Last War: Survival — The strongest force multiplier most players underestimate
Drones provide combat bonuses across ALL your squads. They're untargetable by enemies, deal automatic damage, and scale with investment. Players who prioritize drone upgrades consistently outperform others at the same power level. It's easy to fall behind on drones and almost impossible to catch up — start investing from Day 1.
Raise your drone's base level using Battle Data and Drone Parts. The core progression system. Parts are required every 5 levels up to 150, then every level after.
Equip the drone with gear of varying rarities. Merge 3 identical components to upgrade level. Adds 10,000 power per upgrade. Unlocks at HQ 15.
4 chip slots (Initial, Defense, Attack, Interference) that boost your drone and hero squads. Unlocks at Combat Boost Level 10 (~Day 85). The biggest power leap.
Cosmetic + small stat boosts (attack, crit rate). From events and premium packs. Nice but not a priority — focus on the other three first.
Two resources are needed: Battle Data (XP fuel) and Drone Parts (checkpoint gates).
| Level range | Parts needed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1–150 | Every 5 levels | 10 parts at Lv5, scaling up. Total ~10,000 parts to 150. |
| 151–250 | Every level | Starts at 500 parts, +100 every 10 levels. Gets expensive fast. |
| 250+ | Every level + tech research | Requires additional Tech Research to unlock further levels. |
While your upgrade progress is under 80%, every tap has a 50% chance to double the XP gained. This means you get roughly 1.5× the value of your Battle Data on average. Don't rush past checkpoints — let the crit mechanic work for you.
Radar missions (purple and orange give the most), hunting zombies/Doom Elites, events, and daily tasks. Never let stamina sit at 100 — always convert it into Battle Data through radar missions.
Daily tasks, radar missions (chance drops), alliance events, Campaign Store, VIP Store (diamonds), limited-time events. Parts are always scarce — plan ahead and stockpile before hitting a checkpoint.
Components work like gear for your drone. Each component type boosts different stats. Up to Level 7, upgrading requires merging 3 identical items. At Level 8+, improvements come through research progress percentages instead. Use Selection Chests to target the exact component you need for your next upgrade step.
Open component chests on Wednesdays only (VS Day 3 — Age of Science). This earns you Alliance Duel points for opening them. Opening on other days wastes potential event scoring. Save all component chests throughout the week.
Unlocks at Combat Boost Level 10 (~server Day 85). Four chip slots, each with a different combat role:
Many players hold onto heavily invested Epic (purple) chips because they've sunk resources into them. Don't do this. A fresh Legendary (gold) chip outpaces an invested Epic every time. Why? Legendary effects usually last until the battle ends, while Epics are short bursts (~15 seconds) that vanish before fights are halfway done. Replace Epics with Legendaries as soon as you get them.
Create separate chip loadouts for your Tank squad, Aircraft squad, and Missile squad. Each troop type benefits from different chip combinations. Don't use a one-size-fits-all approach — tailor each set to the squad's strengths.
Star Rating: Combine duplicate chips of the same type to increase stars (like hero stars). Level Up: Use identical chips or upgrade components — components add 10,000 points per upgrade, while chips give more. Use the Chip Lab (unlocks at Lv 15) to craft specific chips instead of relying on random chest drops.
Open Skill Chip Chests on Mondays only (VS Day 1 — Radar Training). This earns Alliance Duel points. Save all chip chests throughout the week. Use the Chip Lab to craft missing chips rather than hoping for luck.
Combat Boost is a separate leveling track that unlocks chip capabilities for additional squads:
| Combat Boost Level | Drone Level Required | Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | ~Day 85 milestone | Skill chip system for 1st troop |
| Level 2 | Drone Lv 150 | Chips for 2nd troop + chip boost +1 |
| Level 3 | Drone Lv 300 | Chips for 3rd troop + chip boost +2 |
| Level 4 | Drone Lv 450 | Chips for 4th troop + chip boost +3 |
| Level 7 | Drone Lv 900 | Massive attribute increase — up to +2.5M drone combat power |
Convert all stamina into radar missions (which drop Battle Data and Drone Parts) and zombie hunting. Stamina regenerates over time — every minute at cap is wasted progression.
The VIP Store is one of the most consistent sources of drone components. If you have diamonds to spare after stamina and speedups, invest here.
Save them all week, dump on Monday for VS Day points.
Save them all week, dump on Wednesday for VS Day points.
Monday (Radar Training day) is when these earn VS Duel points. Hoard all week, dump on Monday.
Every diamond and stamina point you invest in your drone pays dividends in every single battle you fight, across all squads, for the rest of the game. Unlike hero upgrades (which help one squad) or building upgrades (which are one-time), drone power multiplies everything. This is why experienced players call drones the single best ROI system in Last War.