New Player 7-Day Roadmap — Get Established in Your First Week

This guide only covers what to do, and in what order, during your first 7 days. For longer-term season strategy see the Season Guide; for who to invest in, see the Hero Tier List.

In Last War your first week sets the skeleton of your account. Two people who start the same day can end up with very different power a month later, purely based on early choices. The core principles are simple: never stop your HQ, finish heroes one at a time, and pour resources into your HQ. The schedule below assumes an average pace — going faster is fine.

Before you start — remember just 3 things

Change your name first. A default numeric name like Commander123456 gets you read as an “abandoned account,” and stronger alliances tend not to accept it. Rename to something real the moment you start.
You’re auto-placed on the most recently opened server. Server transfers only unlock after Season 1 ends. That means you ride out the first season here — so read the alliance rankings and chat early to get a feel for your server.
HQ is the key to everything. Your HQ level raises the ceiling on every other building, troop type, and feature. When in doubt, ask: “Does this help raise my HQ?”

Day 1 — the first 24 hours matter most

Things that make the whole week easier if you handle them on day one.

Get your first hero — Murphy. A UR (gold) tank, and the easiest gold hero to obtain on day one via Elite Recruitment at the Tavern. He’s the core front-line tank for free/light spenders, so secure him first and pour EXP into him toward level 80 (keep others around 50).
Rescue Monica. An SSR hero. Rescue her within the first 24 hours and she becomes your workhorse for early PvE (zombies, resource runs). Her resource-boosting skill noticeably speeds up your early growth — don’t miss her.
Pick up Mason too. An SSR attack hero who greatly boosts tank damage. He can be promoted to UR during Season 1, so he’s worth raising as an early back-line dealer.
Join an alliance. Get into an active alliance as fast as possible. Build help (time cuts), alliance resources and support, and protection when attacked — everything is faster than going solo.
Check the 7-Day Marathon (new-player event). A week-long mega event; the first 5 days open new tasks daily. Tasks don’t have to be done the day they open — they stay valid until the event ends — so pace yourself. The final goal is HQ 17.
Login rewards. Day 1–5 check-in rewards are high value. Don’t miss a single day early on.

Day 2–3 — push HQ + the tank line

These two days are the “stacking” phase.

Just build whatever unlocks. Early building choices aren’t deep strategy. When a new building opens, build it without overthinking, and keep your HQ upgrade running as top priority.
Tanks first. Tanks cut your losses in early fights, and their upgrade tech opens up quickly. Flashier troop types can wait.
Funnel heroes into one. Spreading a little across many leaves everyone mediocre. Take a core hero like Murphy all the way first.
HQ 17 is the marathon’s final goal but the hardest part. Don’t chase it recklessly — go at a natural pace. For an average player, HQ 10–12 by end of week 1 is already a good speed.

Day 4–5 — finish your first squad + manage resources

First squad = 5 heroes. Two front (tanks), three back (dealers/support) is the basic skeleton. A single-troop-type lineup is far stronger than a mixed one (formation bonus).
Rarity priority: UR (gold) > SSR (purple) > SR (blue). Don’t spend rare resources on SR heroes — they fall off fast.
Don’t over-train troops. Both training and healing wounded take a long time. Training more than you can handle early is a net loss.
The Drone Center unlocks at HQ 15. Active players usually reach it in week 2. No need to force it early.

Day 6–7 — wrap up + prep for next week

Clean up late marathon tasks. Grab the remaining tasks before the event ends. HQ 17 in particular is a big reward worth attempting to the end.
Save speedups for the HQ. Early server events hand out tons of speedups. Don’t burn them on small things — stack them for your HQ push.
Spend to match the event theme. Weekly events like Alliance Duel score different items on different days (build cuts / research cuts, etc.). Burning outside the theme scores zero — check the calendar and align.

Don’t do these (summary)

Early resource-wasting mistakes are collected separately — read the full Don’t Do This list once. The three most fatal, up front:

Spreading hero investment → finish one at a time, or you’ll never produce a usable main.
Over-training troops you can’t heal → you get stuck behind a pile of wounded and progress stalls.
Playing events solo → always rally. Charging in alone just burns troops.

If you spend — just the first purchase

Spending plans are covered in the Spending Efficiency Guide. For the first week only:

The new-player package + 7-day login rewards are excellent value. Grab them whether or not you spend.
If you’ll spend even a little, the first-purchase bonus (the $0.99-tier first package) gives the best gems-per-dollar. The first purchase happens only once, so it’s high priority.

FAQ

Q. Can’t I just level all my heroes evenly? Not early on. Resources are tight, so spreading them leaves everyone half-baked and gives you no real main. Finish Murphy first, then move on — it’s far faster.

Q. Do I have to hit HQ 17 in the first week? No. It’s only the marathon’s final goal; an average pace of HQ 10–12 in week 1 is plenty. Forcing HQ 17 by burning gems is inefficient.

Q. I don’t like my server. Can I move? Server transfer only opens after Season 1 ends. You can’t move before that, so the answer is to lock down an alliance and ride it out here.

7-day checklist

This is unofficial Last War: Survival fan-site content, with no partnership or sponsorship from the developer. Some figures and events may change with game updates (last updated: 2026-06-26).

By: 397. Chiangmai 한량