Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Trophy Guide & Road Map

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Trophy Guide

Overview:

Estimated Difficulty: 6 or 7.
Approximate time to platinum: 70-100 hours (depending on skill) (There is a trophy which demands 50 hours of online play).
Trophy Breakdown: 51 (38

)
Offline: 39 (including platinum)
Online: 12
Minimum number of playthroughs required: 2 (Campaign mode (Elite) & Free Mission mode).
Any Missable trophies?: No. You can use free mission mode to go back and get mission specific trophies without compromising your game progress.
Does Difficulty Affect Trophies: No
Glitched Trophies: None

Special Thanks:

Special thanks goes to Sherbanator, Shika & Strigon. Without their help and advice this guide would not have been made.

Introduction:

Ace Combat sees you take the role of several pilots involved with a peace keeping force in Africa, however the operation takes a dramatic turn upon the discovery of a powerful experimental weapon. When a renegade Russian squadron steals the weapon and threatens to use it against the United States and Russia, the world is on the brink of a new global conflict.

The game itself is a very good game, missions are long and tend to have a ‘twist’ in them, meaning no one mission is too similar and a variety of objectives help keep the game interesting. The player is not only tied to jets this time around, but also a helicopter pilot, a gunner and even an AC Gunship targeting officer.

Trophy-wise, this is a pretty good list; it’s got a lot of easy trophies but it also has a few that you have to work for and only one trophy which is an unfair grind. Everything is doable so long as you put in the time and effort to practice. In terms of getting the online trophies, if you have some friends and mics, chances are you’ll find it a most enjoyable experience too.

Road Map:

Because the game allows you to get trophies in Free Mission mode you can relax whilst playing this, if you miss a trophy it’s not the end of the world as you can simply select the mission again via the free mission list whenever you feel like it, as well as adjust the difficulty to make it a bit easier.

With that in mind, the Road Map is going to be a little easy on you since you can pretty much pick and choose which trophies you want to unlock so long as you beat the campaign, because you will need to beat all the missions again in Free Mission mode to unlock the Ace of Aces trophy anyway.

Step 1: Beat the campaign mode (ideally on Elite). You’ll find that almost every campaign-related trophy will unlock naturally anyway. You need to beat campaign on Elite to unlock Ace difficulty.

Some players may find Elite difficulty a challenge - even veterans to the Ace Combat series - due to the new gameplay modes that have been added. If your intention is to simply platinum the game as quickly as possible, just start the game on Elite, but if you want to enjoy the game, I would consider starting on Normal difficulty and then doing another campaign on Elite.

Once you beat the campaign you should have all story mode trophies and a good chunk of the mission specific trophies as well as some of the more miscellaneous trophies. Upon beating the campaign mode you will have unlocked the PAK-FA and all other aircraft. This will allow you to go for The Collector and Calamity.

Step 2: Co-Op: The only trophies related to co-op are Warwolf Squadron, Formation Attack and Welcome to Mission Co-Op. So long as you have 3 people in your team you should be able to get Formation Attack very quickly in the first stage and then the other two are just story related.

Be aware, the final mission on Co-op can take a very long time to beat. Make sure your partners have the time to invest into it.

Whilst the Co-Op can be undertaken at any time, I strongly advise that you take it on before you go for the Ace of Aces trophy. The reason being is that getting A ranks in various Co-Op missions reward you with advanced skills/perks which make the Ace of Aces trophy a lot easier. Specifically you’re looking to get “Extra armor” skill.

Head here if you need a co-op buddy: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/ace...op-thread.html

Step 3: The Ace of Aces: This trophy requires you to beat free mission mode and get an A ranking on each stage. This isn’t as bad as it sounds so long as you prepare well for it. It will take some time and a few attempts, but you can get this so long as you’re patient and practice.

Follow the advice given in this guide as well as the hints and tips that various other users have submitted in this topic: What we know about getting A ranks on free missions

Step 4: Offline Cleanup: This step is optional, it’s only there if you don’t fancy attempting the online trophies just yet or if you still need to get any offline trophy. Do not worry about getting The Collector until you are ready to head online.

Step 4.5: Quit the game and go to your PS3’s main menu. Select the save file for Ace combat and go to ‘Information.’ You should now see a line that says “Flight Time” - this is the total length of time that you have spent in an aircraft in the game (not at menus). Take a note of the time... now add 50 hours to it, you will now know how far you are away from platinum.

Also be aware, you will need to factor in the time you spent doing Co-Op missions as that time contributes to the 50 hours online.

There is no option either in game or via the Ace Combat website to check how long you have spent online, this is the only way of doing it. The flight time on your PS3 logs all game play time, not just the online. Hence why it’s a good idea to take note before you start going online so you have an idea as to how long you have left/to go.

Step 5: Online trophies: Do not worry about Veteran Pilot just yet, so long as you are connected and in a game online it contributes to that trophy.

All online trophies can be boosted, but the ones I would strongly advise you to boost would be Nice Assist & Nice Save. You need 3 people for these so please use this thread to find a partner: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/ace...op-thread.html

Once you unlock all the online trophies (exception being Veteran Pilot), it’s time to focus on the worst trophy in the entire list.

Step 6: Veteran Pilot: Play the online mode for 50 hours. If you checked your time stamp on your save file previously... go see what it is now, this should give you an idea as to how much you have left to go.

If you’ve not grown to hate the online yet, then just pick various modes and play them, set yourself goals, or go try to unlock various plane skins. Just something to keep you entertained for a while. If you do indeed enjoy the online. Just play it, and in 50 hours time you’ll have your trophy and platinum.

If you do not want to play for 50 hours, see the trophy guide for a more efficient solution.

IMPORTANT NOTE!: DO NOT DELETE YOUR SAVE FILE! Namco games are quite notorious for doing this. Whilst the leader boards display your rank/points etc, the data is held on your local save file, if you delete your save file and then attempt to play online again, the game will NOT download your stats/data, it will remain on the leader boards until you work your way back to that point and exceed it. Deleting your save file means you lose ALL your online progress including the flight time, meaning you have no choice but to start again from scratch. That has not been tested, but it is something that’s quite common in most Namco titles, do not take the risk.

[PS3T Would Like to Thank King_Ubu for this Roadmap]

Bail Out

Ejected from a damaged aircraft.
(2)
Story related, cannot be missed.
Guns Guns Guns

Destroyed 5 hostile vehicles from the air as the door gunner.
(2)
Story related, cannot be missed.
Fire Hazard

Removed enemy presence from the oil field and the base.
(3)
Story related, cannot be missed.
Life Saver

Rescued Major Illich from enemy captivity.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Fearsome Guardian

Protected your allies using the gunship, and led a successful attack on the base.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Emergency

Attempted an emergency landing in a damaged aircraft.
(1)
Story related, cannot be missed.
Total Annihilation

Disintegrated enemy bombers in mid-air, keeping damage to the city to a minimum.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Steel Hunter

Eliminated enemy threat from the Suez Canal.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Defender of World Heritage

Prevented enemy from using Trinity to destroy Derbent.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Hot Pit

Successfully took off to protect allies amid heavy hostile fire.
Story related, cannot be missed.
One Million Tons of Scrap Metal

Sank the enemy fleet and saved the Russian Prime Minister.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Nick of Time

Destroyed the ICBMs.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Berserker

Destroyed the air defense system, opening the way for allied pilots.
(1)
Story related, cannot be missed.
Warwolf 1

Cleared all missions.
Beat the game on any difficulty.
Critical Hit

Took down a hostile fighter with a charged homing missile.
(1)
This will most likely be the first trophy you get. When you learn about DFM mode in the tutorial, wait until the target circle is red before you fire your missile - if the enemy plane blows up, trophy will pop.
Successive Kill

Took down 3 hostiles in a row with an assault chain.
See Chain Master.
Hard Strike

Wiped out hostile ground forces with ASM.
ASM is basically the ground attack version of DFM. Chances are this trophy will pop up during the mission pipeline. When you enter ASM (the game explains how) you need to take out all the targets, this is done very easily by flying slowly and using only your machine gun. In ASM the machine gun does not over-heat. Only use air to ground missiles if you are desperate.
Eagle Eye

Successfully focused on 3 targets.
During various missions will appear on the screen, press it to focus on a target/point of interest. Doing this 3 times will make the trophy pop.

Thanks to HellSpawn137 for the heads up on that one.
Stay On Target

Obtained and destroyed 10 enemies in a helicopter.
You should get this during the first helicopter mission. To focus on an enemy hold down the button so the camera zooms in on the target, you will need to kill the enemy too.
Diverse Strikes

Defeated hostiles with all 3 of the gunship's weapons.
You should get this during the mission ‘Spooky.’ Press the button to cycle through the weapons and use each one to kill an enemy unit.
Gun Master

Took out a large number of hostiles as the door gunner.
(6)
This should come during the credit intro sequence. When you are the door gunner (on the side of the helicopter) just kill every enemy unit you can see. It should pop very quickly.
Shot Master

Took down 5 hostiles with a direct shot.
Chances are you’ll get this either the first or the second time you pilot a jet. The best planes to do this with are ones which appear as green on your radar, you need to take them out with one shot/a fully charged up shot in DFM. To do this, lock onto a plane and enter DFM mode, wait until the circle turns red then fire your missile.

For faster results, switch to quick manoeuvre missiles as they do more damage and put the difficulty to rookie.
Pursuit Master

Successfully pursued 3 enemies with counter maneuvers.
This can be tricky as it’s not an easy move to pull off by when you first start the game. When you follow an enemy in DFM, a red arrow might appear on their aircraft, when that happens, you need to press + at the same time followed by the button.

To get it over with quickly, keep repeating the mission “Inferno” this is where you are given the tutorial to do this move and the game will freeze at the moment you have to do it. Repeat until the trophy pops.
Switch Master

Successfully switched from defense to offense 10 times with counter maneuvers.
When an enemy plane performs DFM on you, you’ll see a green and red icon on the screen, you need to slow your plane down and tilt your wings until they line up, when that happens hold + and you’ll perform a counter move.

This is move is taught in the tutorial mission (Nightmare) but you will certainly get this as you progress through the story.
Checking In

Flew through the big hotel's gates.
(3)
This can only be done during the campaign or free mission mode. On the mission "Power Play" the moment the level starts to turn left and head towards the island which looks like a giant palm tree (The Palm Islands), at the very top of this island is a building which has a giant archway. Fly through the archway to get your trophy.

In real life this hotel is called “The Atlantis Hotel.” Google image it if you are unsure as to what you are looking for.
Limbo

Flew beneath a falling chimney.
You should get this during the mission "Inferno," however it might be missable depending on your actions. What happens is that you have to enter DFM on one of the red targets and remained locked on so that the plane takes you through one of the games cinematic sequences in the oil refinery. At one point there’s an explosion and a chimney begins to fall, your plane will automatically fly under it. When this happens the trophy will pop.

Unfortunately there is no way to tell which plane is the right one, it’s best to enter DFM mode on all red targets in this level and remain locked on until you are sure there will be no chase sequence.

Often in these modes, the plane in question cannot be destroyed until the sequence ends.
Speed Demon

Destroyed all radar missile defense systems in a short period of time.
(7)
This is done on the second helicopter mission (Motherland), it cannot be done on Co-op. Unfortunately this trophy is not very specific as to when the timer starts, but it’s been narrowed down to two possible locations.

1: At one point in the mission you are told to head to below building height and instructed to go after radar convoys. As this is the first point where you are specifically ordered to destroy the radar missile defence systems.

2: The attack on the Kremlin. Reason being is that this is the specific moment in the game where your co-pilot actually says that if you destroy the radar vans you’ll disrupt the enemy’s communications.

Unfortunately the trophy doesn’t pop until the end of the stage; it’s therefore advised that you attempt to beat the mission as quickly as possible the moment you are instructed to fly below building height.

For more information see this topic: Speed Demon trophy
Machine Gun Faithful

Destroyed an enemy aircraft using only the standard machine gun while piloting an aircraft.
When you enter DFM, just use your machine gun to destroy an enemy plane, there is a moment in the tutorial where you are shown how to do this, it should pop up then so long as you use the machine gun.
Smooth Flight

Managed to get Sova 1 to land safely.
(1)
During the mission “Siege” you have to defend a bunch of cargo planes that are trying to land whilst under fire from enemy aircraft. One of the planes has the call sign “Sova 1” this plane absolutely must land safely, if it gets shot down or blow up as it lands then the trophy will fail (but the mission will not).

The higher the difficulty level, the more damage enemy missiles do. So do this on lower difficulties to prevent Sova 1 from being destroyed, if you don’t get it on your first try, consider picking a plane that has quick air to air missiles.
Bomber Master

Defeated a large number of enemies while flying a bomber.
(5)
This can only be done on the mission “Launch.” This is the mission where one half you are flying the bomber, the other a jet. When you are the bomber, you need to target and destroy as many ground targets as possible.

Unfortunately there are not enough targets in this mission to get the trophy in one attempt; you have to replay the mission several times in order for it to pop. Furthermore, whilst the trophy will pop up the moment you destroy the last target required, the exact number is unknown and it’s not known if you have to actually beat the mission for the targets you have destroyed to count.

It’s also unclear as to if restarting from a checkpoint will not erase the targets you had previously destroyed. Therefore it’s best to do this in free mission mode on rookie difficulty and finish the mission, then repeat it until the trophy pops.
Chain Master

Took down 5 hostiles in a row with an assault chain.
(10)
This trophy CANNOT be done in multiplayer. This is without question one of the hardest trophies in the game, but there are a few missions that you can get it with a bit of luck and patience. An assault chain is when you have an enemy plane in DFM and you destroy them, instead of the game going to the slow motion sequence, it then automatically locks onto another plane which is nearby.

However the one mission which seems to generate the most success is “Blue on Blue.” Select it from the free mission menu and set the difficulty to Rookie. Then pick the F-22 and make sure you have skills such as advanced machine gun/missiles and DFM enhancers etc.

After you abort the landing sequence at the start, head to the waypoint and lock onto the first red target. Enter DFM and just wait. Eventually a second plane will fly into view, at this point fire your missiles and machine guns, it should then lock onto the second plane... again... just keep it locked on and wait... a third plane should then appear. Destroy the one you have locked on (in DFM) and it should auto lock onto the next.

Be aware, that when the second wave of reds appear, they will try to get you into DFM, if this happens it will break your chain, if you still can’t get it due to enemy planes locking on, try doing it with a plane that has the ECM special weapon, this will prevent enemy planes from locking onto you.

See this topic for more information and advice on this trophy: How I got Chain Master!

This video shows you what should be what happens when you go for chain master.
Nice Kill

Shot down a large number of hostile players in competitive online.
This can be boosted. You have to shoot down 50 enemy players online. Outside of boosting there are a number of ways to do it, but it will most likely come as you try to get your 50 hours.

One method which works well is to pick a helicopter armed with anti air missiles, sit behind your own base in capital conquest mode, then just wait for enemy planes to begin their bombing run. Your helicopter will lock onto the planes so just fire your missiles, so long as they don’t break out of their bombing run, chances are you’ll shoot them down.

To find boosting partners, head here: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/ace-combat-assault-horizon/128584-trophy-boosting-co-op-thread-read-first-post.html
Nice Assist

Used DFM support or ASM support to join a flight member.
This can be boosted.

The easiest way to get this is to play Capital Conquest. When a plane is preparing to bomb the base, if he pushes he can request support, you'll notice the words ASM Support appear at the bottom of your screen. Press the indicated button and you'll join that player in the bombing run so long as you are close to him, once you do this the trophy will pop.
Nice Save

Saved an ally being targeted by hostile players in DFM in competitive online.
This can take a long time to get outside of boosting, so I strongly advise you to boost it.

When an enemy has someone from your team in DFM, you need to lock onto that enemy, enter DFM yourself, and then kill that enemy before they destroy the person that they had in DFM.

To boost it, have someone from your team fly in a straight line, then have someone on the enemy team lock onto them and enter DFM, then you need to lock onto them, enter DFM and shoot them down. Trophy should pop up shortly after the kill.
Veteran Pilot

Sortied for 50 hours in competitive online or mission co-op.
(7)
This grind is horrible. The 50 hours is time spent in online games flying around, not waiting at menus or in a lobby.

First of all, a few things you should know.

On your PS3’s XMB menu, go to your save file and look at the Ace Combat saved data, when selected you will see the line “Flight time” this is a total log of all the time you have spent playing Ace Combat (actually flying around, not just sat at menus). However, it is a record of both offline and online time. So take note of what you are at before you attempt the 50 hours.

Play the co-op missions, this will get you the co-op trophy as well as knock up time.

Go for the other online trophies. Then it’s up to you. If you enjoy the online, just play normally.

Otherwise, find a boosting partner, select a death match with just private slots, turn off computer bots and put the time limit as 30 min. Pick helicopters... Then just sit there and do nothing.

Do not worry if you ever get a D/C as the game will still record your time up to the moment you lost your connection.

Also... this trophy will pop the moment you hit 50 hours online whilst you are playing the game, you don't have to wait until you get to the results screen.

Find a partner here: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/ace-combat-assault-horizon/128584-trophy-boosting-co-op-thread-read-first-post.html
Warwolf Squadron

Cleared all levels in mission co-op.
(4)
This is exceptionally easy, just beat every co-op mission, doesn’t matter what grade you get at the end, so long as you beat them all the trophy will pop.

Find a partner here: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/ace-combat-assault-horizon/128584-trophy-boosting-co-op-thread-read-first-post.html
Formation Attack

Joined the same DFM with two others and shot down a hostile (mission co-op).
You need 2 partners to do this. Either use the DFM support option to get everybody involved, or agree to target a specific enemy. E.g. the last red in the first wave. You will know when you are all targeting the same enemy as you’ll see your own target circle as well as two blue ones. It doesn’t matter who gets the kill, the trophy will pop for everyone.

Find a partner here: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/ace-combat-assault-horizon/128584-trophy-boosting-co-op-thread-read-first-post.html
The Collector

Piloted all aircraft in the game.
(2)
You need to beat the game in order for all the planes to unlock. Then you can either select them via free mission, or by online. I advise doing it in online as it’ll help with the 50 hour trophy. Please be aware that you cannot select every plane in normal campaign mode, it can only be done after you beat it either by free mission or online.

Or if you just want the trophy, "You can add that simply going to free mission, starting a mission with a plane, and then immediately quitting still counts as flying it, however it will not add it in the aircraft viewer section" --- Shika

The most common planes that people forget about are the two bombers, the Hind and the PAK-FA.
Welcome to Mission Co-Op

Cleared 1 level in mission co-op.
See Warwolf Squadron.
Aerial Sniper

Used DFM to destroy 10 airborne enemies in competitive online.
This can be boosted. Either do it normally, lock onto an enemy player and kill them when in DFM, or find a boosting partner and take it in turns. https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/ace-combat-assault-horizon/128584-trophy-boosting-co-op-thread-read-first-post.html
Ground Pounder

Used ASM to destroy 30 ground enemies in competitive online.
This can be boosted. You need to play in either Capital Conquest or Domination and you need to be in either a multirole jet or an attacker. When you see a ground attack path open up you need to enter it (via pressing + ). Then destroy any ground target when flying in ASM. You can use air to ground missiles/attacks which will help.

Note: Any ground targets that appear in the ground attack route will contribute to the trophy; it’s not just the HQ bases.

Find help here: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/ace-combat-assault-horizon/128584-trophy-boosting-co-op-thread-read-first-post.html
Interceptor

Used an attack helicopter and destroyed 10 missiles or bombs in competitive online.
This can be boosted. Outside of boosting, the best way to get this is to pick the helicopter, enter Capital Conquest and then sit behind your own base. When the enemy planes start their attack run, use the machine gun to take out their missiles. Or just fly around the map and try to take out missiles.

If you want to boost, both players pick helicopters, and take it in turns to take out one another rocket pod attack.
World Tour

Played on all maps in competitive online.
(3)
Can be boosted. A lot of people have problems getting this to unlock, reason being is that you have to be very specific with what you do.

You need to play on all maps in every online mode... from the start of the game to the very end, you can’t just join a game and then stay to the end, nor can you join a game and then exit immediately.

To make sure you get it, start your own lobby then when the game ends, change the map then start a new game. Do this with every map on that game type, then change the game type.
Ace of Aces

Obtained an A rank for every mission (free mission).
(6)
Getting an A rank for the Free Missions is not as bad as it sounds, but you do need to plan ahead for it.

First of all: beat the game on Elite mode. This will unlock the Ace difficulty, this is almost a requirement for getting A ranks on some missions.

Secondly: Unlock the “Multirole Pilot” skill (get an A rank on All the Multirole missions when flying a multirole plane). This skill gives you more points when you fly a multi-role aircraft in the free missions, thus making getting A ranks easier. Try using the PAK-FA, use machine guns for all the bombing runs, only use the trinity missile on the castle in pipeline and on the last ground cluster of enemies in Siege. On Elite this should get you an A rank, on Ace it will pretty much guarantee it.

Thirdly: Complete the Co-op missions and get as many A ranks as possible, getting A ranks on these missions unlock the “Skill +” abilities, which are vastly superior to the normal skills.

Fourthly: The following skills will aid you greatly in getting A ranks. Make sure you set them to your skill set before you attempt a mission.

Multirole/Fighter/Helicopter/Attacker Pilot (depends on what plane/mission you intend to do)
Enhanced MG
Enhanced Missiles
Enhanced DFM
Quick Assault
Double Assault
Extra Armor

Consider: beating every free mission regardless of rank, this unlocks the Ace Pilot difficulty which will give you bonus points for any plane you fly.

Getting A ranks depends on how well you perform in the mission, such as machine gun only kills, the speed you beat the mission, how many hits you too and if you were able to chain enemies in DFM mode.

Each mission has different approaches, but almost every mission will need to be done on Elite or Ace difficulty in order to get an A rank.

For specific advice on the missions, this topic should help: What we know about getting A ranks on free missions

And one final note for this. You do not need to get A Ranks in Co-Op missions for this trophy. Only Free Missions.
All Rounder

Obtained all MVPs.
(7)
This can be boosted. There are 4 MVPs in the game;

Hero: Get the final shot on an enemy base in Capital Conquest.
Ace Pilot: Get the most kills on enemy players.
Ace Striker: Get the most kills on ground targets.
Survivor: Stay alive for the longest period of time.

Outside of boosting it depends a lot on skill and luck. Survivor isn’t too bad, pick a stealth aircraft and then fly directly up... then just fly around the map for the whole game.

To boost this quickly, set up a 30 min Capital Conquest game, let one player take out all the initial red targets which opens up the way to the enemy base. Have the other player crash and get shot down by the person going for the MVP’s. Provided the person going for the MVP’s doesn’t get shot down, or the second player doesn’t attack any ground units. Then one player can get all 4 MVP’s in one game.

Sierra Hotel

Obtained all Trophies.
(2)
Collect all other trophies to unlock. Good hunting.
Side note: Sierra Hotel is military slang for “You’re/That was awesome!”
Patriot

Protected Moscow from destruction, freeing it from enemy control.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Friendly Fire

Alleviated the attack on Miami and helped Guts bail out.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Category 5

Pursued the enemy and shot down Major Illich.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Guardian

Protected Washington D.C. from the threat of Trinity, and returned alive.
Story related, cannot be missed.
Calamity

Used Trinity to wipe out the enemy (free mission).
You need to complete the game to do this. Once you have beaten the game you will unlock the PAK-FA plane. Once the plane is unlocked select any free mission (Pipeline is a good mission to do this on). Select the PAK-FA and then pick the weapon ‘EW1’ this is the trinity missile.

The trinity missile will only lock onto ground targets, it’s very hard (though not impossible) to hit air targets. So long as the missile destroys any enemy target the trophy should pop.

You can die in the explosion so be careful when using it, as can allied aircraft.