ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN

ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN

49 Achievements

1,000

120-150h

Xbox One
Xbox Series
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ACE OF ACES

ACE OF ACES

Completed all campaign mode missions on ACE difficulty with an S rank.

80

0.12%

How to unlock the ACE OF ACES achievement in ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN - Definitive Guide

Relatively straightforward - you have to clear every mission in the game with an S rank on Ace difficulty, which is unlocked after beating the game on Hard difficulty.

The easiest way to get an S rank for MOST missions is to destroy every single non-TGT enemy on the playfield.

In my opinion this is one of the more difficult Ace Combat games to get S ranks in because it also prioritizes time, whereas many of the older ones focused just on the score. What it means for you is that it is sometimes not enough to just score enough points to get the S rank, you need to do so as fast as possible too.


For reference, here are my high scores and fastest completion times that got me S ranks in every mission:



Some general tips:

Importantly, restarting from checkpoints does NOT in itself affect your rank. Restarting from checkpoint not only repairs your plane, but also restores you supplies. In some mission (like 12 and 19), doing so is the easiest way to get an S rank because the missions are split into two phases without a resupply zone, and there is a good chance that you can arrive at the second stage of the mission with an insufficient supply or armaments. Checkpoints are usually granted after an in-mission cutscene. However, keep in mind that the mission time still adds up even if you restarted from a checkpoint.

Learn to prioritize targets - enemy planes yield more points that ground targets. One mid-to-high level enemy plane like an Su-33 or an F/A-18 can be worth as much as 4 or 5 AA guns or tanks.

Make an effort to seek out and destroy Ace airplanes - those are worth around 1500 points each, more than almost any other target in the game, but are not much harder to shoot down than a regular drone or plane. Refer to the guide linked in this solution to see how to spawn Ace enemies
Ace Combat 7: Skies UnknownBird Of PreyBermuda PolygonThe Bird Of Prey achievement in Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown worth 358 pointsDestroyed all named aircraft in campaign mode.


Don't just spam missiles once you get a lock. You want to spend as little time on every enemy as possible. Take an effort to line yourself up so as to not have to do a second run. When facing ground targets remember that every target APART from tanks only requires 1 missile to destroy. If you are quick, line yourself up correctly, and make use of your machine gun, one strafing run can take up 3-5 ground targets.

Same with drones - every non-boss drone in the game (actual drones, either the MQ-101 or MQ-99, not remote controlled planes) ONLY REQUIRES 1 MISSILE TO SHOOT DOWN. Many people get in the habit of automatically double-tapping all targets once they get a lock. In the cases of drones and most ground targets that's wasting time and missiles that can be used elsewhere.

Load-out wise you obviously want to stick with the hi-end planes as much as possible. I wouldn't recommend using the X-02 because of its lackluster special weapons.

In terms of parts, I would advise you forego any updates to your machine gun or missile power (for most enemies it does very little to actually change the number of missiles required to down them) and instead focus on boosting the speed, homing ability, and distance (preferably in this order) of your primary and special weapons. Specifically for mission 9 you want to have both the Bulletproof Fueltank AND the Automatic Fire Extinguisher.

I used an SU-57 with a PLSL for most of the missions. PLSL is an excellent special weapon that I probably used more than my missiles. It is basically a dual-laser canon. If you flew fighters in Battlefield V or SWBF2 this will feel somewhat similar. With the right upgrades and as long as you can lead the shots right, it can hit targets at way over 7Kms away, further than almost any missile.


Personally, I found missions 9 (Faceless Soldier), 12 (Stonehenge Defensive), 13 (Bunker Buster), 19 (Lighthouse), and 20 (Dark Blue) to be the most challenging in terms of getting an S rank, so I included some pointers for those particular ones.

In Mission 9


In Mission 12


Mission 13


Mission 19


Mission 20
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22 Jan 2019 04:12

23 Comments
I see a lot of oblique references to "the correct upgrades" in reference to the Su-57's PLSL but nobody ever lists them.
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By Mobius Evalon on 30 Jan 2019 06:47
For the upgrades - depends on what you use. If you do end up going with the PLSL you want to have upgrades improving its hit zone size and range (top tree, unlock paths starting with F-2A) and damage (third branch from the bottom, unlocked immediately after SU-30M2), although this one is less necessary.

For the other question, I will check the checkpoint times and points, but the ones where it matters most (mission 9) it's a bit more fluid because it depends on how fast you get through each respective part of the mission, which is likely dependent on your loadout. As the rank depends on your overall time you may be able to spend more time on the first part of the mission (destroying ground targets) if you are confident of being able to deal with the fighters quickly. For me, I had around 9000 points and just over 7 minutes left over on the clock by the time the fighters showed up. I cleared it twice with an S rating on Ace difficulty (and countless more times with worse ranks) - once with an F-35 with 8AGMs, once with an SU-30SM with LAGMs. In both cases I had about 3 or 4 enemies left over by the time the first phase ended, with around 7 minutes of time left. Importantly, however, you still have about 20-30 seconds after you destroy the last radar during which you can fly around and destroy things without having to worry about missiles. Plan your route in advance so that the remaining targets are close to the last radar you are planning to destroy.

With mission 13, as I said, you should aim for over 20.000 points by the time the cruise missile are launched, WITH over 2 minutes left over. This basically means you want to destroy every single ground target. Again, prioritize targets that are grouped together and make sure you destroy the Ace plane in the second part of the mission. You don't get any special weapons for this mission, so you I recommend you choose the fastest plane (ideally an X-02, though a MiG-31 should work as well) you have and use the parts that improve (standard) missile range and reload speed, as well as a part that improves lock-on in clouds. As soon as the second phase starts and you are tasked with shooting down cruise missiles, do a 180 turn and go after the Ace, which should net you around 1500 points. After that go straight for the cruise missiles. Don't shoot at any of the fighters that show up unless they make themselves into targets (e.g. they are flying straight at you or away from you and not at an angle), but don't go after them.

I am not sure about mission 15, but you don't have to worry about time in the first phase as it's not going to finish until the timer runs out. I can, however, deduce that I must have had around 47200 points by the time it ended because in the second phase you can shoot down a total of 4 enemies each of which gives you 800 points.

Other than that I recommend you refer to the videos posted by this account https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAYJYbT-YbSisQujo-aXbcQ which has full playthroughs of every mission on Ace with an S rank. I wouldn't have chosen the planes that this person uses, but it gives you a more accurate estimate of the number of points you need to have at any given moment.
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By Bermuda Polygon on 31 Jan 2019 04:30
Dude, you just saved my sanity in figuring this out
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By MarineVeteran06 on 31 Jan 2019 22:03
Can I make S rank from free flight?
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By ERUSEA YELLOW4 on 02 Feb 2019 10:23
Yes, S-ranks can all be achieved in free flight.
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By Bermuda Polygon on 02 Feb 2019 21:22
Damn I'm stationary to Mission 6
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By ERUSEA YELLOW4 on 03 Feb 2019 11:55
@ Erusea Yellow4
You may consider using a plane which has UGB (YF23A). That is useful for bombing the enemy airport and all the ground targets in the enemy base further ahead.
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By on 04 Feb 2019 07:24
Fortunately I'm going ahead using su57 but I go very slow
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By ERUSEA YELLOW4 on 04 Feb 2019 10:48
I spent all weekend doing nothing but mission 9. That 9,000 point mark at 7+ minutes is brutal. Still no closer to getting it. The closest I got to it was 9,200 points with 4 minutes left and I got a B. Just kill me.
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By BreezyPath0 on 25 Feb 2019 14:10
For Mission 9, consider ending the first phase with lesser points but a faster time. For instance, I only had about 8200 points but finished with 10 minutes left. This easily got me the S rank. So if you can finish faster with less points, that might be a better strategy.
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By Superflee2 on 18 Mar 2019 02:11
Can confirm, game prefers speed overpoints this time around. So focus on that to get your Mission 9 S rank.

I got most sranks on my first ace playthrough just using an F22A with a few alternate sweps, so it doesn't seem as daunting as it appears. Just some missions are a PITA
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By count023 on 06 Jun 2019 04:01
For Mission 20, F22A with QAAMs and special weapon upgrades makes short work of the UAVs and even one hits the last drone inside the tower. But you need to take out at least two weapon UAVs before you dive into the tunnel. Your score _has_ to be at least 8300 before you do the final run or you wont get S rank.

Also did Mission 13, S rank first try using an X02 with boosted missile reload, accuracy, speed and distance. I got about 20k points before i jumped into the 2nd phase, killed 3 missions and one plane (no Ace). Got S rank with 9:19 on the clock and 24k points at the end of the match.
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By count023 on 10 Jun 2019 12:52
Played around with the new planes last night. Seems like it will make this achievement easier.
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By BreezyPath0 on 02 Oct 2019 12:25
What new planes?????
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By sawedbyUPTOWN2 on 04 Oct 2019 06:23
I still can't get mission 9 and a few others with the new stuff. Dagum this thing is difficult.
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By BreezyPath0 on 10 Oct 2019 12:43
Does anyone have any tips for loadouts for mission 8 Pipeline Destruction? I've done it so many times with every loadout I can think of but I can't get better than A.
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By Das Hood on 11 Oct 2019 22:12
There are three new DLC planes and 1 DLC mission (there will be 2 more). You can buy them individually or get the season pass.
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By Bermuda Polygon on 06 Oct 2019 21:17
Hey Bermuda, finally getting around to tackling this while waiting for the Nosferatu next month, but for Dark Blue, I tried out the Morgan with its FU bomb, got the S-Rank somewhat easily, only two total weapon UAV's got deployed by either Hugin or Mugin, and managed to take down all targets and the UAV's second forms pretty quickly along with a decent tunnel run, came out with a pretty good S-Rank on Ace.

Seriously, that FU bomb does some seriously great work, I went back to First Contact and used one FU bomb on a single cluster of ground targets, left the Enemy Ace alone (because I forgot about him), then took on Mihaly in record time after a slow UAV cycle, upped my rank to S on Ace there too with the Morgan.

Fingers crossed a lot of this gets easier with the Macross missiles (ADMM) when the Nosferatu finally drops next month.
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By Crater Bob on 22 Oct 2020 01:53
@dashood - Just go for oil tanks, tankers, and enemy planes. Tankers and enemy planes only take two missiles, and if you hit oil tanks with a single missile, they'll explode and do AOE damage to surrounding targets, highly suggest the Morgan with its FU bomb, it'll take out just about anything air or groundborne in one shot, and you'll hit way more oil tanks with one bomb than just using a standard missile or machine gun.
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By Crater Bob on 22 Oct 2020 01:56
Had to put the game down and come back a few months later to finish these. 9 & 20 took the longest for me, ended up using 4AGM for 9 and QAAM for 20. PLSL for most everything else.
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By macmanigan on 22 Oct 2020 02:19
i totally disagree with using plsl for most missions. i used the yf-23 with ugbs for every single ground attack mission aside from mission 9 and got s on ace on all of them first try, and used the f22 with 8aams for most dogfight missions, and qaams for 18 and 20, and got s on most of those first try as well. plsl takes more practice and ugbs have a large damage radius (especially with upgrades) that can take out a whole ton of enemies at once if you aim it right.
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By Cubivore on 05 Jun 2022 12:23
I don't mean to sound ungrateful but, I need more tips than these. More than just a total score and a total time, could you please also show the check-point score(s) and time? If I know I do not have enough scores before a checkpoint I can immediatley restart, instead of wasting time playing the rest of the mission only to get an A rank.

Also, for missions which require sacrificing a few targets for faster time (e.g. Mission 9 & 13), could you please tell us more specifically which group of non-targets should not be destroyed?

Yes I know I suck. Sorry.
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By on 31 Jan 2019 01:18
I used the F35 with 8AGM. I found it useful to try and manually target the oil tanks, especially the larger ones with my machine gun. Basically, launch AGM, strafe oil tanks with your gun, fire 2 missiles at the first targets you lock on to and fly on.
For your first run, just go straight over the area with the goal to take out everything on your way out west to get those factories. In the west, all factories are clustered around oil tanks so spare your AGM. Then fly back and go for some tankers. On your way there, you can strafe the oil tank rows in the west of the main port. Those are lined up nicely.
After the tankers, just take out the occasional plane or two while in between runs of AGM and strafing tanks.
For the pipelines, be quick. Look at a map beforehand so you can plan your route. You will have full AGM again as you can use the checkpoint trick (basically, reload checkpoint as soon as the message appears in the top right corner. You'll loose a second or two but gain a full loadout again). If you haven't attained the target score yet, you can take out the occasional drone for score. Maybe you even spawned the Ace for points. Let me know how it went.
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By Epsilon Theta on 09 Aug 2020 09:42
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Ace difficulty returns in this Ace Combat game, however it is notably different than previous entries into the series. Whereas other games made this difficulty harder by making the damage you can take minimal, your damage threshold is quite similar to that of the Hard difficulty setting. The main difference for Ace in this game is that enemies fly much more aggressively which will make your job of hitting them much harder, but otherwise it is functionally similar. In order to unlock Ace difficulty, you will first have to beat the campaign on the Hard difficulty setting.

The S rank requirements are similar across all modes and will require you to obtain high scores and complete the missions in short amounts of time. The below requirements are the minimum scores needed to get S rank whilst the times are the highest time bonus you can receive which you also need to receive to get S rank. The time bonuses decrease by 40 points/second (except where otherwise noted) so for every second you are above the minimum time limit, you will need 40 points added to the minimum score to obtain S rank. Obviously efficiency, knowledge of the levels, and higher end planes are all very helpful in achieving this, so don’t feel discouraged if you don’t get it in your first attempt. Also restarting at checkpoints refills ammo and resets damage without affecting your score, so do that if you are in need of repairs or more ammo. However this does not reset your time so do this immediately after hitting a checkpoint (they are almost always immediately following a cutscene).

Mission 1: “Charge Assault.” 12,500 points in under 6 minutes
Try to use your special weapons as much as possible to cut down on time. Destroy most of the escort fighters as they will not pose a threat and are easy to take down.
Mission 2: “Charge the Enemy.” 11,000 points in under 6 minutes 15 seconds
Destroy everything in sight on this level as quickly as possible. Use whatever tools you prefer to do this.
Mission 3: “Two-Pronged Strategy.” 16,360 points in under 9 minutes
The best part to rack up score is destroying UAV’s while the objective is to attack the Arsenal Bird as they will spawn infinitely. One the UAV’s become the targets, there will only be a finite number of them.
Mission 4: “Rescue.” 17,560 points in under 10 minutes 30 seconds
Take both available short cuts through the radar network in the beginning. Destroy all ground targets in the second half of the mission. In the final sequence, pick off as many MQ-101’s you can while taking out any that trail the target.
Mission 5: “444.” 16,960 points in under 8 minutes
Try to take out as many of the escort fighters as you can while managing the bombers and you should be able to accomplish this.
Mission 6: “Long Day.” 27,000 points
Aim for the airstrip (western base) and the northern base first as they have aircraft circling them which are worth many more points than ground targets.
Mission 7: “First Contact.” 5,450 points in under 12 minutes 30 seconds
The time bonus drains by 50 points/second in this mission. Destroy all targets and non-targets in the first phase. Try to pick off as many UAV’s as you can without having to chase one around constantly.
Mission 8: “Pipeline Destruction.” 27,950 points in under 10 minutes
The time bonus drains by 50 points/second in this mission. Aim for the oil tanks in the first phase as they explode and take out anything near them. In the second phase you will want to down as many UAV’s as you can without becoming too focused on them.
Mission 9: “Faceless Soldier.” 11,760 points in under 11 minutes
Destroy as many of the regular ground targets and helicopters as you can in the first phase whilst still maintaining a fast pace.
Mission 10: “Transfer Orders.” 7,760 points in under 12 minutes
Try to destroy as many camouflaged AA sites you can in the first phase. Also destroy all fighters in this phase as they are worth more points.
Mission 11: “Fleet Destruction.” 40,000 points
With either of the long platforms, aim for the CORE in the center of each platform piece as all AA defenses up top will be destroyed and count for your score.
Mission 12: “Stonehenge Defensive.” 34,670 points in under 16 minutes 30 seconds
Destroy everything in sight in the first phase. In the second phase destroy the main propellers ASAP as soon as the Arsenal Bird is vulnerable, then continue picking off UAV’s until the cutscene plays.
Mission 13: “Bunker Buster.” 18,760 points in under 7 minutes
Try to destroy as many ground targets and all planes in the first phase as possible. Try to destroy one or two fighters in the second phase but focus mainly on the missiles.
Mission 14: “Cape Rainy Assault.” 13,960 points in under 9 minutes
Fly through the canyon as fast as possible. Then destroy every target available once you reach the base.
Mission 15: “Battle for Farbanti.” 35,300 points in under 12 minutes 30 seconds
Try to take out the aircraft to the south of the map primarily in the first phase, then shoot for maximum efficiency. In the second phase try to down all four SOL fighters before Mihaly follows Wiseman so you can focus fire on him while he is in the scripted chase sequence. One shot on him after Wiseman goes down should end the mission.
Mission 16: “Last Hope.” 19,760 points in under 18 minutes
Identify all targets along your ally’s route first, then focus on all other targets and destroy all enemies.
Mission 17: “Homeward.” 25,070 points in under 15 minutes 30 seconds
Destroy every enemy possible during the first phase, then take out as many as possible in the second phase. In the third phase, aim solely for the transport ships.
Mission 18: “Lost Kingdom.” 11,450 points in under 12 minutes 30 seconds
The time bonus drains by 50 points/second in this mission. Destroy all ground targets and planes in the first phase before SOL shows up, then down two of their planes. This should give you ample time to battle Mihaly.
Mission 19: “Lighthouse.” 55,000+ points in under 20 minutes 30 seconds
Destroy as many planes as you can within the time limit in the first phase. In the second phase try to destroy a majority of the planes flying escort to the Arsenal bird before fully destroying it.
Mission 20: “Dark Blue.” 12,500 points in under 10 minutes
The time bonus drains by 50 points/second in this mission. You will need to destroy at least 3 of the Weapon UAV’s to even have enough points for this. Keep your time limit in mind while you battle the ADF-11’s as it can be a real killer for S ranks here.
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Points and time requirements to obtain S rank:

Mission 1: “Charge Assault.” 12, 500 points, 6 minutes
Mission 2: “Charge the Enemy.” 11,000 points, 6 minutes, 15 seconds
Mission 3: “Two-Pronged Strategy.” 16, 360 points, 9 minutes
Mission 4: “Rescue.” 17, 560 points, 10 minutes, 30 seconds
Mission 5: “444.” 16, 960 points, 8 minutes
Mission 6: “Long Day.” 27,000 points
Mission 7: “First Contact.” 5, 450 points, 12 minutes, 30 seconds
Mission 8: “Pipeline Destruction.” 27, 950 points, 10 minutes.
Mission 9: “Faceless Soldier.” 11, 760 points, 11 minutes
Mission 10: “Transfer Orders.” 7, 760 points, 12 minutes
Mission 11: “Fleet Destruction.” 40,000 points
Mission 12: “Stonehenge Defensive.” 34, 670 points, 16 minutes, 30 seconds
Mission 13: “Bunker Buster.” 18, 760 points, 7 minutes
Mission 14: “Cape Rainy Assault.” 13, 960 points, 9 minutes
Mission 15: “Battle for Farbanti.” 35, 300 points, 12 minutes, 30 seconds
Mission 16: “Last Hope.” 19, 760 points, 18 minutes
Mission 17: “Homeward.” 25,070 points, 15 minutes, 30 seconds
Mission 18: “Lost Kingdom.” 11, 450 points, 12 minutes, 30 seconds
Mission 19: “Lighthouse.” 50, 660 points, 20 minutes, 30 seconds
Mission 20: “Dark Blue.” 12, 500 points, 10 minutes

Your main workhorses will be the F-22A with QAAM for air , XSDB for ground work and Su-57 with PLSL .
My set of elements for airplanes:
1. Queen's Choice
2. Variable cycle motor
3. Increased maneuverability
4. Optical-electronic sight (MSL)
5. Range of Target Radar (MSL)
6. Advanced Traction Steering Wheel (MSL)
7. Replace high-energy fuel (MSL) for Su-57 with Laser Beam Expander
8. Directional radio fuze (MSL)
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31 Mar 2019 14:51

1 Comment
It makes it very easy to get this trophy by having the DLC with the ADF-11F Raven aircraft, it has all the weapons useful for completing the campaign:
  • Drones can easily shoot down bosses;
  • QAAMs quickly shoot down conventional air targets;
  • The laser shoots down long-range aircraft and thick ground or air targets en masse.

In addition, instead of conventional machine guns, this aircraft has a pulse laser with 600 rounds of ammunition, which very quickly shoots down any targets.
Modularly, I took everything on the MSL missiles and when the laser was used, then the MSL reload speed was changed to the laser power
The difficulty arose only when completing missions 16 and 20. In 16, the whole point is to first determine whether it is an enemy or a friend, then shoot, they don’t give you yellow points. In the 20th mission, the drones killed the bosses so quickly that I missed the launches of the same enemy drones, for killing which they give points that were not enough to reach S rank
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By Zom31c on 20 Apr 2021 10:32
If after the checkpoint you have little ammo/health, then press load from the checkpoint, they will give you rank S.
Here is my playlist with all Ace S Rank missions https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Iok48SKDMCAk3n
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13 Feb 2019 04:26

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To obtain level S, it is enough to gain points by destroying not all targets, but those that are more expensive (all air targets will cost higher than others), and also the passage must be adjusted by time, the game gives an allowance for points and time according to these criteria and the score for the game is assessed
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By Der_Pippo on 15 Nov 2020 02:03