Escort (AC04)
"Escort" is the 11th campaign mission of Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. The player must defend two civilian aircraft from enemy aircraft as they make their way to allied territory.
Objectives
Air Ixiom Flights 701 and 702 enter the combat zone from the northwest and will fly southeast towards the Return Line for the entire mission. Flight 701 (notably piloted by Nagase from Ace Combat 2) will maintain altitude at 6,000 feet (1,800 m) while Flight 702 will maintain altitude at 23,000 feet (7,000 m). The player's only objective is to prevent them from being destroyed by enemy fighter aircraft. Despite taking place within Stonehenge's engagement zone like in the last mission, Stonehenge will not fire during this mission.
Enemies will appear in waves and each wave alternates which airliner they attack. Each wave spawns after the player destroys the last fighter in the preceding wave. If the player takes too long, the next wave will spawn on its own. All enemy aircraft are marked as TGT.
- When the mission starts, the first wave is a lone F/A-18C threatening Flight 702. The F/A-18C usually gets a hit on Flight 702 too quickly for the player to react.
- The second wave spawns after shooting down the F/A-18C or after 1 minute and 40 seconds have elapsed, whichever occurs first. The second wave is comprised of two MiG-29As threatening Flight 701.
- The third wave spawns after shooting down the MiG-29As or after 3 minutes and 20 seconds have elapsed, whichever occurs first. The third wave is comprised of three F-14As threatening Flight 702.
- The fourth and final wave spawns after shooting down the F-14As or after 5 minutes have elapsed, whichever occurs first. The fourth wave is comprised of two Su-35s and two MiG-29As threatening Flight 701.
Unlike other missions with TGTs, the mission timer of 5 minutes and 30 seconds is not a failure timer; it will take exactly that long for the civilian airliners to cross the Return Line, completing the mission. The player can complete the mission earlier by shooting down all enemy fighters. The mission is failed if either airliner suffers too many hits.
Enemy Lists
Standard Units
| Unit | Points | Count | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
F/A-18C | 60 | 1 | |
|
|
MiG-29A | 60 | 2 | [note 1] |
|
|
F-14A | 60 | 3 | [note 2] |
|
|
SU-35 | 60 | 2 | [note 3] |
|
|
MiG-29A | 60 | 2 |
Special Units
| Unit | Points | Count | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SU-35 "NEUJMIN" | 240 | 1 | [note 4] |
S Rank
Earning an S Rank on this mission requires scoring 600 points.[1][2] Since each enemy fighter awards 60 points, and a total of 10 fighters spawn during the mission excluding the named aircraft, the player must simply shoot down all enemies to earn the S Rank. The only challenge is doing so before the airliners cross the Return Line.
Trivia
- If the player returns to base while flying a land-based aircraft, they can spot a red airport fire engine driving down the apron near the control tower, per Nagase's request for fire engines and an ambulance. Two Mir-2000s and two F-15Cs can be seen parked on the ramp as well.
Footnotes
- ↑ These aircraft will spawn after shooting down the F/A-18C or after 1 minute and 40 seconds have elapsed, whichever occurs first.
- ↑ These aircraft will spawn after shooting down the first two MiG-29As or after 3 minutes and 20 seconds have elapsed, whichever occurs first.
- ↑ These aircraft will spawn after shooting down the F-14As or after 5 minutes have elapsed, whichever occurs first.
- ↑ The player must have completed the campaign, and must be playing on Normal difficulty or higher. Neujmin appears in the southeast corner of the map. To avoid losing the civilian aircraft, it is best to wait to shoot down Neujmin until after shooting down most of the enemies in the final wave.
References
- ↑ Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies - Official Guide Book, pages 050-051.
- ↑ Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies - Perfect Guide, pages 098-101.