Last War Mason Upgrade Guide: Efficient VS Point Strategy & Shard Timing

Season 1 has officially arrived, and for F2P and low-spend players, turning Mason from purple to gold is the ultimate milestone. But before you rush to smash that upgrade button, pause—doing it blindly is a quick way to tank your main squad's combat power.

In this guide, we’re breaking down the ultimate timing-based Mason UR promotion strategy. Having been through the trenches of Season 1 myself, I'm going to show you how to exploit the game's resource recycling mechanics to secure a massive 35M+ VS points on Hero Day. Let’s ensure your squad gets stronger, not weaker.

 

The UR Promotion Trap

Many players smash the upgrade button the second it lights up in Week 2. Don't do that. Upgrading Mason comes with a massive catch that can completely ruin your main squad if you are not ready.

The Star Reset and Shard Costs

• Star Reset: Your maxed-out 5-star SSR Mason will instantly drop to a 3-star UR gold hero.
• Double Shard Costs: He still takes purple shards to star up, but the prices double. Going from 3-star to 5-star UR requires a whopping 1,600 purple shards total.
• The Math: You need 600 shards to hit 4-star UR, and another 1,000 shards to reach 5-star UR.

The Wall of Honor Wipeout

• Stat Loss: The promotion resets Wall of Honor progress, which can significantly reduce stat bonuses depending on your previous investment.
• Power Drop: Because you lose those big percentage attack buffs, a 3-star UR Mason is actually weaker than a 5-star SSR Mason.
• The Rule: Never leave him at 3 stars. You must push him to at least 4-star UR on day one to keep your damage high.

 

The Thursday VS Day Shard Trick: Step-by-Step

Veteran players love this event because you can take advantage of the game's refund mechanic. When you upgrade Mason, all shards spent on his Wall of Honor and all Skill Medals are sent straight to your mailbox. By recycling them on Thursday's VS Tournament (Hero Day), you get to score points twice using the exact same resources.

How to Optimize VS Point Timing with Resource Recycling

• Step 1: Wait until around Week 2 of Season 1. Do not touch the upgrade button until Thursday's VS Hero Day is live and your Arms Race hits the Hero Star Up stage.
• Step 2: Before upgrading, dump every single purple shard you have into Mason’s Wall of Honor. Try to get it as close to Level 160 as possible to score a massive wave of initial VS points.
• Step 3: Max out his skill levels as high as you can to burn through your Skill Medals for even more milestone points.
• Step 4: Now, click the Promote button. Mason turns gold, the game refunds previously spent shards and skill materials to your mailbox, depending on the current Season 1 event mechanics
• Step 5: Open your mailbox, grab the refunded resources, and instantly dump them back into your new 3-star UR Mason. The game tracks this as a new spend, giving you a second massive wave of points to easily clear 35 million!

Post-UR Progression and Skill Build

Shard Safety Benchmarks

• The Perfect Run: With ~160 level Wall of Honor investment and sufficient shard refunds, you may be able to quickly restore Mason to 5-star UR.
• The Minimum Line: Do not do this trick unless you have at least 600 shards ready (in your bags plus the refund) to hit 4-star UR instantly.

UR Skill Upgrade Priority

Once Mason hits UR status, he unlocks his 4th skill, which deals bonus damage to zombies. Since he will eventually be replaced in your main PvP squad by pure UR heroes like DVA, his new job is dominating PvE content like World Bosses and Doom Zone raids. Upgrade his skills in this exact order:

Defense Expertise (Stats)→Zombie Buster (4th Skill)→Rapid Reload→Suppressive Fire

 

Conclusion

When it comes to min-maxing your Last War Season 1 progression, patience pays off. The Mason UR upgrade needs execute this Thursday VS Day shard trick to squeeze every single milestone reward out of the game.

Before you pull the trigger, double-check your inventory. Do not click promote unless you can instantly push him to 4-star UR with your stockpiled bags and refunds. If you find yourself a few hundred purple shards short of that crucial safety line, don't risk ruining your main squad—head over to LDshop right now for a quick, secure top-up to secure your power spike. Hoard those resources, time the Arms Race, and go turn your Mason into the ultimate PvE boss-melter. Happy hunting, commanders!