Hello, Commanders! Your Headquarters in Last War: Survival is the center of your base — affecting everything from troops and heroes to alliance power and event performance. A smart upgrade plan can seriously level up your game, it gets you stronger troops faster, boosts your overall power, and keeps you in the fight across PvE and PvP. But if you rush your HQ without a plan, you’ll burn through resources, stall your progress, and leave your base wide open to attacks. And if you ever find yourself stuck during major upgrades, short on resources, or needing extra boosts, platforms like LootBar for faster, cheaper top-ups that help maintain steady progression without overspending.
Enjoy up to 22% off on LW: Survival Top-Ups.
3-Minute Delivery for Non-Stop Gaming.
Trusted 4.9/5 on Trustpilot, 10/10 among Players.
Official Partnership Route, Protect Your Game Wallet.
Why Your HQ Is the Core of Everything
Your Headquarters isn’t just another building, a command center that dictates how far you can go. Whether it’s unlocking stronger troops, upgrading buildings, or competing in high-level events, your HQ level sets the pace. With each HQ upgrade, you unlock more:
- Unlock new troop tiers (T6-T11)
- More buildings become eligible for upgrades
- Unlock requirements for advanced content (like Age of Oil) appear.
- Deeper research options that directly impact your combat strength
- Get access to higher-tier events and PvP matchmaking
HQ Upgrade Phases
Upgrading your HQ in Last War: Survival isn’t just about leveling up; it’s about knowing when to speed up, what to prioritize, and how to prepare for the grind. Let’s break it down by phase, so you can upgrade smarter from HQ 1 to 35 without wasting time, resources, or sanity.
HQ Levels 1–10: Early Game
Early in the game, upgrading your HQ is simple and hassle-free. This stage is about building momentum. The goal is to move quickly, unlocking core systems, key features, and new building slots as soon as possible, so the rest of the game opens up and starts to flow.
Recommended Upgrade Priorities
- HQ → Barracks → Training Grounds
These upgrades unlock troop capacity and keep your army production moving. - Research Lab
Focus on basic economy research and troop training speed to support steady growth. - Resource Buildings
Keep them balanced, but don’t waste time maxing them out—you’ll replace this income with events and gathering later.
Early-Game Tips That Pay Off Later
- Avoid over-investing in defensive buildings; they’re not critical yet.
- Save your speedups for HQ upgrades after level 10, when timers start to matter.
- Join an active alliance as early as possible to benefit from construction speed buffs and shared rewards.
HQ Levels 10–25: Mid Game
From HQ 10 to HQ 25, Last War: Survival shifts into its most demanding growth phase. This is where you stop being a beginner and start building real power. It’s also the stage where most players either grow efficiently or get stuck for weeks due to poor planning. Builds take longer, resources disappear faster, and your base needs to stay balanced.
Core Buildings That Must Keep Up
For every HQ upgrade, make sure these don’t fall behind:
- Barracks & Drill Grounds: Keep within 1–2 levels of your HQ for balanced troop growth.
- Hospital: Keep capacity high enough to save at least 70% of your troops from dying.
- Tech Center: Prioritize ongoing combat research to ensure your troops remain effective as your HQ level increases.
Smart Strategies:
- Save Resource Chests
Don’t open them right away. The higher your HQ level, the more value you get from unopened chests. Wait until you need them, this keeps your inventory safe from raids and gives bigger payouts later.
- Upgrade HQ Requirement Buildings First
Focus your development on the buildings tied directly to HQ upgrade requirements. By preparing these structures early, you can avoid delays when it’s time to level up your HQ.
- Time Builds with VS Events
Many players forget this: Tuesday is VS Building Day. Hold off on completing non-critical buildings and finish them in bulk during this event to score major points.
HQ Levels 25–30: The First Grind
Between HQ 25 and HQ 30, progress really starts to feel like a grind. Build times stretch into multiple days, resource requirements become massive, and prerequisite buildings must be carefully prepared in advance. Mistakes here are costly, so planning each upgrade around requirements, resources, and events becomes essential for efficient progression.
Grind Tips:
- Pre-upgrade requirement buildings early.
Always check the next HQ requirements and start upgrading those buildings before your current HQ upgrade finishes. - Avoid maxing non-essential structures.
Defensive buildings and cosmetic upgrades can wait. Focus on Tech Center, Barracks, Tank Center, Drill Ground, and resource-related buildings. - Save speedups for bottlenecks.
Use speedups only when a building blocks your HQ progress or when an event reward justifies it. - Schedule long builds overnight.
Start HQ or prerequisite upgrades before logging off to avoid idle construction time. - Leverage alliance bonuses.
Alliance help, territory buffs, and alliance buildings significantly reduce build time at this stage. - Keep resource production balanced.
Don’t overbuild one resource type. Food, iron, and gold should grow together to avoid shortages. - Plan at least two HQ levels ahead.
Knowing future requirements prevents wasted days waiting for a single building upgrade.
If you want faster progress, consider unlocking additional builders such as the second, third, or fourth builder. With more builders working simultaneously, you can complete HQ requirement upgrades much more efficiently. LootBar offers these builders at a cheaper price, helping you save money while speeding up your development.
HQ 30+ and the Age of Oil Expansion
Reaching HQ 31 completely changes how progression works in Last War: Survival. Oil is introduced as a mandatory upgrade resource, and from this point forward it becomes the main factor that limits your growth. Many players discover that even with large reserves of Food, Iron, and Gold, upgrades are still blocked simply because their oil supply cannot meet the demand.
Once HQ 30 is reached, the Age of Oil expansion becomes available. From this stage onward:
- Oil is required for every further HQ upgrade
- New prerequisites appear, including specific research and technology thresholds
- Players can advance up to HQ 35, unlocking new content and higher troop tiers
You should begin developing oil wells as early as possible. Two wells are unlocked through Special Forces research category and you have completed at least 40%, and additional slots become available once your HQ reaches level 31 and higher.
Final Thoughts
The best HQ upgrade strategy in Last War: Survival isn’t simply “upgrade as fast as possible”. It’s a strategic blend of unlocking power, maintaining support systems, and knowing when to push. HQ unlocks potential—but realizing that potential requires balanced growth, efficient resource management, and smart timing.
For players looking to stay competitive without wasteful in‑game spending, solutions like Last War Top Up through LootBar provide fast, cost‑effective top‑ups that can be game‑changing during crucial HQ milestones helping you stay ahead in both events and PvP without exhausting your free resources.
