Last War: Survival – Best Hero Skill Upgrade Guide

The best Last War hero skill priority depends on what the hero actually does in your squad. As a general starting point, Defenders prioritize their defensive Tactic and passive skills, while Attackers invest first in the abilities responsible for most of their damage. Support heroes require a hero-specific approach.

Do not upgrade every skill equally just because the levels look balanced. Skill Medal costs rise as skills advance, so concentrating them on the abilities that define your main squad usually produces more useful progression.

Last War Hero Skill Priority at a Glance

Hero Role	General First Priority	Second Priority	Usually Lowest Priority
Defender	Tactic	Passive	Auto Attack
Attacker	Tactic	Auto Attack or strong damage Passive	Lowest-impact damage skill
Supporter	Main squad buff, heal, debuff, or utility skill	Secondary support skill	Usually personal Auto Attack

This table is a framework, not a universal ranking. Some heroes have exceptionally strong passives, unusual Auto Attacks, Exclusive Weapon interactions, or mode-specific skills that should be upgraded earlier.

How Hero Skills and Skill Medals Work

The standard Skill Medal decision revolves around three combat skills:

• Top left — Auto Attack: The hero’s recurring basic attack.
• Top right — Tactic: A stronger ability that may deal damage, buff allies, protect the formation, heal, or debuff enemies.
• Bottom left — Passive: An always-active effect that can increase damage, improve survivability, strengthen allies, or provide activity-specific bonuses.

Heroes can also have an Expertise effect such as Super Sensing. Do not treat Expertise as a fourth entry in the normal Skill Medal priority. It belongs to separate hero progression rather than the three standard skills you are choosing between with Skill Medals.

The skill ceiling also depends on hero rarity and later progression systems. SSR and SR heroes have lower standard caps than fully developed UR heroes, while access to higher UR skill levels can depend on the systems available to that particular hero. Check the current hero interface before planning late-game levels rather than assuming every UR hero can immediately reach the same cap.

For Skill Medal sources and resource management, see the Last War Skill Medal guide.

Why the Best Skill Is Not Always the Top-Right Skill

Tactic skills are often the highest-value abilities, which is why they appear first in most general priority lists. However, the correct question is not simply, “Which slot is this skill in?” Instead, ask:

• Does the skill affect one hero or the whole squad?
• Does it improve the hero’s primary role?
• Is the effect active in PvP, PvE, or only against monsters?
• How much does the next skill level actually improve the effect?
• Does another skill multiply the damage or survivability of your strongest heroes?
• Will an Exclusive Weapon or later hero upgrade change the value of the skill?

A squad-wide defensive passive can be more important than a Defender’s personal attack. Likewise, an Attacker with an unusually strong damage multiplier in a passive may deserve more balanced investment instead of blindly pushing Auto Attack second.

Defender Skill Upgrade Priority

Defenders normally occupy the front row, where their main job is to keep themselves and the rest of the formation alive. For most Defenders, start with:

1. Tactic skill
2. Defensive passive
3. Auto Attack

1. Prioritize Squad Protection

A defensive Tactic commonly provides damage reduction, Defense, shields, or another temporary protection effect. Improving a team-wide defensive ability generally contributes more than adding a small amount of personal damage to a frontline hero.

Williams is a good example of why you should evaluate squad utility first. His value comes from helping the formation absorb damage rather than functioning as a damage dealer. Read the Last War Williams guide for his complete role.

2. Do Not Undervalue Defensive Passives

A strong passive may compete with or even exceed the value of the Tactic skill on particular Defenders. Murphy, for example, has defensive effects designed around keeping the frontline alive. That means the useful rule is to prioritize team survivability, not automatically the top-right icon.

If one Defender keeps dying before the rest of the formation can cycle its important skills, additional investment in that hero’s defensive passive may improve results more than another offensive upgrade elsewhere.

3. Upgrade Auto Attack Later

The Auto Attack still contributes damage and should not remain at a very low level forever. It is simply less important when the reason you deploy the hero is damage reduction, shielding, Defense, or frontline durability.

Attacker Skill Upgrade Priority

Attackers should receive Skill Medals where they increase total squad damage the most. A useful default is:

1. Main Tactic or highest-impact damage skill
2. Auto Attack or powerful damage passive
3. Remaining lower-impact skill

Prioritize the Hero’s Main Damage Engine

For many Attackers, the Tactic produces their largest burst of damage and therefore deserves the first major investment. This is especially valuable on the main carry in your first squad.

However, do not automatically assume every Attacker follows Tactic > Auto > Passive forever. If the passive directly increases Energy Damage, Physical Damage, Critical Rate, or another multiplier used by the hero’s entire kit, its next level can be more valuable than an equivalent Auto Attack upgrade.

This matters on developed heroes because Exclusive Weapons and other later systems can alter which part of the kit produces the greatest return.

For hero-specific examples, see the Kimberly hero guide and DVA hero guide.

Last War Tank Hero Skill Priority

The search for a Last War Tank hero skill priority can be confusing because “Tank” is a troop type, not a single combat role. A full Tank formation can contain Defenders, Attackers, and Supporters.

Example Tank Hero Role	What to Prioritize
Frontline Defender	Damage reduction, Defense, Health, shields, or team protection
Back-row Attacker	Main damage Tactic and strong offensive multipliers
Supporter	Squad-wide buffs and utility before personal damage

For example, applying the exact same upgrade order to Williams, Kimberly, and Marshall would be a mistake even though all three can belong to a Tank-focused formation. Their jobs are different.

Support Hero Skill Priority

Supporters require the most individual analysis. Their personal damage is normally less important than whatever effect justifies their place in the squad.

Start by identifying the support hero’s defining benefit:

• Squad Attack increase
• Critical Rate or other offensive buff
• Damage reduction
• Healing or shielding
• Cooldown support
• Monster-specific bonuses
• Resource or PvE utility

Marshall Skill Priority

For Marshall, the clearest priority is his Tactic skill, Command Strategy. It increases the Attack of the team after activation, so improving it benefits multiple heroes instead of only Marshall’s personal damage.

A practical Marshall order is:

1. Tactic — Command Strategy
2. Passive — Rapid Start
3. Auto Attack

Rapid Start is a strong second investment because Marshall’s value comes from supporting the formation and improving skill cycles rather than dealing basic-attack damage himself.

For the complete kit, see the Last War Marshall guide.

Monica Skill Priority

Monica is primarily valuable as an early-game and PvE-focused support hero. When you use her for monster-related activities, prioritize the skill that improves her monster and resource utility before personal damage.

A useful Monica order for that role is:

1. Monster/resource passive
2. Tactic skill
3. Auto Attack

The bigger question is how long Monica will remain important to your account. F2P players may use her for longer, but once she is no longer part of meaningful content, additional Skill Medals are usually better spent on heroes in your primary formation.

Sarah Skill Priority

Sarah needs more context than older skill-priority lists suggest. As an SSR hero, much of her value is connected to supporting Aircraft heroes and monster-focused PvE. If that is why you are using her, prioritize the skill that improves her relevant back-row or monster support before investing heavily in her personal attack.

There is also a major progression consideration: Sarah can be promoted to UR during Season 4. Her promotion resets her skills and changes her kit, while Skill Medals previously invested in her are refunded through the promotion process.

That means you should not treat one pre-Season 4 Sarah skill order as permanent. Before promotion, build the skills useful for the content you currently play. After promotion, read the new UR skill descriptions and reallocate the refunded Skill Medals according to her new role in your Aircraft formation.

Which Hero Should Get Skill Medals First?

Choosing the right hero is often more important than choosing between two skills on the same hero.

For a typical main formation, start with:

1. Main damage dealer
2. Most important frontline Defender
3. Key squad Supporter
4. Second damage dealer
5. Remaining main-squad hero

This order is not absolute. If your frontline collapses before your damage dealers can use their important skills, strengthening a Defender first may provide more practical value than another damage upgrade.

Should You Upgrade All Skills Equally?

No. Equal levels look tidy but rarely represent the best use of Skill Medals.

At the same time, you usually should not max one expensive skill while leaving every other useful skill near its starting level. As the cost of your priority skill increases, several inexpensive secondary levels can sometimes provide more combined value.

A practical method is:

1. Push the hero’s defining skill first.
2. Bring the second-best skill to a useful level.
3. Take cheap levels on the third skill when the Medal cost is low.
4. Return to the priority skill for the next meaningful upgrade.

A gap of several levels is normal. The exact difference should depend on upgrade cost and skill value instead of following one fixed ratio for every hero.

Main Squad vs. Second and Third Squad Skills

For most players, especially F2P and low spenders, the first squad should consume the majority of Skill Medals.

Spreading medals evenly across three formations can leave you with three average squads rather than one squad capable of clearing harder PvE stages or competing effectively in PvP.

A useful progression approach is:

• Develop the important skills of all five main-squad heroes.
• Invest more heavily in the main carry and key Defender.
• Bring important supporting skills to efficient levels.
• Only then begin major investment in the second formation.
• Leave the third squad for content where additional formations genuinely matter.

Later in the game, the enormous cost of another high skill level can make inexpensive second-squad upgrades more efficient. At that point, compare the actual improvement rather than following a permanent “first squad only” rule.

How to Choose Between Two Skill Upgrades

If you are unsure where the next batch of Skill Medals should go, compare these factors:

Question	Why It Matters
Does the skill affect the whole squad?	Team-wide effects can outperform small personal-stat improvements
Is it central to the hero’s role?	A Defender’s protection or Attacker’s main damage skill should usually come first
Is the skill mode-specific?	Monster-only bonuses may have little value in PvP
How much does the next level add?	Not every level provides the same practical improvement
How expensive is the upgrade?	Several cheaper useful levels may beat one extremely costly level
Will the hero stay in your main squad?	Temporary heroes should receive less long-term investment

Skill Priority for PvP vs. PvE

Your preferred game mode can change the correct skill order.

PvP

Prioritize skills that directly affect player combat: burst damage, damage reduction, team Attack, survivability, debuffs, Critical Rate, and other formation-wide effects.

A monster-only passive provides no reason to upgrade it first when the hero is being developed specifically for Arena or war.

PvE and Monster Content

Skills that increase damage against monsters or improve PvE rewards become much more valuable. This is why heroes such as Monica or Sarah can have a different priority for monster-focused use than for PvP.

Do not use one “best skill priority” for every activity. The best upgrade is the one that improves the content where you actually deploy the hero.

Skill Medals and SSR-to-UR Promotions

Before heavily investing in a promotable SSR hero, check your server’s season progression. Certain heroes gain an SSR-to-UR promotion in later seasons, and the promotion process can affect how you should plan Skill Medals.

Sarah is a clear example in Season 4: her promotion resets her skills and refunds Skill Medals previously spent on them. Similar promotion systems mean that investing in an SSR hero is not always permanently wasted, but you should verify the current promotion rules for the specific hero before planning around a refund.

If you are trying to optimize development-event points, also check the live Alliance Duel and Arms Race requirements before spending a large Skill Medal stockpile. When hero-skill upgrades are part of an active scoring window, timing upgrades can provide additional rewards without changing which skill you ultimately want to develop.

Skill Upgrades and Overall Hero Development

Skill levels are only one part of a strong hero. Their value increases when the rest of the formation is developed properly.

• Hero stars: Star progression improves the hero and can add effects to existing skills.
• Gear: Strong offensive gear helps Attackers convert better skill multipliers into more damage.
• Defensive gear: Frontline heroes need enough durability to remain alive and cycle their defensive skills.
• Research: Hero and troop-type research improves the underlying statistics used by skills.
• Exclusive Weapons: Applicable heroes can gain new effects that change the relative value of parts of their kit.
• Squad composition: A powerful skill provides less value if the hero does not fit the formation around it.

Use the Last War gear upgrade and promotion guide to coordinate skill and equipment investment.

Players who prefer an already-developed roster rather than building every hero and skill from the beginning can also browse Last War accounts for sale as an optional progression route. Check individual listings carefully for hero stars, skill development, gear, and formation strength.

Common Hero Skill Priority Mistakes

• Using one order for every hero: The role-based priority is only a starting point.
• Confusing Tank type with Defender role: Tank-type Attackers and Supporters need different priorities.
• Upgrading every skill equally: This spends scarce Skill Medals on low-impact abilities too early.
• Ignoring powerful passives: Some passives directly multiply damage or protect several heroes.
• Over-investing in temporary heroes: Consider how soon the hero will leave your main squad.
• Building three squads at once: A concentrated first squad usually provides more progression.
• Ignoring PvP vs. PvE differences: Monster-specific skills should not automatically be a PvP priority.
• Treating Expertise as a normal Skill Medal skill: Expertise belongs to separate hero progression.
• Following an old Sarah priority after UR promotion: Her Season 4 promotion changes her skills and refunds previously spent Skill Medals.
• Ignoring upgrade cost: Several inexpensive useful levels can sometimes beat one extremely expensive level.

FAQs

What is the best Last War hero skill priority?

For most Defenders, start with Tactic, then passive, then Auto Attack. For Attackers, prioritize the main damage skill first, followed by whichever Auto Attack or passive provides the better damage increase. Supporters require hero-specific priorities.

What is the best Last War Tank hero skill priority?

Do not use one order for every Tank-type hero. Tank Defenders should prioritize survivability and team protection, Tank Attackers should prioritize damage, and Tank Supporters should develop squad buffs before personal attacks.

What is Marshall’s skill priority?

Marshall should generally prioritize Command Strategy first because it increases the Attack of the formation. Rapid Start is the next important skill, while his personal Auto Attack is the lowest priority.

What is Sarah’s skill priority in Last War?

Before her UR promotion, prioritize the support or monster-focused skill that matches how you use SSR Sarah rather than her personal damage. Sarah can be promoted to UR during Season 4; that process resets her skills, changes her kit, and refunds her previously spent Skill Medals, so reassess her priority after promotion.

Should I upgrade all hero skills equally?

No. Invest more heavily in the skills that define the hero’s role, but take inexpensive levels on useful secondary skills when the next priority upgrade becomes much more expensive.

Should I upgrade my main squad or second squad first?

Prioritize the main squad, particularly its main damage dealer, frontline protection, and most important support skills. Start major second-squad development once additional main-squad levels become comparatively expensive or your first formation has reached stable skill levels.

Conclusion

The best Last War hero skill priority is based on function, not just skill position. Defenders generally invest in protection first, Attackers develop their main damage engine, and Supporters prioritize the buffs or utility that earn them a squad slot. Tank troop type alone does not determine the correct order.

Concentrate Skill Medals on your main formation, compare the actual effect and cost of each upgrade, and reassess priorities whenever a hero gains a new promotion or progression system. For more hero builds, formation advice, and progression strategies, browse the Heaven Guardian Last War Survival guides.