Last War HQ Upgrade Requirements: Levels, Resources & Time

The Headquarters, or HQ, is the heart of your base in Last War: Survival. Most other buildings depend on it, and your hero level cap grows with it. That is why so many players ask what each upgrade needs, how much it costs, and how long it takes. This guide explains the requirements, resources, and waiting time for every stage. If you would rather skip the long wait, you can also check various listings of last war accounts for sale on BuyAcc, a trusted platform for game accounts.

What the HQ Does in Last War

The HQ is the main gate for your progress. Most buildings cannot go above your HQ level, and many research options open up only when your HQ is high enough. Your hero level cap also rises by 5 for each HQ level, so the cap is 150 at HQ 30 and 175 at HQ 35.

Every HQ upgrade needs other buildings at certain levels first. The Tech Center appears again and again, so it is the building most players need to watch. The Troop Center in the tables below means one of the Tank, Aircraft, or Missile Centers. You only need the one that matches your squad.

HQ Upgrade Requirements and Resources

HQ Levels 1 to 15

The early levels are quick and cheap. Food and Iron costs are always equal. Coins are added from HQ 9.

HQ	Buildings Needed	Food and Iron	Coins
2	Drill Ground 1, Squad 1	34	-
3	Wall 2, Recon Plane 1	1,000	-
4	Barracks 3, Drill Ground 3	2,500	-
5	Barracks 4, Wall 4	20,000	-
6	Wall 5, Drill Ground 5	91,000	-
7	Wall 6, Troop Center 6	240,000	-
8	Tech Center 7, Alliance Center 7	390,000	-
9	Tech Center 8, Troop Center 8	620,000	200,000
10	Tech Center 9, Hospital 9	750,000	240,000
11	Tech Center 10, Wall 10	1.9M	600,000
12	Tech Center 11, Barracks 11	3.2M	1M
13	Tech Center 12, Troop Center 12	3.5M	1.1M
14	Tech Center 13, Drill Ground 13	4.9M	1.6M
15	Tech Center 14, Wall 14	6.8M	2.2M

HQ Levels 16 to 30

From here the costs grow fast. Resources go from millions to billions in only a few levels.

HQ	Buildings Needed	Food and Iron	Coins
16	Tech Center 15, Alliance Center 15	12M	3.9M
17	Tech Center 16, Troop Center 16	16M	5.1M
18	Tech Center 17, Hospital 17	28M	8.9M
19	Tech Center 18, Wall 18	33M	11M
20	Tech Center 19, Barracks 19	60M	19M
21	Tech Center 20, Troop Center 20	84M	27M
22	Tech Center 21, Drill Ground 21	110M	35M
23	Tech Center 22, Wall 22	140M	44M
24	Tech Center 23, Alliance Center 23	170M	54M
25	Tech Center 24, Troop Center 24	290M	93M
26	Tech Center 25, Hospital 25	400M	130M
27	Tech Center 26, Wall 26	530M	170M
28	Tech Center 27, Barracks 27	740M	240M
29	Tech Center 28, Troop Center 28	1B	330M
30	Tech Center 29, Drill Ground 29	1.4B	460M

HQ Levels 31 to 35

After HQ 30, the rules change in two ways. You need a new resource called Oil, and you must finish one special research before the HQ 31 upgrade can start.

How to unlock HQ 31

1. Upgrade your Tech Center to level 30.
2. Complete at least 40% of the Special Forces research in the Tech Center. Older guides say 80%, but newer guides say this was lowered to 40%.
3. Open the Age of Oil tech tree. It becomes available after Season 2 ends on your server, and it stays open once you unlock it.
4. Finish the Base Expansion research in that tree. Some call it HQ Expansion, but it is the same research. Level 1 is enough to start HQ 31.

The table below shows every requirement for HQ 31 to 35. Food and Iron costs are equal at every level. “Troop Center” means the Tank, Aircraft, or Missile Center you use for your squad.

HQ	Buildings Needed	Food and Iron	Coins	Oil	Base Time
31	Tech Center 30, Troop Center 30, Barracks 30, and Base Expansion research	1.6B	510M	1.44M	111d 18h
32	Tech Center 31, Troop Center 31, Barracks 31, Wall 31	1.7B	560M	2.30M	122d 22h
33	Tech Center 32, Troop Center 32, Barracks 32, Hospital 32, Drill Ground 32	1.9B	620M	3.92M	135d 5h
34	Tech Center 33, Troop Center 33, Barracks 33, Wall 33, Alliance Center 33	2.0B	650M	7.05M	141d 23h
35	Tech Center 34, Troop Center 34, Barracks 34, Hospital 34, Drill Ground 34	2.1B	680M	14.10M	149d 2h

The Oil needed for the HQ upgrades alone adds up to about 28.8 million. The buildings you must upgrade along the way also cost Oil, so your real total is higher. Each HQ level also raises your hero level cap by 5, up to 175 at HQ 35.

How Long Do HQ Upgrades Take?

The times below are base times, which means the time before any speed bonuses. Your real time will be shorter if you use alliance help, construction speed research, and speedups.

HQ	Time
0-5	From 0-15 minutes
6-10	From 30 minutes - 8 hours
11-15	From 12 hrs - 1 day 8 hours
16-20	From 1 day 16 hours - 3 days 12 hours
21-25	From 3 days 18 hours - 11 days 12 hours
26-30	From 15 days - 101 days 14 hours
31-35	From 111 days 18 hours - 149 days 2 hours

The first ten levels are fast, while the upgrades after level 25 take weeks or months. Always check the timer in your own game, since updates can change these numbers.

Tips to Upgrade Your HQ Faster

HQ 1 to 15: Prerequisites Slow You Down, Not Time

• Main problem: Timers are short, but one missing building stops the upgrade completely. From HQ 8 on, every level needs the Tech Center.

• Prioritize: Wall, Barracks, and Drill Ground for HQ 3 to 7. Then Tech Center, Alliance Center, and your Troop Center, with the Hospital at HQ 10. Pick one Troop Center type and stay with it.

• Do in advance: Join an alliance on day one so you can use alliance help. Before you start any upgrade, read the needs of the next two HQ levels. Start Coin income by HQ 9, when Coins first appear. Skip extra upgrades to resource buildings, since they are not needed for the HQ.

HQ 16 to 24: Timers Grow From One Day to About Two Weeks

• Main problem: Base times increase from roughly 1 day at HQ 16 to 15 days at HQ 24 and Coins increase from 3. 9M to 54M.

• Prioritize: Maintain the level of the Tech Center one level below your intended HQ. Proceed to construct these buildings as required by the next level of HQ: Alliance Center (HQ 16 and 24), Troop Center (HQ 17 and 21), Hospital (HQ 18), Wall (HQ 19 and 23), Barracks (HQ 20), Drill Ground (HQ 22).

• Do in advance: Use a second builder queue to work on the next prerequisite while the HQ timer runs. Research construction speed in the Tech Center. Ask for alliance help as soon as an upgrade starts. Save your big speedups for the building day in the Arms Race event, which also gives event points. Make sure your Hospital is large enough for your army; troops that do not fit can be lost after a battle.

HQ 25 to 30: Where Timers Turn Into Months

• Main problem: Base times at HQ 25 is about 22 days and then it goes to about 101 days at HQ 30. Food and Iron goes into the billions and Coins get to about 460M.

• Prioritize: Tech Center, as HQ 30 needs Tech Center 29 and levels 30 unlock the Age of Oil tree. Then the prerequisite building for each level and then your Hospital.

• Do in advance:  Begin researching Special Forces before your Tech Center is level 30 so that you’re 40% complete. Don't open resource chests until needed - inventories can't be stolen, but important resources in bases can. Participate in events as they are your primary resources. Think about how the Coin income weeks will impact you, well in advance of each upgrade.

HQ 31 to 35: Oil Becomes the Real Limit

• Main problem: Oil, not time. HQ 35 alone costs about 14.1M Oil, and base timers run from 111 to 149 days.

• Prioritize: On the first day the Age of Oil opens, build your first Oil Well and upgrade it. Finish Base Expansion first, then the research that raises Oil production, and the research that unlocks a third Tech Center, so you can run three researches at once. You can have up to five Oil Wells: two unlock through research, and the others come with HQ 31, 32, and beyond.

• Spend Oil only on what the HQ asks for: Tech Center, Troop Center, Barracks, Wall, Hospital, Drill Ground, and Alliance Center, at the levels shown in the table. Skip upgrades like the Warehouse or Trading Post until you reach HQ 35.

• Do in advance: Collect Oil at least twice a day, because a well stops producing when its storage fills (the cap is 12 hours). Use the long HQ timer to stock up Oil for the next level, and to upgrade the next building on your list. Save speedups for Oil Wells, Base Expansion, and the buildings on the HQ list. Look for extra Oil from events, secret tasks, and truck rewards.

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Conclusion

Upgrading the HQ in Last War takes patience. Early levels have fast upgrade timers, the middle levels need smart planning, and the late levels need huge amounts of resources, plenty of time, and oil. If you plan your buildings, use your speedups at the right time, and keep your Tech Center up to date, your progress will be much smoother. And if you ever want to skip all that process, you can buy a last war account through BuyAcc.