Ace Combat 8 All Medals
Ace Combat 8 has 29 Campaign medals covering everything from total kills and S ranks to hidden mission objectives and full-Campaign challenge runs. Some will unlock naturally, while others require playing individual missions in a very specific way or dedicating an entire run to one restriction.
Jump To Section:
All 29 Medals
Mission-Specific Medals
S-Rank Medals
Campaign Challenge Medals
Easiest 10 Medals
How to Get All 29 Medals in Ace Combat 8
There are 29 Campaign medals in Ace Combat 8. You can check which ones you have earned through Data Viewer → Campaign Data → Campaign Medals. The list includes cumulative combat milestones, four sets of all-mission S ranks, eleven mission-specific challenges, four aircraft-class Campaign runs, a no-damage Campaign, and a machine-gun-only Campaign.
Campaign Medals
Total → 29
Progress Menu → Data Viewer → Campaign Data → Campaign Medals
Meritorious Service Trophy → Earn any 10 medals
All 29 Required for Trophy → No
The full list is below. A few medal names are still not displayed consistently across current post-launch references, so those entries are listed by number and exact requirement rather than assigning them an unverified name.
1. Bronze Ace
Destroy 1,000 enemy hostiles.
2. Silver Ace
Destroy 2,000 enemy hostiles.
3. Gold Ace
Destroy 3,000 enemy hostiles.
4. Bronze Marksman
Shoot down 50 enemy aircraft using machine guns.
5. Silver Marksman
Shoot down 100 enemy aircraft using machine guns.
6. Gold Marksman
Shoot down 200 enemy aircraft using machine guns.
7. Pilot S-Rank Medal
Earn an S rank on every mission on Pilot difficulty or higher.
8. Veteran S-Rank Medal
Earn an S rank on every mission on Veteran difficulty or higher.
9. Elite S-Rank Medal
Earn an S rank on every mission on Elite difficulty or higher.
10. Ace S-Rank Medal
Earn an S rank on every mission on Ace difficulty.
11. Raze the Roof
Destroy 1,500 enemy surface targets, excluding ships.
12. Ship of Liberty
Sink 100 enemy ships.
13. Tunnel Specter
Navigate the narrow space during Operation Elder Hand in Mission 4.
14. Proud Shoulders
Evacuate at least four LCACs during Operation Long Shot in Mission 5.
15. Aegis Penetrator
Destroy all ten Land Aegis ships during Operation Ogre Pitfall in Mission 9.
16. Rapid Dragon Slayer
Destroy the Rapid Dragon before it launches its cruise missiles during Operation Worker Bee in Mission 12.
17. Mission 14 Medal
Avoid all radar detection during Operation Homing Pigeon.
18. Mission 17 Medal
Destroy all primary targets using only Joker Flight during Operation Broncobuster.
19. Mission 21 Medal
Complete Operation Dawn Rising without the escort target taking any damage.
20. Land Piscivore
Destroy all land ships during Operation Rumbling in Mission 23.
21. Mission 25 Medal
Eliminate the required enemy forces during Operation Paint it Blue.
22. Mission 27 Medal
Destroy a large number of enemies through a large-scale chain reaction during Operation Rootbreaker.
23. Mission 30 Medal
Intercept every threat against the escort target during Operation Showdown.
24. Attacker Campaign Medal
Complete every Campaign mission that allows aircraft selection using only Attackers.
25. Fighter Campaign Medal
Complete every Campaign mission that allows aircraft selection using only Fighters.
26. Multirole Campaign Medal
Complete every Campaign mission that allows aircraft selection using only Multirole aircraft.
27. EW Campaign Medal
Complete every Campaign mission that allows aircraft selection using only Electronic Warfare aircraft.
28. No-Damage Campaign Medal
Complete the Campaign without taking any damage.
29. Machine-Gun-Only Campaign Medal
Complete the Campaign using only machine guns.
All Mission-Specific Medals
The mission medals are the best ones to target individually because they do not require an entire Campaign run. Most ask you to complete one unusual side objective during an otherwise normal mission.
Mission 4 → Fly through the narrow space
Mission 5 → Evacuate at least 4 LCACs
Mission 9 → Destroy all 10 Land Aegis ships
Mission 12 → Destroy Rapid Dragon before the cruise missile launch
Mission 14 → Avoid all radar detection
Mission 17 → Clear the primary targets using only Joker Flight
Mission 21 → Keep the escort target completely undamaged
Mission 23 → Destroy every land ship
Mission 25 → Eliminate the specified enemy forces
Mission 27 → Trigger a large-scale chain reaction against many enemies
Mission 30 → Intercept every threat against the escort target
These are worth checking before starting a separate grind. If you already completed some of the hidden objectives naturally, you may be much closer to 10 medals than the Campaign Medals screen initially suggests.
Tunnel Specter - Mission 4
Tunnel Specter requires you to fly through the narrow space in Operation Elder Hand.
This is a navigation challenge rather than a combat requirement. You do not need a particular score or number of kills; make the pass successfully and then finish the mission.
A maneuverable aircraft is more useful here than maximizing raw firepower. If you're still building out your Campaign roster, the Ace Combat 8 best planes guide covers the strongest options for different mission types.
Proud Shoulders - Mission 5
Proud Shoulders is earned by getting at least four LCACs safely evacuated during Operation Long Shot.
The important part is protecting the LCACs rather than maximizing your destruction score elsewhere. Stay close enough to react to aircraft and ground units threatening the evacuation instead of chasing optional enemies away from the objective.
Aegis Penetrator - Mission 9
Aegis Penetrator requires all ten Land Aegis ships to be destroyed during Operation Ogre Pitfall.
Do not finish the Land Battleship sequence while one of the required Land Aegis targets is still alive. Treat the ten kills as part of the mission objective during this replay rather than assuming they will all be removed automatically.
Rapid Dragon Slayer - Mission 12
For Rapid Dragon Slayer, destroy the Rapid Dragon before it gets the chance to launch its cruise missiles.
This is primarily a speed check. Once the Rapid Dragon becomes the relevant threat, prioritize it instead of clearing lower-value enemies around the battlefield first.
Mission 14 Radar Medal
Mission 14's medal requires completing the radar section without being detected at all.
A run where you recover after detection can still finish the mission, but it will not satisfy the medal condition. Treat the stealth route itself as the objective and restart the attempt if the radar catches you.
Mission 17 Joker Flight Medal
During Operation Broncobuster, the primary targets must be eliminated using only Joker Flight.
The wording matters here because the medal is restricting who handles those targets, not simply asking you to clear the mission normally. Keep the primary-target work with Joker Flight for the medal attempt.
Mission 21 No-Damage Escort Medal
Complete Operation Dawn Rising without the escort target taking any damage.
This is stricter than simply keeping the target alive. Intercept threats before they enter attacking range and prioritize anything already moving toward the escort instead of spending time on enemies that are not currently dangerous.
Land Piscivore - Mission 23
Land Piscivore requires destroying every land ship during Operation Rumbling.
Make sure none survive before advancing out of the relevant battle phase. A strong anti-ground setup makes the cleanup considerably quicker.
Mission 25 Medal
Mission 25 has a medal for eliminating a specific set of enemy forces during Operation Paint it Blue.
The current medal description does not identify those forces by name, so it is better to work directly from the medal requirement shown in Campaign Data rather than assume that another Mission 25 objective, such as an Assault Record trigger, is automatically the same condition.
Mission 27 Chain-Reaction Medal
Operation Rootbreaker has a medal for destroying a large number of enemy units through a large-scale chain reaction.
This rewards using the mission's destruction mechanics efficiently instead of picking every target off individually. Look for an opportunity where triggering one destruction sequence can take a large cluster of enemies with it.
Mission 30 Escort Medal
The final mission medal requires intercepting every threat directed at the escort target during Operation Showdown.
Prioritize the enemies threatening the escort rather than simply maximizing kills elsewhere on the map. Missing even one of the relevant threats can cost the medal despite successfully finishing the mission.
How the Four S-Rank Medals Work
The four S-rank medals overlap, which makes the Ace version far more valuable than completing four separate sets of missions.
The Pilot, Veteran, and Elite medals all accept that difficulty or anything higher. That means earning an S rank on every mission on Ace difficulty satisfies all four S-rank medal requirements at once.
Ace S-Ranks Can Earn 4 Medals
Pilot-or-Higher S-Ranks → Complete
Veteran-or-Higher S-Ranks → Complete
Elite-or-Higher S-Ranks → Complete
Ace S-Ranks → Complete
Ace difficulty itself must first be unlocked by completing the Campaign on Elite. The Ace Combat 8 Ace difficulty guide covers that unlock requirement.
If all 29 medals are your eventual goal, there is little reason to separately S-rank the whole game on Pilot, then Veteran, then Elite. Working toward the Ace set consolidates four medal requirements into the same 30 missions.
Kill and Machine Gun Medals
Six medals are simply cumulative combat milestones.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold Ace track total hostile kills at 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000. Bronze, Silver, and Gold Marksman track enemy aircraft shot down specifically with machine guns at 50, 100, and 200.
The Marksman medals pair naturally with the machine-gun-only Campaign medal, so there is little reason to heavily grind machine-gun kills first if you intend to complete all 29 eventually.
Likewise, the normal enemy, surface-target, and ship totals continue increasing while you work on S ranks, medals, Assault Records, and MRP.
Mission grinding can therefore overlap several medal counters at once. The Ace Combat 8 MRP farming guide covers the best repeatable missions once you are also working on long-term currency and combat totals.
The Six Full-Campaign Challenge Medals
The final six medals are the ones that turn the medal list into a long-term completion challenge rather than something you finish through a few Free Mission replays.
Four require completing every selectable-aircraft mission with one aircraft class:
Attackers Only
Fighters Only
Multirole Only
EW Aircraft Only
Mission 14 is forced into its own aircraft and is excluded by the wording because these medals only count missions where aircraft selection is available.
The final two restrictions are much more demanding: complete the Campaign without taking any damage, and complete the Campaign using only machine guns.
These are not medals worth pursuing just to reach Meritorious Service. They make more sense once the rest of the list is largely complete and all 29 medals have become the actual goal.
No-Damage Campaign Medal
The no-damage medal requires an entire Campaign clear without taking damage.
That makes consistency more important than raw speed. Avoid unnecessary close-range engagements, use long-range weapons where possible, and treat missile warnings much more seriously than during a normal run.
Parts that improve survivability are less useful if the objective is to take zero damage in the first place, so maneuverability, range, guidance, and faster kills can be more valuable for preventing dangerous situations entirely.
The Ace Combat 8 best parts guide covers the strongest upgrades when putting together a specialized loadout.
Machine-Gun-Only Campaign Medal
The final medal requires completing the Campaign using only machine guns.
This also makes it one of the best opportunities to finish Bronze Marksman, Silver Marksman, and Gold Marksman because every aircraft kill during the run contributes toward those cumulative requirements.
Do not waste a separate long grind on 200 machine-gun aircraft kills if you already plan to attempt the full gun-only Campaign. Let the objectives overlap.
Easiest 10 Medals for Meritorious Service
If you only want the Meritorious Service trophy or achievement, do not approach the medal list as though all 29 are required.
You only need 10.
The most efficient set depends on what you already earned naturally, but prioritize cumulative medals and straightforward mission medals before considering full-Campaign restrictions.
Good Medals to Target First
Bronze Ace
Silver Ace
Ship of Liberty
Tunnel Specter
Proud Shoulders
Aegis Penetrator
Rapid Dragon Slayer
Mission 14 Radar Medal
Land Piscivore
One or more S-Rank medals as your Campaign cleanup advances
Gold Ace and the higher Marksman medals also become natural candidates if you have already spent significant time replaying missions.
If you are going for Ace of Aces anyway, the calculation changes dramatically. Completing all 30 missions with an S rank on Ace satisfies four medal requirements at once, so you may reach 10 without needing to touch any of the extreme Campaign restriction medals.
Best Order for Getting All 29 Medals
For full completion, avoid treating each medal as an isolated grind.
Finish the Campaign first and collect whatever mission medals happen naturally. Then use individual mission replays to clean up the remaining mission-specific conditions while accumulating hostile, surface-target, ship, and machine-gun totals.
Work toward Ace S ranks after unlocking Ace difficulty. That single objective can satisfy four medals while also contributing thousands of additional kills toward the cumulative requirements.
Leave the aircraft-class runs, no-damage Campaign, and machine-gun-only Campaign until later. Those restrictions consume entire playthroughs, so there is little advantage in doing them before the shorter medals are already finished.
Efficient Medal Order
1. Finish the Campaign normally
2. Check Campaign Medals before replaying anything
3. Clean up mission-specific medals
4. Work toward all Ace S ranks
5. Finish cumulative kill medals during other objectives
6. Complete the four aircraft-class Campaign challenges
7. Finish the no-damage and machine-gun-only runs
That approach minimizes duplicate grinding because almost every normal replay is advancing more than one requirement at the same time.
