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Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve · Missions · 4 Nov 2026

Ace Combat 8 missions: all 30, and how many players finish each

Ace Combat 8 has a prologue and 30 missions, and 58% of PC players have finished the campaign. Every mission in order with the share who have cleared it, the two players find hardest, Wings of Wax and A Thousand Points of Light, and how they beat them.

How long players take

Hours

  1. The campaignAbout 19 hours
  2. Campaign and side contentAbout 25 hours
  3. EverythingAbout 44 hours

Averages of the runs players have logged: 104 campaign runs, 34 with side content and 5 completed.5

SpoilersMission titles below name story moments.

Every mission, and how many players clear it

Ace Combat 8 missions, in order

Share of PC players

  1. Prologue: Wings of Theve95%
  2. 01 Jokers Wild93%
  3. 02 Nomad89%
  4. 03 Purple Magic Takes Flight85%
  5. 04 The Fall of the Numbered Fleets83%
  6. 05 Retaking of Theve80%
  7. 06 Attack on the Drinwich Airfield78%
  8. 07 A Lifeline in the Desert77%
  9. 08 Retaking of Theve II75%
  10. 09 The Land Battleship Blockade73%
  11. 10 Over the Rainband72%
  12. 11 Maximum Payload71%
  13. 12 An Island in Darkness71%
  14. 13 The People of the Lost Country70%
  15. 14 Two on the Run69%
  16. 15 Wings of WaxA big difficulty spike68%
  17. 16 Singer68%
  18. 17 Land Battleship No. 367%
  19. 18 Moonlight and Shadows66%
  20. 19 Clearing the Lighthouse66%
  21. 20 Escort Orbiter65%
  22. 21 The Star-Bound Bird64%
  23. 22 Pursuing the HSCA64%
  24. 23 The Destruction of Expo City63%
  25. 24 The Battle of Rocky Island, Day 162%
  26. 25 The Battle of Rocky Island, Day 261%
  27. 26 Crossing Fleets60%
  28. 27 Fatsia, the Ocean Fortress59%
  29. 28 A Thousand Points of LightThe hardest S rank59%
  30. 29 Selene58%
  31. 30 Song of Wings58%
The share of everyone who owns the game on PC who has unlocked the matching achievement, read on 6 November 2026. It counts people who have barely played, so the first bar is never 100%.

Mission titles as players list them.12

Players drop off steadily rather than at one wall: about 10 points between the prologue and Mission 03, then about a point a mission from there to the end.1 5.4% have finished the campaign on Ace, the hardest difficulty.1

Mission 15: Wings of Wax

Two fast bombers jam your lock-ons, hide in cloud, fire swarms of missiles and drones, and bomb the fleet you’re defending.3

  1. Hit only the engines. Ignore the rest of each bomber.
  2. Damage both bombers evenly. Take an engine off each before finishing either, so the second goes down seconds after the first and you skip the harder second phase.
  3. Fly where they’re going. Cut them off on an intercept course instead of chasing, and use the gun as well as missiles.
  4. Bring something fast. Players beat it with the MiG-31, the F-15, the Growler and the F-18E, with QAAMs, HPAA or SASMs.3

Mission 28: A Thousand Points of Light

Players call it the hardest S rank in the game: dozens of bombers to stop, then the Shadow squadron at the end.4

  1. Start on the bombers. Clear the Tu-95s first. A direct hit on the leading bomber often makes the ones behind it collide.
  2. Rearm often. Players land three or four times, and always before the Shadows arrive.
  3. Save your best weapons for the Shadows. The F/A-36 with upgraded SASMs is the usual pick, with electronic-warfare wingmen. Shooting the Shadows down fast earns a big time bonus.4

More Ace Combat 8 guides

See the mods players use, what players say about the game and how players weigh it against Ace Combat 7.

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Sources

  1. 1Steam Community: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve achievements, with the share of players who have each (opens in a new tab) Accessed 4 Nov 2026
  2. 2Reddit, r/acecombat: All 30 Ace Combat 8 missions ranked, 12 October 2026 (opens in a new tab) Accessed 4 Nov 2026
  3. 3Reddit, r/acecombat: About Mission 15..., 1 October 2026 (opens in a new tab) Accessed 4 Nov 2026
  4. 4Reddit, r/acecombat: Mission 28 ACE difficulty S-rank made easy(-ish), 17 October 2026 (opens in a new tab) Accessed 4 Nov 2026
  5. 5HowLongToBeat: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, player-submitted times (opens in a new tab) Accessed 4 Nov 2026

More research

Guide · 4 Nov 2026Best Ace Combat 8 mods: the ones players endorse mostThe All in One Cheat Menu is the Ace Combat 8 mod players endorse most, and the AC8 Mod Launcher runs most of the rest. The top mods by endorsements, from missile guidance to new aircraft, and how mods work with the game’s anti-cheat.Reception Index · October 2026The Reception Index: October 2026How players received 14 October launches, from Final Fantasy Resonance, which 96% of reviews recommend, to AION 2, at 55%. Whether they recommend each game, how that changed after launch, and what they praise and criticise.
Comparison · Updated dailyAce Combat 8 vs Ace Combat 7Ace Combat 8 arrived seven years after Ace Combat 7, with a longer campaign and heavier planes. Players rate both highly, and most who finish 8 rank its story above 7’s.Launch tracker · Day 30Ace Combat 8: Wings of TheveAce Combat 8 opened to Deluxe Edition buyers three days before its 2 October launch. We track how players react in early access and at Day 1, 7 and 30.
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