Last War Survival Richard Guide: Skills, Gear, and Best Use

Richard is an SSR Tank Attack hero in Last War Survival who deals Physical Damage. His main strengths are straightforward personal damage and a Tactics skill that attacks two random enemies.

He is best treated as an early-game bridge hero. Richard can share the front row with a stronger defender while your Tank roster is incomplete, but he is not a true defensive Tank: his skills do not provide shields, healing, damage reduction, crowd control, or protection for teammates.

This Last War Richard guide covers his skills, upgrade priority, gear, position, Tank formations, replacements, resource investment, and the situations where he is still worth using.

Richard Overview

Richard benefits from Tank-related formation bonuses and Tank Center development because his vehicle type is Tank. That classification should not be confused with his combat specialty, however. Richard is an Attack hero rather than a dedicated defensive hero.

Is Richard a Tank or an Attacker?

He is both, but the terms describe different things. Tank is Richard’s vehicle type, while Attack is his specialty.

This distinction explains why Richard can occupy a front-row slot without being comparable to Murphy or Williams. Those heroes bring much stronger defensive value to a developed Tank formation.

How Long Is Richard Useful?

Richard’s strongest period is the beginning of an account, when hero availability matters more than building an ideal endgame formation.

Do not remove a developed Richard the moment you unlock a better hero. An undeveloped replacement can still perform worse. Make the swap when the new hero has enough levels, stars, skills, and equipment to improve the actual battle result.

Richard Skills

Richard’s entire kit is self-focused. He does not buff the rest of the formation, which is one of the main reasons his investment value declines as more specialized heroes become available.

Howitzer

Howitzer is Richard’s Auto Attack. Its documented base version fires a rocket at one enemy for Physical Damage equal to 62% of Richard’s Attack, with a cooldown of approximately 1.6 seconds.

Howitzer provides reliable single-target damage between Multi-Load activations. It also benefits from Richard’s offensive passive and Attack-focused gear.

Ballistic Boost

Ballistic Boost is Richard’s personal offensive passive. It increases his damage potential throughout the battle rather than affecting only one attack.

The exact percentage displayed for this effect can differ between skill levels and references, so use Richard’s live skill tooltip for the current value on your server. The important build implication is unchanged: Ballistic Boost improves Richard himself, not the rest of the squad.

That makes it useful while Richard is actively contributing damage but much less valuable as a long-term account investment than a skill that strengthens multiple permanent heroes.

Multi-Load

Multi-Load is Richard’s Tactics skill and the clearest reason to use him in multi-enemy battles. Its documented base version fires rockets at two random enemies, dealing Physical Damage equal to 183.70% of Richard’s Attack to each target, with a cooldown of approximately nine seconds.

Multi-Load is useful when several enemy heroes are alive, but the random targeting is a real limitation. Richard cannot guarantee that both rockets hit the weakest target or the enemy you most urgently need to remove.

Super Sensing

Super Sensing is Richard’s Expertise effect and provides +10% HP, Attack, and Defense.

These stats help Richard perform his temporary frontline role, but they do not turn him into a dedicated defender. Super Sensing also only improves Richard rather than protecting his frontline partner or back row.

Best Richard Skill Upgrade Priority

Multi-Load should usually receive the first meaningful investment because it is Richard’s main Tactics skill and his most distinctive source of damage.

Multi-Enemy Priority

For campaign stages or battles with several enemy units:

1. Multi-Load
2. Ballistic Boost
3. Howitzer
4. Super Sensing

Multi-Load deserves the emphasis because attacking two targets is the main advantage Richard has over a basic single-target attacker.

Single-Target Priority

Richard is not an ideal boss specialist. Against one target, Multi-Load loses its multi-target advantage, so improving his general Attack scaling and frequent Auto Attack becomes comparatively more useful.

If another hero offers dedicated monster bonuses or stronger single-target damage, use that hero instead of investing more resources just to make Richard fit the encounter.

How Far Should You Upgrade Richard’s Skills?

Upgrade Richard enough to solve the content blocking your account, then stop when his replacement is nearly ready.

Best Gear for Richard

Richard needs a balance of damage and survivability. His Attack specialty rewards offensive gear, but a front-row Richard who dies before using Multi-Load gains little from additional damage stats.

If Richard is consistently dying first, move Radar or Armor ahead of the Data Chip. Gear priority should solve the actual failure in battle rather than follow a fixed list blindly.

Early-Game Gear

M3 gear is temporary. Equip it for the base stats, but avoid large Upgrade Ore spending on pieces you expect to replace quickly.

Mid-Game Gear

The M4-A Destroyer Cannon and M4-A Jackal Data Chip are reasonable equipment for an active Richard, but there is little reason to craft or reserve premium gear specifically for him once a stronger long-term hero needs the same pieces.

Richard Gear Upgrade Order

1. Cannon or Turret
2. Data Chip
3. Radar
4. Armor

Reverse the offensive bias when survivability is the real problem. The goal is to keep Richard alive long enough to contribute, not turn a temporary SSR hero into an expensive pseudo-defender.

Best Position for Richard

Richard is commonly used as the second front-row hero during early progression. Pair him with a true defender who can absorb more of the pressure.

Richard can move to the back row if your account already has two stronger defenders and he still outperforms the available back-row alternatives. In practice, however, reaching that point often means Richard is close to being replaced entirely.

Best Richard Teams

Frontline Partners

Back-Row Partners

Early-Game Formation

This works as a progression formation rather than an endgame recommendation. Richard helps fill the second front-row slot while Kimberly and Mason provide most of the damage.

Budget Tank Formation

Murphy is the important piece here because he handles the defensive responsibility that Richard cannot reliably carry alone.

When Should Williams Replace Richard?

Once Williams is developed enough to survive better than Richard, the swap is straightforward: Murphy and Williams can occupy the front while the three back-row positions are reserved for damage and support.

Do not compare only raw hero power. Run the same stage or battle with both formations and compare survival time and total squad damage.

Should You Force a Full Tank Team?

No. Same-type formation bonuses are useful, but a poorly developed Tank hero can still make the team weaker than a highly developed hero from another vehicle type.

Use your strongest functional formation during early progression and build toward a full Tank squad as the appropriate heroes become ready.

Where Richard Is Most Useful

Early Campaign and Multi-Enemy Battles

This is Richard’s best environment. Multi-Load can pressure two enemy units while Richard occupies a slot that a young roster may not yet be able to fill with a dedicated defender.

Bosses and Single Targets

Richard can still deal damage, but his kit has no special boss or monster mechanic. Mason or another PvE specialist can provide more useful synergy once properly developed.

Early PvP

A highly developed Richard can still beat a newly unlocked replacement during early Arena progression. The problem is his ceiling: stronger opponents eventually bring dedicated frontline mitigation, better burst damage, crowd control, healing, and squad buffs that Richard cannot match.

Secondary Squads

After Richard leaves the first squad, moving him to another march is usually better than continuing to invest heavily. Give him spare or transferred equipment and let his existing stars and levels provide value without competing for premium resources.

Richard Strengths and Weaknesses

Is Richard Worth Upgrading?

Richard is worth limited investment if he is actively helping your first squad clear content. He is not a hero most players should build around for the long term.

Should You Take Richard to Five Stars?

Use naturally earned Richard-specific shards if you still get meaningful value from him. Do not chase five stars simply because the upgrade is available.

Universal SSR shards are more flexible and can support heroes with stronger combat roles or future progression paths. Spending a large number on Richard is difficult to justify once you know he will leave the main formation.

F2P Investment Advice

For F2P players, Richard’s biggest advantage is that he does not need to be expensive. Use him as a bridge while directing most long-term resources toward heroes that will remain in your primary Tank formation.

Players who prefer to start farther along the progression curve can also compare a Last War account for sale as an optional alternative, but hero value should still be judged from the actual roster, stars, gear, and server progress on that account.

Common Richard Mistakes

Using Richard as the Only Defender

Richard can occupy the front row, but his Attack specialty and self-focused skills make him unreliable as the only source of frontline protection. Pair him with a true defender.

Confusing Tank Type with Defense Specialty

Richard is a Tank-type hero, not a defensive specialist. Vehicle type determines formation and building synergy; it does not automatically mean a hero is built to absorb damage.

Overinvesting Because Richard Is Strong Early

Early power can be misleading. Richard often looks valuable because a young account has few alternatives, not because his kit scales exceptionally well.

Ignoring Multi-Load’s Random Targeting

Two targets sounds strong, but random targeting can split damage inefficiently. Richard is less reliable when victory depends on eliminating one specific enemy quickly.

Building Richard for Boss Damage

He has no dedicated monster or single-target specialization. Use him when he is already your strongest option, not because his kit is uniquely suited to bosses.

Upgrading Temporary Gear Too Far

Spend Upgrade Ore on pieces and heroes with a longer useful life. Blue M3 equipment should primarily fill slots while you work toward better gear.

Replacing Richard Too Early

A newly unlocked UR hero is not automatically stronger on day one. Build the replacement first, then make the switch when battle results improve.

FAQs

Is Richard good in Last War Survival?

Richard is useful during early progression as an SSR Tank Attack hero who can temporarily share the frontline and deal damage to multiple enemies. His value drops as stronger defenders and attackers become developed.

What is the best Richard skill priority?

Prioritize Multi-Load first. Ballistic Boost and Howitzer come next depending on whether you want broader personal scaling or more frequent direct damage. Avoid excessive Skill Medal investment once Richard is close to being replaced.

Should Richard be in the front or back row?

Richard is commonly used in the front row beside a stronger defender during early progression. If you already have two reliable defenders, he can move back temporarily, but that is often the point where a better attacker should replace him.

What is the best gear for Richard?

Start with a Cannon or Turret and Data Chip when Richard survives comfortably. Prioritize Radar or Armor sooner if he is dying before using Multi-Load.

Should I use universal SSR shards on Richard?

Usually not. Use Richard-specific shards while he remains useful, but preserve universal SSR shards for heroes with stronger long-term combat or progression value.

When should I replace Richard?

Replace Richard once a dedicated defender such as Murphy or Williams, or another stronger formation option, is developed enough to improve actual battle performance. Do not make the change based on rarity alone.

Conclusion

Richard is a practical early-game Tank Attack hero whose main value is filling an incomplete frontline while adding two-target Physical Damage. Prioritize Multi-Load, keep gear investment modest, and pair him with a stronger defender rather than expecting him to tank alone.

As your roster develops, stop premium investment and move Richard to a secondary squad instead of forcing him into the main formation. For more hero builds, team recommendations, and progression advice, explore our latest Last War Survival guides on Heaven Guardian.