Commander Foundations

Your first objective: create momentum

Last War constantly offers another building, hero, event and red notification. A good commander does not try to finish everything. Your early objective is to create a repeatable growth engine: the Headquarters opens progress, research makes every future action more efficient, one dependable squad clears content, and an active alliance shortens timers and unlocks shared rewards.

Use this order whenever the game feels overwhelming:

1. Anything that expires soon: claim time-limited rewards, complete event actions and collect finished radar missions.
2. Permanent timers: make sure builders, the Tech Center and troop-training buildings are working.
3. Main squad: spend Hero EXP, shards, skill medals and gear only where they strengthen heroes you use.
4. Alliance participation: send helps, donate, join rallies and read leadership instructions.
5. Optional progress: clear campaign stages, organise secondary squads and improve nonessential buildings after the engine is running.

Build one main squad

Your first squad should have two Defence heroes at the front and three Attack or Support heroes behind them. Choose one main troop type—usually the strongest coherent group available on your server—and avoid dividing universal shards, skill medals and premium gear evenly across the full roster.

A newly unlocked UR hero is not automatically stronger today than a developed SSR. Build the replacement until its level, stars and skills are ready, test it against the same target, then transfer important gear. For the detailed progression path, use the Hero Roles, Skills & Star Progression guide.

Advance Headquarters with a runway

The Headquarters is the main progression gate. Raising it increases the building level cap and, according to current community documentation, also advances hero-level potential and account-wide combat statistics. Each HQ level requires specific prerequisite buildings, so inspect the next upgrade before the current one finishes.

The two-upgrade runway

1. Open the HQ upgrade screen and record both required buildings.
2. Raise the slowest or least-developed prerequisite first.
3. Start collecting food, iron and coin while those timers run.
4. Keep the second builder on the next prerequisite or a building that directly supports growth.
5. Before using speed-ups, confirm that the next builder has a useful job ready.

Do not level every building to match HQ. Prioritise prerequisites and buildings that keep the account functioning: Tech Center, Alliance Center, the vehicle centre used by the main squad, Barracks, Drill Ground and Hospitals. Resource production and storage still matter, but upgrading an unused combat branch merely because it is available can delay the next important unlock.

Keep research working

Research creates permanent value and should rarely sit idle. Early community guidance prioritises the Development tree because Research Enhancement, Fast Builder and resource-cost reductions make later growth faster. After establishing those efficiencies, strengthen the troop type used by the main squad and unlock the research required by current game systems.

Research trees and unlock timings evolve with server age and seasons. The live Tech Center is the authority for prerequisites and costs. Use old research charts for planning, never as a substitute for checking the current screen.

Understand the resource hierarchy

Not every resource deserves the same level of caution. Food, iron and coin are renewable, although coin becomes a serious bottleneck. Universal UR shards, skill medals, drone parts, premium blueprints and exclusive-weapon materials arrive more slowly and can lock an account into a weak project.

Community documentation recommends leaving resource chests in inventory until required because loose base resources may be vulnerable during attacks. Open only enough for the next confirmed action. Selectable chests are also more valuable while they can still become the resource currently blocking you.

Use the daily operating loop

A routine should reduce wasted time without making the game feel like a second job. A useful order is:

1. Read first: check alliance mail, pinned messages, today’s Alliance Duel objective, Arms Race phase and active event timer.
2. Claim expiring items: free shop supplies, completed radar missions, daily-task chests and event rewards.
3. Start permanent timers: construction, research and troop training; request alliance help immediately.
4. Spend stamina deliberately: complete event targets, rallies and progression activities rather than emptying stamina without a purpose.
5. Complete alliance actions: donate to technology, send helps, join suitable rallies and participate in scheduled operations.
6. Set up the next login: start a long upgrade, send gatherers and protect the base if the server situation requires it.

Official support confirms that alliance help applies to building, research and healing timers. Each help reduces the remaining timer by 0.5% or at least one minute, whichever is greater, subject to the HQ help statistics shown in game. That is why requesting help before spending speed-ups matters.

Join an active alliance early

An alliance is not just a chat room. It provides timer helps, rallies, alliance technology, gifts, event rewards, city bonuses and protection through coordination. An active mid-ranked alliance that communicates can contribute more to growth than a silent alliance with a larger headline power.

What a useful member does

• Sends alliance helps whenever the icon appears.
• Donates to the technology selected by leadership rather than spreading donations randomly.
• Joins rallies with an appropriate squad and follows the rally caller’s instructions.
• Reads operation times before spending stamina, teleporting or shielding.
• Communicates absences and asks before taking a city, train or limited alliance role.

Alliance objectives are coordinated systems. If an R4 or R5 instruction differs from a general guide, follow the live alliance order for that operation.

Coordinate upgrades with events

Alliance Duel and Arms Race reward actions you already need: construction, research, hero development and troop training. Good timing earns additional rewards from the same material, but event efficiency must not stop account growth.

• Safe to wait: a completed upgrade can be held briefly without blocking a builder, research slot, troop tier or alliance operation.
• Do not wait: the delay leaves a permanent slot empty, misses a critical unlock or prevents participation.
• Do not manufacture points: spending shards on bench heroes or starting unnecessary construction is not efficient simply because it scores.
• Check the live panel: exact scoring actions can change with server age, season and updates.

Your first four development phases

Common beginner mistakes

• Following every red dot: availability is not priority.
• Levelling the entire roster: unused heroes consume EXP without clearing harder content.
• Opening every resource chest: this removes flexibility and can expose resources before they are needed.
• Upgrading all buildings evenly: non-prerequisite buildings can delay HQ and important unlocks.
• Leaving research idle: lost research time cannot be recovered by collecting more resources later.
• Spending for event points alone: points disappear after the event; a poor upgrade remains on the account.
• Ignoring battle reports: headline squad power does not reveal which hero dies first or whether damage is sufficient.
• Playing without alliance coordination: missed helps, rallies and shared rewards slow every other part of development.

Weekly commander review

1. Write down the next HQ level and its two prerequisite buildings.
2. Name the current main five and identify any planned replacement.
3. Check which defender dies first and whether the main attacker survives.
4. Choose one star, skill, gear, drone or research breakpoint to finish.
5. Review unopened resource chests and estimate the true bottleneck.
6. Read the alliance timetable and protect materials needed for scheduled operations.

A focused account is not the account with the fewest unfinished icons. It is the account where construction, research, heroes and resources are all moving towards the same declared objective.

Continue your Academy path

• Hero Roles, Skills & Star Progression — build and invest in the main five.
• Formations & Positioning — understand lanes, counters and lineup bonuses.
• Daily Routine — turn the operating loop into a complete checklist.
• Resource Management — protect scarce items and time major spending.

References and evidence

1. Official Last War Support — How does alliance help work? (timer-help rules; 24 March 2025).
2. Official Last War Support — How to Build the Best Squad (roles, formation, counters and main-lineup focus; updated 30 March 2026).
3. Official Last War Support — HQ level 1–30 requirements (official requirement table; Traditional Chinese).
4. Last War Wiki — Early Game Research Priorities (community strategy reference).
5. Last War Tutorial — Buildings and Headquarters (community system reference).
6. Last War Tutorial — Basics and resources (community inventory reference).

Last evidence review: 25 July 2026. Exact costs, scoring actions and unlock paths should be confirmed on the current in-game screen.