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). The FA-36 is better for these missions, since it has the SOD. Boost that with Improved Submunition Liner, Extended Submunition Storage Casing, and Extended Drop Rack parts, and it will carve through the enemy armor and infantry. 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. However, if the mission is long and you’re close to the end, take a chance and restart the checkpoint. You might still get S rank, and if not you’ll still get MRP towards your MRP Aplenty trophy.
• Trigger Aces: Try to trigger the enemy Ace in each mission, because a confirmed kill on one is worth around 2000 points each. Its 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.
• Don’t Forget Your Wingmen: Their kills count towards your total score, and if you forget to direct them to attack you’ll be missing about 30-50% of your score. Set them to Dispersed Attack when you enter the mission, and keep checking the orders indicator near your radar because they’ll sometimes revert to cover during cinematics or because of the script. Save their special ammo for areas where time is of the essence, or in areas with lots of enemy targets.
• Choose Your Targets Wisely: 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.
• Always Build a Buffer: 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.
• Perfect Bonus: You will get a Damage Taken Bonus of 5000 points if you receive no damage in a mission. With the Adaptive Armor Material part that is unlockable after you purchase the X-40, you can shrug off the first few AA hits or the blast effect of an airburst without taking damage.

Mission 01 “Jokers Wild” (Operation Seabird)

Score Needed to Rank S: 3,000

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)

Score Needed to Rank S: 16,000

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)

Score Needed to Rank S: 16,500

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)

Score Needed to Rank S: 21,000

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, its 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)

Score Needed to Rank S: 17,500

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)

Score Needed to Rank S: 17,000

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.

Mission 07 “A Lifeline in the Desert” (Operation Squeeze)

Score Needed to Rank S: 53,000

With the significant ground target count on this mission, it’s time to switch up for the FA-36 armed with SOD special weapons. Normally you’d be locking missiles on the fuel trucks that are inexplicably parked next to clusters of solar panels and SAM sites, but with the SOD you’ll just be choosing vast swaths of enemies to simply erase. Start with the panels/heliostats in the northwest then head south airstrip. If you’re fast and get close close enough you can attack the Ladon as it takes off, but its highly unlikely that you can do enough damage to destroy it before it outpaces you so don’t waste SP Weapon ammo.  The runway is another story. SODs won’t lock onto planes, even if they’re on the ground, but there’s enough hangars and AA emplacements that you can maneuver around so the angle of the SOD will splash over landed planes, which is just as good. As you head southeast towards the refineries, remember that this mission has an easy Ace trigger, but you will have to be careful with how you attack the refineries to make it happen. You’ll have to destroy the Land Aegis with a chain reaction from the oil tanks exploding. If you accidentally set them off before the ship starts moving, you could potentially detonate yourself out of an Ace. You’ll have to wait for the ship to move around the refinery until it is sitting next to a set of oil tanks, then blow them up to destroy the Aegis as well. If you do it correctly the enemy Ace, Orcus, will appear near the easternmost refinery. Shoot him down, and finish wiping out what’s left of the refineries,  then if you need to rearm head west to the return line. Or if you’re still good on missiles and/or running out of time, head north to carpet bomb as much of the enemy with SODs as you can before time runs out.

Mission 08 “Retaking of Theve II” (Operation Gut Shot)

Score Needed to Rank S: 36,900

To trigger the Ace in this mission you have to destroy all non-TGT surface weapons, which will take you about five minutes at the top of the mission. Tesera will appear in the southeast, and head up the coast towards the city. After that take out the remaining TGTs to advance the story. Three groups of artillery will rain down shells on your landed troops, while APCs and tanks advance on them up the roads. Kill a round of enemy armor, then before the next wave rolls in, choose one of the groups of howitzers and take them all out. There’s usually fuel trucks parked nearby as well, so save missiles and cause a chain reaction. If you have time, hit the next group of ground targets but break off when you see the wing of TU-160s and Shadows appear in the south. Deal with the bombers first, then the Shadows quick, before a second bomber wave heads your way. Mop up whatever’s left, save Coster’s life, then deal with a new Shadows unit with plenty of time to spare.

Mission 09 “The Land Battleship Blockade” (Operation Ogre Pitfall)

Score Needed to Rank S: 12,500

Another ground assault, so swap back to the FA-36 with SODs. Avoid railgun fire and airbursts, and start hammering the escort Land Aegises and the Land Battleship with SODs. You will likely have to deal with their CWIS emplacements with conventional missiles before you’ll have satisfying results. There are two slowdown lines where they will send in bomb trucks to blow off the armor plating protecting the treads. Since these trucks can be easily destroyed you have to take out the casemate guns on the battleship’s bow, but most importantly, be on watch for quadcopter UAVs to launch at regular intervals. These are deadly to trucks, and have to be taken out as soon as they launch to ensure the trucks survive long enough to hit the tread armor. You will need four successful detonations on each side of the battleship to expose the treads, then you will have to hit each sub caterpillar with missiles to destroy them. If you can eliminate all eight sub caterpillar treads before the battleship reaches the second slowdown line, enemy Ace Judex will appear from up the coast and head straight in your direction. Keep up the attack on the battleship, taking out reactivated weapons systems as they come up, including more waves of quadcopters and interceptor UAVs. Eventually Deathless Leader will come on the radio and tell you that you need to trigger an explosion at the last set of buildings with your weapons. There are three target buildings, each will have to be hit with multiple missiles in a relatively short timeframe before the battleship is clear of them. Just when you think its over, the Land Battleship has one more trick up its sleeve. Rockets begin to fire, and you will have to take out the two thrusters on the ship’s port side in order to finally bring it down. Each thruster will take multiple hits to destroy, so don’t let up.

Mission 10 “Over the Rainband” (Operation Raincoat)

Score Needed to Rank S: 14,200

In this mission, you’re escorting what’s left of the FCU Navy across the rainband. In between waves of fighters and bombers, you will have to be on the lookout for laser designators painting your ships for incoming Tonitrus Spears. The first laser you see will be a scripted event, where the spear will land before you reach the airship hiding in the clouds to destroy it. The Ace requirement kicks in the second time you spot a laser. You will have to destroy the airship within 70 seconds in order to make the enemy Ace, Vorago, appear. Complicating this is the fact that the airships can be at varying altitudes hiding in the clouds where visibility is a factor, and they have EW capabilities so a huge area of overlapping protection hides their blips. There are three waves of lasers, with the third having two airships painting the fleet simultaneously. Each airship you take down will restore your radar coverage in that area. The mission ends after the fourth airship is downed.

Mission 11 “Maximum Payload” (Operation Gaffed Card)

Score Needed to Rank S: 44,000

You’re tasked with tracking down three groups of Podarges and their escorts, all the while having your radar jammed by EW pumped out by A-50s in each group.You’ll begin travelling southwest. Straight ahead, you’ll see a fading contrail heading to the west which you’ll follow to the first group. Podarges have AA turrets and VLS firing missiles at you, so those you should be your first targets. There are two VLS on top, just behind and to either side of the cockpit. There are two AA guns on the fuselage under the tails, and then two more on top of the wing, between the main propeller and the first sub-propeller on each side. Each wing has one main propeller and three sub-propellers, for a total of eight on each Podarge that you need to destroy to cause it to crash. A Podarge is worth 2000 points if you just concentrate on the propellers, or 3200 if you destroy its weapons before you do. Then shoot down the IL-78 and the A-50. During this time, there will also be MiG-29as harrying you, so feel free to destroy all of them before attacking the podarge initially or you can wait to the end, just as long as you rack up their points before proceeding. To meet up with the second group, you’ll want to continue around the cloud, curving to the south-southwest.  This time there will be two podarges, also with MiGs and an A-50. Handle the podarges in the same way, but know that its sometimes possible to do enough damage to the upper podarge to make it crash into the one below, so it might be worthwhile to work from the top down. Once they’re downed, head to the northeast to find the third and final group. Predictably, there are three podarges in this group. What will be a surprise though, is the flight of Shadows in MiG-31Bs that appear as soon as you engage them. If you shoot down all four of the Shadows before you destroy the last podarge, you will also cause the enemy Ace, Larus, to appear. Make sure to shoot down all of the targets you can before destroying the last podarge, as that will immediately end the mission. Pay attention if Dealer warns you that “Enemy air support is approaching the western sector of the operation area”, which means that you are running out of time.

Mission 12 “An Island in Darkness” (Operation Worker Bee)

Score Needed to Rank S: 21,500

If you want to trigger the enemy Ace, Imber, on this mission you’ll have to do it in the first three minutes. You will need to destroy four pairs of LCACs that are on the water heading towards the base. They won’t immediately show up on your mini-map, but if you take off from Fort Grays and head northwest it won’t be long before you’ll see the first group on the water. They’ll be escorted by MI-24s, but you can ignore them for now and clean those up later. Once the LCACs are destroyed, head northeast for the next pair, and work around the island clockwise until all eight have been destroyed, then destroy Imber on the east side of the map. Once that’s done, your only function is air cover for the base. Destroy all bombers that approach it, and take out any other covering fighters that appear between waves. At about 10:30 left, two TU-160s will appear on opposite sides of the map. Commit to whichever one is closer and destroy it as quickly as possible. You should have enough time to get back to the island and destroy the other just before it reaches Fort Grays. Next you’ll have a C-130 dropping objects ominously labeled “MSL PALLET”. Rush to the north to reach and destroy it before it starts launching ALCMs, then clean up any that happened to launch before you got there. While you’re mopping up, two more C-130s will appear on the east and west sides of the island and drop additional pallets. Pick the closer one and commit, then clean up any missiles that got away on your way to destroy the other one. The mission will end when the last ALCM is destroyed, so kill any fighters in the area if you have time but don’t let the base get hit just in case.

Mission 13 “The People of the Lost Country” (Operation Twin Birds)

Score Needed to Rank S: 22,000

While defending the allied transport, be on the lookout for radar towers along the way. If you can destroy five or more before the transport lands, you’ll cause enemy Ace, Sicarius, to appear. Stay near the transport, killing any fighters that approach, then range ahead to clear out SAM and AA sites along the plane’s path. Don’t get too far ahead though, as MANPADS will appear along the route, only becoming visible on the radar when they paint the transport right before they fire. Keep going back and forth between clearing the path and killing MANPADS until one of the pilots mentions that his contact told him that their landing zone is compromised and they’ve set up an ambush. You’ll have to take out all the MANPADS, SAMS and AA in the area so that the transport can safely land. While they’re landed, intercept a pair of F-4Es and SU-25SMs that appear. Destroy them to end the mission.

Mission 14 “Two on the Run” (Operation Homing Pigeon)

Score Needed to Rank S: 10,700

Mission 15 “Wings of Wax” (Operation Deal Cards)

Score Needed to Rank S: 19,000

Mission 16 “Singer” (Operation Lighthouse Lady)

Score Needed to Rank S: 40,000

Mission 17 “Land Battleship No. 3” (Operation Broncobuster)

Score Needed to Rank S: 15,600

Mission 18 “Moonlight and Shadows” (Operation Branching Path)

Score Needed to Rank S: 15,000

Mission 19 “Clearing the Lighthouse” (Operation Silver String)

Score Needed to Rank S: 26,400

Mission 20 “Escort Orbiter” (Operation Migration Keeper)

Score Needed to Rank S: 25,000

Mission 21 “The Star-Bound Bird” (Operation Dawn Rising)

Score Needed to Rank S: 41,500

Mission 22 “Pursuing the HSCA” (Operation Patch of Blue)

Score Needed to Rank S: 18,500

Mission 23 “The Destruction of Expo City” (Operation Rumbling)

Score Needed to Rank S: 51,000

Mission 24 “The Battle of Rocky Island, Day 1” (Operation Coastal Hammer)

Score Needed to Rank S: 39,000

Mission 25 “The Battle of Rocky Island, Day 2” (Operation Paint it Blue)

Score Needed to Rank S: 87,000

Mission 26 “Crossing Fleets” (Operation King Tide)

Score Needed to Rank S: 45,500

Mission 27 “Fatsia, The Ocean Fortress” (Operation Rootbreaker)

Score Needed to Rank S: 130,000

Mission 28 “A Thousand Points of Light” (Operation Locust Purge)

Score Needed to Rank S: 145,000

Mission 29 “Selene” (Operation Lunar Eclipse)

Score Needed to Rank S: 30,300

Mission 30 “Song of Wings” (Operation Showdown)

Score Needed to Rank S: 60,000