Last War Tier List: Best Heroes Ranked (Season 6)

For Last War: Survival players who want every hero ranked by what they actually return across PvP, Alliance Duel VS and Desert Storm Battlefield, not just raw stats.

Short answer: Build Kimberly first, DVA second and Williams third. The Season 6 Tank lineup is Williams and Murphy in front, Kimberly, Stetmann and Marshall in back. Tesla is next: his Awakening opens in Week 5, after Kimberly in Week 1 and DVA in Week 3. Finish one squad type before you start the next.

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A tier list that only ranks stats tells you which heroes hit hardest on their own. It does not tell you which ones deserve your Recruitment Orders next month, which formation they belong in, or why building the wrong S-tier before the right one is one of the most common ways big accounts fall behind players with the same budget.

This list ranks every hero by real investment value across the three squad types: Tank, Aircraft and Missile. It covers the Season 6 Awakening order and the hero combinations that make the strongest lineups for PvP, VS Kill Day and Desert Storm Battlefield.

If you are deciding where your Diamonds go this season, start here.

How this tier list works

Heroes are ranked in four tiers:

• S-tier: core investment targets. These heroes are worth concentrating Recruitment Orders on and full Wall of Honor development. One maxed S-tier carry beats three half-built A-tiers in every competitive mode.
• A-tier: strong in specific roles or formations. Worth building once your S-tier core is done, or as the best option before S-tier heroes are available.
• B-tier: situational picks with real value in the right formation or event. Not a main investment target for big accounts.
• C-tier: outclassed by higher tiers in every mode that matters at competitive levels. Do not make them a main resource target.

One rule applies across every tier: upgrade order matters more than tier placement. A fully built A-tier hero beats a half-built S-tier in every mode. Spreading across too many heroes at once is the most common reason accounts with similar budgets end up at different power levels on the same server.

This list reflects the Season 6 meta (Lost Rainforest, which reached servers from April 2026; servers move through seasons at different times). Season 6 Awakening shifts the power ceiling for Kimberly (Week 1), DVA (Week 3) and Tesla (Week 5), and the rankings take Awakening into account.

Our list next to Pocket Gamer's

Pocket Gamer ranks raw hero strength. We rank what to put money into first if you build one squad at a time. Most picks agree. Where they differ, the reason is build order, not hero strength.

Morrison and Tesla sit lower on our list only because they belong to the second and third squads most accounts build. If Aircraft or Missile is your main, move them up.

Tank formation

Tank is the strongest competitive squad type in Season 6, and most big accounts build it first. Tank beats Missile in the counter triangle, and the strongest UR heroes sit in this formation, so it is the default first investment.

Kimberly (S-tier, Tank)

The first hero every competitive account builds. Kimberly is the strongest AoE damage dealer in Last War: Survival and the first hero to get Season 6 Awakening (Week 1). Her Barrage Strike active skill hits a wide area and clears clustered enemy formations, which makes her the core carry in Tank squad PvP, Alliance Duel VS and Desert Storm Battlefield.

Her priority is unconditional. She is not one option among several, she is the starting point. Every other hero in the Tank formation is there to protect her output or add to it.

Wall of Honor priority: ATK bonuses first. Attack investment returns more Barrage Strike damage than any defensive stat at her skill level.

Season 6 Awakening: Week 1. Awakening replaces her 4th skill with a stronger version and raises her damage ceiling a lot. Accounts that meet the requirements in Week 1 open a power gap that lasts the rest of the season.

DVA (S-tier, Tank and Aircraft)

The second hero most big accounts build after Kimberly. DVA is an Aircraft-type hero playing a Tank squad role, and that is a deliberate trade. Her Vortex Missile attack delivers focused single-target burst that Kimberly's AoE leaves open, and her Armament Upgrade passive (+30% crit) multiplies in value as Chip and Cannon upgrades scale. Dropping the Tank squad from the +20% five-of-a-kind boost to +15% is worth it at competitive levels.

Kimberly and DVA cover both ends of the damage range. Kimberly clears clusters. DVA deletes the high-value target that survives the AoE. This pairing is the most copied core on competitive servers in Season 6.

Season 6 Awakening: Week 3, the second in the sequence after Kimberly. Build order does not change: DVA is your second investment either way.

Williams (S-tier, Tank)

The universal tank and the front-row anchor every competitive formation needs. His team-wide damage reduction passive changes squad survival in PvP, base defense and rallies in a way no other tank can copy. He does not add damage. He adds margin. The fights your squad wins because it stayed alive long enough to fire a second volley are wins Williams created.

Williams has no Season 6 Awakening, and that does not change his priority. His role is structural. He is not optional in a top Tank squad.

Formation slot: front row, slot 1. Always.

Marshall (S-tier, Tank support)

Marshall raises the whole squad's attack and crit from the back row, and he sits in the standard Season 6 Tank lineup. Pocket Gamer rates him SS. He does not deal the damage himself. He makes Kimberly and Stetmann hit harder, so he comes right after the first damage carry is built.

Mason (A-tier, Tank after UR promotion)

Mason starts as an SSR Tank hero and can be promoted to UR. As a promoted UR he fills a back-row damage slot, often in place of Stetmann. Pocket Gamer rates him S. Whether he is worth it depends on whether his promotion is open on your server and whether your Tank squad really needs another damage dealer.

The promotion math works for many big accounts because Mason's shards mostly come from sources you already farm. Check the promotion rules in game before you invest, and see our Mason UR promotion guide.

If your Tank squad already runs Kimberly, DVA and Williams, Mason can fill a back-row slot. If you are missing one of the first three, do not move resources to Mason first.

Schuyler (A-tier, Aircraft)

Crowd control and disruption. Schuyler gives the formation control that pure damage heroes cannot. Schuyler is an Aircraft hero with a slot in the standard Aircraft lineup: Lucius, Carlie, Morrison, Schuyler and DVA.

Murphy (A-tier, Tank front row)

Support with real combat value in the front row. In the Season 6 Tank lineup most 2026 sources recommend, Murphy stands next to Williams and adds survivability. He does not come before the S-tier core.

Fiona (A-tier outside Missile)

Fiona is generally listed as a Missile hero. In Missile she is a main investment target (covered below). If you are building Missile as your second squad, invest in Fiona for that.

Aircraft formation

Aircraft is the second squad most competitive accounts build. Aircraft beats Tank in the counter triangle, so it is your answer to heavy Tank opponents. It is not a starter formation for most big accounts. It comes after the Tank core is in place.

Lucius (S-tier, Aircraft)

The main front-row anchor for Aircraft squads. Lucius gives the formation the survivability it needs to keep Carlie and Morrison in the fight long enough to deal their damage. Front-row investment in Aircraft is not optional at competitive levels. The formation falls apart without it.

Carlie (S-tier, Aircraft)

The second frontline anchor next to Lucius. Carlie keeps the Aircraft backline protected. Lucius and Carlie together are the standard Aircraft frontline at competitive levels.

Morrison (A-tier, Aircraft)

Backline damage behind Lucius and Carlie. Morrison adds the direct DPS the formation needs once the frontline has stabilized the fight.

DVA in Aircraft (S-tier)

As an Aircraft-type hero, DVA gets the full same-type formation bonus in an Aircraft squad, which she gives up in Tank. When an account builds a second squad, her value shifts: she now carries the formation bonus as well as her burst damage. Her investment order stays the same. Only where she performs best changes.

Missile formation

Most competitive accounts build Missile third. Missile heroes are not weak on their own. The formation just needs a base of competitive infrastructure before it returns as much as the other two.

Adam (S-tier, Missile)

The front-row anchor for Missile. Adam gives the backline the protection it needs to work, the same job Lucius does in Aircraft. The formation does not function without a capable frontline.

McGregor (A-tier, Missile)

The second frontline slot next to Adam. Adam and McGregor are the standard Missile front row.

Tesla (A-tier, Missile, S-tier after Awakening)

Tesla is a precision damage dealer in Missile and gets Season 6 Awakening in Week 5, the third in the Kimberly, DVA, Tesla sequence. Before Awakening his priority is real but behind the Tank S-tier trio. After Awakening he reaches S-tier performance in Missile.

Season 6 Awakening: Week 5. For accounts that have finished Kimberly and DVA Awakening, Tesla is the natural next target.

Fiona (S-tier, Missile)

Fiona is the main damage carrier in Missile and the reason the formation is viable at competitive levels. Her cluster attack against grouped enemies is what the Missile squad is built around. A Missile formation without Fiona as its damage core does a lot worse than the standard lineup.

If you are not building Missile yet, Fiona can wait. If Missile is your second squad, Fiona moves to primary investment ahead of Tesla.

Swift (A-tier, Missile)

The finisher in Missile. Swift removes weakened targets that survive the Fiona and Tesla damage, turning partial damage into kills. Pocket Gamer rates Swift S. Strong inside the Missile formation, but only worth real money once Missile is a squad you actually field.

Best hero combinations

Hero strength sets the ceiling. Formation synergy decides whether you reach it. These lineups perform best in Season 6.

Standard Tank PvP lineup (main squad): Murphy and Williams (front row), Kimberly (AoE carry), Stetmann (secondary damage), Marshall (squad attack and crit). This is the Season 6 Tank lineup most 2026 sources recommend.

This covers damage and survivability. If you are building toward one squad, this is the one. Some players run DVA here instead of Stetmann for burst damage. She is an Aircraft hero, so the squad drops from the +20% formation boost to +15%.

Aircraft counter lineup: Lucius and Carlie (frontline), Morrison, Schuyler, DVA.

Your counter to Tank-heavy opponents. Built after the Tank core.

Missile lineup: Adam and McGregor (frontline), Fiona, Tesla, Swift.

Fiona is the damage core. This lineup beats Aircraft by design, and Tank formations counter it. Built third by most big accounts.

How counters and formation bonuses work

Last War runs three formation types in a rock, paper, scissors loop: Aircraft beats Tank, Tank beats Missile, Missile beats Aircraft. Formation type decides which matchup you win by design, whatever the power score.

Same-type heroes in one squad boost hero HP, attack and defense: +5% for three of a kind, +10% for three plus two, +15% for four and +20% for all five. A mixed squad gets nothing. Build one formation type completely before you start a second. The full table is in our squad setup guide.

The Wall of Honor is a passive bonus system for fully starred heroes. Put ATK bonuses first, then DEF and HP. Heroes with UR promotions (Mason, Violet, Scarlett, Sarah, Venom, Braz) need a plan before you feed them shards, so read the SSR to UR promotion guide first.

UR hero investment priority

If you are deciding where Recruitment Orders and Diamonds go this season, this is the order:

1. Kimberly: first investment, unconditional. Season 6 Awakening in Week 1.
2. DVA: second. Kimberly and DVA are the competitive damage core. Season 6 Awakening in Week 3.
3. Williams: the Tank anchor every squad needs. No Awakening, still required.
4. Marshall: the support that multiplies the Tank damage core.
5. Tesla: third Awakening target (Week 5), completes the Awakening trio.
6. Schuyler: crowd control for your Aircraft squad.
7. Mason (promoted UR): a solid Tank back-row damage dealer if his promotion is open and his shards come from what you already farm.

Heroes not on this list are not bad investments. They make sense after the core seven are built, not before.

For spenders and R4/R5 leaders

What Awakening really costs. In Season 6, Awakening needs the hero at 5 stars, the Exclusive Weapon at Level 20 or higher and 50 named Awakening Shards. After that, each Awakening star costs more shards:

Awakening Shards come free from the Hero Awakening Trial and Global Expedition, and cpt-hedge notes there is no Awakening Battle Pass any more. So money does not buy Awakening directly. It buys the gate: stars and Exclusive Weapon levels. The Exclusive Weapon needs 1,080 named shards after unlock to reach Level 20. Get that done on Kimberly before Week 1, on DVA before Week 3 and on Tesla before Week 5.

What to tell the alliance. Ask members to put shards into the same core heroes, not into whatever pack shows up. An alliance where 30 members run Kimberly, Williams and Marshall at full stars wins more rallies than one where everyone owns a bit of every hero. Season 6 also added Awakening Swap in Week 3, which moves Awakening progress between two Awakened heroes, so a member who built the wrong carry is not stuck.

Timing. Star-ups and skill upgrades score on Train Heroes day (Day 4) of Alliance Duel. Stage shards before Thursday, then spend them there.

Where Packsify fits

Packsify can buy the hero packs for the heroes on this list. We buy the exact pack you pick through the official Apple App Store or Google Play, with more pack value for the same money. New to Packsify? Start with the Last War top up guide and how we keep accounts safe.

Last War also runs an official web store, store.lastwar.com, which adds a 5% Gold Brick bonus to every recharge and gives an avatar frame. If you use it, that is fine. Packsify is for players who want the exact App Store or Google Play pack bought for them.

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Related: the best squad setup, the Kimberly build and the Last War packs worth buying.

Sources: Pocket Gamer tier list (updated Oct 17 2026), cpt-hedge Season 6 guide, cpt-hedge Awakening guide, cpt-hedge Exclusive Weapons guide, Last War Tutorial squads page, Theria Games DVA skills. Checked October 30, 2026.

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