Last Z Early Game Strategy: Days 1-7

Starting strong in Last Z: Survival Shooter means efficiently balancing your combat progression with base development. This guide outlines key strategies to maximize your early-game growth and establish a formidable shelter.

Synergizing Shooter Stages and Base Expansion

Last Z features two interconnected gameplay loops: zombie-infested shooter stages and strategic base management. Advancing through stages provides crucial resources and unlocks new areas, while upgrading your base strengthens your combat units and introduces new game features. View these as a single, unified progression rather than separate tasks.

Maximizing Shooter Stage Rewards

During shooter stages, strategically engage with barrels, gates, XP crates, and indestructible hazards. Barrels can drop additional troops, weapon enhancements, or temporary buffs, but weigh the potential damage cost. Numbered gates offer significant rewards upon destruction, and XP crates are a consistent source of hero experience in the initial phases.

Prioritizing Headquarters Upgrades and Prerequisites

Your Headquarters (HQ) is central to unlocking new features and increasing building and hero level caps. From HQ8 onwards, the Laboratory is a mandatory upgrade for every HQ level. Additionally, a second prerequisite building follows a fixed sequence: City Walls, Alliance Center, then the three Camps (Assaulter, Shooter, Rider). Keep these structures leveled closely to your HQ to avoid progression bottlenecks.

Maintaining Laboratory Development

The Laboratory is essential for advancing your HQ from level 8 onward. While a second Laboratory becomes available at HQ18, it requires a Research License and is not typically part of the initial early-game plan.

Securing Essential Resources and Hero Experience

Food, wood, and electricity are vital for construction and training. Hero experience is primarily gained from shooter stages and XP crates. Ensure a steady supply of these resources to prevent delays in development and unit readiness.

Crafting a Balanced Hero Roster

Your initial hero lineup should consist of a tank (defender), a damage dealer (DPS), and a support character. Focusing on heroes from the same faction activates powerful synergy bonuses, making it more efficient to build around a core faction rather than dispersing experience across many disparate heroes.

Strategic Hero Recruitment and Campaign Progression

Most heroes are acquired through the gacha system in the Hero menu and the Club's hero recruitment feature once unlocked. Campaign missions introduce new systems and features, guiding your upgrade path. Complete them promptly to accelerate your progress.

Timing Upgrades with Full Preparedness Cycles

The Full Preparedness event operates on 4-hour cycles, each with a different theme. The Shelter Upgrade window awards points for completing buildings and using construction speedups. This is the optimal time to finish major construction projects for maximum rewards.

Establishing a Clear Building Priority

Keep your Headquarters, Laboratory, Camps, Military Center, City Walls, and at least one Formation building close to your HQ level. The Production Center, Alliance Center, Villa, Bookstore, and Rally Square are strong mid-priority upgrades. Resource buildings, the Warehouse, and Trade Center are lower priority unless specifically required for HQ advancement or events.

Quick Tips

• Unlock New Territory: Each shooter stage helps reveal new land and enables additional structures—don't neglect stage progression.
• High-Value Targets: Barrels and gates can yield significant bonuses, but bypass them if the damage cost is too high. XP crates are always a worthwhile priority.
• Leverage Faction Bonuses: Grouping 3, 4, or 5 heroes from the same faction provides increasing ATK and faction-specific buffs—build around a primary faction.
• Match Factions to Units: Aligning factions like Blood Rose with Assaulters, Wings of Dawn with Shooters, and Guard of Order with Riders maximizes synergy.
• Unlock Fourth Skills First: Getting all main heroes to 4★ unlocks their powerful fourth skill and is often more beneficial than pushing one hero to 5★ early.
• Second Lab is Advanced: A second Laboratory, available at HQ18, requires a Research License and is considered a later-game upgrade.
• Exploit Event Cycles: Full Preparedness themes repeat daily; complete construction during the Shelter Upgrade window.
• Speed Upgrades: Upgrade the Villa for construction speed and the Bookstore for research speed; these are solid mid-priority targets.
• Resource Buildings: Upgrade these only when necessary for HQ requirements or events to avoid early resource drains.
• Campaign Benefits: Campaign unlocks rapidly introduce new systems, heroes, and training options, speeding up overall development.