Ace Combat 8 All Ace S-Ranks Walkthrough

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has 30 campaign missions. Completing all of them on the highest difficulty “Ace” with an S-Rank unlocks the Ace of Aces trophy & achievement. This is the most difficult trophy in the game.

Luckily, the S-Ranks can be done in Free Missions which allow you to use custom aircraft. It also gets more manageable once you treat every sortie as a controlled score-and-time run. The core principle used in Ace Combat 8 S-Rank attempts is simple: earn enough points from efficient, high-value kills, then complete the final objective without wasting time. Each mission grades your performance based on completion time, enemy destruction, bonus targets, and mission-specific objectives. The exact score requirement varies by mission, so a strategy that works in an open dogfight may fail in a timed strike mission. This guide is organized mission by mission and focuses on the easiest and safest route to an S Rank in each one. It highlights recommended aircraft, special weapons, high-value targets, optional objectives, and common mistakes that can cost valuable time or points. Missions with shifting objectives, score thresholds, or scripted phases will receive extra notes so you will know when to stop farming bogeys and complete the mission.

General S Rank Tips

Complete the Campaign on Elite: You’ll unlock Ace difficulty, the overpowered endgame aircraft (FA-36 and X-40), and Free Mission mode. You will then be able to use all aircraft, parts, and special weapons that you’ve unlocked on subsequent Campaign Replays or in Free Mission mode.
Use the Right Plane (It’s Usually the X-40): The X-40 can perform effectively on most missions, and its UAVT special weapon is effective on both air and ground targets. The precision of its beam, and the ability to burn through most targets with a single launch must be balanced against your limited ammunition. On missions with large numbers of ground targets, especially if they are appearing in clusters, the UAVT’s precision works against you. For those missions, you will always be better off with a craft that launches Air-to-Ground ordnance that has an Area of Effect (AoE). So if you find you’re not achieving your objectives, try a different aircraft and loadout.
Save Your Flares: You have a very limited number of flares. Only use them when you’re being painted by multiple aggressors, or when you’ve lined up a difficult shot on a mission target, and don’t want to have to miss the opportunity. Instead, wait until the last second when the locked tone is steady, then press & / & together and pull in a direction with the :l-stick: to perform a High-G Turn. You will bleed off a ton of speed, but it will drastically change your direction of travel, and in most cases break a target lock.
Free Mission Mode: Play in Free Mission to gain access to all aircraft in all missions, instead of being forced to only planes capable of a carrier launch on some missions. Also, it will skip most cinematics between missions so you don’t have to do it manually.
Restart the Mission, Not the Checkpoint: In most cases, it is better to restart immediately after a major mistake than to finish a run that is already below the S-Rank pace, especially if you have died and need to restart a checkpoint which will result in losing points during your mission evaluation. While a Checkpoint Restart doesn’t automatically disqualify you from getting an S rank on some missions, it will always make it significantly more difficult to achieve. If you’re closer to the end than the beginning however, it might be worth taking the chance since you’ll still get MRP out of it even if you don’t quite make S Rank.
The Ace of Spades: Try to trigger the enemy Ace in each mission, because a confirmed kill on one is worth around 2000 points each. It’s always worthwhile unless doing so would end up putting you in severe danger or endangers your S Rank by wasting too much time in the mission.
The Final Countdown: On missions with a tight time limit, prioritize high value targets, named targets, tightly packed enemy groups, and targets directly along the required route. Avoid long detours for isolated low-value enemies, wasting time dogfighting targets that can be eliminated efficiently with a single special-weapon pass, and restart quickly after a slow opening or a missed high-value group. These missions will almost always give you a time bonus for swift completion.
Time Is On Our Side: During Destruction missions, you have to reach a specific score and usually have a significant time limit to do so. Prioritize high value targets, mostly aircraft, and build a comfortable score buffer before eliminating mission targets (TGT) to ensure maximum scores.
U Can’t Touch This: You will get a Damage Taken Bonus of 5000 points if you receive no damage in a mission.

Mission 01 “Jokers Wild” (Operation Seabird)

Skip the tutorial and cinematic, and take out UAVs until you reach a wave of MiG-21bis Fisbeds that are protecting an AWACS aircraft. Ignore the AWACS and make sure to eliminate all the MiGs to cause Gigas, the enemy Ace to appear. Kill him, then finish off the AWACS to complete the mission.

Mission 02 “Nomad” (Operation Falling Sparks)

This mission has you protecting the Endurance against waves of enemy bombers. Immediately at the start of the mission, you’ll encounter four A-6Es making a bombing run on the endurance. Use a UAVT to take them all out at once. After killing four enemies in the first 3 minutes to the mission, Crematio, the enemy Ace will appear in the northwest part of the map. Shoot down the wave of bombers in the north, then take out Crematio on your way to the other. A third wave will appear in the east around the same time. Waves 4 and 5 will appear in the east, this time TU-95s with a wing of F-14D escorts. Take out the bombers to end the mission.

Mission 03 “Purple Magic Takes Flight” (Operation Frostwave)

Hit the wave of six MI-24 helicopters north of the base, slowing way down so you don’t overshoot them. Then head east, maybe wiping out some of Queen flight’s targets on the way to a pair of Mirage 2000-5s coming from the north east. Clean up any targets of opportunity as you head north to deal with the third wave of bombers, this time A-6Es. After them comes another wave of Mirage-2005s, and then another A-6E wave. All will come from the northeast corner of the map. Once they’re dealt with, travel to the extreme northeast corner of the map and hopefully get there as two TU-160s appear. If you manage to shoot them down far enough away from White Valley Base you’ll trigger the Ace, Raia to appear after a few minutes about three-quarters of the way up the East side of the map, right around the same time as a wing of SU-25SMs appear in the Northwest. Finish off the Ace quickly and intercept the bombers before they can reach the base. Finally, deal with the Shadows 160th unit in four MiG-29As to end the mission.

Mission 04 “The Fall of the Numbered Fleets” (Operation Elder Hand)

Attempting to get the Ace to appear on this mission is a chance probably not worth risking when attempting to get an S Rank, as it requires you to fly through the tunnel between the West and East sides of the island. Aside from the risk of death, it’s very easy to graze either left or right sides of the tunnel or clip one of the ventilation units at the top of the tunnel, and it changes height and curves on the east side of the tunnel right at the end/beginning which adds an unnecessary degree of difficulty. If you do though, Auster will arrive near the Anderson Crater on the east side of the island.

For the more cautious, the key is to stay low and clean up ground targets as you go. Start with the airbase on the West side of the island to take out their fighter cover. Try to hit as many as possible while they’re still on the ground, being careful to take out the many SAM and AA sites in the area as well as the few ships docked on that side of the island. The bulk of the fleet is on the East side, and will start to put to sea when the attack begins. Clean up all the ground targets before finishing off the fleet for maximum points.

Mission 05 “Retaking of Theve” (Operation Long Shot)

The Ace in this mission only appears if all eight of your LCACs survive. All I can say is, good luck with that. Intercept the helicopter flight, preferably with a UAVT since there are conveniently four of them, then go to work on the other aircraft. Let your wingmen distribute their attack, and order special weapons free. This mission clock says you have 25 minutes, but in practice you’ll be done in under 15 so there’s no point hoarding your specials. Never stray far from the LCACs, as they will get torn up by aircraft in short order on Ace difficulty. When you have the air under control, head to land and take out the two lines of Howitzers behind the tanks, then hit the tanks on the way back to the LCACS before a new wing of helicopters attacks them. Wipe out any of the ground targets that are attacking the LCACs, including any tanks that are still operational. After the cinematic, a new wave of dive bombers and fighters appear, to really harry whatever is left of your LCAC fleet as they retreat. Finish them off to end the mission.

Mission 06 “Attack on the Drinwich Airfield” (Operation Redouble)

This mission has you protecting two teams of four Chinooks, designated Spread 1 and 2. Before they get themselves in too much danger, zoom out on your minimap to take note of where the closest Mission Targets (TGT) are on the map. If you manage to destroy 5 or more of them in the first three minutes of the mission, then the enemy Ace, Flamma will appear. Listen to the radio chatter, and the orders from Dealer to determine where you have to be. Wipe out any aircraft threatening each group, then clear out any dangerous land targets ahead of them as you bounce back and forth between each group as they converge on the airfield. Once they land, there will be a wave of bombers from the south, but also a transport that tries to escape from the base. Down the transport before heading south to the bombers. By the time you get back, you’ll hear Spread 1 and 2 reporting resistance from enemy troops on the ground. Carefully pick them off with missiles when doing so wouldn’t endanger the other targets in the area. Waves will alternate between bombers and ground targets, until a scripted explosion happens and the mission ends.