Ace Combat 8 Tips & Tricks
Ace Combat 8 gives you plenty of room to fly however you want, but a few early decisions can make the campaign noticeably smoother. Spending MRP on the wrong aircraft path can leave you short when carrier-restricted missions appear, squadmates are far more useful once you start issuing the right orders, and some weapons and upgrades are much better than their descriptions initially suggest. These are the tips and tricks I'd keep in mind from the start, especially if you want to avoid wasting resources or learning useful mechanics much later than you should.
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Plan Your First Aircraft Path
Keep a Carrier Jet Available
Use an Electronic Warfare Wingman
Actually Give Your Squadron Orders
Don't Waste Squadron SP Weapons
Build for the Mission Briefing
Use Your Gun More Often
Learn the New Aircraft Handling
Learn High-G Turns and PSM Early
Avoid Checkpoint Restarts for S Ranks
Some Features Unlock Later
Check Your Settings Before Starting
1. Plan Your Ace Combat 8 Aircraft Unlocks Before Spending MRP
The Aircraft Tree makes it tempting to buy several inexpensive jets just because they're available, but spreading your MRP across too many branches can delay the aircraft that actually improve your campaign loadout.
For a first playthrough, I'd rather build one reliable route toward a strong multirole aircraft and then branch out once my core lineup is established.
The F/A-18E and F/A-18F are particularly useful early targets because they work well across different mission types and keep you on a path with several valuable later unlocks. Following that side of the tree can also take you toward electronic warfare options and eventually the F-35C.
A Good First-Playthrough Mindset
• Buy toward a plane you expect to use for several missions
• Unlock useful SP weapons along the same path
• Avoid buying every inexpensive aircraft just to fill the tree
• Expand into specialized aircraft once your main lineup is established
You can always replay missions and earn more MRP later. Early on, the question isn't whether you'll eventually own everything you want. It's whether the aircraft you're buying now will actually help with the next several missions.
If you need more MRP for aircraft, weapons, or parts, my Ace Combat 8 best MRP farming guide breaks down the best missions for fast money and long farming sessions.
2. Always Keep a Good Carrier-Capable Aircraft Available
Ace Combat 8 does not lock the entire campaign to carrier aircraft, but carrier restrictions appear often enough that you should account for them when planning your unlocks.
This is another reason I like the F/A-18 path early. You're investing in aircraft that remain usable when a mission requires carrier operations instead of building your entire hangar around land-based jets and suddenly having to fall back several tiers.
Later on, the F-35C becomes an especially flexible option because it combines carrier capability with strong air-to-air performance and useful air-to-ground weapons such as LACMs.
You don't need every carrier plane. You just want at least one you genuinely like using rather than treating carrier missions as the place where your real build gets temporarily confiscated.
3. Put an Electronic Warfare Aircraft in Your Squadron
One of the easiest upgrades to underestimate isn't for your own aircraft at all.
Assigning an EA-6B Prowler or later an EA-18G Growler to a squadmate gives your formation access to electronic warfare support, and that can have a much larger impact on combat than simply giving every wingman another conventional fighter.
I wouldn't worry about making the entire squadron visually match. A dedicated support aircraft brings something different to the formation, while another copy of your own fighter is mostly giving you more of something you already have.
This also makes electronic warfare aircraft a more attractive purchase than their personal combat performance might suggest. You're buying a squadron tool, not necessarily your next main jet.
4. Your Ace Combat 8 Squadmates Are Better When You Give Them Orders
Don't leave your wingmen on their default behavior for the entire mission.
Squad orders determine what your formation is actually trying to accomplish. Leaving everyone on the default behavior can keep them focused primarily around you, while options such as Disperse Attack allow the squadron to spread out and engage other targets.
That matters considerably in missions where the battlefield contains far more targets than you can efficiently clean up yourself.
One Important Detail
Squad orders can return to their default state after restarting from a checkpoint. If your wingmen suddenly seem passive after a retry, issue your preferred order again.
The wingman tutorial is worth reading rather than clicking through immediately, because commands such as Frontal, Disperse, and Cover have more utility than simply telling the AI to vaguely attack or defend.
5. Treat Squadron SP Weapons as a Limited Resource
Your squadmates won't simply unload their Special Weapons whenever they see a suitable target. You need to give them permission to use SP weapons, and their supply is limited.
You also don't directly choose which SP weapon each squadmate equips. Their loadout is handled automatically based on the aircraft they're flying.
That means I wouldn't leave SP weapon usage enabled without thinking about what remains in the mission. If standard missiles are already handling an easy wave comfortably, there's little reason to encourage the squadron to burn through its better ammunition immediately.
Wingmen will warn you as their SP weapon supply starts running low, which is your cue to become more selective about when you want that additional firepower.
6. Read the Mission Briefing Before Choosing Your SP Weapons
The aircraft with the highest stats isn't automatically the best sortie choice. Ace Combat 8's briefing map gives you useful information about what you're actually going to be fighting, and your loadout should reflect that.
A mission packed with ground targets gives air-to-ground ordnance much more value. Naval targets can make anti-ship weapons attractive. An air-heavy operation pushes you in the opposite direction.
Loadout Examples
• Dense ground targets — UGB and other air-to-ground weapons
• Ships and carriers — LASM
• Fortified structures — GPB
• Mixed missions — Multirole aircraft with flexible SP weapon choices
I'd rather take a slightly weaker plane carrying the right weapon than a superior fighter whose Special Weapons have almost nothing useful to lock onto.
This becomes even more important because Ace Combat 8 frequently changes the shape of its missions. Your hangar should give you answers to different target types rather than one aircraft that you insist on forcing into everything.
7. Guns Are Much More Useful Than Just a Backup Weapon
If you developed the habit of mostly ignoring your gun in Ace Combat 7, it's worth breaking that habit here.
Guns are particularly effective against targets that are large, slow, predictable, or conveniently lined up. Ground columns are great strafing targets, while bombers, transports, and ships give you enough time on target to put sustained fire into them.
The real advantage isn't merely saving missiles. Using guns on targets that don't require your best ordnance leaves more standard missiles and SP weapon ammunition available when you reach the parts of a mission where you actually need them.
I especially like using guns to finish damaged targets rather than wasting another missile on something that's already almost dead.
8. Ace Combat 8 Aircraft Carry More Momentum Than You May Expect
The handling in Ace Combat 8 rewards planning your movement slightly earlier than in Ace Combat 7.
Aircraft feel heavier, take a little longer to fully respond, and carry more momentum through maneuvers. Throwing the stick in the opposite direction doesn't instantly erase what the aircraft was already doing.
That makes overly reactive flying less effective. Start your turn before the target is already disappearing off the edge of the screen, and think about where the aircraft will be a second from now rather than constantly correcting where it is right now.
Once that handling clicks, the extra weight actually makes aggressive maneuvering feel more deliberate. You start linking turns together rather than fighting the aircraft after every input.
9. Learn High-G Turns and Post-Stall Maneuvers Early
You don't need advanced maneuvers to survive the opening missions, but learning them early gives you far more control once dogfights become tighter.
High-G turns are the more immediately useful skill because they let you tighten a turn at the cost of speed. Post-Stall Maneuvers go much further, deliberately putting a compatible aircraft into an extremely low-speed state so you can rotate the nose far more aggressively.
Not every aircraft can perform a PSM, so don't assume you're entering the command incorrectly simply because nothing happens.
If you want to learn the exact speed requirement and input sequence, my Ace Combat 8 PSM guide covers how to perform a Post-Stall Maneuver and troubleshoot failed attempts.
Campaign training and free-flight practice are useful here because you can learn the aircraft's limits without simultaneously trying to read missile warnings, track objectives, and survive an enemy ace.
10. Don't Abuse Checkpoint Restarts When Going for S Ranks
Restarting from a checkpoint can reduce your mission score in Ace Combat 8.
That's particularly important for returning players who used checkpoint restarts in Ace Combat 7 as an easy way to refresh ammunition without necessarily sacrificing the run.
You may still be able to absorb an occasional restart and finish with a strong result, but repeatedly resetting a long mission can work against an S-rank attempt.
If you're only trying to clear the campaign, this isn't something I'd obsess over. If you're specifically replaying a mission for rank, score, or a cleaner result, treat checkpoint restarts as a penalty rather than a free resupply button.
11. Prioritize Upgrades That Fix a Problem You Actually Have
The upgrade tree is another place where spending just because something is available can drain resources without meaningfully improving your aircraft.
ARMS upgrades can improve things such as missile damage, reload speed, homing, range, ammunition, and other weapon characteristics. BODY parts affect the aircraft itself, including acceleration, maneuverability, top speed, yaw, and High-G performance. MISC parts cover more situational characteristics such as targeting, protection, icing, and damage resistance.
My approach is to upgrade around whatever is currently limiting the plane.
If I'm consistently running low on missiles, ammunition improvements matter more than another tiny handling increase. If a plane already hits hard but feels sluggish, BODY upgrades become much more attractive. If neither of those is causing problems, that's when I'd start spending on more specialized utility.
That gives each part slot a purpose rather than simply filling every available space with the most expensive option.
12. Don't Assume a Missing Ace Combat 8 Feature Is Permanently Locked
Ace Combat 8 continues unlocking systems as the campaign moves forward.
One of the more important examples is the ability to use two Special Weapons, which isn't something you should expect to have immediately. Aircraft and other options can also become available later rather than appearing on the Aircraft Tree exactly when you first go looking for them.
The A-6 Intruder is a good example: not seeing it as an obvious early Aircraft Tree purchase doesn't mean it isn't obtainable later.
This is worth keeping in mind before you start spending MRP trying to compensate for something the campaign simply hasn't opened yet.
Check Your Settings Before Starting a Long Campaign Session
Go through the main settings menu before settling into the campaign, particularly if you want to change the game's measurement units or control setup.
Some settings aren't available from the normal pause menu during a mission, and Ace Combat 8 can have lengthy story sequences that still require some player interaction. That means "I'll change it after this mission starts" can turn into waiting considerably longer than expected for a convenient stopping point.
If you eventually want full aircraft control, it's also worth getting comfortable with Expert Controls rather than staying permanently on the more assisted control option. Expert Controls separate rolling and pitching more directly and give you much greater freedom for the maneuvers Ace Combat is built around.
I wouldn't change everything at once just because Expert sounds better. Get comfortable enough to understand what the aircraft is doing, then remove the extra assistance as you start wanting more precise control.
You Don't Need to Overthink Every Yes or No Choice
Ace Combat 8 occasionally asks you to respond to characters during the campaign, including while you're flying.
For the most part, these aren't decisions you need to stop the mission and agonize over. They primarily affect the immediate interaction rather than asking you to optimize some hidden morality system or campaign build.
There is at least one later interaction where your response produces a particularly memorable result, but I wouldn't start save-scumming every conversation trying to discover a secret route.
Spend that attention on the decisions that actually affect the sortie: your aircraft, weapons, squadron setup, and how you're going to approach the targets in front of you.
