Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact throws you into Yinshi Valley in the middle of a storm. Your first job is to destroy three radar sites and four SAM positions so the allied squadrons can escape. Then you must pick the MQ-99 drones off their tails before facing Mihaly’s Su-30SM. You can’t shoot Mihaly down here; dealing enough damage is what ends the mission.
The clouds hide the mountains, the wind throws off your attack runs, and lightning can knock out your instruments at the worst possible moment. The safest approach is to keep your attacks simple and concentrate on whichever ally is being chased.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact: all objectives in order
The operation starts with Trigger attacking enemy air defences among the valley’s high rock formations. The required ground targets include three radar sites and four SAM positions. These have to go before the allied aircraft can escape safely.
- Clear the marked ground installations. Pick a radar site or SAM that has a clear approach, and leave yourself room to climb away from the mountains after firing.
- Watch for the reconnaissance aircraft. Cyclops and Strider squadrons enter the area with MQ-99 drones chasing them. The mission switches from ground attack to an escort defence.
- Protect whichever ally is being targeted. Look for the large blue indicators around friendly planes and intercept the drones attacking them. Once an ally has broken away safely, you can concentrate on the next one.
- Engage Mihaly when he arrives. Sol Squadron enters and the fight shifts to the Su-30SM flown by Mihaly. Stay with the objective and keep pressuring his aircraft until the game triggers the end of the sortie.
When the escort section begins, forget the ground installations. If you’re still circling a radar site while the MQ-99s are chasing friendly jets, you’re fighting the wrong battle.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact: how to fly through lightning
Yinshi Valley’s rock formations are tall enough to catch you during a careless turn, and the cloud cover makes judging distance harder. Keep extra altitude over uncertain ground, then descend only when you have a clear view of the target and an escape path.
Lightning is more than decoration. A strike can temporarily interfere with your HUD and radar and cause the plane to dip. If that happens, level the aircraft first and give the systems time to return. Trying to finish a complicated turn while your instruments are disabled is asking for a crash.
For the opening targets, a controlled pass from above the cloud cover can work well, but don’t pull up blindly into a rock face afterwards. Keep enough room to manoeuvre before you commit to a missile run.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact: protecting the friendly squadrons
The escort phase is where speed matters most. MQ-99s chase individual allied aircraft, and the game points out those in immediate trouble. Don’t try to clear the entire sky in a single dogfight. Get to the threatened ally, shoot down the pursuing drones, then head to the next one.
You fail if an ally is shot down, so a distant enemy that isn’t chasing anyone is less urgent than a nearby drone already lining up a shot. Keep checking the radar and listening to the radio calls. When the friendly plane you were defending escapes, that large blue indicator disappears and you can move on.
The storm gets worse as the escort goes on. Don’t chase a drone down between the rocks just to gain 350 points. If it flies too low, get some altitude and catch it on the next pass.
Can you defeat Mihaly in Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact?
No. Mihaly’s Su-30SM is scripted to survive this encounter. Land hits until the mission ends, rather than trying to destroy his aircraft outright. The two supporting Su-30M2s also cannot be shot down here, so don’t spend the whole fight chasing them.
It’s tempting to chase him relentlessly around the mountain ridges, but Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact is designed as an encounter rather than a conventional final kill. Watch your aircraft’s attitude and avoid forcing shots in the thunderstorm. Once the required damage is dealt, the encounter ends.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact: FAUCON location
In Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact, FAUCON is a Typhoon ace who appears on a replay after your first clear, on Normal difficulty or higher. To trigger it, destroy all the non-TGT enemies in the first stage before completing the ground-target section. FAUCON appears to the north.
That’s a different route from a normal fast clear. You’ll need time to clear the optional enemies as well as the radar and SAM targets, so it’s better saved for a separate named-ace attempt.
Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact: S-rank requirements
S rank requires a combined score and time bonus of 46,350 points. Finishing within 12 minutes 30 seconds awards the maximum time bonus of 40,550, which means you need at least 5,800 destruction points at that pace. Taking longer reduces the time bonus and raises the amount you must earn through enemy kills.
The efficient approach is to finish the ground objectives promptly, protect the allies without getting stuck chasing irrelevant drones and damage Mihaly as soon as you have a good firing opportunity. Extra ground defences can help your score if they’re directly along your route.
Why Ace Combat 7 Mission 07 First Contact keeps failing
If you fail during the escort section, an ally you’re meant to protect is likely being shot down. Prioritise the MQ-99s attacking the friendly aircraft with the blue indicator. Once those drones are gone, that ally leaves the area safely. If the mission continues during the Mihaly encounter, that’s normal until you’ve inflicted enough damage on his aircraft.
And if the aircraft keeps crashing during an otherwise successful attempt, widen your turns and don’t dive into the clouds without a clear way out. The storm is a major part of this level’s difficulty, not just background scenery.
See the official Ace Combat 7 page from Bandai Namco for more game details.
