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To unlock every Assault Record in Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, collect the campaign’s automatic unit entries, then replay missions on Veteran difficulty or higher to trigger and shoot down the named enemy aces. Guides report 83 entries in total: 52 automatic records and 31 conditional aces. The ace conditions range from timed kills to protecting targets or flying through landmarks; the mission-by-mission list below gives each reported trigger.
What difficulty do you need for Assault Records?
According to guides published September 29, 2026, the 52 automatic unit records can be earned on any difficulty, while the 31 named aces require Veteran, Elite, or Ace difficulty. If you have already completed the campaign on an easier setting, you can replay missions at Veteran or above to pursue the aces. The unlock conditions below are guide-reported rather than official developer documentation, so check the in-game log if behavior changes with an update. PowerPyx and AllThings.How report the difficulty requirements and total.
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How do you unlock automatic records?
Most automatic entries belong to special campaign units and are added as those units appear in missions. Guides identify Lux Lunae units in Missions 3, 8, 11, 18, 20, 25, and 28, as well as the 8th Pastoral Air Wing in Mission 23 and Selene’s unit in Mission 29. The Mission 28 Lux Lunae 22nd Unit is the exception: it depends on a kill in Mission 18, described below. The full pilot names and aircraft are listed in the mission-organized PowerPyx guide.
Where does each enemy ace spawn, and what triggers it?
Use the campaign mission number and title to find the relevant replay. Meet the reported condition, then shoot down the ace when it appears. A trigger that says to destroy targets before a deadline is not complete until the ace itself is also down.
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| Mission | Reported ace | Reported trigger |
|---|---|---|
| 1, “Jokers Wild” | Gigas | Destroy all non-target enemy aircraft. |
| 2, “Nomad” | Crematio | Destroy at least four enemy aircraft within three minutes of mission start. |
| 3, “Purple Magic Takes Flight” | Raia | Destroy all bombers before they reach a certain range of White Valley Base. |
| 4, “The Fall of the Numbered Fleets” | Auster | Fly into the tunnel. |
| 5, “Retaking of Theve” | Custos | Keep all LCACs alive. The name and trigger are reported in a PowerPyx comment, which gives no further detail. |
| 6, “Attack on the Drinwich Airfield” | Flamma | Destroy at least five targets within three minutes of mission start. |
| 7, “A Lifeline in the Desert” | Orcus | Destroy the Land Aegis by chain reaction. |
| 8, “Retaking of Theve II” | Tessera | Destroy all non-target surface weapons. |
| 9, “The Land Battleship Blockade” | Judex | Destroy the land battleship’s secondary tread armor before it reaches the second slowdown line. |
| 10, “Over the Rainband” | Vorago | Destroy an airship within 70 seconds after laser targeting begins. |
| 11, “Maximum Payload” | Larus | Eliminate all Shadows before eliminating the Podarge. |
| 12, “An Island in Darkness” | Imber | Destroy all LCACs within three minutes of takeoff. |
| 13, “The People of the Lost Country” | Sicarius | Destroy at least five radar towers before the transport lands. |
| 15, “Wings of Wax” | Lupus | Destroy one Ladon, then shoot down the ace before destroying the second Ladon. |
| 16, “Singer” | Currus | Appears when UAVs launch; the reported location varies with the third ship’s location. |
| 17, “Land Battleship No. 3” | Avus | Destroy all targets before the B-1B reaches the halfway point. A commenter reports the ace appeared after bombers bombed the turret on Veteran; the comment identifies an F-4E. |
| 18, “Moonlight and Shadows” | Curis | Destroy Shadow 24. At checkpoint 18-4, Curis is reported south of the launch pad. |
| 19, “Clearing the Lighthouse” | Aleator | Destroy all Su-47s. |
| 20, “Escort Orbiter” | Periodus | Destroy at least one B-2. |
| 21, “The Star-Bound Bird” | Alienus | Sink all enemy ships. |
| 22, “Pursuing the HSCA” | Caligo | Approach the Celaeno without being spotted. |
| 23, “The Destruction of Expo City” | Milvus and Cantrix | Destroy all Lux Lunae ace units within three minutes of their appearance. Both can spawn in the same run, according to the guide. |
| 24, “The Battle of Rocky Island, Day 1” | Name and aircraft not identified | Allow all LCACs to reach land. |
| 25, “The Battle of Rocky Island, Day 2” | Cinis | Destroy all land destroyers and the Land Aegis. |
| 25, “The Battle of Rocky Island, Day 2” | Silacrum | Fly between the floating Podarges and the ocean surface. |
| 26, “Crossing Fleets” | Lucidius | Destroy all enemy surface units on Cima Island. |
| 27, “Fatsia, The Ocean Fortress” | Stiria | Fly through gaps in the Megafloat spokes. |
| 28, “A Thousand Points of Light” | Harmonius | Destroy five bombers within five minutes of mission start. |
| 29, “Selene” | Prudens | Fly under an urban highway bridge. |
| 30, “Song of Wings” | Tegimen | Destroy at least three submarine-launched swarm missile dispensers before missiles are released. |
How do you unlock the Mission 28 Lux Lunae 22nd Unit?
Destroy Shadow 24 during Mission 18, “Moonlight and Shadows” (Operation Branching Path). PowerPyx reports that Curis appears at checkpoint 18-4, south of the launch pad, after Shadow 24 is destroyed. That Mission 18 kill also enables the Lux Lunae 22nd Unit record in Mission 28, “A Thousand Points of Light” (Operation Locust Purge). Do not leave Shadow 24 alive if you want the Mission 28 entry.
What rewards do Assault Records give, and how do you check completion?
AllThings.How reports that shooting down a named ace adds its entry and unlocks a paint scheme for that ace’s aircraft type, usable in campaign mode. Its guide says the complete 83-entry log awards the gold trophy “A Record of Rivalry.” Check the Assault Records log for all entries, then check aircraft customization to see whether the earned schemes are selectable. The guides report 83 as the complete-log count; the visible names in mission lists do not independently establish that count.
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Which game mode does this guide cover?
These records concern the campaign in Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Bandai Namco distinguishes Campaign Mode from ACE COMBAT ONLINE, which uses separate save data and progression; online rewards such as ACE PASS rewards are not campaign Assault Records. See Bandai Namco Europe’s game overview for the mode distinction.
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