Skill chips are drone enhancements that give your squads a meaningful edge in every fight. Unlike most mobile strategy games that focus equipment on heroes directly, Last War routes a significant portion of your combat power through the drone — and skill chips are what make that system tick. Each chip you craft and slot in applies a stat effect to your drones during battle, and the right combination can noticeably shift how your squads perform in both PvP and PvE content.
The Chip Lab: Unlocking and Upgrading
The Chip Lab unlocks at HQ Level 15, with the system becoming fully active around server day 82–85 once Combat Boost reaches level 10 through the Age of Oil research track. You can upgrade the building all the way to Level 35, but in practice, all chip crafting options become available at Level 20. The remaining 15 levels offer minor stat polish with steep resource costs — most experienced players recommend stopping at 20 and redirecting Iron, Food, and Coins toward higher-impact buildings like the Drill Ground, Tech Center, or Barracks.
Inside the Chip Lab you can craft new chips, dismantle chips you don't need, and reset chip slots to recover materials. Crafting requires two resource types: Basic Chip Material and Premium Chip Material. Both can be earned through Versus (VS) battles, chip chests, events like Alliance Duel, and various in-game stores including the Campaign Shop, VIP Shop, Alliance Shop, and Honor Shop. Choice chests were replaced by chip chests in updated versions of the Lab.
The Four Chip Types
Every skill chip in Last War falls into one of four functional categories. Understanding what each type actually does in battle is the foundation for making smart crafting decisions.
Initial Move chips create a shield that activates at the very start of a fight, absorbing incoming damage for a short window. After the shield expires, there's a secondary global effect that continues to reduce incoming damage by a smaller amount for the rest of the battle. These are especially strong on tank heroes who need to survive opening bursts. The Legendary version of this type is called Absolute Quantum Field.
Defense chips provide a sustained defense buff that persists for the full duration of combat — not just at the start. The buff applies specifically to whichever hero type the chip is crafted for (aircraft, tank, or missile vehicle), and also grants a smaller global defense bonus to every hero in the squad. Gravitational Resonance Armor is the Legendary Defense chip to work toward.
Attack chips increase damage output during drone strikes and extend how many targets drones can hit. The target increase at star levels 2 and 5 is particularly impactful in larger fights. Memory Ultra Fission is the Legendary Attack chip, and it's almost universally recommended as the first one to craft.
Interference chips disrupt opponents by extending and intensifying damage over time effects. They work well paired with heroes and formations that already apply sustained pressure rather than pure burst.
Chip Rarities and What to Do With Lower Ones
Chips come in multiple rarity tiers: Common (green), Rare (blue), Epic (purple), and Legendary (gold). The jump in power between tiers is substantial, so the goal for any serious player is to reach Legendary chips as quickly as resources allow.
Common and Rare chips offer minimal benefits and are best fed directly into Combat Boost upgrades rather than equipped on squads. Epic chips sit in a middle position — they were once considered worth slotting, but after recent game updates, the consensus has shifted toward using them as Combat Boost material once you've replaced them with Legendaries. That said, it's worth keeping Epics equipped on your squads in the interim rather than leaving slots empty while you work toward Legendary crafts.
One important note on set bonuses: equipping four chips of the same rarity triggers a Resonance bonus that boosts all stats by a meaningful percentage multiplier. A full Epic Resonance set will frequently outperform a single Legendary chip mixed with three lower-rarity ones. Don't break up a complete Epic set until all four Legendary chips are ready to swap in at once.
Combat Boost: The Shared Upgrade System
Combat Boost replaces individual chip level upgrades in the current system. Rather than leveling each chip separately, you build up a single Combat Boost level that applies to all active drone skill chips simultaneously. Chips, unused chips, and dismantled materials all feed into raising this level.
The key milestones to target are 150, 300, and 450. Each of these thresholds unlocks an additional preset slot and activates new chip set bonuses that compound on top of your existing stats. Reaching Combat Boost 300 is the benchmark most guides cite as a minimum for competitive PvP, and it should be your intermediate progression goal before pushing secondary squads.
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Crafting Priority Order
When it comes to which chips to build first, the current meta points to a consistent order across most squad compositions:
- Memory Ultra Fission (Interference/Attack) — craft this first, and make sure you select the version that matches your main squad's troop type: aircraft, tank, or missile vehicle. This chip currently has the highest single-chip impact in the meta because it counters burst-heavy compositions by reducing enemy tactic damage.
- Gravitational Resonance Armor (Defense) — prioritize next for its full-battle-duration defense buff. Its combination of hero-type-specific and global defensive effects makes it valuable in almost any formation.
- Absolute Quantum Field (Initial Move) — particularly important for tank heroes and any formation where surviving the opening seconds of a fight is a bottleneck.
- Attack Chip — helpful for increasing drone damage output, and its drone target count increase at star levels 2 and 5 adds real value in multi-target scenarios. After hitting star 5, the marginal benefit drops off, at which point Initial Move tends to pull ahead in upgrade priority.
Always craft chips in the specific troop type that matches your main hero lineup. An aircraft chip on a tank formation provides no benefit.
Star Level Upgrades: Keep Things Even
When upgrading chips through star levels, the standard advice is to keep all four chips at roughly the same level before pushing any single one higher. If your Memory Ultra Fission chip reaches star 2, bring the other three up to star 2 before advancing further.
The exception is the Attack chip vs. Initial Move chip ordering between star 3 and 5. The Attack chip's drone target increase at stars 2 and 5 makes it worth prioritizing over Initial Move during that window. Once both reach star 5, Initial Move takes the higher upgrade priority going forward.
Focus all chip investment on your first squad before shifting resources to secondary squads. The power difference between a fully upgraded first squad and a half-built one is significant enough that diluting resources early will hold back your overall account progression.
How to Get Chip Materials
The fastest reliable source for chip materials is Versus (VS) battles, which reward both Basic and Premium Chip Material regularly. On top of that, chip chests from events like Zombie Invasion, Alliance Duel, and various time-limited events provide solid material income. Opening chip chests during Alliance Duel is especially worthwhile since the event also rewards points for chip upgrades.
Chip chests come in different tiers, with Premium Chip Material required at increasing quantities for higher rarity results. You can also reduce crafting costs and upgrade times through research, alliance research, and profession bonuses — completing those research branches pays dividends over time even if the individual reductions seem small.
FAQ
Should I upgrade the Chip Lab beyond level 20?
Not as an early priority. All chips unlock by level 20, and the remaining 15 levels offer incremental stat gains with steep resource costs. Push Drill Ground, Tech Center, and Barracks first. Come back to the Chip Lab upper levels once those higher-priority buildings are covered.
Is there a point to equipping Epic chips if I'm working toward Legendary?
Yes — keep Epic chips equipped on your squads rather than leaving slots empty. The Resonance set bonus from four matching Epic chips can outperform a mixed Legendary and Epic setup. Don't swap out until all four Legendary chips are ready to go in together.
Can I change which chips are slotted after crafting?
Yes. Chips can be deactivated and swapped out at any time, which is useful when adjusting your squad composition between content types. Just make sure the chips you slot match the troop types in your current formation.
How important is troop type matching?
Very. A chip crafted for aircraft heroes gives no benefit in a tank or missile formation. Always check which type you're selecting at the crafting screen, and match it to your main squad's composition.
Is the skill chip system accessible to F2P players?
The core chip system is fully accessible without spending. F2P players will progress more slowly — a full Legendary build typically takes four to five months through VS rewards, events, and daily play — but the system isn't gated behind purchases. Focus on VS participation and event chip chests to keep materials flowing.
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Sylune Experienced Game Editor
I'm a game guide writer with over 20 years of experience playing all types of games, especially anime-style RPGs, gacha and sports games. I love finding smart ways to beat tough levels without spending too much money. By studying game mechanics and character systems, I create easy tips to help players save time and resources. When I'm not gaming, I watch anime to get inspiration for strategies. My goal? To help you enjoy games more and stress less – even when facing "impossible" bosses! Let’s make gaming fun and affordable together!
