IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey Trophy Guide & Road Map

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey Trophy Guide

Overview:

Estimated trophy difficulty: 8/10 (Difficulty Thread)
Total Trophies: 51 [ 1 | 2 | 7 | 41 ]
Offline: 36 [ 2 | 3 | 31 ]
Online: 14 [ 4 | 10 ]
Approximate amount of time to platinum: 35 - 50 hours
Minimum number of playthroughs: 1
Number of missable trophies: 0 (chapter select)
Glitched trophies: 1 (see Weapon Collector)
Does difficulty affect trophies?: Yes
Do trophies stack?: Yes
Do cheat codes disable trophies?: No cheats available

Introduction:

Welcome to IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, one of the best World War II flight simulators available on the PS3. You take the role of a pilot in the European theatre where you must engage in intense dogfights high above the sky, destroy enemy ships out at sea, and dive down into the heart of the action and bomb enemy tanks and flak cannons. IL-2 Sturmovik's trophy list has a good mix of singleplayer and multiplayer related trophies, the former being the most difficult and the latter being the most time consuming. Boosting is highly recommended if you want to achieve the platinum due to an increasingly small player pool with ace pilots patrolling the online skies. Trophies aside, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is a very enjoyable game worth playing, especially if you fancy WWII flying games.

Walkthrough:

Step 1: Completing the campaign on Simulator Difficulty and Single Missions

Before you can jump into the campaign you must first complete Primary Training. Upon completion of Primary Training you’ll receive the First step, Born to be ace, and Fresh forces trophies as well as unlock the Tutorials which unlock the Realistic and Simulator difficulties. You can choose to complete the campaign on lower difficulties if you’re more comfortable, however the campaign is fairly lengthy and Simulator actually won’t prove to be very difficult if you follow the tips for the Elite flight club member trophy. During your playthrough of the campaign you’ll unlock the chapter related trophies as well as few miscellaneous trophies such as Eagle eye, To hit a bull’s eye, and Clear sky. There are also a few mission specific trophies to look out for during the campaign like Real feelings, Loyal partner, and Side mission however you can come back to them later during cleanup if you wish.

With the campaign finished, start working on the single missions to complete the encyclopedia and earn the Well-read pilot trophy as well as the Always ready to attack, Always ready to cover, and Always ready to fight trophies for completing all single missions with the “ground attack”, “need cover”, and “fighter” tags. All of the single missions can be completed on Arcade difficulty which makes them a breeze. Once you’ve completed the campaign and all single missions you’ll have the majority of aircraft unlocked, so it’s time to tackle the lengthy online portion.

Trophies you will unlock after completing this step:
First step
Fresh forces
Real aviator
Real experience
Master of acrobatic flight
Born to be ace
To hit the bull’s eye
Royal Navy’s Friend
Invulnerable pilot
Real feelings
Good partner
Side mission
Eagle eye
Perfect defense
Clear sky
Threat from the air
Well-read pilot
Always ready to attack
Always ready to cover
Always ready to fight
Defender of Britain
Defender of Stalingrad
Liberator of Sicily
Liberator of Korsun
Defender of the Ardennes
Liberator of Berlin
Hero of the World
Flight club rookie
Elite flight club rookie
Be ready!
Flight club member
Elite flight club member

Step 2: Weapon collector and Bird fan online trophies

Note: The consensus is that almost all of the online trophies must be boosted if you plan on getting the platinum due to few online players, the majority of which are ace pilots.

The first trophies that you should focus on upon starting the online portion are the Weapon collector, Bird fan, and Comrade-in-arms trophies. Try to find boosting partners in advance so that you can earn the Comrade-in-arms trophy as soon as possible. While earning unlocks, you’ll earn The Ace of Aces trophy after reaching 100 kills as well as the Immortal pilot trophy if you shoot down 5 players without dying. Be sure to rotate between each arena and win in each to earn the Any sky is home for me trophy. Playing 50 matches for the Honored fighter trophy and winning every game mode once for the Not a rookie anymore trophies will come naturally during the online portion of the game.

For a full comprehensive list of unlocks, visit the Unlock Requirements section of the guide.

Trophies you will unlock after completing this step:
Comrade-in-arms
Immortal pilot
Any sky is home for me
Not a rookie anymore
Honored fighter
The Ace of Aces
Bird fan
Weapon collector

Step 3: Online Win trophies

As you are working towards the Weapon collector and Bird fan trophies, you’ll earn wins towards the Team Battle champion, Dogfight champion, Strike champion, and Capture Airfields champion trophies. The fastest way to get the remaining wins out of the way after earning all of the unlocks is to setup up a match with the lowest possible time limit, take the lead and then let the time run out, then rinse and repeat. Be sure to use the IL-2 during this time to earn the Flying tank trophy and if you haven’t earned the Landing master trophy yet, then make sure to play Capture airfields on Realistic and work on getting a few landings in each game while earning the wins.

Trophies you will unlock after completing this step:
Team Battle champion
Dogfight champion
Strike champion
Capture Airfields champion
Landing master
Flying tank

Step 4: Test Pilot trophy and cleanup

You should be on the home stretch by now, so go to Training and set up a mission with one enemy plane(you don’t actually have to shoot down the enemy plane to complete the mission), then play a training mission with each aircraft until you unlock the Test Pilot and Soviet aircraft expert, Allied aircraft expert, and Axis aircraft expert trophies respectively. Cleanup any mission specific trophies and miscellaneous trophies if you haven’t already. Once everythings complete you’ll earn yourself a shiny new platinum trophy!

Trophies you will unlock after completing this step:
Test Pilot
Soviet aircraft expert
Allied aircraft expert
Axis aircraft expert
Any mission specific trophies and miscellaneous trophies you haven’t earned yet.
Platinum

[PST Would Like to Thank DaFaztFingaz for this Roadmap]

Platinum

Awarded for successfully collecting all trophies from IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
(1)
Self-explanatory.
Hero of the World

Complete the single player campaign.
Complete all of the campaign chapters on any difficulty to earn this trophy. See Elite flight club member for tips.
Flight club rookie

Complete any chapter of the campaign on Realistic.
Difficulty Trophies Stack

Complete all missions in a chapter on Realistic or Simulator to earn this trophy. See Elite flight club member for tips.
Flight club member

Complete the single player campaign on Realistic.
Difficulty Trophies Stack

Complete all chapters in the campaign on Realistic or Simulator to earn this trophy. See Elite flight club member for tips.
Elite flight club rookie

Complete any chapter of the campaign on Simulator.
Complete all missions in a chapter on Simulator to earn this trophy. See Elite flight club member for tips.
Elite flight club member

Complete the single player campaign on Simulator.
Complete all chapters in the campaign on Simulator to earn this trophy.

Tips and Advice:
- Turning aileron and elevator sensitivity to near zero makes Simulator difficulty a LOT easier.
- Use your wingmen to shoot down enemy airplanes whenever possible by pressing
- Practice setting your Trim by pressing without moving the analog sticks when the crosshair is centered on the horizontal line so that your plane flies straight.
- There are no hud indicators to assist you in locating enemy aircraft and ground units, holding will bring up the map which you can use to see enemy positions.
- On Simulator difficulty, you only have two view options: Real Cockpit and Virtual Cockpit. I suggest using the Virtual Cockpit as it gives you a better field of view.
- Press and hold and move the analog stick around for a better view of your surroundings.
- When bombing ground targets it's easier to kamikaze into them and release your bombs just before impact as it's very difficult to determine where your bombs will land without a landing zone indicator.
Born to be ace

Destroy 5 aircraft in one mission.
You will earn this during Primary Training missions. Keep a steady aim when shooting at an enemy plane and use to fine tune your aiming. Fire in bursts and always try to aim ahead of where the target is moving.
To hit the bull's eye

Destroy a ship using bombs.
Using a bomber to earn this trophy is a must since fighter plane bombs are so weak. During the campaign you’ll have multiple opportunities to destroy ships. Once given the opportunity, align your plane so that it flies over the ship’s deck from bow to stern or vice versa for the best accuracy. Maintain a fairly low altitude above the ship, reduce your airspeed to about 50%, and release the bombs when ready. It may take multiple runs to destroy the ship. If you’re flying on Arcade or Realistic difficulty, it’s much easier to destroy ground targets as you’ll have a bomb landing zone indicator to show you where you’re bombs will land.
Be ready!

Unlock all the single missions.
To unlock all single missions you must first complete the campaign on any difficulty, as well as the Battle of Britain Single Mission, Escort.
Test pilot

Complete a training mission with each aircraft.
The Bird fan trophy must be earned before you can attempt this. Once you’ve unlocked all aircraft, go to training and complete a training mission with each aircraft. Set up the game with one enemy plane (you don’t actually have to shoot down the enemy plane to complete the mission), then play a training mission with each aircraft until you unlock the trophy.
Bird fan

Unlock all aircraft.
The majority of aircraft will be unlocked upon completing the campaign and single missions, the rest will have to be earned during online matches.

For a full comprehensive list of unlocks, visit the Unlock Requirements section of the guide.
Weapon collector

Unlock all weapon presets.
This is where you’ll be spending a lot of your time. Weapons can be unlocked in a variety of ways such as destroying a target in a Strike match with X plane, shooting down a certain number a planes with a specific aircraft, capturing airfields, etc. Finding a good boosting partner is highly recommended if you hope to earn this trophy.

Note: The B-17G unlock 8 x 1000 lb bombs - Win 20 online Strike games with the B-17G is glitched as the weapon is available as soon as you unlock the aircraft, however they won’t register as being unlocked for the trophy until you complete the requirements for the unlock.

Note: Some fighter aircraft such as the P-51 D-5 require you to destroy ground targets in Strike matches but are not properly equipped to destroy such targets. Playing on Arcade and carefully landing the plane near a target, taxiing over to it and shooting it with your machine guns/cannons makes destroying targets much easier and faster.

For a full comprehensive list of unlocks, visit the Unlock Requirements section of the guide.
Eagle eye

Damage 100 ground units using rockets or bombs.
Pretty self-explanatory, whenever given the opportunity, use your rockets/bombs against enemy ground units to damage them. This will come naturally during the campaign.
Perfect defence

Destroy 50 aircraft in the Gunner View.
This is easiest to earn in Training using the settings I’ve listed below. As soon as the training begins, maintain a steady altitude and reduce your airspeed to around 50%. Fly towards the enemy planes, once you pass them they’ll follow behind you. Switch to the gunner position via and shoot down the enemy planes. Rinse and repeat until the trophy unlocks.

Training Settings:
- Difficulty level: Arcade
- Situation: Equal altitude
- Aircraft: Any bomber
- Number of enemies: 16
- Enemy aircraft: Any fighter
- Enemy weapons: The fewer machine guns and cannons the better
- Enemy skill level: Rookie
Clear sky

Destroy 100 aircraft.
This is the same idea as the Born to be ace trophy, only you need to destroy 100 aircraft. Keep a steady aim and shoot where the enemy airplane is moving. You’re basically guaranteed to achieve this during your campaign playthrough. Playing on Arcade or Realistic gives you an indicator of where to shoot in relation to where the enemy plane is moving, making it easier to hit the target.
Threat from the Air

Destroy 100 ground units.
This is the same idea as the Eagle Eye trophy except this time you need to destroy the targets. Just try to be as accurate as possible and this will come naturally during the campaign. Playing on Arcade or Realistic difficulty gives you a bomb landing zone indicator making it much easier to gauge where your bombs will land.
Well-read pilot

Unlock all the articles in the encyclopedia.
The majority of the articles in the encyclopedia will be unlocked upon completion of the campaign. To unlock the rest you need to complete a few single missions.

Single Missions that unlock encyclopedia articles:
- Battle of Britain:
- Defend Manston
- Tangling with the Aces
- Cover
- Inspect AAA
- Inspect Airfields
- In the Crosshairs
- Channel Dogfight
Flying tank

Complete 100 missions in singleplayer or online mode with the IL-2 Sturmovik.
The IL-2 Sturmovik is unlocked upon completion of the campaign mission: Battle of Stalingrad, Deep Raid. This is one of the more time consuming trophies that I recommend saving towards the end after you’ve earned the Weapon Collector trophy as you’ll most likely have a good amount online wins left to do, so it’s best to use the IL-2 for any remaining wins. In the event that this trophy hasn’t unlocked by the time you’ve finished the online portion, then you can grind Training Missions to get it.

Training Settings:
- Difficulty level: Arcade
- Situation: Equal altitude
- Aircraft: IL-2
- Number of enemies: 1
- Enemy aircraft: Any fighter
- Enemy skill level: Rookie
Soviet aircaft expert

Complete one mission or match with each Soviet aircraft.
Completing training missions in Soviet aircraft counts towards this trophy, so combining it with the Test pilot trophy is recommended.

Soviet Aircraft:
- I-153
- I-16 type 24
- IL-2
- IL-2M
- IL-10
- IL-4
- La-5FN
- La-7
- Po-2
- Yak-1B
- Yak-3
- Yak-9T
Allied aircaft expert

Complete one mission or match with each Allied aircraft.
Completing training missions in Allied aircraft counts towards this trophy, so combining it with the Test pilot trophy is recommended.

Allied Aircraft:
- A-20G
- B-17G
- Blenheim Mk IV
- Hurricane Mk II
- P-51B
- P-51D-5
- Spitfire Mk II
- Spitfire Mk IX
- Spitfire Mk XVI
Axis aircaft expert

Complete one mission or match with each Axis aircraft.
Completing training missions in Axis aircraft counts towards this trophy, so combining it with the Test pilot trophy is recommended.

Axis Aircraft:
- Arado-234
- Bf 109 E-3
- Bf 109 F-4
- Bf 109 G-2
- Bf 109 G-6
- Bf 109 G-10
- Bf 109 K-4
- Bf 110 C-4
- Fw 190 A-5
- Fw 190 F-8
- Fw 190 D-9
- He 111 H-3
- He 111 H-6
- He 111 H-16
- He 162 A-2
- Ju 87 B-2
- Ju 87 D-3
- M.C.202
- Me 163 B
- Me 262 A-1A
- Ta 152 H-1
Team Battle champion

Win 50 matches in Team Battle.
Set up a Team Battle game on any map with the time set to 3 minutes. Shoot down your partner’s plane and then let the timer run out. Repeat until you’ve earned the trophy.
Dogfight champion

Win 30 matches in Dogfight.
Set up a Dogfight game on any map with the time set to 3 minutes or score set to 20. Shoot down your partner’s plane and then let the timer run out. Alternatively you can save at least 30 seconds by continuing to shoot down your partner until you reach the point cap if it’s set to 20. Repeat until you’ve earned the trophy.
Strike champion

Win 50 matches in Strike.
The majority of these wins will come along the way to earning the Weapon collector and Bird fan trophies. Set up a Strike game on any map with the time set to 3 minutes. Have your boosting partner crash his/her plane and then let the timer run out. Repeat until you’ve earned the trophy.
Capture Airfields champion

Win 50 matches in Capture Airfields.
The majority of these wins will come along the way to earning the Weapon collector and Bird fan trophies. Set up a Capture Airfields game on any map with the time set to 3 minutes. Capture the airfield and then let the timer run out. Repeat until you’ve earned the trophy. If you haven’t earned the Landing master trophy then now is the time to get it.
The Ace of Aces

Destroy 100 player aircraft.
This should come along the way to earning the Weapon collector trophy. If not however, you can get the remaining kills very quickly while you’re getting wins for the Team Battle champion and Dogfight champion trophies.
Immortal pilot

Destroy 5 player aircraft without dying.
Simply play an online match such as Dogfight or Team Battle and kill the opposing aircraft 5 times in a row without dying. Boosting this is highly recommended.
Any sky is home for me

Win an Online match at each location.
During your time earning the various online trophies, be sure to change the arena location between games and you’ll have this in no time.
Not a rookie anymore

Win an Online match in each mode.
This is almost guaranteed to come while earning the Weapon collector trophy. Just win a match in each mode.

Online Modes:
- Dogfight
- Team Battle
- Capture Airfields
- Strike
Honoured fighter

Play 50 online matches.
If you haven’t unlocked this by the time you’ve earned Weapon collector, then this will come naturally when going for the (X) number of Mode win trophies.
Landing master

Conduct 50 successful landings on Realistic in Capture Airfields.
You can either combine this when going for the Capture Airfields champion trophy, or if you really want to get it out of the way then you can set up a Capture Airfields match on Britain with the score and timer set to max and keep landing with your partner until you both earn the trophy. Make as much use of the runway as possible to maximize the number of successful landings you can perform each time around. Make sure you come to a complete stop (throttle says 0%), once stopped wait a few seconds then take off and reduce your throttle to come in for another landing as soon as you become airborne. I was able to get around 5-6 landings on the Britain airfield each time while using the IL-2.
Real experience

Conduct a successful landing on Simulator.
I recommend doing this in an online match in Britain as the airfield there has an extremely long and flat runway. Take your time lining up your plane to the runway. Once lined up, put your landing gear down and begin a slow and steady descent. Don’t reduce your airspeed too quickly or your altitude will drop to quickly resulting in a crash landing. Once you touchdown continue to reduce your speed until you come to a complete stop.

Note: Reducing Aileron and Elevator sensitivity is highly suggested when playing on Simulator difficulty.
Comrade-in-arms

Invite two friends in your team and win a match.
(1)
This should be one of the first trophies that you should try to get done with as soon as possible as there aren’t many players online anymore and even less players to boost with online. Start a match in Team Battle with players set to 4 (note that only the host will earn the trophy). Once in the lobby, invite your boosting partners and you and two of your partners choose Team A and have the 4th player choose Team B. Once the game starts shoot down the Team B player to take the lead and then finish the match.
Master of acrobatic flight

Perform all the aerobatic manoeuvres on Realistic.
The aerobatic manoeuvres you need to complete:
- Barrel Roll -
- Inside Loop - +
- Split - or followed by once completely upside down.
- Spin - stalling your airplane will cause it to go into a spin, once in the spin use a combination of + and + depending on which direction you’re spinning in order to recover from the spin.
- Immelmann - + until upside followed by or
Training Settings to perform the moves:
- Difficulty level: Realistic
- Situation: Altitude advantage
- Altitude: 5000 or 7500 is sufficient
- Aircraft: Hurricane Mk II is a good choice
- Number of enemies: 1
- Enemy aircraft: It doesn’t matter since they won’t bother you
- Enemy skill level: Rookie
Fresh forces

Complete Primary Training.
Primary Training consists of three tutorial missions: Introduction to Flight, Advanced Controls and Aerial Combat. Upon completion of all three missions the trophy will unlock, as well as the Optional Training missions which include the missions that unlock the Realistic and Simulator difficulties.
First step

Conduct a flight manoeuvre during the first mission of the tutorial.
Begin the first tutorial mission and follow the instructor’s orders. For his last order he’ll instruct you to perform a loop manoeuvre. Move to climb & to increase your engine power. Keep the movements smooth and the trophy will unlock upon completion of the loop.
Defender of Britain

Complete the 'Battle of Britain' chapter.
Earned upon completion of all of the missions in the chapter on any difficulty.

Battle of Britain Missions:
- Baptism by Fire
- Convoy
- Fox Hunt
- The Red Skies of Dover
Defender of Stalingrad

Complete the 'Battle of Stalingrad' chapter.
Earned upon completion of all of the missions in the chapter on any difficulty.

Battle of Stalingrad Missions:
- They shall not pass!
- Deep Raid
- Hornet’s Nest
Liberator of Sicily

Complete the 'Invasion of Sicily' chapter.
Earned upon completion of all of the missions in the chapter on any difficulty.

Invasion of Sicily Missions:
- First Steps
- Wheel of Fortune
- Apocalypse
- Guardian Angels
- Lawn Mower
Liberator of Korsun

Complete the 'Korsun Pocket' chapter.
Earned upon completion of all of the missions in the chapter on any difficulty.

Korsun Pocket Missions:
- Firestorm
- Breakthrough
Defender of the Ardennes

Complete the 'Battle of The Bulge chapter.
Earned upon completion of all of the missions in the chapter on any difficulty.

Battle of the Bulge Missions:
- Nuts!
- Tiger Hunt
- Pesticide
Liberator of Berlin

Complete the 'Battle of Berlin' chapter.
Earned upon completion of all of the missions in the chapter on any difficulty.

Battle of Berlin Missions:
- Together
- Shed Burners
- Reichstag Assault
Always ready to attack

Complete all the single missions with the 'ground attack' tag.
Can be completed on any difficulty. There are nine total.

Ground Attack Missions:
- Battle of Stalingrad:
- City in Flames
- Counterattack
- Nice Try
- Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
- Invasion of Sicily:
- Shock and Awe
- Korsun Pocket:
- Preparing for Attack
- Battle of the Bulge:
- The Coup de Grace
- Battle of Berlin:
- Last Throes
- Checkmate
Always ready to cover

Complete all the single missions with the 'need cover' tag.
Can be completed on any difficulty. There are ten total.

Need Cover Missions:
- Battle of Britain:
- Cover
- Escort
- Defend the Vessel
- Defend a Friendly
- Invasion of Sicily:
- Armored Defense
- Air Defense
- Korsun Pocket:
- Escorting Sturmoviks
- The Babysitter
- The Shepherd
- Battle of the Bulge:
- Supplies for Bastogne
Always ready to fight

Complete all the single missions with the 'fighter' tag.
Can be completed on any difficulty. There are eleven total.

Fighter Missions:
- Battle of Britain:
- Defend Manston
- Tangling with the Aces
- Channel Patrol
- In the Crosshairs
- Channel Dogfight
- Invasion of Sicily:
- Fight over Trenches
- Korsun Pocket:
- The Dogfight
- Battle of the Bulge:
- Aerial Swiss Cheese
- Battle over Bastogne
- Searchlights
- Battle of Berlin
- Forward Air Control
Invulnerable pilot

Complete 'Escort' with limited fuel and ammo and additional attempts set to 0.
‘Escort’ is a Battle of Britain Single Mission. Your goal is to intercept and destroy any Luftwaffe aircraft that threaten the Blenheims. Just play on Arcade difficulty with the required settings and just be conservative with your ammo and fly steady.
Real feelings

Complete 'The Red Skies of Dover' in the real cockpit view.
Before you attempt this trophy, go to Profile > Options > General and set the Default view to Cockpit. ‘The Red Skies of Dover’ is the fourth and final mission in the Battle of Britain chapter. Play the mission on Arcade mode as it’s easier, and complete the mission without ever changing your view. The mission is fairly straight forward, you’ll start off by intercepting and destroying several dozen enemy bombers. Later during the mission enemy Stukas attack a friendly ship and so you must intercept the Stukas and destroy them. Once destroyed the mission will end.
Good partner

Successfully defend your leader in the 'Baptism by Fire' mission.
‘Baptism by Fire’ is the first mission in the Battle of Britain chapter. Playing on Arcade difficulty will make this easier. During the mission you’ll encounter several enemy bombers, take them out as soon as possible to protect your leader and this trophy won’t prove to be too difficult at all.
Real aviator

Complete the first mission in the 'Battle of Britain' chapter on Simulator.
The first mission is fairly straightforward, you’re primary objective is to basically patrol the cliffs of Dover. You’ll encounter a few enemy bombers, take them out when they appear and continue to follow the instructions until the mission is over.

Note: Reducing Aileron and Elevator sensitivity is highly suggested when playing on Simulator difficulty.
Royal Navy's Friend

Complete the 'Convoy' mission.
‘Convoy’ is the second mission in the Battle of Britain chapter. Complete it on any difficulty and it will unlock. It’s most easily done on Arcade difficulty. The goal is to protect the convoy from incoming threats. It’s a fairly straightforward mission that won’t prove to be difficult.

Side mission

Find the Brandenburg Gate and attack the vehicle near it.
This trophy can only be done on the final mission of the Battle of Berlin chapter, Reichstag Assault. Once the mission starts, fly South-West of Berlin and look for the Reichstag which is easy to find due to its large size. Near the Reichstag will be the Brandenburg Gate which is located at the end of a road, behind it lies the vehicle. Drop several bombs on it to destroy it and unlock the trophy.

Image credit: StoneyMcChronic