Viper's Ace Seminar

"Time for a little mano-a-mano flight training."

― Viper

Viper's Ace Seminar is a verbal tutorial given to the player by Viper, one of the members of Bone Arrow Squadron, during Campaign missions 3, 4, and 5 of Ace Combat Infinity. While the first two missions in the Campaign directly taught the player how to fire on aerial enemies and use Tactical Datalink, Viper's Ace Seminar teaches the player how to fight ground targets as well as how to effectively perform in Online Co-Op Missions.

101: Special Weapons

"Hey, rookie. You got any air-to-ground special weapons loaded? If you do, try 'em out sometime, they're pretty useful. If you got 'em, might as well use 'em, eh?"

― Viper

"That's your sage advice?"

― Omega

"Can you shut your yap for half a second? Everything in due time."

― Viper

While Viper and Omega banter, instructions appear on the screen informing the player of the controller button required to press to equip special weapons instead of standard missiles.

Special weapons make a large difference throughout Infinity, especially during Online Co-Op Missions where a majority of enemy units are ground- or naval-based. Special weapons in Infinity, like in other Ace Combat games, range from multi-target air-to-air missiles to powerful bombs to anti-ship missiles. Using a special weapon effectively can mean the difference between a team succeeding or failing.

102: Terrain

"Rookie, watch the data on your HUD. Enemies with a dotted line container around them are blocked by the terrain. You can't hit 'em from where you are. Reposition yourself and attack from another direction. Slow and steady wins the race, and all that. You could also try dive-bombing the target from above...not that you're good enough for that yet."

― Viper

A common obstacle in air-to-ground assault, especially in missions such as Tokyo Martial Law, involves ground forces shielding themselves from enemy fire among the terrain or buildings. As stated, enemies with a dotted line container on the screen cannot be harmed from the player's current position, and the player will need to move to another position to effectively destroy the target.

This is a rule of thumb, however, rather than a strict gameplay mechanic. Missiles can slightly curve depending on the distance to the target and the aircraft's angle of attack. Additionally, bombs do not follow this rule at all; as long as they detonate at the same altitude as the enemy unit and the enemy unit is within the range of the bomb's explosion, the unit will be damaged or destroyed.

As a side note, Viper's mention of Reaper not being good enough to dive-bomb against a target may be an allusion to the Novice and Expert controls of the game. Players using Novice controls may find difficulty when performing an attack from directly overhead, while players using Expert controls may find it a bit easier. Naturally, this is a generalization, and players should always use the control scheme they feel most comfortable flying with.

103: Be Hungry

"Rookie, you gotta be hungry. Whether you're "elite" or not means nothing. You perform in battle, you get to reap the rewards. That's just how we operate. Never let 'em take your prey."

― Viper

This is mentioned when the Ridgeback Squadron, flying ASF-X Shinden IIs, appears to take over command of the operation from the Bone Arrows. This is intended to encourage players using seemingly-inferior aircraft against other players who are using seemingly-superior aircraft (i.e. flying an F-4E Phantom II against an F-22 Raptor on the other team). The aircraft does not make the pilot; any pilot can use any aircraft effectively, even against more powerful aircraft.

In lieu of the mercenary theme of Infinity, these messages are also intended to encourage players to rob enemy units from players on the other team. Clear Ranks are the most valuable part of Online Co-Op Missions, but second-most valuable is a team's performance. If one team does better than the other, that entire team will be granted more rewards. Therefore, players on one team should work together in clearing out enemy units by separating and engaging separate targets, but also aiming to steal targets from the other team.

104: Take the Reckless Route

"When in doubt, always take the reckless route!"

― Viper

While this message is more intended as a joke while destroying the Stonehenge Type-3 jamming towers, Online Co-Op Missions do require a degree of recklessness. Players that do not use speed to their advantage to cross the map, or take advantage of all of their weapons, will not perform well out of principle. Players who effectively use their aircraft's speed and weaponry will end up taking most of the enemy units on the map.

That isn't to say that all players should immediately go into afterburner and cross to the other side of the map and then engage the enemy units. Rather, if a player is aiming for a specific target but doesn't take advantage of the high speed their aircraft can perform, another player (whether on the other team or the same team) may end up taking the kill for themselves. Therefore, players shouldn't hold back to use their aircraft to their full advantage.

105: Strike the Final Blow

"Here's your graduate class! ... Never let anyone else strike the final blow!"

― Viper

As a final tip, Viper encourages the player to always make the final hit on an enemy target. This was mentioned during the QFA-44 battle during Far Eastern Front, where the player was essentially in competition with Nagase to take the aircraft down.

In Online Co-Op Missions, the majority of a target's value is awarded to the player who strikes the final hit that completely destroys the enemy unit. For example, when engaging the Scinfaxi-class submarine in a Mission Update, all players will attack the submarine for at least a minute, but the player who fires the last cannon round, missile, or special weapon that brings the submarine's health to 0 will get the majority of the points for the kill. Once again, this practice is encouraged against players on the opposing team (but typically discouraged in the community when used against players of the same team), since the best-performing team will earn more rewards at the end of the mission.