Last Z Red Star Heroes Guide: 10-Star Awakening, SS Fragments and Upgrade Costs

Before you commit SS Fragments, top up through the Topuplist Last Z: Survival Shooter top-up page, or compare upgrade packs on the official Topuplist site.

Season 5's red-star system is the biggest change to hero progression in Last Z's history — it raises the hero ceiling from 5 stars to 10 and introduces an entirely new material, SS Hero Fragments, to pay for it. If you have been grinding fragments for months, this is the guide that tells you exactly what the 6-to-10-star track costs, what each red star actually unlocks, and how to spend your SS Fragments without wasting them on the wrong hero.

The Beyond-5-Star System

The upgrade ladder now has two distinct phases:

Stars 1–5 work exactly as before: Universal Hero Fragments (the standard orange fragments farmed through events, Alliance Duel and seasonal content). Nothing about that phase changes. Stars 6–10 are the new territory and require the new material. Reaching 5 stars is the hard gate — the red-star path is simply not accessible until your hero is maxed on the standard track, so a hero sitting at 4 stars should be finished on Universal Fragments before you think about SS Fragments at all.

Star 6 to Star 10: What Each Red Star Unlocks

Unlike the flat stat bumps of the 1–5 track, each red star unlocks a different category of power. Knowing what each tier does lets you plan SS Fragment spending deliberately:

Two tiers deserve extra attention. 7-star is the first major combat milestone worth targeting for most players, because the base-stat jump is felt in every fight. 10-star stands apart in scope — it is the only tier that upgrades all four core stats at once, and the game treats it as the key to true dominance. The cost curve is steep, which is why the tier is reserved for serious spenders or players who dedicate the entire season to a single hero.

SS Hero Fragments: The New Bottleneck

SS Hero Fragments are a completely different material from Universal Hero Fragments. They are season-specific, harder to obtain, and the primary new resource to prioritize in Season 5. They are used exclusively for red stars 6 through 10. Because they are so constrained, the fragment economy becomes the real strategy of the season: how you earn them, and where you spend them, determines whether your roster climbs or stalls.

How to Farm SS Fragments

Based on how Last Z has handled seasonal materials in previous seasons, the confirmed and expected free sources are:

• Season Journey / seasonal battle pass: the Season 5 journey track features SS Fragments as milestone rewards — the fastest free path to early red-star progress.

• Glory Wars alliance rewards: alliances compete weekly in Glory Wars; higher rankings pay better rewards including seasonal fragments.

• Seasonal shop and event exchange: the seasonal shop sells exclusive equipment fragments, orange hero fragments, badges and speed-ups, with free refreshes on weekends — SS Fragments are expected to appear here at a premium cost.

• Alliance Duel higher tiers: duel rewards include badges, diamonds, skill books and hero fragments, with SS Fragments expected at higher tiers.

The pattern is the same across all sources: SS Fragments are gated behind consistent seasonal participation rather than one-off events.

Upgrade Costs and Budget by Stage

Exact SS Fragment quantities per star are displayed in the hero upgrade screen and the season pass milestones, but the cost structure follows a clear, rising pattern:

Budget guidance for each stage: 6-star is achievable early in the season with journey-track fragments alone. 7-star is the recommended first target for most players — the return per SS Fragment peaks here. 8-star is an end-of-season goal for focused players. 9-star and 10-star require either heavy seasonal play or spending, and are the territory of players committed to one hero for the whole season. The full red-star skill data for the three eligible heroes is documented in the Season 5 Moonlit Elegy wiki.

Red Star Skill Boosts for the Season 5 Trio

The three heroes eligible for red stars — Evelyn, Oliveira and Scarlett — share the same boost pattern, applied to their own skill sets:

• Damage factor +300 on their primary damage skill.

• Damage factor +450 on their secondary damage skill.

• Troop damage +10% from their global skill (Queen's Orders / Power of Dominance / Gifted Girl).

• Potential Unleashed effect +50%.

That last line matters: the +10% troop damage and +50% Potential Unleashed boosts are account-wide and faction-wide, not single-hero bonuses. Every red star on one of these three improves your whole army, which is exactly why concentrating SS Fragments on a single hero pays more than spreading them thin.

Who Should Push Red Stars First

The priority order depends on your faction, not on a universal tier list:

• Blood Rose mains → Oliveira first. Her assaulter synergy and the per-Blood-Rose-hero ATK/DEF boosts make her the natural first red-star target for that faction.

• Wings of Dawn mains → Scarlett first. Her shooter buffs and counter-Blood Rose value make her the strongest early red-star investment for the game's most beginner-friendly faction.

• Order Guard mains → Evelyn first. Her rider-training utility and faction support reward players who have committed to the Order Guard game plan.

If you are undecided, the community's default recommendation is Wings of Dawn (Scarlett) for newer players, because the faction plays well into the most common matchups. But the hard rule remains: one hero at a time, always your main formation first.

F2P vs Spender Expectations

Set expectations before you start spending:

• Free players: 6-star and 7-star are realistic by mid-season; 8-star is achievable for focused players by season end. Do not spread SS Fragments across multiple heroes — pick one and drive it to 7-star first.

• Light spenders: 8-star on your main hero plus a 6-star on a second hero is a comfortable target.

• Heavy spenders: 9-star and 10-star are the endgame; the 10-star all-core burst is the clearest power spike in the system.

The system is deliberately designed so that months of free play can produce meaningful red-star progress — the resource to protect is SS Fragments, and the way to protect them is focus.

Fund your red-star progression through the Topuplist Last Z: Survival Shooter top-up page and watch the official Topuplist storefront for seasonal pack events.

A Realistic SS Fragment Timeline

Understanding how fast SS Fragments arrive keeps expectations honest. For a free player, the realistic flow across a season is:

• Weeks 1–2: the Season Journey's early milestones deliver the first SS Fragment batch — enough to reach 6-star on your chosen hero.

• Weeks 3–6: Glory Wars alliance rewards and the seasonal shop's weekend refreshes add steady trickles; most focused players enter the 7-star range here.

• Weeks 7–10: Alliance Duel higher tiers and end-of-season events provide the final push; 8-star becomes reachable for players who stayed consistent all season.

• Weeks 11+: 9-star and 10-star remain high-investment territory — either heavy spending or the deliberate sacrifice of all other seasonal goals.

The throughline is consistency: SS Fragments are not a burst resource, and every missed Glory War or skipped duel tier is a permanent delay in your red-star schedule. Spenders compress the timeline with the seasonal pass and shop purchases, but the fragment economy rewards the same focus for everyone.

Red Star Order Within Your Roster

Once your main hero is red-starred, the order for a second target matters. The community-standard sequencing is:

1. Main faction anchor first — the hero whose third skill drives your army's faction bonuses.

1. Second hero in the same faction — to compound the faction-wide ATK/DEF stacking.

1. Third hero only after both are settled — and only if SS Fragments are flowing faster than expected.

Pushing a hero outside your faction before your main anchor is complete is the classic account-stunting mistake. The red-star system multiplies faction synergy, so two red-starred heroes in the same faction outperform one red-starred hero and one untouched anchor.

Equipment and Skill Synergy Notes

Red stars multiply what the rest of your build already does, so gear and skill priorities matter more once you cross 6-star:

• Skill 3 first. For the Season 5 trio, the third skill (Queen's Order / Power of Dominance / Gifted Girl) carries the global troop bonuses — level it before the damage skills.

• Orange gear on the red-starred hero. Enhancement alloys are scarce; the hero carrying your red stars is the one that earns orange equipment first.

• Back-row positioning. Evelyn and Scarlett are back-row attackers; keep your red-star DPS behind the frontline so the invested stats actually survive the fight.

Stock your upgrade materials through the Topuplist Last Z: Survival Shooter top-up page and check the official Topuplist storefront for seasonal bundle events before your next awakening.

Red Star Math: What 7-Star Feels Like

The 7-star threshold is worth a closer look because it is the most referenced goal in the community. At 7-star, a hero gains the base-stat spike plus the skill-enhancement work from 6-star, which together change how the hero performs in real matches rather than on paper. For a DPS hero like Scarlett or Oliveira, the 7-star threshold typically means one less round of skill rotation to secure a kill; for a support like Evelyn, it means the faction bonuses she carries feel meaningfully stronger across the whole formation. The practical advice is to treat 7-star as the season's realistic finish line for free players — everything past it is bonus.

Frequently Asked Spending Questions

• How many SS Fragments does each star cost? Exact quantities are displayed in the hero upgrade screen and season pass milestones; the pattern is a steeply rising curve, with 9-star and 10-star costing multiples of the early tiers.

• Do red stars carry into next season? The hero and its stars persist — red-starred heroes stay red-starred. SS Fragments themselves are season-specific, so unspent fragments should be used before the season's shop closes.

• Can I swap my red-star target later? Yes, but you cannot reclaim spent fragments — swapping mid-season means starting the new target from zero, which is why the "one hero first" rule exists.

• Do red stars affect gathering heroes? Only if the hero is one of the three eligible Season 5 heroes; gathering-focused heroes are not in the red-star pool.

• Is there a fragment refund or pity? No — SS Fragment spending is one-way and there is no pity or refund, which is why confirming your hero choice before spending is the single most important decision of the season. A misclick on the wrong hero is permanent.

Top up for the season through the Topuplist Last Z: Survival Shooter top-up page and browse the official Topuplist storefront for weekly recharge offers.

FAQ

Do I need 5 stars before red stars?

Yes. Reaching 5 stars is the hard requirement that unlocks the 6-to-10-star red-star path — there is no way around it, so finish the standard track first.

Are SS Hero Fragments different from Universal Hero Fragments?

Completely different materials. Universal Hero Fragments (S) cover stars 1–5; SS Hero Fragments are a Season 5-specific resource used only for red stars 6–10, and they cannot be converted between the two tracks.

Which red star gives the biggest power jump?

The 10th star — it simultaneously raises POWER, ATK, DEF and Troop Cap. The 7th star is the most noticeable early milestone per fragment spent, which is why free players target it first.

What is the best SS Fragment source for F2P?

The Season Journey, Glory Wars alliance rewards and the seasonal shop, with Alliance Duel higher tiers also expected to pay SS Fragments. Consistent weekly participation across all four out-earns any single source.

Which hero should I red-star first?

Your main faction's hero: Oliveira for Blood Rose, Scarlett for Wings of Dawn, Evelyn for Order Guard. Concentrate SS Fragments on one hero at a time, and never red-star a hero outside your main formation.

Can I use my Season 4 heroes in the red-star system?

Yes — any hero you had at 5 stars coming out of Season 4 is immediately eligible for red-star upgrades once Season 5 SS Fragments are available. Season 4 progress carries straight into the new system with no conversion or reset.