energy damage — enemies cannot stack one type of defence to counter your squad when you have both physical (Kimberly) and energy (Stetmann) damage
• AoE — like Kimberly, Stetmann hits multiple targets. Two AoE heroes in one squad clear enemies faster
• Consistent damage — Stetmann provides reliable damage throughout the fight, not just in bursts

Key skills:

Investment priority: Stetmann is #4 on Tank squad investment. He gets a Gun after Marshall and Chips after the priority heroes.

Schuyler (A-Tier — Aircraft CC)

Schuyler is a crowd control specialist whose stuns disrupt enemy damage dealers.

What makes Schuyler valuable:

• Stun — a stunned enemy deals zero damage. Stunning the enemy carry for even a few seconds can decide a fight
• Disruption — Schuyler targets high-priority enemies, shutting down their damage rotation
• Synergy with DVA — Schuyler stuns threats while DVA bursts them down. The combination is lethal

Key skills:

Investment priority: Schuyler is #5 on Aircraft squad investment. Her value comes from her stun duration and reliability, which improve with skills more than gear.

Morrison (B-Tier — Aircraft Defence Shred)

Morrison amplifies your entire squad's damage by reducing enemy defence.

What makes Morrison valuable:

• Armor-Piercing Shot — strips 5% Defense per hit, stacking to 25% on one target, with each hit aimed at a random enemy. Where it lands, it is a multiplicative buff for your entire squad
• Synergy with DVA — Morrison's defence shred makes DVA's already high burst hit even harder against the target
• Consistent debuff — as long as Morrison is alive, enemies take more damage from everything

Key skills:

Investment priority: Morrison is #3 on Aircraft squad investment. He needs to stay alive to maintain his debuffs, so he gets a Gun and then survivability gear.

Lucius (B-Tier — Aircraft Tank)

Lucius is the Aircraft squad's second front-row hero, providing defensive buffs that protect the entire squad.

What makes Lucius valuable:

• Silver Armor — reduces damage taken by front-row allies. Makes Carlie (or Murphy) far harder to kill
• Knight's Spirit — team-wide energy damage reduction. Protects against enemy skill damage
• Dual defensive layers — physical damage reduction (Silver Armor) and energy damage reduction (Knight's Spirit) together cover both damage types

Key skills:

Investment priority: Lucius is #4 on Aircraft squad investment. Front-row defensive gear (Radar, then Armor).

McGregor (B-Tier — Missile DPS)

McGregor is the Missile squad's secondary damage dealer.

What makes McGregor valuable:

• Strong targeted damage — McGregor deals high single-target damage, complementing Tesla's splash
• Reliable output — consistent damage throughout fights

Key skills:

Investment priority: McGregor is typically #3-4 on a Missile squad investment order.

Fiona (S-Tier — Missile AoE DPS)

Fiona is the highest physical damage Missile Vehicle hero — a burst AoE nuker. Her Tactics hits every enemy at once and her passive boosts her own physical damage; verified in-game, her base kit contains no damage-over-time effect at all.

What makes Fiona dominant:

• Burst AoE — Atomic Blast hits every enemy for heavy physical damage on a 9-second cooldown. Her damage arrives in spikes rather than accumulating
• AoE physical damage — while Tesla handles energy damage, Fiona covers physical AoE. Having both in a Missile squad means enemies cannot stack one type of defence
• Self-amplifying — Ballistic Boost raises her own physical damage by 30%, rising with stars, so investment in her ATK compounds into every Atomic Blast
• Exclusive Weapon (Season 5) — Double Trajectory auto-attacks apply Radiation, Atomic Blast dispels enemy buffs, and Missile Specialist provides a 7.5% stat buff to all Missile Vehicle heroes. This weapon transforms Fiona from strong to game-breaking

Key skills:

Investment priority: Fiona is the #1 or #2 investment on a Missile squad alongside Tesla. If you plan to build Missiles, start collecting Fiona shards early — her Exclusive Weapon in later seasons makes her the strongest Missile carry in the game.

Mason (A-Tier — Tank DPS)

Mason is a strong early-game Tank DPS hero with significant future potential.

What makes Mason valuable:

• UR upgrade in Season 1 — Mason upgrades from SSR to UR in Season 1, which is a massive power spike
• PvE enabler, not a PvE carry — his passive does not boost his own damage. It boosts your back-row Tank heroes' damage against monsters, so his value depends on who sits behind him, and it does nothing in PvP
• Its value depends on your back row — the passive reads "back-row Tank Heroes", so it pays out only if you actually have Tank heroes sitting in the back row. Whether Mason counts as one of them when he is himself in the back row is not stated on the skill — worth confirming in-game before you build around it
• Shard accessibility — as the most accessible SSR hero, easier to star up than UR heroes. Forms the best Tank core alongside Murphy and Kimberly

Key skills:

Investment priority: Mason is a smart long-term investment. If you plan to play through Season 1, collecting Mason shards now is valuable, and his UR promotion is a real power spike. Be clear about what you are buying, though: his passive only pays out against monsters, so he earns his slot in Zombie Siege, campaign and boss content rather than in Arena or Alliance Duel.

Carlie (A-Tier — Aircraft Tank)

Carlie is the only Aircraft-class tank in Last War: Survival, making her irreplaceable in any Aircraft squad.

What makes Carlie essential:

• Unique role — the only Aircraft hero who can tank. Without Carlie, your Aircraft squad has no dedicated front-line defender of its own type
• 40% energy damage reduction — absorbs energy damage that would otherwise destroy your backline. Against enemy skill bursts (like Kimberly's AoE), this decides the fight
• Rapid attack — dual-string rockets with 1-second attack intervals mean Carlie contributes meaningful damage while tanking
• Inferno Blaze — team debuff that softens enemies for your damage dealers
• Exclusive Weapon (Season 2) — provides approximately 10% increase to HP, Defence, and Attack per level, making the power gained substantial

Key skills:

Investment priority: Carlie is the #2 investment on an Aircraft squad (after DVA). She needs Radar first for energy defence, then Armor. Without a geared Carlie, your Aircraft squad collapses.

Scarlett (B-Tier — Tank Defence)

Scarlett is a durable Tank hero built for PvE — both of her skills are monster-scoped or self-only.

What makes Scarlett useful:

• Damage reduction against monsters — Bastion Guard is a cast-and-hold buff that cuts damage from Monsters. It is genuinely strong in Zombie Siege and boss content, and it does nothing in PvP
• Self-sustaining defence — her passive is a very large boost to her own Defence. It is self-only, and there is no fire-resistance component
• Early-mid game value — shines as a front-liner when you do not yet have Williams or Murphy fully starred
• Future UR promotion — Scarlett can be promoted from SSR to UR in Season 3, making her a strong long-term planning target

Key skills:

Investment priority: Scarlett is a placeholder front-liner in PvP — use her until you can swap in Williams or Murphy, then bench her. Her monster damage reduction keeps her useful in a dedicated PvE line-up for much longer than her PvP tier suggests. If you are planning ahead for Season 3, collecting her shards is worthwhile.

Monica (B-Tier — Missile Support)

Monica is a Missile Vehicle hero whose whole kit is pointed at monster farming, not at PvP.

What makes Monica useful:

• A resource multiplier, not a scanner — her passive raises the Coins, Food and Iron your squad collects after defeating Ironhead, Glutton, Miser and Doom Elites. That is the reason to field her, and it is worth far more than her combat contribution
• Bonus damage against monsters — the same passive boosts her own damage to monsters, which shortens those same fights
• Weak Spot Scan is a monster debuff — it hits a random enemy and leaves a damage-amplifying mark, but the amplification applies to a monster target. It does not let you pick a target

Key skills:

Investment priority: Monica is never a competitive PvP pick, but "niche" undersells her. If you run a dedicated elite-farming squad, her resource bonus compounds every time you clear an Ironhead, Glutton, Miser or Doom Elite — which is most days, for the whole of pre-season. Level her enough to survive those fights and leave the gear for your real squad.

Adam (B-Tier — Missile Tank)

Adam is the Missile squad's dedicated front-line tank who absorbs damage so the back-row carries can deal theirs.

Key skills:

Investment priority: Adam is #5 on Missile squad investment. He needs enough investment to survive fights but does not need heavy offensive stats.

Swift (B-Tier — Missile Support)

Swift provides utility and support buffs that enhance the Missile squad's performance.

Key skills:

Investment priority: Swift is #4 on Missile squad investment. Focus on his support skills before offensive stats.

The Investment Rule: Focus Beats Breadth

Why Focus Works

The maths behind hero investment is non-linear. A hero at Level 150 with 4 stars, Level 40 skills, and gold gear does not do 2x the damage of a hero at Level 100 with 2 stars, Level 20 skills, and purple gear. They do 5-10x the damage. This is because:

1. Gear bonuses multiply with skill bonuses — these are separate multipliers, not additive
2. Star upgrades unlock passive skills that further multiply existing stats
3. Tactics cards provide flat stat increases that scale with all other multipliers
4. Gold gear bonus attributes at levels 10/20/30/40 compound on top of everything

The result: concentrating all resources on one hero creates a power spike that scattered investment across five heroes cannot match.

Hero Levelling

Level Cap

Your hero level is capped by your HQ level. Each HQ level adds +5 to the hero level cap:

• HQ 20 → Hero Level Cap 100
• HQ 25 → Hero Level Cap 125
• HQ 30 → Hero Level Cap 150

EXP Sources

• Campaign stages — EXP per clear
• EXP items — from events, daily rewards, shops
• Idle rewards — heroes accumulate EXP passively. Collect at least twice a day (they cap out)
• Zombie hunts — drop EXP alongside other rewards

Levelling Strategy

1. Max your main DPS hero first (Kimberly for Tanks, DVA for Aircraft, Tesla for Missiles)
2. Then your main tank (Murphy/Williams for Tanks, Carlie for Aircraft, Adam for Missiles)
3. Then remaining squad members in priority order
4. Do not level heroes you are not actively using

Star Upgrades

Star upgrades require duplicate hero shards and provide massive stat boosts. This is one of the biggest power systems in the game.

Total Shards Needed

A full 5-star upgrade requires 975 shards total. This is a long-term investment — plan accordingly.

Key Star Breakpoints

Star Upgrade Priority

For your primary squad, star up in this order:

1. Main DPS to 4 stars first (Kimberly, DVA, or Tesla depending on your squad)
2. Main tank to 4 stars (Murphy or Williams)
3. Remaining heroes to 3 stars, then 4 stars

Where to Get Shards

Skills

Skill Types

Each hero has three skill types:

• Auto Attack — the hero's basic attack, fires automatically during combat
• Tactics — the hero's tactical ability, a powerful skill that triggers during combat
• Passive — always-on bonuses that are active throughout the fight

Understanding Tactics Cards

Tactics cards are the most effective skill investment for every hero. Here is why:

Skill Upgrade Priority

For each hero, upgrade skills in this order:

1. Tactics Cards — typically the strongest impact per level
2. Tactics skill — the hero's tactical ability
3. Passive skill — always-on bonuses
4. Auto Attack — basic attack upgrades

Priority by Role

• DPS heroes (Kimberly, DVA, Tesla) — Tactics Cards (ATK/Crit) and Tactics skill first. Passive damage bonuses second
• Tank heroes (Murphy, Williams, Carlie) — Tactics Cards (HP/DEF) and Passive (damage reduction/shields) first. Tactics skill last
• Support heroes (Marshall, Schuyler) — Ally-buffing skills first. Personal damage secondary

Skill Books

• Common skill books — use freely on your main DPS
• Rare skill books — save for key skills on your main DPS and tank
• Epic skill books — only use on the highest-impact skill on your top hero

One skill at level 10 is worth more than five skills at level 5. The scaling is not linear — higher skill levels provide disproportionately larger bonuses. Focus.

Skill Level Breakpoints

Exclusive Weapons

Some heroes can unlock Exclusive Weapons, which provide a massive power boost and often change how the hero plays. Exclusive Weapons unlock at 50 hero shards and progress through Levels 10, 20, and 30.

Notable Exclusive Weapons

Exclusive Weapon Upgrade Strategy

Exclusive Weapons level from 10 → 20 → 30, with escalating shard costs:

• Collect weapon materials even before you can use them
• Murphy's Exclusive Weapon (Season 2) should be your top shard-saving priority if you plan to use Aircraft squads long-term

Hero Recruitment and Collection

How to Get New Heroes

Summon Strategy

• Save tickets for guarantee events — many summoning events have pity mechanics that guarantee a hero after X pulls
• Do not do single pulls — wait until you can do a full round of 10 pulls for bonus rewards
• Focus on one hero — if an event offers a choice, always pick shards for your main carry

Squad Building Rules

The Mono-Type Bonus

Running 5 heroes of the same type gives a 20% bonus to HP, Attack, and Defence. This is massive. It means:

• 5 Tank heroes → 20% bonus to all stats
• 4 Tank + 1 non-Tank → bonus drops to 15%
• 3 Tank + 2 non-Tank → bonus drops further

Hero Position Matters

Heroes in the front row take damage first. Heroes in the back row deal damage while being protected.

• Put tanks in the front row — Murphy, Williams, Carlie, Lucius
• Put DPS in the back row — Kimberly, DVA, Tesla, Stetmann
• Put support in the back row — Marshall, Schuyler, Morrison

Never put a DPS hero in the front row. They will die before dealing meaningful damage, and your squad loses its win condition.

Planning Ahead: Season 1 and Beyond

While building your pre-season squad, keep future seasons in mind:

• Mason upgrades to UR in Season 1 — collect his shards now
• Carlie's Exclusive Weapon arrives in Season 2 — provides approximately 10% increase to HP, Defence, and Attack per level. Essential for Aircraft squads
• Scarlett upgrades from SSR to UR in Season 3 — if you are planning long-term Tank squads, collecting her shards now is free investment
• Marshall's Exclusive Weapon in Season 3 makes him the undisputed top UR support hero
• Fiona's Exclusive Weapon in Season 5 turns her into the strongest Missile carry — start collecting her shards early
• Aircraft becomes the dominant meta — start collecting DVA and Aircraft hero shards even while running Tanks
• New heroes will be released — save some summon tickets and resources

The best pre-season players are the ones who dominate now while preparing for what comes next.

Common Hero Mistakes

1. Spreading investment across too many heroes — one maxed hero beats five half-built ones
2. Investing in SR heroes late — they get outclassed. Switch to SSR/UR as soon as possible
3. Ignoring passive skills — passives are often stronger than active abilities
4. Using Universal Legendary Shards on the wrong hero — save them for your main DPS
5. Not collecting idle rewards — free EXP wasted every day you forget
6. Chasing new heroes instead of starring up your core squad — depth beats breadth
7. Putting the wrong hero type in your squad — you lose the mono-type bonus
8. Random summoning — save tickets for guarantee events
9. Ignoring Tactics cards — they are the highest-impact skill investment for every hero
10. Not planning for Season 1 — the meta shifts. Prepare now or fall behind

Related Guides

• Tank Squad Guide — complete Tank squad formation, gear order, and skill priorities
• Aircraft Squad Guide — Aircraft squad formation and DVA builds
• Missile Vehicle Squad Guide — Missile squad counter-picks
• Gear Guide — gold gear craft order and upgrade path
• Squad Building Fundamentals — combat triangle and squad mechanics
• Hero Guide (Season 5) — Season 5 hero changes, updated tier list, and investment priorities