Choose your next objective.
Find a mission route, equipment check or symptom that matches your current run. Each guide shows its sources and the conditions the advice covers.
10 GUIDESCampaign & missions
Protect allies, earn mission awards and prepare the squad. Start with the mission you are actually failing; rank and medal conditions are not interchangeable.
Browse campaign →Mission 28: S-rank & ShadowsCompare reported Mission 28 S-rank loadouts, time shots against the Shadows, and diagnose an A-rank run without assuming a fixed score threshold.Mission 8: keep allies aliveUse reported Mission 8 target priorities and ammunition planning to protect allies in Retaking of Theve II. Separate a clear route from an S-rank claim.Mission 14: detection medalCompare successful Mission 14 medal reports, including low altitude through the mushroom cloud and continued radar avoidance near the exit.All-S medal: replay missing ranksUse a reported Free Mission completion to revisit missing S ranks, check the selected difficulty and avoid confusing the all-S award with full-run challenge medals.Wingman aircraft & setsUse the reported post-campaign Aircraft Sets path to change wingman aircraft and skins, with clear limits on automatic special weapons and player-only parts.MRP Aplenty: plan the grindPlan the MRP Aplenty achievement around reported campaign progress, distinguish first-clear payouts from repeat farming, and compare repeat rewards per minute.Choose campaign difficultyChoose a starting campaign challenge, understand the publisher’s difficulty distinctions, and keep Ace completion and S-rank goals separate from control style.Campaign length & replay goalsUse one reviewer’s roughly eighteen-hour, thirty-mission campaign as a planning reference, then account for retries, cinematics, ranks and separate Online progression.All 30 missions & progress checklistMatch campaign mission numbers and titles, hide later title spoilers, and find the existing Mission 8, Mission 14 and Mission 28 guides for your current obstacle.Achievement roadmap & collection planGroup Steam achievement goals into story progress, squad actions, collecting, replay tools and Ace ranks without inventing a one-run platinum or completion-time promise.
10 GUIDESAircraft & weapons
Browse the publisher aircraft catalog, fit campaign parts, compare weapon tasks and check DLC access before buying or grinding.
Browse aircraft & weapons →Aircraft list & rolesBrowse the official aircraft catalog by role, then separate campaign equipment, Online upgrades, F-14A DLC and Morgan access. No invented unlock tree or tier rankings.Equip campaign aircraft partsFind the campaign parts menu during mission preparation, rather than looking for it in Aircraft Unlock. Includes a simple pre-sortie verification sequence.Unlock Morgan–PIXYCheck Season 1 Premium Ace Pass ownership, redeem the Deluxe voucher, and distinguish immediate Online Morgan access from the campaign completion requirement.F-14A: preorder & DLC accessDistinguish the F-14A preorder aircraft from F-14D, check its current standalone Steam DLC listing, and avoid assuming campaign ownership transfers online.LAAM: range & target choiceUse attributed LAAM range and angle reports, compare formation weapons and close dogfight alternatives, and avoid taking an air-only setup into a core-target fight.YF-23: roster & unlock claimsCheck the YF-23 against the launch aircraft roster, distinguish an enemy sighting from ownership, and avoid unsupported F-22 tree or future DLC unlock advice.Unlock FA-36, EA-36 & X-40Plan the reported Mission 30 completion gate and MRP costs for three special campaign aircraft, then keep purchases, squad copies and Online progression separate.Best aircraft for your next taskCompare sourced aircraft examples for the Shadows, ground protection and Online progression instead of treating an unsupported universal tier list as a buying guide.Two special weapons: ammunition tradeoffChoose one or two special weapons deliberately, understand the reported shared-hardpoint ammunition tradeoff, and keep wingman weapon choices separate.Aircraft Tree: buy squad copiesUnderstand repeat aircraft purchases for the squad, compare the reported one-eighth copy cost, and separate tree ownership from post-story setup and Online development.
5 GUIDESAce Combat Online
Choose co-op or PvP, understand progression and threat stars, and prepare for limited-time superweapon encounters.
Browse online →Co-op, PvE & cross-playChoose between Co-Op Assault, Co-Op Warfare and special sorties, and understand why online co-op does not mean the story campaign can be played with a friend.Online levels & weapon slotsSeparate mercenary rank from aircraft level and cap upgrades, use current player reports about Zoll and blueprints, and check second special-weapon access before buying another jet.Emergency Sorties not appearingCheck the correct Ace Combat Online modes, try a different lobby, and understand what remains unknown about Emergency Sortie spawning.Chandelier: chamber & coolingFollow the current player-reported Chandelier objective sequence: enter the open barrel, attack the chamber, reach backup cooling below the cannon and return for the final chamber.Threat Level & Ace starsUnderstand the higher-score and higher-bounty tradeoff of Threat Level, the three-star Ace designation, and how to evaluate a risky chase in Co-Op Warfare.
7 GUIDESFlight & controls
Make pitch input predictable, select the intended target, compare a flightstick yaw workaround and distinguish look prompts from control problems.
Browse flight & controls →Slow mouse controlsTry sourced keyboard pitch bindings and High-G option B in Ace Combat 8. This is a playable alternative, not a confirmed fix for sluggish mouse input.Target selection in clutterTry the community-reported screen-center targeting behavior, give yourself time to select a target, and distinguish clutter from a separate weapon-switch problem.HORI stick: constant left yawSeparate the reported PC/flight-mode yaw problem from calibration, try the original poster’s pad-mode alternative, and record the device before seeking hardware support.QTEs & look promptsSeparate skippable cutscene QTEs from reported optional look and yes/no prompts, with no invented global disable setting or guaranteed medal behavior.Standard vs Expert controlsUnderstand direct turning versus bank-and-pitch flight, choose an input practice routine, and separate Expert controls from campaign difficulty.Mouse camera & free lookTry the reported F free-look binding when mouse camera is enabled but Alt does nothing, then distinguish camera look from aircraft steering and device mapping.Type A / B gun-sight comparisonCompare the community-described manual and assisted sight styles, practice with the same target, and use sourced gun windows when fighting the Shadows.
6 GUIDESPC & troubleshooting
Check hardware features and storage, compare a cinematic texture setting, understand the Deck case and use the exact ST-3100001 notice.
Browse pc help →PC specs, RT & SSD spaceCompare current Steam minimum and recommended PC requirements, understand the hardware ray tracing requirement, and resolve the 150GB Steam versus 125GB website discrepancy.Cutscene stutter: Ultra → HighRun a reversible Ultra-to-High texture comparison for first-person cinematic stutter, using the source player’s hardware and contradictory reports as limits.Deck campaign loading crashUnderstand the Steam Deck LCD campaign-load success report using Proton Experimental, 16GB swap and 4GB UMA, with unsupported status and non-isolated changes made clear.Error ST-3100001Follow the official Windows time synchronization advice for Ace Combat Online error ST-3100001, then collect useful information if the error persists.ERROR 01: scene-change crash checksCompare a reported Native upscaling change for Mission 28/30 scene crashes, check disabled paging against a separate Steam report, and distinguish startup black screens.Replay storage full: what happens nextUnderstand a player-reported rolling replay allocation, preserve clips you care about, and avoid unsupported permission or symlink tricks to disable recording.
5 GUIDESStart here & editions
Check platforms, compare editions after launch, collect Deluxe gifts, choose an Ace Pass season and prepare a first sortie.
Browse start here →Release date & platformsCheck launch availability on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam PC, understand the October 1 versus October 2 date labels, and avoid treating a user VR tag as confirmation.Standard, Deluxe & Joker packsCompare Standard, Deluxe and Joker Flight physical extras, separate historical preorder bonuses, and check the Premium Ace Pass Plus voucher before buying.Claim missing Deluxe itemsUse current player-reported Ace Combat Online Special Gifts and mailbox paths for Deluxe cosmetics and the Ace Pass voucher, then separate collection from seasonal redemption.Ace Pass: Free, Premium & PlusCompare the three Ace Pass options, the Plus level skip and Season 1 Morgan reward, and distinguish online pass progress from campaign unlocks.Beginner gameplay & first-flight planBuild a first-flight plan around the objective, aircraft weapons, squad support and controls; distinguish cinematic realism from a civilian flight-simulator workflow.
7 GUIDESStory, characters & media
Identify the opening crew, understand the fictional conflict, choose an official video and find game screenshot sources without opening a full ending recap.
Browse story & media →Tasha: the pink-haired pilotIdentify Tasha Severskaya, her Joker Flight position and Zvezda background, see official character imagery, and separate her story role from Online cosmetic rewards.Official trailers & gameplay videosChoose an official gameplay overview, launch trailer, character clip or edition presentation; see spoiler notes and watch on YouTube without automatic playback.Hour Zero: official episodes & watch orderWatch the official Hour Zero live-action prequel in release order: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3 and Epilogue; distinguish behind-the-scenes clips from story installments.Characters, callsigns & crewLook up Jan Cope, Tasha Severskaya, the other Joker Flight pilots and Endurance support crew in a spoiler-light character directory based on publisher profiles.Story setting: FCU, Sotoa & EnduranceUnderstand the spoiler-light conflict, the carrier base and the Wings of Theve identity before starting the campaign or watching the Hour Zero prequel.Official screenshots & wallpaper sourcesFind official 1920×1080 game images, compare cockpit, character and flight compositions, and choose a screen fit without mistaking an upscale for original 4K artwork.Launch news & player next stepsRead the dated launch and Season One announcements, then find the right platform, pass, aircraft access and error-code guide without confusing metadata changes with patch fixes.