Jump to content

 

5-Star and Medals Guide (+DLC)


Shiftie
 Share

Recommended Posts

Scores and Awards(On Hard)

*Note: All 5-Star Scores are for Hard. Also, for the War Hero, Famous Ace, and I'm Not a Rookie achievements, you can get the 5 stars and all of the medals on different difficulties for each mission if you choose, so playing through on Hard and cleaning up one or two missions on Easy will work.

*Also a note about the scores: Some of them are ball-parked as I may have missed the point where I actually went to 5 stars, but they should be mostly accurate (if anything a bit high)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

General Tips

  • Reducing speed by pulling back on the

    :rs: can help you increase you accuracy with your secondary weapons


  • To land, drop your landing gear with

    :xbut:, pull back on the throttle with :rs: and ease your way to the ground while staying parallel with it. Don't forget to press :xbut: to raise the landing gear after take-off.


  • To get the best score results with secondary weapons, double tap

    :rbbut: to quickly drop two bombs at once, and space out your rocket shots so you never have to stop and reload. Both can result in kill combos and double hits depending on the target(s).


  • Use

    :ltbut: to enter Ace Mode, which has your plane automatically follow the target, and locking on with :lbbut: helps with accuracy. This is more useful on the higher difficulties, which don't do it automatically, and you will need to aim further with :ls: on Hard.


  • You can use the dpad to give orders to your wingmen if you have any.

    :dleft: tells them to follow you, :ddown: tells them to fire at will, :dup: tells them to attack your :lbbut: target and :dright: tells them to protect you.


------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Act I

 

Baptism in Fire (Tutorial)

Just fly the plane and shoot down some enemies. Very straightforward mission.

5-Star Score: 4000+ points

Outstanding American Pilot Versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying Grumman F6F 'Hellcat'

In order to unlock the Hellcat for this mission you will need to finish every mission in Act I

Pursuit of excellence pin

Play the mission again, improving your score

To avoid this, you can just press :start: and reload the mission once the mission actually starts to get this medal without actually playing the mission twice, though you'll have to with the Hellcat anyway.

Experienced combat pilot badge

Finish the mission without using the Ace Mode

To enter Ace mode, you must mark a target with :lbbut: and hold :ltbut:. To NOT enter Ace mode, just don't do that.

 

First Encounters at Midway

On Hard, you will want to focus 100% on the bombers - the red targets - and stay as close to their bombing targets as possible so you can quickly move from plane to plane as you shoot them down. Targets getting destroyed, resulting in mission failure, is the biggest issue in this mission.

5-Star Score: 28,000+ points

Outstanding American pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying the NAA P-51D 'Mustang'

The P-51 will unlock once you finish Act I

Gold combat badge

Shoot down 35 enemy planes

This is easier on either Hard or with a better plane than the one you start with, such as the Mustang, as the first time around on Hard you'll spend the duration shooting down the bombing planes, however I still pulled off 32 planes on my first attempt so it's definitely still possible to do on the first try. One thing to note is that the counter next to the planes on the top right of the screen is how many planes are no longer showing....meaning if the counter reads 25 and you have 10 planes crossed out, that means you have shot down a total of 35 planes.

Medal for perseverance

Finish the mission without dying

For the most part, you won't get shot at too much as a lot of the planes are either too busy bombing their targets or dogfighting with your friends to bother with you. One thing to note is that if you do crash, reloading the checkpoint won't "fix it" and you'll have to just play the mission again.

 

All in a Day's Work

For Hard, play the first part of the mission normally, but once you have to defend a location from a large group of bombers, you'll notice the bombers split into two large groups, 9 on your left and 6 on your right, so head to the left most group and aim for the smaller group of 3 at the back end (your right) side of that group. Be sure to come in from above so only the top turrets on the bombers will be hitting you and pick off each bomber one by one. Your initial strafe run should be net you 3+ bomber kills if you come in at just the right angle, otherwise their bullets will tear you apart. Continue to make big loops and dive bomb down on each 3-set of bombers and take them out one by one, and be sure to not rush it if you're trying for the perseverance medal this run, which can be stupid difficult using the awful starter planes. However, doing this method will get you the Anti-bomber service badge no problem, and help solidify a relatively easy victory.

5-Star Score: 24,000+

Outstanding British pilot versatility badge II

Finish the mission flying the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I.

This will be the first mission where you have two available planes to fly. While in the plane select menu, press :lbbut: to select the black plane - the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I. Note that this will probably make getting Medal of Perserverance even harder for you on the Hard difficulty, as it has almost no armor. It is, however, quite fast.

Anti-bomber service recognition badge

Shoot down 12 enemy bombers

The bombers will be the red targets you must take out in the second phase of the mission. There are exactly 12, so you will need to take out all of them yourself, thankfully your allies will be busy with the fighter escorts. One big thing to note is that you will want to come at the bombers from either above or below so only one of the turrets on the bomber is shooting at you at one time. If you're doing this on Hard, read the Hard description above for more thorough tips.

Medal of perseverance

Finish the mission without dying

Both of the starting planes are pretty awful, so I highly recommend either doing this on something other than Hard, or coming back with a better plane later on. In either case, make sure you fly at the bombers from above or below them to cut the damage you take in half.

 

A Day at the Beach

On Hard you can die as much as you want, though chances are you won't, at least not very much. The opening firefight is the most difficult part, but if you keep weaving back and forth it will greatly reduce the damage you take since apparently every enemy fighter is flying behind you. During the second part, try and take the E-Boats out in as few bomb runs as possible, as they deal crazy AA damage.

The score is very easily done if you get double hits while dropping bombs, which you can do with little effort my flying along the length of the sub and double tapping :rbbut: to quickly drop both bombs on top of it. This will give 500x2 every time.

5-Star Score 15,000+

Outstanding British pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying the PZL .50A 'Jastrzab'

Once again, you have the option to select this during the plane select, prior to starting the mission. Press :lbbut: or :rbbut: until you see the plane come up, and make sure it's the right one as you will now have at least 3 options. The plane isn't all that amazing, but if you just keep moving during the opening firefight, you won't have any problems doing the mission on Hard.

Outstanding operational efficiency badge

Complete all secondary mission objectives

As the enemy U-Boat is escaping, enemy E-Boats will appear. Rotate between bombing the E-Boats and the U-Boat because the E-Boats will try and run if you sink the U-Boat too early, so try and sink them all roughly at the same time. One method to do this, is to bomb the U-Boat to half health and then go over to the E-Boats once they appear. There will be three, with the two in the back grouped together, allowing you to easily take them out in a single bomb run. Eventually the E-Boat will get very close to the U-Boat, allowing you to do the same to them if you haven't already sunk them.

Experienced combat pilot badge

Finish the mission without using the Ace Mode

Ace Mode is activated by press :lbbut: then holding :ltbut:. So don't do that and you will get the badge.

Edited by Shiftie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Duck Hunt

On Hard this mission is just stupid. You will spend about 95% of the mission at 10% health, getting shot constantly by everything in 100 mile radius, while your squadmates fly in circles and do nothing to help you. Luckily, you don't actually need to do anything to finish the mission on Hard, and you can come back to do some/all of the medals and the score if you want.

5-Star Score 45,000+

Antipodean Ace Medal

Destroy 1 enemy plane in inverted flight

At the start of the mission, open up the :start: menu and change the controls to simulation. This will allow you to use the :ls: to flip yourself upside and continue to jiggle the :ls: to stay that way. Once you have changed the controls, point yourself toward the left most bomber, which is trailing smoke, and move the :ls: left or right so you're upside down and shoot at the target. A single burst should kill the target, which is why I told you to aim for that one. If you somehow mess up, try and weaken the other plans before trying again so you only have to hit them once or twice will inverted to get a kill and make your life easier.

Anti-bomber service recognition badge

Shoot down 38 enemy bombers

Shoot down every single bomber (red marked enemy) as they appear, because they can and will escape if you dilly dally for too long. I highly recommend you do this on a lower difficulty setting, as it's pretty much a deathwish on Hard.

Pursuit of excellence pin

Play the mission again, improving your score.

You'll want to do this on multiple difficulties, most likely getting a higher score on the lower difficulty.

 

For King and Country

On Hard, the Spitfire really stands out as the best plane you've used yet, being very agile, having great firepower, and a very fast recovery speed to counter it's horrible armor. Making quick strafing runs and continuously launch rockets into large groups of planes to get decent combos, while staying alive.

Achievements

Start the mission off by taking the time to do the God Save The King Achievement by following the river and flying under each bridge. For me the achievement took about 10 seconds to unlock, and made me lag a bit and crash into London Bridge, so fair warning on that. Probably best to just restart the mission after it pops anyway.

Also a great time to get Ace of the Skies for taking out 6 planes in under a minute, A Confirmed Kill for shooting down a plane (NOT a bomber) with a rocket, and Trigger Happy for shooting 100 rockets in a mission.

5-Star Score 30,000+

Anti-bomber service recognition badge

Shoot down 20 enemy bombers

The primary objective is to shoot down bombers, so you will most certainly get this in the process

Gold combat badge

Shoot down 30 enemy planes

Make sure you shoot down at least 10 fighters will going for the 20 enemy bombers, and you will get this as well.

Reconnaissance pin

Take a closer look at the landmark

From the start of the mission, fly near the large domed building that is down and to your right and the pop up will appear telling you the landmark has been marked.

 

The Battle of Midway

A very straightforward mission, just get some notice torpedo action while evading a little bit of flak fire, mainly coming from the ships. Read the Efficient special ordnance pin description if you are having trouble.

5-Star Score 20,000+

Efficient special ordnance pin - Torpedoes

Sink 9 ships with torpedoes

At the beginning of the mission you'll get a brief torpedo tutorial, basically they work like bombs as far as aiming, but you have to drop them before the circle is on top of the target and use the dotted line to judge where the torpedo will go. As soon as the mission starts, drop down a bit and leave your speed where it is so you can drop a torpedo and reload before each ship. The ships are basically all aircraft carriers and their cruiser escorts and taking out all of them before you run out of fuel will get you this pin and allow you to finish the bonus challenge.

Outstanding American pilot versatility badge II

Finish the mission flying Douglas SBD-5 'Dauntless'

You don't have this plane yet, so you'll need to wait until you get it to get this badge (end of the Act).

Experienced combat pilot badge

Finish the mission without using the Ace Mode

Since the entire battle revolves around sinking some boats, this should come even easier than usual.

Edited by Shiftie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Payback Time

Not a very Hard mission overall, even on Hard. Basically stick to use the bomb and double tap :rbbut: to drop them two at a time for bonus points. Once you get to the airfield try and aim for groups to get a combo going. After clearing the area with bombs, be sure to land on the longer runway for the bravery medal.

Achievement

Drop a bomb on a plane as it takes off for Moving Target.

5-Star Score: 200,000

Naval operations recognition badge

Destroy 6 ships with bombs

Be sure to switch to your bombs when you start the level by pressing :ybut:, after that just let 'em drop because there are tons of boats to sink.

Tactical recognition badge

Destroy 9 enemy planes on the ground

To pretty much guarantee this, I recommend having your bombs equipped and flying straight passed the runaway plane you chase after bombing the harbor. Once you see the airfield, prepare to drop bombs at the far end of either runway, which is where the planes are Taxiing. There are also a couple of planes parked near the runway you can take out.

Medal for exceptional bravery

Land on the enemy airfield

Once you've cleared out the airfield, land on the longer runway and take off again to finish off the planes in the sky and finish the mission.

 

Special Delivery

You can get passed this mission with no hassle on Hard by landing at the correct airfield the first time around. Read the badge/pin requirements for details.

Achievement

The Onslaught unlocks once you finish the level. Halfway through the campaign!

5-Star Score: >60,000 which is 4 stars on Hard

Silver Combat Badge

Shoot down 3 enemy planes

Enemy planes will only appear if you land at the false landing zone. Your allies will make a remark about thinking the landing zone is the wrong one. It will probably be the first you see along the river (it's the closest to the starting point)

Outstanding operational efficiency badge

Complete all secondary mission objectives

Land at the real runway, and when you have to go blow up a bridge, shoot it with 4 missiles and then wait for the convoy to get on top of the bridge before shooting it with 4 more to get the bonus objective.

Reconnaissance pin

Take a closer look at the landmark

As the mission starts, turn to your back left and fly along the coast toward the castle you should remember from the last mission. A pop-up will appear when you are close enough for the pin. Press :rs: to boost your speed, as you'll be timed while doing this. Make sure you do not land at the runway that causes one of your allies to say "that's odd, intelligence said it was farther war" or something like that. The real runway is a little farther along the river.

 

Act II

 

Hunting Season

From the start, stay far left to avoid the first ship that comes up on the left. Once you see another ship, turn right and ease between that shit and the first ship, staying an equal distance from both as you head toward the target island. Evade some groups of planes and then you'll find the Admiral and his escort. Check out the silver combat badge description for a way to get the 5-star score on Hard.

5-Star Score: 10000+

Silver combat badge

Shoot down 5 enemy planes

You basically have 5 planes shoved down your throat once you find the Admiral's plane. On Hard I would recommend backtracking a bit from that checkpoint and then turning back toward the planes so the 5 of them are grouped up and then unload all of your rockets before evading out of the way and pray that works, otherwise you'll be dead in under a second (seriously).

Outstanding American pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying NAA P-92 'Twin Mustang'

You will unlock this after finishing the Act.

Pursuit of excellence pin

Play the mission again, improving your score.

You'll need to play it twice for the 2nd badge anyway, but restarting the mission works fine too.

 

Ships in the Night

On Hard just intercept the enemy fleet, shoot down a lot of planes and then head back to base. Focus on sinking as many cruisers as you can until they start bombing your base and then take out the bombers and head back to finish off the ships. The bombers are the only real threat to shooting you down.

5-Star Score 25,000+

Efficient special ordnance pin - Torpedoes

Sink 5 ships with torpedoes

See Naval operations recognition badge

Naval operations recognition badge

Destroy 5 ships with bombs

As far as I can tell there aren't 10 ships, so focus on using one of the two, bombs or torpedoes, to take out all of the ships and then do the mission over again with the other.

Aerial combat recognition pin

Shoot down 10 enemy fighter

You can get all 10 fighters easily when you first intercept the enemy fleet. The bombers also have some fighter escorts you can fight.

 

 

A New Kind of Weapon

Achievement

You can get the A Private Party achievement by shooting down all V-1 rockets before they hit London. Use Ace Mode (:ltbut:), set your wingmen to fire at will (:ddown:) and use the Gloster Meteor Mk. I to make this much easier (you may also want to do it on Easy).

5-Star Score 25,000+

Outstanding British pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying Hawker Hurricane Mk. II

You have this available as an alternate plane from the get go, although it's slow speed and overall poor stats may interfere with your Hard mode efforts. If you're on any other difficulty, feel free to fly it without fear of getting shot down.

Outstanding operation efficiency badge

Complete all secondary mission objectives

Do not let any Rockets hit the city. This will unlock with the Achievement.

Expereienced combat pilot badge

Finish the mission without using the Ace Mode

Ace Mode will be very helpful in getting the achievement, so don't plan on getting it this run unless you're on Easy.

 

The Best Defense

5-Star Score 30,000+

Gunner Pin

Destroy 5 vehicles with guns

Your machine guns don't help much on Hard, but only 5 vehicles isn't too much

Outstanding operational efficiency badge

Complete all secondary mission objectives

The mission will quickly start out with 3 V-1 missiles being fired and you must destroy all of them for the bonus objective. Fly right over the ocean when you start and shoot them down as they enter the sky and then quickly turn to where they came from and unleash a couple of rocket barrages to keep anymore missiles from being shot.

Medal for excellence in aerial combat

Win a duel with an ace

The Ace pilot will appear (with a cut scene) at the end of the mission. For whatever reason this does not seem to unlock properly if you shoot him down with a rocket, even though that is technically a win for you. So take the long way around and just shoot him a lot.

Edited by Shiftie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Search and Rescue

Some key things to note, for 5-starring this on Hard, are the fact that your plane has basically a semi-automatic bomb-dropping system. Every time you top :rbbut: you will drop a bomb. Knowing this, I highly recommend weaving back and forth to cover as much ground as you can when bombing the camp - carpet bomb it - and slow down while bombing along the length of the battleships when you're bombing them for maximum combos and points overall. Also note, that once the group of 4 battleships appear, you must finish off the score before saving the crew from the island as the mission will finish once you save them.

5-Star Score 95,000+

Gold Combat badge

Shoot down 2 enemy planes

Shortly after starting the mission you'll encounter 3 Japanese Zeroes heading your way. The plane you're flying maneuvers like a bus, so try and take out as many as you can while they're still flying straight toward you. Luckily, the gun is pretty powerful.

Pursuit of excellence pin

Play the mission again, improving your score

Play it once, and then play it again on a lower difficulty, or just do better.

Medal of perserverance

Finish the mission without dying

The main issue with this on Hard is the anti-aircraft fire you encounter on the first island. In general, you'll want to fly rather high up, which can make it harder for you to aim your bombs (hold :rbbut: before dropping bombs to help aim), but it helps you avoid both AA fire, and the fire from the smaller weapons on the base. Other than that, that boats aren't too big of an issue, and the planes only really do damage if they fly in to you (which they can and will do). Also watch out for your own planes..I actually ended up crashing when a "teammate" flew into me.

 

Island in the Mist

Very easy level overall as you have a ton of support and most of the fire will be directed at your bombers once they appear. You'll want to rack up as many combo points as possible by bombing/shooting rockets at the land targets in the beginning of the level, and then just riding out the rest of the fight, trying to shoot down planes with rockets and getting the inverted kill.

5-Star Score 50,000+

Tactical recognition badge

Destroy 5 enemy planes on the ground

Right off the bat, use :ybut: to switch to your missiles and head to the airfield on your left. Aim for the yellow targets and continue to launch rocket volleys until you've killed at least 5 of them.

Antipodean Ace Medal

Destroy 1 enemy plane in inverted flight

Once again, open the :start: menu and switch the controls to simulation and then flip yourself upside until you get a kill. Save this for the part where you must protect the bombers and kill the incoming airplanes.

Medal for exceptional bravery

Land on the enemy airfield

This appears to only count if you land on the largest runway in the main part of the airfield. You can do it at any time during the fight, though I recommend clearing the AA and tanks out first.

 

Raising the Flag

This time around, a lot of the enemy aircraft will be firing at you alone, especially during the tank-killing portion of the mission. Focus on getting the medals and the score should come naturally, especially if you shoot the missiles in just the right way at the tank groups to take all 3 of them out in one hit for a nice bonus.

5-Star Score 50,000+

Medal for exceptional combat efficiency

Destroy all enemy vehicles in a mission

At the start of the mission, make sure you blow up all of the yellow targets that are on the ground and then personally kill all of the tanks in the next part of the mission (3 groups of 3).

Medal for outstanding vigilance

Shoot down 15 kamikazes (planes or boats)

After you've cleared out the three sets of tanks, Kamikaze planes will start going after your ships and they'll be you're next objective. Way more than 15 planes will appear, and they are pretty easy to shoot down, so just focus on cutting them down as they come into range of you and you'll be fine.

Outstanding American pilot versatility badge II

Finish the mission flying Grumman TBF-1 'Avenger'

As usual, you have to choose the worst plane available and finish the mission with it. While you can do it on Hard, I would recommend just going through it on Easy.

The Last Battleship

P-38 Lightning is a safe bet for this one. Read the achievement and medal descriptions for a run through on Hard.

Achievement

You will unlock V for Victory if you played the whole game on Hard, The Road to Victory for beating Act II and you can also unlock Divine Thunder for finishing the level without a single ally battleship being sunk. For the battleship one, make sure you don't let any Kamikaze boats hit the ships so you can just start over fresh from the checkpoint at the beginning of the fight with the Yamato if any of your ships sink. Check on your ships every now and then to see if you need to restart.

5-Star Score 30,000+

Outstanding American pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying NAA P-28 'Twin Mustang'

This plane will not be available until you finish the mission (and the act). Once you've done that, replay the mission flying that plane.

Aerial combat recognition pin

Shoot down 10 enemy fighters

Tons of fighters appear during the fight with the Yamato and her escort, but going for 10+ fighters may void your Divine Thunder achievement if you're going for that now.

Medal of perseverance

Finish the mission without dying

With the constant threat of being shot down, and the inclusion of an Ace at the end of the mission, I recommend you save this for an Easy playthrough.

Edited by Shiftie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Russia Under Siege DLC

(Eastern Winds)

 

Aftermath

Somewhat tricky when it comes to getting 5 stars on Hard, as well as going for the Gunner pin on Hard. There are plenty of tanks to kill, but their constant fire, and the distraction from enemy aircraft can make reaching a really high combo a bit difficult. Worst case scenario you will need to do it twice, luckily it's not too long and actually quite fun.

5-Star Score 90,000+

Anti-armored service recognition badge

Destroy 35 enemy tanks

You will encounter two huge convoys of enemy tanks during the duration of the mission, kill about 75% of them yourself and you'll get this badge. Obviously stick to doing strafe runs with your missiles and aim in the middle of any groups.

Gunner pin

Destroy 15 vehicles with guns

Going for this and the Anti-armored badge together on Hard can be rather difficult as the tanks take quite a bit longer to kill with your machine guns on Hard. On the other difficulties, or after you've done the above medal, you can get this without much issue by doing basic strafing runs over the tank convoys.

Outstanding Soviet pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying Polikarpov I-16

Finish the DLC missions to unlock this plane.

 

All Aboard

Achievement

You will unlock the All Aboard.. achievement by stopping the train before it reaches the station (which is before where the train actually stops). The train will appear near the end of the mission, just make sure you continuously launch rockets at the front of the train. Also, flying at minimum speed allows you to drop multiple bombs on the roof of the train as it will only be going a little bit slower than you (with the Ilyushin). This can be rather difficult on Hard.

5-Star Score 70,000+

Medal for exceptional combat efficiency

Destroy all enemy vehicles in a mission

Clear all of the radio tower camps, all of the secondary objectives, and the tanks that appear near the train tracks. It may also include the vehicles that shoot you from on top of the train.

Outstanding Soviet pilot versatility badge II

Finish the mission flying Polikarpov I-16

This will be your 2nd choice for a plane for this mission, however it is awful compared to the Ilyushin Il-2.

Outstanding operational efficiency badge

Complete all secondary mission objectives

Intercept the Fascist convoy then destroy the Romanian fighters that appear

 

A Night in the Reich

A rather fun and simple mission. Some general tips are to use your rockets for the duration of the mission and shoot them at a steady pace so you can fire a stream of them instead of having to wait and reload and you should also be moving your crosshairs around to carpet bomb an area. This allows you to build up huge combos as there will be constant rocket attacks on any given target. The initial rocketing of the planes for the badge should net you over 200k points alone. After that, it's all about staying alive and getting multiple hits on target (for the V-1 rocket launchers) and trying to get multi-kill combos.

5-Star Score 300,000+

Medal of Perserverance

Finish the mission without dying

Not overly difficult as most of the planes will be focused on your allies, so your only real threat will be the tanks in the first base, which will be yellow markers scattered around the base (only a couple, but they're accurate and powerful).

Efficient special ordnance pin - Rockets

Destroy 15 enemy buildings with rockets

Basically just stick to rockets for the duration of the level, the red markers on the ground are usually buildings, if you can't otherwise tell by the fact that they're not shooting at you.

Tactical recognition badge

Destroy 10 enemy planes on the ground

Very simple as there is a massive group of planes (yellow markers) grouped up on the left side of the area as you start the mission, just bomb them with rockets and you're good to go, plus you'll get a huge score, which you will need to 5 star the mission.

 

The Battle of Kursk

Not my favorite mission, though very easy to 5-star, it's not so easy to get the second badge on, so I would recommend cleaning it up with the best plane available, and also on the lowest difficulty. One quick tip for the Ace that appears at the end of the mission is once he kills you (meaning you have trouble with him) he will then appear to the bottom right of you on your screen after the checkpoint, so fly straight towards him and keep launching rockets to finish him off easy.

5-Star Score 40,000+

Anti-armored service recognition badge

Destroy 25 enemy tanks

Clear out as many tanks as you can in the opening sequence before the bombers appear and keep track of how many you killed. Once the first wave of bombers are gone, head back down and finish off the remaining tanks.

Selfless service badge

Allow less than 75% damage to escorted units

To make this even feasibly possible on Hard (obviously much easier on lesser difficulties), start clearing the tanks from left to right (red markers to yellow markers), starting from range with your rockets and then swapping to close range bombs to clear out as many as you can as you make your way to the right side of the screen to meet the three bomber groups that spawn and you must quickly take them out. The next group of bombers thankfully spawns much farther away.

Outstanding Soviet pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying Petlyakov Pe-3bis

Use :rbbut: or :lbbut: to choose this twin engine plane during the mission select. It's not quite as armored as some of the other planes, but then again there's no badge for not dying this time around.

 

Bombs Over Berlin

Not much to say, it's just a straight forward aerial escort where you must keep the enemy fighters (and later tanks) off of your ally bomber squadron. When one of the bombers gets shot down, make sure to keep him safe from enemy fighters, otherwise it may inflict a big chunk of damage in the escort's health.

5-Star Score 18,000+

Selfless service badge

Allow less than 75% damage to escorted units

I'd recommend doing this on Easy, and be sure to take care of the tanks that appear on the ground in the second half of the mission. Otherwise, much easier than the last mission, which doesn't make sense since he still crashes.

Outstanding Soviet pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying Polikarpov I-16

Use :lbbut: to select this flying heap of metal and pray you don't get shot, ever. I would recommend doing this on Hard and the above badge on easy, or vice versa.

Gold combat badge

Shoot down 25 enemy planes

Not quite as easy on Hard as it would usually be as the escort is constantly moving and there can be long gaps without seeing even a single enemy before a large group appears right before the end of the mission that you must quickly dispatch. Be sure to use the best plane available to make life easier.

Edited by Shiftie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Siege of Berlin

One thing to note about this level is that once you clear out most of the tanks and you see a convoy escaping, wait until one of the trucks gets into a plane on the runway and tries to leave. Once it's taking off, destroy it and go after the rest of the vehicles that are escaping down the road.

5-Star Score 39,500+

Anti-armored service recognition badge

Destroy 12 enemy tanks

Since you only need 1 rocket per tank, and quite a few spawn in the airstrip you must capture, you should be able to get this without much work.

Outstanding Soviet pilot versatility badge II

Finish the mission flying Polikarpov I-16

This plane is still awful, and quite frankly getting obnoxious.

Aerial combat recognition pin

Shoot down 20 enemy fighters

While there are tons of enemy fighters on this level, you will spend most of the time flying around doing other objectives so it can be difficult to do this if you take too long focusing on other things.

 

Rise of the Jetfighter

Achievement

Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat will unlock once you shoot down the enemy Ace, and Eastern Winds will unlock once you finish the mission. Depending on how you have been playing, Famous Ace may also unlock now, or on another mission when you mop up.

5-Star Score 80,000? (Guesstimate) 60,000 was 3 stars

Gold combat badge

Shoot down 10 enemy planes

Because you're more or less racing against the clock, you may want to try this on a lower difficulty setting. Either way, there are plenty of planes to be shot down, but not much spare time between tank-busting and Ace-killing.

Gunner pin

Destroy 25 vehicles with guns

Another one you may want to lower the difficulty for as there are a ton of tanks to kill, and machine gun damage isn't as time effective on Hard as it is on other difficulties. Whatever your choice, keep track of how many of the tanks you take out before swapping to rockets. You may even want to soften them up with a rocket shot on higher difficulties to save time.

Medal for excellence in aerial combat

Win a duel with an ace

As far as I can tell this is story related, and will also net you an achievement. However, during the story mode there was a medal for destroying an ace, which I did not get and I suspect it was because I shot him down with a rocket, so I decided to shoot this guy down with my regular guns. Feel free to try either way, especially since there are plenty of opportunities to rocket him.

 

 

Fires Over Africa DLC

(The Sands of Africa)

 

 

The Rats of Tobruk

This mission tasks you with protecting a city that is under siege by enemy planes, tanks, and boats, and you must take them out in that respective order. Thankfully, the targets only seem to be a threat to the city while they are still highlighted as red, so once the planes are no longer the target, move on to the tanks, and then the same with the boats. Although you can get the Gunner pin on Hard, the Gold combat badge may be a tad more difficult unless you focus on the planes for a bit even after they turn yellow and the tanks appear. Only one of the three tank convoys that appear is close to the city at first, so you may want to kill that group before returning to the planes.

Achievement

You can pretty easily get Flying Hunter - sink 5 ships in under a minute - as each of the ships that come at the end of the mission takes about 16 rockets to blow up, so take them all down to about 25% health and then finish them all off 1-by-1.

5-Star Score 80,000+

Gold combat badge

Shoot down 15 enemy planes

Gunner pin

Destroy 10 vehicles with guns

As always, lower the difficulty or soften them up with rockets.

Reconnaissance pin

Take a closer look at the landmark

To the back left of the area is a huge stone archway over a river. Fly close to get the pop-up saying you'll get the pin.

 

Naval Warfare

You must escort a convoy to safety while fighting enemy planes, mines, and a really big boat. Using rocket volleys on the battleship, and taking out all the mines in one bomb a piece will get you 5 stars easily.

5-Star Score 27,500+

Silver combat badge

Shoot down 15 enemy planes

To be completely honest I didn't even notice 15 planes my first time around, and you will want to make sure you go after every single plane to get this, which may very well void an attempt at the next bade as the bombers and battleship may go unchecked.

Selfless service badge

Allow less than 75% damage to the escorted units

To help this along, IGNORE the enemy patrol that appears off to the right of the convoy. After a few seconds a huge group of bombers will appear directly on top of the convoy and demolish it if you can't get to it in time (and maybe even then too). The mines in the next section are easily taken out with one bomb per group. After that you have to fight the battleship from the last mission. All you need to do is get him to half health and the mission will end. Slowing to minimum speed and firing rocket volleys is probably the quickest method. As long as the convoy has OVER 25% health, you should get this badge.

Experienced combat pilot

Finish the mission without using the Ace Mode

Don't press and hold :ltbut: and you're golden.

 

Desert Storm

This mission is a little ridiculous in the fact that you could finish it in about two seconds with rockets, and it's the one mission where you don't have any rockets...or bombs..or anything at all aside from your machine guns, which you need to use to take out three bombers and three super bombers while pretty much flying on top of them. You also can't fly above them or you'll get hit by AA, or below them because you'll get hit by..the Earth. One big tip is to take the first right the planes pass in the canyon, as they will take the next right and loop around to where you are, because for the planes take a lot more damage from the front than the back and cutting them off like this can get you some easy damage, and is much safer than following them. Pair that with dealing a lot of damage as they take off from the airstrip, and you just might make it.

5-Star Score 27,000+

Gunner pin

Destroy 10 vehicles with guns

Between the power of the main plane in this mission, and the presence of many very weak vehicles (the halftracks), AND the fact that the first portion of the mission is very close quarters, this pin isn't too bad on any difficulty as long as you avoid tank fire.

Outstanding British pilot versatility badge I

Finish the mission flying Handley-Page Halifax Mk. III

You will need to finish these DLC missions to unlock the plane for this mission (thankfully it's not the PZL.37 'Los').

Pursuit of excellence pin

Play the mission again, improving your score

You will need to do this mission twice, anyway, so try and do "bad" your first time if you want to make the second one easier to do better in.

Edited by Shiftie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Convoy Hunting

On Hard, I recommend fighting the first group of enemy planes, and then starting on the large convoy of ships as more planes will eventually come and I cannot tell you how many times I cleared the convoy only to get kamikazed by a damn plane right after as they ignore you almost entirely until all the ships are gone, so the fewer planes there are, the better. The E-boats you fight after this can be really annoying as well.

Achievement

A second opportunity to get the Flying Hunter achievement, and perhaps even better than the previous as there are a lot of ships.

5-Star Score 39,000+

Naval operations recognition badge

Destroy 9 ships with bombs

There are tons and tons of ships in this mission, and I highly recommend softening all of them up with rockets first. Do note that the bombs seem to do a lot more damage than rockets on the large freighters, and the opposite for the destroyers. Make sure you get the 1250 point (bomb) kill bonus at least 9 times.

Outstanding British pilot versatility badge II

Finish the mission flying Gloster Meteor Mk. I.

:lbbut: from the primary plane will allow you to fly the Gloster, which trades the Beaufighter's armor and armaments for Speed ( a lot of speed). Use agile planes such as this, I suggest softening up the boats for the naval ops badge with rockets prior to using the bomb(s) to finish them off.

Experienced combat pilot badge

Finish the mission without using Ace Mode

No :ltbut:.

 

Showdown at El Alamein

It is important to try and combo targets as much as possibly, be it tanks, or bunkers. Use a bomb + rocket mix to take out two takes at a time for combos in the first section of the mission. Once your ally waits for you to clear the mines, you can choose to instead shoot down some planes for more points, which may void your selfless service badge depending on your difficulty. Once you've had your fill, try and line up the mines so you can drop two bombs to combo 6 mines (1 bomb can take out a 3 mine group). Once that is done, a couple of bunkers appear on a hill to the left of El Alamein that you can combo together, and there are some tanks parked on a hill overlooking a town that you can combo as well. Be sure to also take out the bombers for the defense badge. After that the mission is basically over.

5-Star Score 100,000+

Gold Combat Badge

Shoot down 15 enemy planes

There are plenty of planes, optional and necessary, that you can shoot down during this mission.

Anti-armored service recognition badge

Destroy 15 enemy tanks

Again, plenty of tanks to take out, just make sure you're the one getting the kills.

Selfless service badge

Allow less than 75% damage to escorted units

This is possible on Hard as long as you stay on top of quickly getting rid of the red targets as they appear, especially the bombers, which are actually pretty easy to take out. You will also want to take out the yellow bunkers to the left of town as well as any fighters between objectives.

 

The Conte di Cavour

A very straight forward, although rather annoying mission that tasks you with bombing a sitting, killing and Ace, and sinking a ship, all while getting shot at by every German and Italian in Africa. The three badge/pins in this mission cover the basics of what you're doing in the mission, so read those descriptions if you need help. As with pretty much any bombing mission, you should have plenty of points to spare after getting a 5-Star score.

Achievement

The Sands of Africa will complete once you finish this, the last mission of the DLC.

5-Star Score 75,000+

Efficient special ordnance pin - Torpedoes

Sink 3 ships with Torpedoes

Dealing with the ships using actually Torpedoes isn't too bad, but I highly recommend you do not fly over the boats as the main target has some very accurate AA guns that have a rather limited range, so circle around the outside and keep launching Torpedoes, sinking the escorts first and then the big guy so you get credit for all 3. If you're having fighter trouble and are at low health, fly in circles...seriously. Fly low, and fly in circles, dropping a torpedo every time you circle around to face the Conte di Cavour.

Medal for excellence in aerial combat

Win a duel with an ace

Once you see the cut scene for the Ace as you approach the Battleships, IMMEDIATELY turn left and unload on him as he flies straight toward you. You are basically a flying fortress, he however is made of paper.

Efficient special ordnance pin - Bombs

Destroy 10 enemy buildings with bombs.

As far as I can tell, this is pretty much required to proceed, granted you could potentially have a kill stolen from you. The plane you're flying is another bomber that can drop bombs whenever you press the :rbbut: to do so, so you will start the mission off by carpet bombing three areas, with tanks/AA being the more important to kill first (yellow targets) and then the buildings (red targets).

Edited by Shiftie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...
Payback Time

Not a very Hard mission overall, even on Hard. Basically stick to use the bomb and double tap :rbbut: to drop them two at a time for bonus points. Once you get to the airfield try and aim for groups to get a combo going. After clearing the area with bombs, be sure to land on the longer runway for the bravery medal.

5-Star Score: 200,000

 

I've scored as much as 245,800 points during this mission and still haven't been able to get a 5-star rating.

 

Can someone please give me an idea of either the actual score to shoot for or what it is I'm doing wrong?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Going for 5* is everything to do with making combos and not so much the number of kills. Weaken large ships and finish 3-4 off within seconds of one another to pull off higher scores. Continually tell your wingmen to either follow you or send them after a target far away to ensure they do not take your targets. Use Left Trigger liberally to line up the next shot and keep those kills coming in rapid succession.

 

There is no difficulty modifier so do yourself a favor and make your 5* run on easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
  • Create New...