Ace Combat 8 Online menus: exit, party settings and aircraft sets

Open the menu and leave Online

1. While in the Online lobby on PC, press Tab.
2. Find the row of icon controls in the lower part of the menu.
3. Select the door-shaped RETURN control.
4. Check that the main menu appears before choosing your next mode.

Shibe gives this route; RTX3D and PocketYoda confirm Return. It leaves Online for the main menu, rather than closing the application. The player handbook lists Triangle/Y as controller menu inputs; use the prompt matching your device and bindings.

Allow other players to join your party

The handbook’s host path is SOCIAL → PARTY SETTINGS → CREATE PARTY, then PUBLIC SETTING. Change the friends-only default to permit other players. For a specific friend, use INVITE; platform friends are under PLATFORM FRIEND LIST.

Recheck the displayed visibility before inviting or waiting. This is the reported party-access setting behind the open-recruitment question; it does not guarantee that matchmaking will find players. When joining another group, the handbook says to use LEAVE PARTY first, even from a solo party, then SEARCH FOR PARTY or INVITED LIST. Confirm the intended group in your party roster.

Save an aircraft setup or add another slot

Open HANGAR → ONLINE AIRCRAFT SET. Register an owned aircraft, parts and special weapons, then use Back to save. The handbook reports five initial sets, with an additional-slot purchase at the bottom of that screen using in-game currency.

If “new classes” means saved loadouts, this is the relevant menu. Check the displayed slot price before buying, then reopen the set and verify its aircraft and weapons. A saved set does not change an aircraft’s role. For levels, caps and materials, use the aircraft-upgrade guide.

Select a reward contract before the intended sortie

Use MISSIONS → SELECT MODE, choose the mode, then open SPECIAL REWARD CONTRACTS before SORTIE. The October 20 handbook warns that the contract selection remains active after a sortie. Clear it before the next ordinary match if you do not want to spend another contract.

Luck’s October 8 gameplay account distinguishes a Zoll contract, reported to double mission Zoll, from a combat-data contract, reported to double aircraft XP. Those are different reward counters. The same author found no contract boost for Pilot Rank; do not select an aircraft-XP item expecting it to accelerate pilot access.

1. Choose the sortie you actually intend to play and read the contract’s current reward label before confirming.
2. After finishing, inspect the matching Zoll or aircraft-XP result, rather than the kill score or pass level.
3. Return to the contract selection and clear it if you want the following sortie to use no contract.

The reported 2× effect belongs to that October 8 account; use the displayed item description if your version differs. Neither source supplies a measured fastest-farming route or establishes that a reward contract triggers an Emergency Sortie.

Find pilot rank without confusing it with aircraft level

Use HANGAR → PILOT RANK for your rank and rank-based aircraft access. The handbook warns that access only removes a purchase restriction; it does not grant the aircraft.

The publisher distinguishes mercenary progression from each aircraft’s level. If your question concerns a locked weapon slot, inspect the selected aircraft instead. If you want a different kind of match, compare Assault and Warfare. These menu paths do not diagnose a connection error or an unavailable special sortie.