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Gem Economy & Spending Priority Guide

Economy · 2026-04-25

What Are Gems For?

Gems are the universal currency in Last War: Survival. They unlock packs, accelerate timers, summon heroes, fund VIP progression, and buy everything in the gem shop. Because gems can buy almost anything, the question is never can I afford this — it's is this the highest-value use of these gems right now. This guide is the answer.

The Gem Economy in One Sentence

Almost every gem you have should go to VIP until you reach VIP 6. The second builder unlock at VIP 6 effectively doubles your build speed for the rest of your account's life. No other gem purchase comes close to this return. Players who blow gems on summons or speedups before VIP 6 lose months of compounded progress over the long run.

Where Gems Come From

Gem income is steady but limited. Knowing your sources helps you plan around predictable income rather than treating every gem like a windfall.

SourceNotes
Daily login rewardsSmall but consistent. Stack across the account's life
Weekly eventsArms Race, VS, Marshal's Guard, Hero Trial — gems for completion
Quest rewardsDaily and weekly quest completion — meaningful early-game income
AchievementsOne-time gem grants for milestones (HQ levels, hero collection, etc.)
Hot DealsSome Hot Deals offer gem packs — see the Hot Deals Guide
First Recharge bonusesIf spending: the $0.99 First Recharge is the best gem-per-dollar ratio in the game
Battle PassFree and Premium tracks both award gems
Map explorationInitial map clearing rewards gems — diminishes after early game

The Spending Priority Order

This is the order you should spend gems in. Move down the list only when you have completed the previous item.

1. VIP 6 — The Second Builder Unlock

VIP 6 unlocks a permanent second builder queue. Two builders running 24/7 effectively double your build speed for the rest of your account's life. No other gem purchase produces this kind of compounding return.

  • Cost: ~150,000 cumulative VIP points to reach VIP 6
  • Path: Daily VIP Chest (200 pts/day) + gem-purchased VIP packs
  • F2P timeline: ~75 days at the daily 200/day baseline
  • Spender timeline: 1-2 weeks with VIP packs

See the VIP Guide for the full VIP point math and the daily 200/day routine.

The Math Behind VIP 6

A second builder running 24/7 saves more time than any speedup pack you could buy. Over a 6-month account, a second builder produces roughly 6 months of additional build time — that is 180 days of construction you would otherwise need to pay for in speedups. Even at conservative pricing, no speedup pack comes close to this value.

2. VIP 8 — Bonus Stat Tier

After VIP 6, the next major VIP milestone is VIP 8 — significant bonus stats and a few quality-of-life unlocks. The cost-per-VIP-level scales upward, but the returns remain strong because they are permanent.

  • Cost: ~500,000 cumulative VIP points to reach VIP 8
  • Continue gem investment in VIP packs until you hit this tier
  • Diminishing returns past VIP 8 — the gem efficiency drops noticeably from VIP 9+

3. Hero Summons — Only When Targeted

Once VIP 6-8 is locked in, gem summons become a reasonable destination — but only with discipline.

  • Wait for x10 summon discounts — never x1 summons
  • Wait for hero-specific banners that align with your squad — DVA, Kimberly, Tesla, Mason
  • Save for guaranteed-pity events — these come around regularly and produce a UR
  • Do NOT summon randomly — random pulls produce mostly SSR shards you do not need
  • F2P approach: collect shards through events and Battle Pass; reserve gem summons for guaranteed-pity windows only

4. Speedups — Only on VS Day 5

Gem-bought speedups make sense in exactly one context: emergencies during Alliance Duel VS Day 5 (Mobilisation). The 4x training multiplier multiplies the value of every speedup spent that day. Outside of VS Day 5, gem speedups burn at 1x value — terrible exchange rate.

  • VS Day 5 Friday only — the 4x multiplier doubles a doubled doubled
  • Marshal's Guard rallies if your alliance is in contention for top placement
  • Capital Conquest pushes if your alliance is making a play
  • Avoid: HQ upgrades, Tech Centre research, daily build queue — these can wait

5. Black Market and Hot Deals — Situationally

The Black Market and certain Hot Deal cycles let you buy resources, hero shards, and Exclusive Weapon shards with gems. These are situational — sometimes excellent, sometimes a trap.

  • Hero shards for your active squad: usually worth it
  • Exclusive Weapon shards for your priority hero: worth it during the Lv20 push
  • Resource bundles: only when you have a specific resource bottleneck and gems are abundant
  • Decoration shards: usually overpriced; skip unless you specifically need a UR decoration

See the Hot Deals Guide and Black Market Guide.

Alliance Shop Priority

The Alliance Shop is parallel to the gem economy — different currency, different priorities. Alliance Shop currency comes from helping alliance members and participating in alliance events. The priority order:

PriorityWhy
UR Hero ShardsHighest-value Alliance Shop item by a wide margin. Always buy when in stock for any hero you use
SSR Hero ShardsFor SSR→UR promotion candidates (Mason, Violet, Scarlett, Sarah, Venom, Braz)
Exclusive Weapon ShardsFor your priority weapons during Lv20 push
Skill MedalsAlways useful — every hero needs them. Buy on rotation
SpeedupsLower priority than shards. Buy when shards are out of stock
Resource bundlesLowest priority. Most resources are abundant from gathering and events
The Daily Alliance Shop Habit

Check the Alliance Shop every day. Hero shards refresh on a rotation and stock is limited. Players who check daily collect 3-5 hero shards per day for free; players who forget miss the windows entirely. Set this as a daily habit — it is one of the highest-return five-second activities in the game.

Spending Strategy by Phase

Phase 1: Pre-Season 1 — VIP First, Always

If you are still in pre-season, VIP 6 is your only meaningful gem destination. Do not spend on summons. Do not spend on speedups outside VS Day 5. Stack gems toward VIP packs.

  • Goal: VIP 6 by HQ 25 — gives you a second builder for the entire HQ 25-30 push and beyond
  • Path: Daily VIP Chest + gem-purchased VIP packs whenever stocked
  • No summons until VIP 6 — broken record, but the math is unambiguous

Phase 2: Season 1 — VIP 6+ Plus Targeted Summons

Once VIP 6 is unlocked, gems become more flexible. Use them for:

  • VIP 8 push — continue VIP investment
  • Targeted hero summons during guaranteed-pity windows
  • Exclusive Weapon shards for your priority weapon during Lv20 push
  • Mason SSR→UR shards (Tank players) — through Alliance Shop and gem packs

Phase 3: Season 2+ — Strategic Spending

By Season 2 your gem habits should be locked in. The new spending category is season-specific resources:

  • Season 2: gems for Coal in emergencies, Furnace upgrade speedups during Cold Wave
  • Season 3: gems for Sacred Water, Curse Resistance research speedups
  • Season 4: gems for electricity in Lighthouse emergencies, Tactics Card slots
  • Season 5: gems for Bank Stronghold protection, Whiskey conversion timing
  • Season 6: gems for War Merit boosts, Awakening Shard packs (carefully)

Common Gem Mistakes

  1. Summoning before VIP 6 — the most common and most expensive mistake. VIP 6 returns more than any gem-summoned hero in the long run
  2. Using gems for daily speedups — outside VS Day 5, gem-to-speedup conversion is a terrible exchange rate
  3. Buying every Hot Deal — Hot Deals rotate constantly. Most are not high value. Cherry-pick
  4. Skipping the daily VIP Chest — 200 free VIP points per day. Missing it is throwing money away
  5. Ignoring the Alliance Shop — UR Hero Shards in the Alliance Shop are nearly free progression. Daily check
  6. Random hero summons — pulling on banners that have no UR you actually need just produces useless SSR shards
  7. Spending gems on resources you can gather — most resources are abundant from passive gathering. Save gems for irreplaceable purchases
  8. Hoarding gems forever — gems also have an opportunity cost. After VIP 6+8, spend strategically rather than stockpiling indefinitely
  9. Buying VIP packs from non-VIP shops — VIP-specific packs are usually better value than gem-funded VIP boosts; check both
  10. Spending on cosmetic decorations early — decorations matter (S-tier ones are real power), but Decorations Tier List priority comes after VIP

Should You Spend Real Money?

Last War: Survival is a freemium game. F2P is fully viable but slower. If you choose to spend, the highest-value entry point is:

  • First Recharge ($0.99) — best gem-per-dollar ratio in the game. One-time only
  • Daily Login Pack — best ongoing daily spend if you play daily
  • VIP Pack stocked rotations — efficient gem-to-VIP-points if you want to accelerate VIP
  • Battle Pass (Premium) — solid value during Hero Awakening seasons (Season 6+) for the named Awakening Shards

Avoid: random gem packs sold at full price (always wait for Hot Deals or Battle Pass), decoration packs unless the specific decoration is S-tier, second-server packs until your main account is established.

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