Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve - Advanced Tips and Combat Techniques

Here are advanced tips and combat techniques for Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve.

This guide covers the next step in Ace Combat 8: wingmen, loadouts, parts, and how to fight in the air and on the ground. Each tip shows you how to get more from your aircraft and your MRP.

Use Campaign Training for Currency

Open Campaign Training from the main menu to run the lessons again. It has Flight Training in Standard and Expert, three Basic Dogfight lessons, and three Advanced Dogfight lessons. It also has SP Weapon lessons for single-lock missiles, multi-lock missiles, bombs, semi-active guided missiles, unguided direct-fire weapons, and electronic warfare.

Use them as a refresher when you forget a move or miss a mission popup. Each lesson also gives you a little currency to spend in the campaign.

Buy Two of Each Aircraft in Ace Combat 8

The first copy of an aircraft is never cheap for where you are in the campaign. A second copy costs far less. The number next to an aircraft, such as x4 on a base aircraft, shows how many you have for yourself and your wingmen.

Your wingmen fly the extra copies. If you own only one of an aircraft, they fly the base version, which has lower stats and weaker SP weapons. Buy two of each, and your wingmen fly better aircraft as you unlock more.

Buy SP Weapons Separately

In Ace Combat 8, each aircraft comes with a default SP weapon. The F-15 Strike Eagle, for example, comes with Advanced Small Diameter Bombs and nothing else. You buy any other SP weapon, like the High-Capacity Air-to-Air Missile, separately for each aircraft you want to use it on.

The Strike Eagle costs 350,000 MRP to unlock. Keep enough MRP for the aircraft and its SP weapons together. If you can't pay for both, you are stuck with the default weapon.

Pick Your Body Parts

Early on, take maneuverability for pitch and roll, and acceleration. Yaw matters less. Later parts combine maneuverability in all directions in one slot, which frees your other slots. Pick an aircraft with more arm slots if you want stronger weapons.

Stability+ raises stall resistance and extends how long your High-G Turn lasts. It is quick and easy to unlock, and it stays useful into the endgame, so most players should take it.

You can stack parts that boost the same stat if they are different parts. For example, put a part that raises acceleration and top speed in one slot, and a part that raises top speed in another. You can't use the same part twice.

Power Up Your Standard Missiles

Several parts boost your standard missiles. You can raise their reload speed, flight speed, and power against air targets, ground targets, or both. A part that raises lock-on speed and extends lock-on range fits almost any aircraft once you unlock it.

Faster missiles reach targets sooner, which matters most on ground targets. Once a missile is locked on and fired, you can turn away.

Give Ground Aircraft to Your Squadmates

Enemy aircraft show up in most Ace Combat 8 missions, so don't fly a pure ground aircraft like the A-10 yourself. Give it to a squadmate when a mission has many ground targets.

Ground targets in a briefing often sit in clusters, like AA guns, SAM sites, and fuel trucks. Unguided bombs work well on these, and you can pair them with your missiles.

Commit to One SP Weapon Type

You always pick one SP weapon. You can set the second one to no weapon, and the first one carries more. For example, with the Extended Drop Rack equipped, a loadout can carry 44 unguided bombs when the second SP weapon is empty.

Add a second SP weapon, and the bombs drop to 30. The High-Performance Air-to-Air Missile (HPAA) then carries 14, and the High-Capacity Air-to-Air Missile (HCAA) carries 16.

Pick based on the mission. For many ground targets, take bombs. For long-range air targets, take one air-to-air SP weapon. Check the numbers on the loadout screen before you pick a second weapon.

Read Part Descriptions

Some parts work on one weapon type only. The Extended Drop Rack raises the payload of bomb-type SP weapons. It does nothing for air-to-ground missiles. Rockets are different from missiles too. Read the weapon type on the part before you pick it.

Use Yaw and the Machine Gun

Use the yaw buttons for small aim changes. Level off, then nudge with yaw to line up a bomb. It helps on strafing runs too. Don't skip your machine gun. With enough hits, it can destroy a battleship.

Missiles are the usual choice, but small targets like AA guns and SAM sites are hard to hit with a missile from far away. A ship is big enough for a long-range missile to hit.

Know Your Radar Icons

Red circled icons are mission targets, whether in the air or on the ground. White arrows and icons on the ground are optional targets, like SAM sites and AA guns. They make the mission easier. If you destroy more of them within the time limit and survive, you get a higher score and more MRP, and fewer enemies shoot at you.

The big mission map shows which way to point your aircraft. The small and medium radars show missiles as short white lines.

Get Behind Enemy Aircraft Before Firing

A missile misses an enemy that turns hard. Follow the enemy's trail and line up behind it. When the distance number grows and the enemy flies away in a straight line, fire. You can miss often at first, but you learn when a shot can land.

Read the Hexagons on Ground Targets

A ground target in Ace Combat 8 has hexagons around it. Solid lines mean you have a clear shot. Dotted or hash-marked lines mean something blocks it. Missiles can't hit targets on top of buildings from a low angle, so climb to get a clear line. Bombs hit an area, so your angle on the target matters.

Fly Low Against Ship Defenses

Ships with a CIWS can stop missiles fired from far away. Fly in fast and low, fire at close range, and pull up. Then use the High-G Turn to get distance and make another run.

Watch Your Checkpoints

If you crash, you restart at the last checkpoint, and that can be a long way back. Fly with care early on so you don't lose progress.

What to Do Next

Pick one aircraft you fly often and set up its parts and SP weapons for your next mission. Then replay a mission with that loadout and see how many optional targets you can destroy before the timer ends. If a move gives you trouble, run a Campaign Training lesson and try again.

To get more from Ace Combat 8, you buy aircraft in pairs, set up your loadout for the mission, and fire only when you have a clear shot.

FAQ

Q. Does a second copy of an aircraft cost the same as the first in Ace Combat 8?

A. No. The second copy costs far less. Your wingmen fly it, so they don't have to use the base aircraft.

Q. Do SP weapons come with an aircraft?

A. An aircraft comes with one default SP weapon. You buy the others separately for each aircraft you want to use them on.

Q. Can you put the same part in more than one slot?

A. No. You can stack different parts that boost the same stat, but not the same part twice.

Q. What do dotted lines around a ground target mean?

A. Something blocks your shot. Move or climb before you fire.

Also, check out our other guides below :

• Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve - 15 Beginner Tips and Tricks