Your First Session
Rename Your Commander
Change your name away from the default numeric one immediately. Established alliances routinely reject applicants still using a default name, treating it as a sign of an inactive or brand-new account not worth the recruitment slot.
Learn to Rearrange Buildings
Keep your base organized by clustering buildings in a way that makes sense to you — you'll be doing this often as new buildings unlock. Press and hold on the building you want to move until arrows appear, along with a tick and a cross — this means it's ready to be moved. Drag it to a new spot, or tap the space you want it to go to (tapping near the destination first, then dragging it the rest of the way, tends to be easier than dragging the whole distance in one go). Press the tick to confirm the move, or the cross at any time to cancel it.
Build Your First Squad
Set up a 5-hero squad: 2 Defense heroes in the front row, 3 Attack or Support heroes in the back. Murphy, a UR Tank, is notably obtainable on day one through Elite Recruitment in the Tavern — build your early squad around him if he's available. See Heroes for the full roster and how roles work.
Join a Strong Alliance
As soon as the Alliance Support Hub unlocks (Headquarters level 4), join an established, active alliance rather than a small or brand-new one. A strong alliance means faster build/research help, useful gifts, and protection from being an easy target while your base is still weak. To actually join one: tap the Alliance icon (bottom-right of your main screen), search or browse the list, tap an alliance's name, then tap Join. See Alliance for how ranks and membership work, plus how to leave or switch later.
Week One Priorities
Push HQ and Barracks to Level 17
This is the single clearest numeric target for week one: get both your Headquarters and Barracks to level 17 before spending meaningful time on anything else. Only upgrade a secondary building when it's specifically required to unlock the next HQ level — check requirements before starting a detour. See Buildings & Base for what each building does.
Rush the Development Tech Branch
In the Tech Center, follow the shortest path through the Development research branch to unlock your third Barracks queue as quickly as possible — this has an outsized effect on how fast your Combat Power grows in the first few weeks. See Research for the full tech tree.
Start the Drone Early
Begin working toward Drone level 30 as an early milestone. Farm Battle Data from Doom Elites and Radar Missions, and use diamonds in the VIP Store to pick up Drone Components when they appear. See The Drone for how the full system works.
Time Your Upgrades With the Arms Race Calendar
Upgrade your base, buildings, troops, and everything else in line with whatever's currently active on the Arms Race event calendar — completing an action during a matching Arms Race phase earns noticeably more credit than doing the same thing on a random day. Once VS (Alliance Duel) kicks in for your alliance, coordinate the VS schedule with the Arms Race calendar too, since their themes are designed to overlap for even bigger combined rewards. See Insider Tips & Advanced Tactics for the full stacking mechanic and VS (Alliance Duel) Day-by-Day Guide for the weekly schedule.
Spending & Chest Management
Where Early Diamonds Should Go
In the first week, prioritize activating VIP Status (even just for a week) and Drone Components over most other diamond spending. VIP Status turns on percentage bonuses tied to your VIP Level immediately, and early Drone Components compound in value the earlier you have them. See Economy & Currencies for how the VIP system works.
Don't Open Chests "Just in Case"
Common mistakeResource and EXP chests scale their rewards to your current Headquarters level — opening them early locks in a smaller reward than opening the same chest later, right when you actually need it for a specific upgrade. Hold onto them instead of opening on sight.
Save Gold Choice Chests
When a chest lets you choose which resource to receive, lean toward Gold rather than Food or Iron. Gold becomes a much tighter bottleneck later once serious Tech Center research is underway, while Food and Iron are easier to keep flowing from production buildings.
Extra Rewards: The Official Last War Store
Find Your UID
Your UID (unique player ID) is needed to register on the official Last War Store for extra rewards. To find it: tap your avatar frame (My Profile) in the top-left corner of the game, tap the settings button at the bottom of the frame, then select the "Copy ID" icon in the settings menu.
Register at the Official Store
Visit store.lastwar.com and register using your UID, then log in there each day. This unlocks free resources and special offers that aren't available directly in-game.