Chandelier (mission)
At the End of a Warring Demon's Cry[a]
1 minute (Hard/Expert/Ace)
- "Talisman...we can trust you with this, right?"
- ― AWACS Ghost Eye
"Chandelier"[b] is the final campaign mission of Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. The player must destroy the Chandelier doomsday weapon.
Briefing
I'll be relaying orders to you. We have received preliminary results from the tests regarding the recent missile attack. We've spotted a potential launch area for that second cruise missile shot at Gracemeria. It most likely came from a facility in the northern sea of Estovakia, somewhere in the vicinity of Sonne Island. About 15 years ago...the Ulysses collision brought about a state of misery and fear unprecedented in modern history. Nations worldwide took their own measures on how to deal with the impending crisis posed by meteors if they were to hit the earth. The Estovakians had developed a giant rail gun for the purpose of intercepting those meteors, but for some reason they stopped short of bringing it to fruition, and soon after, meteors had fallen on many nations, Estovakia among them. There is not much intelligence available concerning this giant rail gun, and nothing of it has been made public since the prototype. Some from the Emmerian Ministry of Science and Technology were concerned about the potential dangers of the meteor interception system used as a weapon of war. As crisis loomed, the nations banded together and decided to prohibit any further development of the meteor interception system. Although the technology was being developed for peaceful purposes, the potential for evil was far too great[note 1] a risk to take. Emmeria cannot be at peace until the threat of cruise missiles has been completely eliminated. You've been assigned to investigate an area just north of Sonne Island. Destroy any cruise missiles found and their facilities. If you happen to encounter any threatening objects, move into attack formation immediately. Blow the hell out of all targets. It's time to put an end to this tragic period in our history, which has emerged as a result of the Ulysses incident.
Objectives
Initial
Subsequent information is taken from Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation Complete Guide.[1]
Launch Point:
- (1)
- Doomsday Weapon Assault (Air-to-Air/Ground)
This is a long mission with four phases, with ground-only TGTs and a lot of enemy fighters, so a multirole fighter is the best pick for swiftly sorting out hostiles. Equip special weapons such as the SOD or XAGM, which can be found on the F-15E or the Rafale M.
The player will spawn flying northwest towards the Chandelier, during which they will pass over several islands and craters. Along the way, Melissa Herman speaks on the radio. Then, two minutes into the mission, Chandelier Control Room will state "Roger. Resume attacks immediately." A cutscene plays of Strigon Team taking off and the Chandelier firing. The superweapon's air defense force, Strigon included, scrambles.
For one minute, Melissa will inform Ghost Eye about the cooling units, with her daughter adding about a backup 13th, and send the data. Afterward, a cutscene plays depicting the sending of the updated target info. Destroy as many Estovakian Navy vessels as possible before the Mission Update; travelling high can get you to the iceberg cannon quicker. Hold off engaging Strigon Team until the update.
Mission Update 1
Cooling units will be displayed as targetable by the player after the Mission Update. There's a dozen, half of which (in the front and back) also have duallayered shielding that must be destroyed first while the other, equally divided side half are unshielded. Start by attacking the side units to build up your Allied Support Gauge, you'll need it to distract the bandits, during which you take down the protected front and rear units.
Every 100 seconds, a WARHEAD target will spawn inside the gutter beneath the barrel between the six gun towers, accompanied by a Chandelier radio transmission stating "Initiate loading" and Ghost Eye warning of the launch sequence. If a WARHEAD is destroyed, the launch sequence will be delayed for a minute, and later, another transmission indicating the loading will be heard; rinse and repeat. If not, the Chandelier will fire sometime after, creating a large shockwave along the projectile's path of motion which can kill an overly close player in a similar fashion to Nimbus missiles or Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War's Excalibur. It will then load another WARHEAD right away.
Do not slack on the WARHEADs and cooling units too often; Chandelier striking Gracemeria nine times means the capital's annihilation, failing the mission. Once all 12 units are destroyed, the backup cooling unit will come online, located inside the gutter protected by six hardened AA gun towers; you are advised to stay away from these for a time. Shamrock will declare that he's going in for a recon run. A cutscene will be triggered, after which the second Mission Update occurs and the player finds standard Wingman Commands unusable due to Shamrock's shootdown.
Mission Update 2
After the cutscene ends, the backup cooling unit will appear as targetable. The player will be ordered to fly into the same loading gutter to strike the backup cooling unit, taking two missiles to take down. Bombard the AA turrets with Allied Support or Special Weapons. Inside the very narrow trench, which needs slow, steady flying, are also a couple of AA guns. Missile them before shutting down the backup unit and escaping from the other side.
Mission Update 3
After the backup cooling unit is gone, Chandelier stops loading WARHEADs. But it's not yet over; the railgun is reported to charge up its remaining WARHEADs by opening its cannon.
The player will be commanded to fly down the Chandelier's barrel to destroy the CORE. The barrel will slowly close; mission will fail if the CORE isn't taken out in time, with the railgun rapid-firing. If the player successfully does so and exits through the back, a cutscene will play and the mission will be accomplished.
At the same time, on Expert and Ace difficulty, the ace KOROL, as well as a flight of F-4Es, will spawn from the Strigon runway in an attempt to takeoff and flee. The player must be quick, since they only have a minute to destroy KOROL's aircraft and also complete the mission.
Enemy Lists
Standard Units
| Section | Unit | Points | Count | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial | 
|
SU-33 "STRIGON" | 1480 | 7 | |
|
|
F-22A | 760 | 12 | ||
|
|
Su-47 | 760 | 12 | ||
|
AEGIS VLS AA GUN |
1300 240 100 |
2 4 4 |
||
|
|
CRUISER RADAR VLS AA GUN |
1000 250 240 100 |
2 2 2 2 |
Enemy ESM | |
|
|
DESTROYER SAM AA GUN |
600 120 100 |
6 6 6 |
||
|
|
MSSL.BOAT | 120 | 4 | ||
| Mission Update 1 | 
|
SHIELDING | 300 | 12 | |
|
|
COOLING UNIT | 500 | 12 | ||
|
|
WARHEAD | 250 | ∞ | ||
|
|
AA GUN | 100 | 46 | ||
|
|
FLAK GUN | 150 | 5 | ||
|
|
XSAM | 120 | 8 | ||
| Mission Update 2 |
|
BACK-UP C.UNIT | 1500 | 1 | |
|
|
AA GUN | 100 | 2 | ||
|
|
AA GUN | 100 | 6 | [note 2] | |
| Mission Update 3 |
|
F-4E | 240 | 3 | [note 3] |
|
|
CORE | 3000 | 1 |
Special Units
| Unit | Points | Minimum Difficulty |
Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
F-4E "KOROL" | 2000 | Expert | [note 4] |
S Rank
An S rank on this mission requires earning 51,200 points.
| Mission Phase | Overall | |
|---|---|---|
| Clear Rank point requirements (with bonus points) | S | 51,200 (90,000) |
| A | 39,000 (72,000) | |
| B | 26,800 (58,500) | |
| C | ≤26,799 (45,000) | |
Footnotes
- ↑ The English subtitles incorrectly state "far too great of".
- ↑ Cannot be targeted or destroyed before Mission Update 2, but will retaliate. These are defensive towers at the front of the entrance to the Chandelier's loading gutter and backup cooling unit.
- ↑ Spawn with KOROL.
- ↑ KOROL spawns with the three other F-4Es when the CORE is available to target.
References
- ↑ Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation Complete Guide. 22 December 2007. SB Creative. pp. 112-115. ISBN 9784797343236.