Ace Combat 8 Missions
The campaign has 30 numbered missions after a prologue of about 20 minutes. A first playthrough takes most people 13 to 20 hours; a single mission runs from 10 minutes to about 40. Below are the missions named so far, in order, with the rest added as they are confirmed. You fly them as Joker 1 of Joker Flight; the characters page introduces the squadron.
| No. | Mission | Operation | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prologue | Wings of Theve | — | Straits of Adea |
| 01 | Jokers Wild | Operation Seabird | San Salvacion North Coast |
| 02 | Nomad | Attack at Deltheim Port | Deltheim Port |
| 03 | Purple Magic Takes Flight | Operation Frostwave | White Valley Base |
| 04 | The Fall of the Numbered Fleets | Operation Elder Hand | Newfield Island |
| 05 | Retaking of Theve | Operation Long Shot | FCU Capital: Theve |
| 09 | The Land Battleship Blockade | Operation Ogre Pitfall | FCU Capital: Theve |
| 11 | Maximum Payload | Operation Gaffed Card | Off Rocky Island |
7 of 30 numbered missions named here.
How long is the campaign?
Most reviewers landed between 13 and 20 hours for a first run; the longest estimates reach 25 to 30. A player who knows the missions and skips cutscenes can finish in about 7. The opening is slow: expect roughly 45 minutes from booting the game to the end of the first mission, much of it cutscenes.
Kinds of mission
- Annihilation: reach a target score inside a time limit, often 15 minutes, against a fixed set of targets.
- Escort and defend: keep a friendly unit alive for a set time; target priority matters more than kills.
- Superweapon fights: the Land Battleship with its railgun, fought in stages, and missions built around the orbital Tonitrus Spear.
- Low and slow: at least one mission puts you in a plane not built for combat, flying low to stay off radar.
After a mission is cleared you can replay it for MRP and, on some maps, fly it freely. Which jets you may take depends on whether it launches from the carrier, explained on the Aircraft Tree page.
| Playthrough | Hours |
|---|---|
| Fast replay, cutscenes skipped | about 7 |
| First playthrough, most reviewers | 13 to 20 |
| Longest estimates | 25 to 30 |
Ace difficulty and S ranks
Beyond the four settings on the difficulty page, the campaign has an Ace difficulty: achievements exist for finishing the campaign on Ace and for an S rank on every mission there, free missions included. How Ace is unlocked will be added here once it is confirmed.
Searching for Mission 15?
Most results for that search are about Ace Combat 7's Mission 15. This game's Mission 15 will be listed in the table above once it is confirmed.