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Ace Combat 6 FAQ and guide
For Xbox 360
Version 3.0
Written by Charles Guthrie, "Hader102"
email: Hader102@msn.com
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Version History
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===Version 1.0===
First compiled list; Contains all medal descriptions, and assault record
descriptions
===Version 1.1===
Edited grammatical mistakes from 1.0, and added more detail to a few
descriptions.
===Version 2.0===
Version includes all from the first verion plus mission walkthroughs and other
various extras.
===Version 3.0===
Version includes everything from previous versions and a whole lot more.
Most likely the final large update to this guide.
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Table of Contents
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Article 1: Introduction
1.1- Intro
Article 2: Controls
2.1- Default Controls and Novice Controls
Article 3: Beginners’s Tips
3.1- Basic Flight tips
3.2- Using your wingman effectivly
3.3- Using your Allies effectivly
3.4- Advanced flight tips
3.5: Advanced Online Play tips
Article 4: Mission Guides
4.1- Brief intro
4.2 - All missions, 1-15
Article 5: Missions guides for specific medals
5.1- Mission guides for Sharpshooter medal
5.2- Mission guides for Legendary Ace medal
5.3- Mission guides for Quicksilver medal
5.4- Missions guides for Attacker, Multirole, and Fighter medals
5.5- Mission guides for "S ranking" medals
5.6- Guides on other medals
Article 6: Medal List and descriptions
6.1- Medal list and descriptions
Article 7: Assault Records
7.1- Assault record list (all)
Article 8: Misc. Extras
8.1- Aircraft colors
8.2- Achievements and tips
8.3- All Achievements
8.4- Ace of Aces mode
8.5- All Aircraft and DLC color schemes
8.6- Online Play, issues with online play
Article 9: Conclusion
9.1- Conclusion statment
9.2- Credits
9.3- Copyright
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Article 1 - Intro
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I have compiled a large guide of all things I could think of that
pertain to the unlockables and other things in Ace Combat 6. All that
is written is my own work unless otherwise credited. I hope you find
this useful. This was partly a community effort, I had quite a bit of input
and assistance from the community, so feel free to ask me to add something
if you feel it would be helpful for others and pertain to this guide.
Also keep in mind that for a good portion of this guide, I give you only
breif descriptions of certain things, just so I do not ruin the experience
of playing this game for you. The storyline is much more entertaining if
you watch it as you go and not have me telling it to you, and the gameplay
is very adrenaline pumping when you have only the most basic idea of your
current objective. So if some parts seem a bit abridged, its for a good
reason. There may be some spoilers here and there though.
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Article 2 Controls
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2.1: Default Controls and Novice Controls
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Normal controls: This is probably best for anyone who has played previous Ace
Combat installments. Classic controls, and in my opinion, the easiest.
Novice: Novice controls really are not that great I think, even for the newest
players. I think it is best to always stick with normal layout so you can get
used to that early on. Normal is definately more effective when you are
dogfighting, so I suggest using it all the time. IF you want to make tweaks
to the scheme though, that is also fine.
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Article 3 Various Flight tips
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3.1: Basic Flight Tips
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-If you are unfamiliar with your HUD, get used to it. You will
especially need to know how to use radar effectively, both the mini map radar
and the on screen targeting system. There will be many times where you must
use both together to get some targets. Know what colors mean what; Green is
an enemy plane, a Circled Red one is an enemy Target (TGT) that is vital to
mission success. Blue is friendly.
-Know how to use weapons to their best effect. All weapons, whether ATG or
ATA, are best used in certain fashions or situations. Test some out, and know
which is best for when and what the best way is to use it.
These basics will get you through any mission. Just remember them and apply
at all times.
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3.2: Using your wingman effectivly
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-Take some time to get used to wingman controls. I find the most effective
way to have Shamrock help you is to have him always cover you, and only have
him attack when you see a target you would like him to attack. If you keep
him on Attack the whole mission, he attacks random targets, which is least
beneficial to you. Have him attack a few targets of your choice (target the
enemy yourself, then tell him to attack), and once they are dead, tell him
to come back and cover you. Take note that Shamrock is much better at air to
air - have him go for air targets more often while you go for ground targets.
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3.3: Using your Allies effectivly
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For those who do not know, Allied support and Allied cover are a
new feature to the game that allow you to command your allied forces
(not just your wingman) on the battlefield. Allied Attack has your allies
(who are free from operations; meaning, the have no specific objectives for
that mission, and their sole reason is to support you) attack targets in
front of you. This is useful when you have a lot of enemy ground units
ahead, and cant take out a lot in one sweep. Allied Cover is best used when
you are behind chased by a missile or have a radar lock on you. Your allies
will target any enemy targeting you. This is especially useful against
Strigons.
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3.4: Advanced Flight Tips
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-Know how to pull certain maneuvers; High G turns are very useful in
dogfights, and can get you the upper hand in any fight with a regular enemy.
Its even more useful against the Strigons and named Aces. Each plane has a
different feel for its G turns though, so don’t expect each plane to be the
same.
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3.5: Advanced Flight Tips for Online Play
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Evading missiles: There are numerous ways to evade missiles, and it all
really depends on the situation thatyou are in on what maneuver you should
use. A good rule of the thumb to follow is to pull simple maneuvers, very
much like the ones shown in the tutorials. Try combining some of those moves,
and use them to dodge some missiles in combat. They work more effectivly than
you may think.
Another good tactic I like to do is a spin manuever, no matter where I may
be flying. Its basically a bunch of Immulmen turns strung together but
in a more elaborate fashion. If done close to the ground, you can get missiles
chasing you to crash, so you dont have to evade as much.
Shooting down your enemies: A lot of people just rely on their QAAMs to get
an enemy eventually. However, a good pilot looks for his kills and attacks
when he sees the opportunity. A bad pilot is just on who spams QAAMs and
doesnt do anything special to shoot you down. Watch your enemies and pounce
whenever they make the slightest flight error.
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Article 4 Mission Guides
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4.1: Brief Intro
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This section of the guide is only to assist with playthroughs of each mission.
One section applies to a regular playthrough, going for no medals or
anything special, just simple completion of the mission. The other
walkthroughs pertain to certain tactics that will help you get through
the campaign while going for certain medals or other achievements.
The methods I describe for any mission are just my own personal ways
for that mission; I have found all of them to be the simplest ways for
me to complete them, so I hope they are also simple for you. If you
have a different playing style, by all means play by your way. What
is below is merely a suggested path through a mission, not the only one.
If you have any suggestions at all to improve this section, feel free to
email me about it. I am open to all suggestions.
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4.2: Campaign Walkthrough
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Regular Playthroughs
Refer to this section for info on beating each mission as a regular play
through; the part does not aim at achieving any medals. Some parts are also
built towards helping anyone who may be going through their first play
through. Refer to the next section for Legendary Ace and Sharpshooter
walkthroughs.
Mission 1: Invasion of Gracemeria
This mission was the one from the downloadable demo this year,
so I am sure if anyone played that, this missions should be easy.
Basically, there are a number of targets throughout the city that you must
take out to protect Gracemeria. These are easy targets; Choppers and
B-52s, they are slow moving and easy to kill. After the mission, just worry
about retreating as you are told, dont worry about the Strigon team.
Mission 2: Vitoze Aerial Defense
This mission is also fairly straightforward. There are a total of
10 bombers to shoot down. One begins due north from where you takeoff.
After you take that one out, two more appear to the east. Once they are gone,
two more appear to the west, at the same time as 5 appear from the north.
Just shoot them down in this order and you should complete this easily. You
have a lot of ESM support, so you should do fine. Note that if you are too
slow in taking out the bombers, more will apear and add on to the already
present ones. Make sure you shoot down those bombers fast!
Mission 3: Sipli Field
This is your first mission with Operations integrated into them.
For those who do not know, Operations are like ‘sub-missions’ within the
mission you are doing. Each operation has an allied unit advancing towards
a certain objective. For instance, you may have a friendly air unit going
after enemy jammer aircraft for one operation, and another friendly ground
unit advancing on enemy positions in one sector of the battlefield.
This mission consists of 3 operations, and all are ground support
roles. Make sure you are prepared for air to ground. Clear any two operations
of your choice. I recommend that you help Qoux battalion as one of them, if
you would like an easier operation to begin with. The other two are fairly
even in the weight of enemy forces, so choose whichever you like.
After you complete two of these operations, you will receive a
mission update about the final enemy forces in the area. You must assist
your ground forces in destroying all enemy targets in that area.
There is a fair bit of air to air and air to ground as well, so make sure
you make good use of your wingman and allied support.
For those who do not know, Allied support and Allied cover are a
new feature to the game that allow you to command your allied forces
(not just your wingman) on the battlefield. Allied Attack has your allies
(who are free from operations; meaning, the have no specific objectives for
that mission, and their sole reason is to support you) attack targets in
front of you. This is useful when you have a lot of enemy ground units
ahead, and cant take out a lot in one sweep. Allied Cover is best used when
you are behind chased by a missile or have a radar lock on you. Your allies
will target any enemy targeting you. This is especially useful against
Strigons.
Mission 4: Bartolomeo Fortress
Since the first 3 misisons are fairly self explanitory, I didnt give too much
of a guide on how to complete them. They are simply introductory missions. Now
things get a bit tougher, and a bit more time consuming.
Start out with a ground attack or air to air armament. If you go air to ground
first, then go to Operation A or B and help the tank battalions.
If you decide to go air to air first, go to Operation C right away, and once
you complete that, return to base and switch to air to ground again.
Both Tank battalions need your support to advance; keep steady pressure on
ground targets to help them out, going for only targets. enemy aircraft
shouldnt be much of a threat here, as they are tied up in Operation C.
Assisting Snake Pit involves a lot of air to air manuevering. Make sure to be
well equiped for tis if you wish to tackle this operation.
The final part of the mission involves taking out the remaining enemy forces
in the Fortress. You also have an additional surprise, 2 Strigon team
members come in to ruin all your fun. You can take them out if you wish,
they are not necessary Targets, however you do get many points and an Assault
Record for taking them down. Its up to you really.
I try not to go too in depth about each operation for you,
as I want the experience to be best as you witness it for the first time.
I am simply listing each operation or tough point of a missions for your
reference, so that you know a bit of whats coming up ahead, but not so
much things are ruined for you.
Mission 5: Anea Landing
This mission is quite tough, considering you have to do a lot of air to ground
and air to air, but only a few planes to choose from to do this.
I recommend the A-10 with a FAEB on this one, for ease in taking out
the many ground targets on this mission. If this is not to your liking,
then the next best is a Mirage with LASMs.
Whichever plane you choose, the best operations to go towards completion are
assisting Warlock in the center beach and capturing the airfield with Quox
and Yellow Jacket. The airfield is good to have, since you may need some
reloading at one point or another, and having a base this close is good.
After you complete the two operations, enemy reinforcements will come up and
attack the places you just captured. Prioritize your targets and take them out,
but be sure your forces are able to hold out. Dont stay in one area too long.
Mission 6: Siege on Silvat
This mission is perhaps one of the largest battles in the game. There are
a total of 6 operation to choose from. You only need half that to go on.
All the operations are relativly equal in difficulty, but not similar in
what they require. Most are air to ground though, so I recommend the A-10
again with air to ground missiles, or the Tornado with its BDSP should
fair fine.
As I said, the majority of enemies are on the ground. In these operations,
they are easily taken out with the FAEB. You can complete these operations
however you want really, but I suggest assisting the airfield first to make
sure you have that emergency landing zone for the rest of the mission.
The mission update involves the retreat of remaining enemy forces to their
base camp. You can take your time with this one, but be wary that the
Strigon team members may still be alive, which can be troublesome with
an A-10. If you are having trouble completing this mission at this point,
there may be one of two problems. One just has to do with the weird radar
display. There is usually a few targets in the northeast corner of the map,
but are hard to see on radar if they are damaged targets and are slightly
grayed out. The second is a bug in the game that has been encountered before,
nothing you can do there but reload your game.
Mission 7: Selumna Peak
This mission has a wide variety of operations, but all of them take place
as air to air. So I suggest, naturally, an air to air loadout, and by this time
you should have a good amount of those. The F-14 is pretty good for this
mission because of its XLAA missiles for long range.
Whichever operations you choose to do, you will face only air to air. I
personally suggest taking out the jammers and saving Snake Pit, as the ESM and
radar visibility come in handy in the last part of the mission.
Once the enemy forces begin to rout, some strange drones appear, acting as
spotters for the Aigaion and its Nimbus Missiles.
The guys can be tough to take down. Use your allied attack when there are at
least 3+ drones on screen, to get the most out of it. Send your wingman to
attack ones too. One thing I noticed is that the drones know very well when
they are being targeted, and will not stop evading until they think you are
out of range and not a threat. What I would do is chase one in circles for
a few seconds, then quickly lock onto another that was unsuspecting and
shoot at him. Another good time to shoot the drones is when they are in
the middle of the explosion, and standing still.
Mission 8: San Loma Assault
This mission is yet another one of air to ground majority. Equip yourself
accordingly for this; any air to ground plane is fine, but I suggest something
with XAGMs or LASMs. The FAEB isnt a favorite on this mission, but its
your choice. I suggest equipping Garuda 2 with Air to air, for later
in the mission.
I suggest assisting Hammerhead Bomber Flight and the Marigold with this one.
They give some of the best fire support for the last part of the mission.
After you complete one operation, Nimbus Missiles from the Aigaion will
begin to stream in ( a slow, steady stream, really not a huge threat).
Take out the drones for extra points, but its not really necessary.
The mission update just has you go after the remaining enemy forces
in San Loma. There are a lot of them, but the objective itself is pretty
straightforward. Just blow everything up. Use your allies a lot, especially
if you got Hammerhead and Marigold to help, as they have the most direct
support.
Mission 9: Heavy Command Cruiser
This is one of the hardest missions in the game, as many frustrated gamers
will tell you. You have to take out the Aigaion and its 4 escort craft,
AND the entire Strigon team all in one fell swoop. And it isnt too easy...
I highly suggest, as a first time playthrough, to get the Su-33 with RCL or
QAAMs, in fact, both if you feel you may have trouble with the Strigons.
The RCLs make taking out the engines extremely efficient, and the QAAMs
will help against the pesky Strigons.
There are 2 ways I think are best to approach this mission, and here are both.
1)
When you start the mission, I suggest taking the QAAMs with you first,
so you can quickly deal with the Strigon threat. When you reach the Aigaion,
pass up the tankers, and go straight for the Kottos craft to the right of the
Aigaion. I suggest taking it out, or at least damaging it as much as possible,
before the Strigon team takes off. About a minute into the battle is when
Strigon team takes off of the Aigaion. Line yourself up behind the runway
of the ship and shoot at the Strigons as they take off. You should take out
a few this way, or at least damage them significantly. Once they are taken
out, the rest of the mission becomes a little easier, as a lot less is trying
to kill you at once. At this point, head back to the return line and get
RCLs, for the rest of the cruisers.
2)
Basically the opposite of method 1. Start with RCLs instead, and try to take
out all the Kottos and Gyges craft quickly, so only the Aigaion and Strigon
team is left. Unless you are taking an immense beating from Strigons,
DO NOT return to base to get QAAMs. Just keep the RCL you have for the Aigaion
later on. Since this method requires the use of the RCL all the way through,
it is recommended for those who are sure they can take on Strigons with
regular missiles and guns only (or if you really want, the RCL, but that
wastes ammo).
Once you take out the Strigons, Gyges, and Kottos, the Aigaion is your soul
target. Once you destroy its main defensive AA guns, more appear, and then
after those are gone, the engines appear. The RCL will make quick work of
the engine blocks, if you still have them. If not, this will not be a fun
task. RCLs make things a ton easier.
After the engines are gone, you will have to destroy the cockpit of the ship,
which on the easier difficulties, is actually quite simple. On harder ones
though, you have to destroy it from a harder angle and then after that,
take out the core engine of the Aigaion that is underneath the crusier.
After you take everything out though, its mission complete, and you can
watch that sucker plummet to the ocean in flames.
NOTE: I have a short video guide to this mission, if anyone wishes
to watch that for help. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQuuk_mP9w8&feature=user
Mission 10: Ragno Fortress
This mission is resemblent of Cruik Fortress in AC5, and Istus Fortress in AC4,
for those who played it. The fortress is in the center of a large ravine area,
making it difficult to get to and capture.
I suggest either the newly aquired F-15 or Rafale for this mission, as both
have good air to ground capability and are quite maneuverable.
For starters, I suggest the two Operations in assisting Warlock and
Windhover in their goals. Yellow Jacket has a simple objective, but unless
you are ready to fly into tiny tunnels, its not for you.
The Mission update just includes wiping out all remaining forces inside the
fortress. There are a lot of Tanks, gun towers, and AA guns there, so
be cautious. Use Allied attack if you have it, it will come in handy,
especially if you got Windhover to help out. The return line moves all the way
to the rear of Warlock’s advance now, so feel free to reload anytime.
Mission 11: The Moloch Desert
This mission may be intimidating at first, due to the apparent large scale
invasion taking place. And it will be quite difficult, but not for
obvious reasons. You will soon find out why...
Take a ground attack aircraft that also has very good air to air capabilites.
There are a fair amount of both targets on this mission. I suggest the Su-33
or F-15.
I would recommend helping Quox secure the airfield first and foremost, so you
have a base really close by to resupply at. I also highly recommend assisting
Snake Pit, his ESM will come in handy soon. The other operation have less
of a positive effect on the next phase of battle.
The mission update says that the enemy is retreating, and thay you should chase
them back into Gracemeria. Well, as fun as that sounds, dont. Resupply right
away at the airfield (if you captured it) and wait around near Snake Pit
for a minute or two.
The next mission update will come in, and you will be ordered to stand down.
Listen to Garuda 2 and Ghost Eye argue, and prepare to fight the entire
Strigon team - again. Yes, they are back, and gunning for Garuda and Garuda
only, they do not give a damn about anything else.
USe Garuda 2 effectivly, though he may not require much supervision.
His anger has gotten him into a frenzied state it seems, and he
dogfights pretty well. To this day, he has gotten more Strigon kills than me
on this mission. I am losing to an AI, so he must be good.
Mission 12: Weapons of Mass Destruction
This mission is a bit tricky, and somewhat unique as an Ace Combat mission.
I suggest taking a plane with good air to air capabilities, while also
retaining good air to ground as well. Prioritize air to air though. Either
the Su-33 with XMA4 or QAAMs or F-15 with XMA6 will do fine.
You start in the ravine, and you must stay in that ravine to avoid detection.
Make sure to always stay a little ahead of Gaurda 2 so he does not trigger
anything while you are not there to help. The enemy bases you encounter must
be destroyed in less than a minute, and the gunboat in less than 15 seconds,
or it is mission failed. When you approach each base, fly in slow and take out
as many targets in one run as possible, to be sure you destroy them fast
enough.
When you get to the delivery trucks, take them out swiftly, without delay.
Once they are destroyed, a few enemy planes will swarm you, and you will be
told to retreat to the return line. Do exactly that. Do not even stay to fight
, you will soon see why.
Once the air wing bounces you, do your best to hold out against them. Though
its hard, try not to spend the whole time dodging missiles, you need to
shoot down a few yourself. After a while, you will get some much needed
help, so use it wisely. As soon as your buddies comes, call for allied cover,
and you will see enemies drop like flies. Now, this becomes a real battle.
ITs a very intense battle, missiles flying everywhere, lots of radio chatter,
and some alright music to go with it. Have fun with this part, because
it is probably the last bit of real fun you will have with this game.
Now, things get very, very tough.
Mission 13: The Liberation of Gracemeria
This mission is one of the longest ones in the game, and also the hardest.
Prepare yourself for a lot of fighting, and a lot of hard fighting.
Take a plane that has good characteristics and a wide variety of weapons.
The F-15 is probably one of the best for this mission, in the long run.
I suggest starting with air to ground loadouts, and start on the western side
of the map, closest to the airfield.
I highly suggest taking the airfield. ITs doesnt matter when, but if you
take it first things are much easier for other operations. Once you take it,
reload and go assist the Marigold in securing the harbor. The ESM that the
fleets ships can provide you later on will come in very handy.
After you take the airfield and harbor, switch loadouts to air to air and
help take out the Jammer aircraft and ESM support craft. You will
need the support of your other air squadrons later on, so helping them
here is critical.
After the mission update, you find out you get to fight Pasternak. He and his
CFA-44 are a bitch to fight, even worse than all of Strigon team,
so make sure you are ready with air to air and
a good amout of allied support ready.
Firstly, do not even heed the drones. Just let them be. Unless you want
a higher score, they are of little use to you to shoot down. You will need
to keep a very close eye on your radar and watch for the faint read target
that is Pasternak on it, so you can find him more quickly. He flies fast
and swift in a stealth plane, so finding him isnt too fun. Once any
opportunity presents itself to shoot him, take it, and just unload all
you got on him. You should surely score a few hits. Repeat until he is dead,
and its mission complete.
Make sure to utilize all your weapons in this battle, including machine guns.
Everything will do good damage, as long as you know how to us them.
I also notied that when he stops to send out more drones, he is vulnerable,
nearly standing still in midair. So shooting down a few drones has its plus
side, but only if you can catch him off guard.
Mission 14: Gracemeria Patrol
I suggest buying the F-22 with XMA6 for this mission. You will need a lot
of missiles...
You start out with a simple objective, I need not explain it here. Just watch
the pretty lights show and listen to Garuda 2. Once you finish your patrol,
do not head to base, fly at full speed to the northeast district of
Gracemeria.
Once the first wave appears, take it out promptly. Get ready for many more...
They will laucnh waves at you from the same direction but the missiles will all
go to different areas. Fly at full speed at all times eo ensure you get to
all of them in time. Part way through, you will be told that ground forces
are under attack. I suggest ignoring this for now, the missiles are a much
bigger threat.
Seven waves will come at you in all, each getting harder in that there are more
and they spread out more. You must be flying fast at almost all times to
get to all of them in time. Use allied cover to help against the enemy
fighters, and on occasion allied attack to help with a group of cruise
missiles.
Mission 15: Chandelier
Welcome to the final mission. Its no cakewalk though, so dont get too happy.
Take a plane with good everything, and especially a good air to ground weapon.
You start the mission heading towards a target that you have no real idea
of how to destroy. But dont worry, that anoyying lady from the cutscenes
comes to the rescue. Three cheers...
You now have to take out all the cooling units...I think there are about
12-14 of them. Maybe more. Plus, you got a ton of good enemy aircraft on your
tail, including the entire Strigon team....AGAIN!
Most people will, by this point, not want to deal with the Strigons at all,
and thats ok. I didnt either. So, if you have a fast plane, thats good.
Start flying at near top speed around the Chandelier, making sweeps past
each cooling unit and taking them out. Flying fast will keep the Strigons off
your tail for you allies to hopefully pick off, slowly but surely. After a
while of this, all the main cooling units should be destroyed.
NOTE!!!!: While taking out these cooling units, the Chandelier will be firing
its ordinance at Gracemeria. If it fires to many missiles, THE MISSION WILL
FAIL! If you are going slow with the cooling units, be sure to periodically
fly in just under the barrel of the Chandelier and take out missiles as they
are delivered for loading.
Once you take out the main cooling units, you will discover that there is a
backup one. Fun eh? Well, Garuda 2, your awesome wingman, takes a hit for ya,
and recons the last cooling units location for ya, but, to your dismay,
will be shot down. A sad part of the story, yes, but hey, its war.
Now its time to make Garuda 2’s sacrifice worth something.
Make sure all those AA guns under the barrel are taken out, they are way
too deadly to fly into, even with full hull integrity. Fly in low and slow,
to avoid hitting the walls and make sure to get a good shot at the cooling
unit. When it is blown up, KEEP FLYING STRAIGHT!!! The smoke obscures the exit,
making you think you should maybe pull up. DONT! Just fly right through the
debris at a midlevel height of the tunnel, and slowly fly out.
Now, you are not done. You must now fly into the barrel of the chandelier
and take out its core. You must do this rather quickly or the big railgun
will fire when you are flying in it. Not a very fun way to go out...
Make sure to get there fast, but fly slowly in. It gets very cramped in there,
and it requires immense concentration to fly into that tiny space.
Once you blow up the core though, you will not have to worry about
flying out. A cutscene does that for you.
Congrats! You have finished the game. Enjoy the ending!
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Article 5 Medal Specific Mission playthroughs
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5.1: Sharpshooter
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BEGINNING NOTE: To obtain this medal, you must play an SP NEW GAME and play
on at least NORMAL difficulty. Will not unlock on easy mode.
Sharpshooter is a medal that will take you quite some time to get; you can
use guns, and only guns, throughout the whole campaign. For those who
have gone through already, this may seem like a daunting task. However, it is
not as hard as you may think. As long as you play consistantly, you will
easily get this medal.
Now, You cant use any missiles or SP weapons for this medal; with the exception
of one, which is the ECMP, equipped on the Tornado and CFA-44. While both
have access to it, I suggest you use the Tornado for this one; the CFA-44 ’s
maneuverability makes it a tough plane to use for this medal. This part of
the guide will be based around using the Tornado, not the CFA-44.
The first missions (1-8) should be fairly easy to beat with guns only, in terms
of difficulty. It will just be a time consuming matter.
-----------------------------
5.2: Legendary Ace
-----------------------------
BEGINNING NOTE: To obtain this medal, you must play an SP NEW GAME and play
on at least NORMAL difficulty. Will not unlock on easy mode.
This one it quite a tough one to obtain. You cant take a single hit throughout
the entire campaign. So playing it safe is priority here.
The first few missions are fairly straightforward; I got through the first
4 only getting shot at twice, and that of course, was easily evaded. After
mission 5 things get a bit heated. Most of these are ground attack missions,
so use a good SP weapon that has some range for killing ground targets.
You do not want to get close to those AA guns. They really don’t damage you
much, but even the slightest bit of damage ruins this for you. If you ever
find yourself having to go up against AA guns or flak, send in allies to take
them out first so its safer when you fly in. Flying at higher speeds most of
the time helps when in air to air combat. This way missiles should never
hit you and nobody will get in gun range of you.
Mission 9 is tricky. I suggest you take out at least 1 ESM (Kottos) craft
before the Strigon team takes off, so the Strigons have a harder time killing
you. Also, when the Strigons do take off, camp their runway and shoot them as
they take off. You can destory a few and damage the rest this way, so it
becomes easy pickings for your allies.
Take out all Kottos and Gyges before touching Aigaion. Proceed with caution
when you go for the Aigaion’s AA guns, and use Allied support on the engines.
Whever you get close to the engines, a barrage of missiles is more likely to
hit you. Take out the cockpit as fast as you can after it appears to avoid
the Nimbus missiles. After that, you’re done.
Missions 13 and 15 are also a bit tricky. Go for the easier operations in 13.
I suggest A, D, E and F. These are the less confrontational air to air and air
to ground operations, so you should do fine.
PAsternak is the real problem. He can be a tough one for sure. When you know he
is coming, get to high speed quickly. I highly recommend that you have complete
operation D so the ships in the harbor will provide you with 3 ESM over the
area of the main battle. Their support is quite valueable.
If you are using any aircraft other than the CFA, I suggest using just regular
missiles to shoot him down. It may seem hard, but he stalls quite often when
launching drones, so take advantage of this. If you just cannot seem to get a
good shot off at him, find him and order a full out allied and wingman attack
on him, they might hit him a few times but more importantly give you an easier
way to track Pasternak and take him out yourself. With all your allies on him,
Pasternak will be evading like crazy and should stall eventually, giving you
the perfect shot.
Mission 15 requires nearly constant full speed. You need to take out as many
AA guns as you can at first, as those are the most dangerous enemy here.
As long as you stay at full speed, missiles shouldn’t be a huge problem.
Never take a risk with those AA guns; you may think you can get through those
last 2 and take out a cooling unit, but odds are you wont. They do get more
accurate as you ge closer, and usually more aggressive.
(Note: I found a glitch where some Estovakian ships somehow get lodged into and
under the Chandelier, and you cannot take them out. However, they can shoot you
so be careful of this if you encounter it.)
In the second phase of the mission, make sure all the AA guns are taken out at
the entrance before entering. Also keep in mind that there are 2 aa guns
in the actual tunnel itself, and can only be destroyed by flying in there.
Take them out with missiles, if you can, before getting the last cooling unit.
The last phase is easy, there should be little to no AA guns or enemies left
to hurt you, so just fly into the core and take it out to win.
-----------------------------
5.3: Quicksilver
-----------------------------
BEGINNING NOTE: To obtain this medal, you must play an SP NEW GAME and play
on at least NORMAL difficulty. Will not unlock on easy mode.
I suggest using the faster, agile, and more powerful planes for this one.
These include the F-22, Su-33, Su-47, A-10 and CFA-44 for all missions.
You can change up planes each mission as you please, to suit that missions
needs.
Below are the suggested target clear times for each mission. Some may seem
impossible but they are really not that hard; just play consistantly. You
do not need to go through each mission at top speed. You need to destroy
targets and ONLY targets in each mission to ensure the fastest completion
time. If you aim for the times I have below, you can finish in about 2 hours.
The faster you clear the early missions, the more time you give yourself
on some of the harder missions in the end. If you ever go over the max
time limit posted below for any mission, restart it, unless you really think
you can do extremely well on a future one. ITs good to save breathing room for
the last few missions, which can be a pain for time.
Clear times ( Mission # - target clear time in minutes)
1-5 min
2-5 min
3-3 min
4-6 min
5-10 min
6-8 min
7-10 min
8-10 min
9-8 min
10-8 min
11-8 min
12-7 min
13-10 min
14-15 min
15-10 min
---------------------------------
5.4: Attacker, Multirole, Fighter
---------------------------------
BEGINNING NOTE: To obtain this medal, you must play an SP NEW GAME and play
on at least NORMAL difficulty. Will not unlock on easy mode.
See the section about the Sharpshooter medal for this; I highly recommend
using the Tornado ECMP combo throughout the whole game, so you get Sharpshooter
and the Attacker medal.
Multirole and Fighter are much easier to obtain. For the multirole, I recommend
either the Rafale or F-15. Both are good, it really just comes down to personal
preference. However, I used the Rafale since it has more stability and
maneuverability than the F-15.
The Fighter medal is even simpler. If you have the CFA-44, then I am sure
you will use that. If you want more of a challenge though, use the Su-33
or even the F-16. Over half the planes in this game are Fighters, so this one
is almost pure personal preference.
-----------------------------
5.5: S Rankings
-----------------------------
S rankings can be tricky on some missions. Most are quite easy, as you just
blow up as much as humanly possible. Others are hard though, simply due to
the way the game ranks you on each mission.
You must take into account this: Your total score for a level is determined
by the average score you obtain on all operations and the ending operation(s).
This means your score from whatever operations you finished, say A & C, is
averaged with the score from the mission final objective for your total score.
You must attain an S on most of the operations, and at least an A or b on
one to get a TOTAL ranking that gives you the S. This is true for most
missions. So knowing about that; keep in mind that it takes into account your
scores for started operations. Dont start an operation that you will not
be able to finish, or else your score may get messed up.
So, the basic idea of an S ranking is just blowing up everything you can in
each completable operation. Really isnt anything difficult about it, except
the fact that it may be time consuming, especially on the harder difficulties.
There are a couple missions that are trouble points. Here they are.
Mission 9: Aigaion- Sometimes, this one can be tricky to get an S on.To ensure
you get the S, make sure to destroy ALL the KC-10 Tankers in the beginning.
They should give you a good score boost. Also make sure to kill all
non-designated TGTs on enemy craft; these include some AA guns and Flak Guns.
Also, on Expert or Ace, take out FENIKS, he gives you a couple thousand
points. Do all this, and the main targets, and you will get an S.
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