ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25, The Battle of Rocky Island, Day 2, is a lengthy assault across land, sea and air. Operation Paint It Blue sends you against Podarge transports, land ships, Lux Lunae squadrons and the final island stronghold. A multirole aircraft makes sense here, but the key is switching your target priorities when each new phase begins.
The Fire the Load medal is easy to miss because two of the four Podarges are already sitting on the water. There are also two hidden aces with completely separate triggers. Here’s how to complete the main mission and what to change if you’re collecting the medal or Assault Records.
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25 walkthrough: Battle of Rocky Island, Day 2
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25: Choose weapons for ships and elite aircraft
Bring a multirole aircraft with LASM or LACM if available. Those weapons work well against large surface targets and land ships. Unguided bombs are handy for packed ground vehicles, while multi-lock air-to-air missiles help against the Shadow squadrons. There’s a return line west of the island, so you can resupply and change special weapons between phases rather than struggle with the wrong equipment.
1. Secure the first ground positions
In ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25, start by attacking the enemy units in front of your advancing allies. Tell Joker Flight to spread its attacks, and keep checking for aircraft threatening friendly ground troops. Southwest of the first battle are two Land Aegis ships close to two Podarges sitting on the sea. The Land Aegis units are important threats in their own right, and the floating Podarges are crucial for the medal. To destroy a sea-landed Podarge, shoot its rear cargo bay instead of treating it like a normal flying target.
2. Destroy the airborne Podarges
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25 has two other Podarges flying low around the opposite side of the island, transporting land destroyers. Take down the transports before they unload if you can. If a land destroyer is dropped first, destroy the vehicle too. The timing matters for the Cinis optional ace later, but even in a normal story run, leaving extra heavy targets for your allies is rarely a good idea. Clear any other surface resistance while watching the remaining mission timer.
3. Prepare for the Shadow squadrons
When the opening phase of ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25 ends, the Lux Lunae 33rd and 44th units enter the fight. Ideally, resupply at the western return line beforehand and switch to strong anti-air weapons. These pilots are much tougher than ordinary reinforcements, so stop chasing tanks and concentrate on the Shadow aircraft. Give your wingmen separate targets and permission to use their special weapons. When the elite units are gone, other planes may remain, but your main task returns to supporting the ground advance.
4. Attack the docks and stronghold
The dockyard section of ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25 has two land battleships that begin firing as the next phase gets underway. Deal with these heavy weapons, then work through the marked enemy positions. A Gemma squadron arrives, but it isn’t the central threat. Savian mercenary aircraft can keep appearing, so don’t waste the entire sortie chasing them while the Immortals wait below. Attack the marked strong points on the stronghold buildings. When the Immortals identify a breach point, destroy that exact target to open the way and finish the main assault.
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25: How to earn the Fire the Load medal
In ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25, In ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25, Fire the Load requires all four Podarges. Two are airborne and carry land destroyers. Two are parked on the southwest sea and are easy to overlook because they aren’t obvious priority markers. Shoot the rear cargo bay of each floating Podarge and make sure you also destroy the two airborne transports. Completing the mission without one of the sea-landed pair will not earn the medal.
ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25: Cinis and Silacrum hidden ace conditions
Both optional aces in ACE COMBAT 8 Mission 25 require the campaign to be completed first, followed by a Free Mission replay on Veteran difficulty or above. To spawn Silacrum, an EA-36, fly under the wing of a Podarge parked on the sea before you destroy it. Silacrum brings electronic interference, which may disrupt your missile locks. Try visually tracking the aircraft rather than firing blindly into the jamming field.
To spawn Cinis, an F-15E, eliminate every Land Aegis and land destroyer. That includes the two Land Aegis by the floating Podarges and the land destroyers transported by the airborne pair. If any destroyer lands, find it and destroy it. Flying underneath a Podarge does not satisfy the Cinis condition, and killing the land ships does not substitute for Silacrum’s fly-under trigger.
How to avoid the old timer bug
Bandai Namco’s version 1.01.002 patch addressed a timer problem that could occur when restarting a checkpoint after all enemies were defeated. If an older video shows the timer freezing, don’t assume you need to reproduce that bug on the current build. Update your game before troubleshooting a run that’s behaving strangely.
For a first clear, the safest order is heavy ground and naval resistance, the Shadow squadrons, the dockyard and finally the stronghold breach. For a completionist run, visit the floating Podarges early and make a deliberate sweep of the land ships. That is the difference between finishing this long battle once and having to replay it for a missed optional target.
Official patch details: Bandai Namco Entertainment update notes.
