Squad Building Fundamentals
How Squads Work
A squad in Last War: Survival consists of 5 heroes arranged in two rows:
- Front Row (2 heroes) — these heroes take damage first. Place your tankiest, most defensive heroes here
- Back Row (3 heroes) — these heroes deal damage and provide support from behind the front line
Each hero has a troop type: Tank, Aircraft, or Missile Vehicle. The composition of your squad determines the type bonus you receive.
Troop Type Bonuses
Building a squad where heroes share the same troop type gives stacking stat bonuses:
The 20% mono-type bonus is enormous, and mono-type is the right default. But it is worth knowing exactly what it costs to break, because the number is smaller than most players assume: dropping from five of a type to four costs you 4.35%, not 20%. You keep the 15% rung. So an off-type hero earns that slot whenever they are more than roughly 4.3% better than the best same-type hero you would otherwise field — and a hero a full tier above your fifth-best often clears that easily.
Two things to weigh before you splash, because both work against it and neither is obvious:
- The troop-type counter is per hero, not per squad. An Aircraft hero in a Tank squad does not borrow the Tank counter; they answer to the Aircraft one. If you picked the squad's type to counter what you are facing, the splashed hero is not countering anything.
- Drone chips, research and Troop Centers are per troop type too. Your splashed hero draws on their own type's investment, not the squad's. If your Tank line is the one you have built, an off-type hero arrives without the chips and research the rest of the squad is enjoying.
Tactics Cards arrive in Season 4, and one of them bears directly on everything above: Universal - Hybrid Squad. It is the only card in the game whose effect touches troop-type formation, and it is available in Seasons 4 and 5 — so if you are in any other season, the table above is the whole story and you can stop reading here.
Where you can hold it, it does two things. Four heroes of one type collect the full +20% rather than the +15% rung, so the 4.35% step simply is not paid. And every troop type present in the squad adds a further bonus to Attack, Defence and HP — between 1% and 5.5% depending on the card's level.
Read that second part carefully, because it is easy to over-read. It says every type present, not every extra type — so a mono squad collects it once and a 4+1 collects it twice. The gain from mixing is one of those units, not the whole bonus. Net: with the card a 4+1 is ahead of five-of-a-type by roughly 1% to 5%, where without it the mono squad is ahead by 4.35%. It changes which shape wins, which is the part that matters — but it is a few per cent, not a different game.
Read the table again: three of one type and two of another pays 10%, while three of one type and two scattered singles pays only 5%. Same three-hero core, double the bonus, and it costs you nothing but choosing your last two heroes from the same type as each other. This is the most commonly missed bonus in the game — most half-built squads are 3+1+1 by accident, and are quietly running at half the bonus they could have. When your fourth and fifth heroes are both mediocre, what matters is not which is stronger, it is whether they match.
The Combat Triangle
- Tanks beat Missile Vehicles — tanks are too durable for missiles to break through
- Missile Vehicles beat Aircraft — missiles destroy aircraft before they can close in
- Aircraft beat Tanks — aircraft overwhelm tanks with sustained damage
This triangle matters most in PvP and Alliance Wars. In PvE content, raw squad power is more important than type matchups.
The Three Squad Types
Tank Squads
- Role: Front-line powerhouses. High durability, strong damage reduction
- Early game meta: Tank heroes are the easiest UR heroes to acquire, making Tank squads the dominant pre-season choice
- Playstyle: Outlast your opponent. Win through durability and sustained damage
Aircraft Squads
- Role: The mid-to-late game meta. Strong burst damage with decent survivability
- When to build: Once you have a strong Tank squad and start acquiring Aircraft UR heroes
- Playstyle: High damage output, mobility, and crowd control
Missile Vehicle Squads
- Role: Counter-pick specialists. Highest burst damage but most fragile
- When to build: When your server is dominated by Aircraft squads and you need a counter
- Playstyle: Delete priority targets with massive burst. High risk, high reward
Building Your First Squad
Step 1: Choose a Type
For pre-season, go Tanks. The reasons:
- Tank UR heroes are available earliest
- The meta favours Tanks for the first ~70 days of a server
- Kimberly is the highest DPS hero in the early game
- Murphy and Williams provide the best damage reduction
Step 2: Fill All 5 Slots
Get 5 Tank heroes into your squad as quickly as possible for the 20% mono bonus. Even if some heroes are SR or SSR, the type bonus is worth it over having a stronger off-type hero.
Step 3: Focus Investment
Do not spread resources across many heroes. Priority order:
- Kimberly — your main DPS. Max their level, skills, and gear first
- Murphy — your main tank. They absorb damage so Kimberly can deal it
- Marshall — provides critical buffs that boost the whole squad
- Stetmann — secondary DPS, AoE damage
- Williams — defensive anchor, keep them alive but invest last
Step 4: Optimise Positioning
- Front Row: Murphy + Williams (or your two most defensive heroes)
- Back Row: Kimberly + Stetmann + Marshall (your damage dealers and support)
Transitioning to a Second Squad
Eventually the meta shifts from Tanks to Aircraft (around day 70+ on most servers). When that happens:
- Do not abandon your Tank squad — it is still strong and useful
- Start collecting Aircraft heroes — DVA is the priority
- Only invest in Aircraft once your Tank squad is solid (full gold gear on key heroes)
- Your second squad does not need to be as strong as your first — it supplements, not replaces
The Murphy Exception
In the late-game Aircraft meta, many top players move Murphy from their Tank squad into their Aircraft squad. Murphy's exclusive weapon and Tactics Cards make them a better pure tank than Carlie, even though you drop from 20% to 15% type bonus. Their individual tankiness outweighs the 5% stat loss.
This is an advanced optimisation. Do not worry about it until your Tank squad is fully built and you are deep into Aircraft development.
Common Squad Mistakes
- Building mixed squads — you drop from the 20% mono bonus to 10% (3+2) or just 5% (3+1+1). Always go mono-type
- Spreading investment across two squads early — one strong squad beats two weak ones
- Ignoring the front row — if your tanks die, your back row gets shredded
- Putting DPS heroes in the front row — they die fast and deal no damage
- Chasing new heroes instead of investing in your core squad — depth beats breadth
- Starting Aircraft or Missile squads before your Tank squad is ready — Tank is king in pre-season. Build it first
Wall of Honor
Once your heroes hit 5 stars, they unlock the Wall of Honor — a system where surplus hero shards provide passive stat bonuses to your entire troop type. Attack bonuses should be prioritised first, followed by defence and health. See the Wall of Honor Guide for the full hero bonus table and recommended upgrade order.
Detailed Squad Guides
For full hero lineups, formation diagrams with positioning rationale, gear craft orders, and skill priorities for each squad type, see:
- Tank Squad Guide — the dominant early-game squad
- Aircraft Squad Guide — the mid-to-late game meta
- Missile Vehicle Squad Guide — the counter-pick specialists
- Alliance Squad Coordination — coordinating squad types across your alliance
- Hero Guide (Season 6) — current season hero changes, updated tier list, and investment priorities
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