Lethal Skies Elite Pilot: Team SW FAQ By: Scott Dumblauskas Version 5.0 Table of Contents 1) Intro 2) Controls 3) G-simulator 4) Game basics 5) Planes 6) Weapons 7) Pilots 8) Mission walkthroughs 9) FAQ's 10) Secrets and stuff like that there 11) Thanks to section and contact info 12) Version updates 1) Intro Well my second FAQ... another flight game. Well anyway, the game play is very good, very realistic, and sometimes too realistic. Basically a catastrophe has caused most of the world to become uninhabitable due to flooding, but that never seems to keep people from wanting to take over the world. That's where you come in. you are part of the elite SW squadron. Basically you are called upon whenever there's something that some guy doesn't want to deal with. That's it for the brief overview. Ohh and by the way... Copyright notice is as follows, also contains the ONLY site this should be on. This FAQ copyright 2002 Scott Dumblauskas and may not be reproduced in any form and may not appear on any site except www.gamefaqs.com without the expressed written consent of Scott Dumblauskas. All rights reserved. 2) Controls Start - pause, bring up mission map Select - change views Left Analog - fly the plane Right Analog - view the surroundings L3 - not used R3 -- look back Triangle - change weapon Square - change target X - fire vulcans Circle - fire missile R1/L1 - thrust up/down respectively R2/L2 - yaw right/left respectively Up/Down on d-pad - change radar range (S, M, L, A) Left/Right on d-pad - add or take away radar details (Ground details and such) 3) G-simulator A feature unique to this game (and real life) is the "G-simulator". When active, reactions that normal pilots would feel whilst doing a high-g turn or dive become apparent. For instance, doing a hard turn at mach 1.1 will cause the screen to go black, nearly to the point that you cannot see. I personally don't use it, but it is a nice feature to incorporate into an already realistic game. 4) Game basics This game is very different from the Ace Combat series that Namco has out. The flight physics are very close to real life, you no longer have the luxury of 70+ missiles like in the Ace Combat series, and the missions have been toned down to represent real life encounters (i.e. no player vs. 50+ targets). Another unique thing is the chaff and flare system to this game. When a missile is fired at you, or at the enemy, the plane automatically releases a chaff or flare to divert the missile. Very handy, but don't become too dependant on them as you never have a lot of them. Locking on to enemies takes time, too. Once you have an enemy in your sights, it will take time for the computer to actually lock onto the target. The speed is dependant on the plane's FCS (fire control system). Damage is another different thing in this game. Any one of 5 areas (4 on some planes) can be damaged, each with different results. The five areas are the wings, fuel tank, FCS, and engine(s). Damage to the wings reduces maneuverability, damage to the fuel tanks causes fuel to leak and thereby reducing the amount of time you have in the air, damage to the FCS causes lock-ons to take longer and eventually become non-existent and damage to the engines causes the thrust to be less effective. Fuel is another thing that was implemented in this game. The restriction on how long you can stay airborne depends on how much fuel you have, as well as not failing the mission. Well that's pretty much all you need to know about the game upfront, now on to the real deal. 5) Planes Note, for some planes unlocking data may be incorrect, notify me at icmann@hotmail.com if you find the exact way to do something. See email policy. F-14D "Super Tomcat" Chaff/Flares - 4 Pylons W - 0, S - 4, M - 4, L - 0 Stats Speed 5 Vulcan 5 Mobility 2 FCS 5 Range 4 Stealth 0 How to unlock: N/A F-16 "Fighting Falcon" Chaff/Flares - 4 Pylons W - 2, S - 2, M - 4, L - 1 Stats Speed 4 Vulcan 6 Mobility 2 FCS 5 Range 3 Stealth 0 How to unlock: N/A X-16S "Haggard" Chaff/Flares - 8 Pylons W - 2, S - 2, M - 4, L - 1 Stats Speed 8 Vulcan 10 Mobility 8.5 FCS 10 Range 3 Stealth 4 How to unlock: Mission 6, blow up mansion, complete mission F/A-18E "Super Hornet" Chaff/Flares - 6 Pylons W - 2, S - 2, M - 4, L - 1 Stats Speed 5 Vulcan 7 Mobility 4 FCS 7 Range 1.5 Stealth 4 How to unlock: N/A F-15E "Strike Eagle" Chaff/Flares - 6 Pylons W - 0, S - 4, M - 4, L - 1 Stats Speed 7 Vulcan 7 Mobility 5 FCS 7 Range 2 Stealth 0 How to unlock: Mission 3, S rank or no ships lost. F-22 "Raptor" Chaff/Flares - 8 Pylons W - 0, S - 4, M - 4, L - 0 Stats Speed 7 Vulcan 9 Mobility 7 FCS 10 Range 6.5 Stealth 10 How to unlock: Mission 17, complete and S rank F-25 "Black Owl" Chaff/Flares - 10 Pylons W - 0, S - 4, M - 4, L - 0 Stats Speed 8.5 Vulcan 10 Mobility 10 FCS 10 Range 6 Stealth 8.5 How to unlock: Mission 13, destroy all submarines very quickly (very very quickly...) My stats to unlock: Time: 53 secs Rank: B YF-23 "Black Widow" Chaff/Flares - 8 Pylons W - 0, S - 2, M - 2, L - 1 Stats Speed 6.5 Vulcan 10 Mobility 7 FCS 10 Range 2 Stealth 10 How to unlock: Mission 11, complete and land EF-2000 "Typhoon" Chaff/Flares - 6 Pylons W - 0, S - 6, M - 4, L - 1 Stats Speed 4.5 Vulcan 5 Mobility 5 FCS 7 Range 3 Stealth 5 How to unlock: Mission 12 within time limit normal or higher difficulty, could also be rank dependant. Jas39 "Gripen" Chaff/Flares - 8 Pylons W - 2, S - 4, M - 2, L - 1 Stats Speed 5 Vulcan 6 Mobility 5 FCS 7 Range 3 Stealth 3.5 How to unlock: Mission 12, within time limit, easy difficulty Note: I received this with an E rank, yeah. Mig-29 "Fulcrum" Chaff/Flares - 6 Pylons W - 0, S - 4, M - 2, L - 1 Stats Speed 5 Vulcan 5 Mobility 3 FCS 5 Range 2 Stealth 0 How to unlock: Mission 8 Note: My stats: Time: 79secs Aircraft down: 7 Su-27k "Flanker" Chaff/Flares - 8 Pylons W - 2, S - 4, M - 4, L - 1 Stats Speed 5 Vulcan 5 Mobility 4.5 FCS 10 Range 6.5 Stealth 2 How to unlock: Mission 8, S rank or lose no rigs Note: You may need to trigger reinforcements to actually get this plane. S-37 "Berkut" Chaff/Flares - 10 Pylons W - 0, S - 4, M - 4, L - 1 Stats Speed 6 Vulcan 10 Mobility 10 FCS 10 Range 4 Stealth 8 How to unlock: Mission 14 complete and land 6) Weapons AIM9M Sidewinder Weight 86 kg Power 10 Speed 6 Range 5 Available on W, S and M pylons. AIM120 AMRAAM Weight 228 kg Power 7 Speed 9 Range 10 Available on S and M pylons. AA11 Archer Weight 105 kg Power 9 Speed 7 Range 6 Available on W, S and M pylons. AA12 Kegler Weight 200 kg Power 4.5 Speed 10 Range 10 Available on S and M pylons. AIM900 Viper (multi missile) Weight 120 kg Power 9.5 Speed 10 Range 8 Available on S and M pylons. AGM65E Maverick Weight 210 kg Power 2 Speed 5 Range 3.5 Available on S, M and L pylons. AGM88 Karm Weight 400 kg Power 5 Speed 8 Range 7.5 Available on M and L pylons. AS10 Karen Weight 200 kg Power 1 Speed 5 Range 4.5 Available on S, M and L pylons. AS14 Kegde Weight 350 kg Power 7 Speed 7 Range 6 Available on M and L pylons. AGM900 Tarantula (multi missile) Weight 300kg Power 10 Speed 9.5 Range 5 Available on M and L pylons. AAG700 Newt (all purpose, can lock onto any target) Weight 300 Power 2 Speed 7 Range 3 Available on W, S and M pylons. LAU68 Rocket Weight 250kg Power 1 Speed 4.5 Range 2 Available on M and L pylons. Fuel Tank (adds 3000 liters of fuel to reserves) Weight 2340 kg Power N.A. Speed N.A. Range N.A. Available only on L pylon. 7) Pilots Jake Age 25 Lv 7 ATA 8 ATG 6 Grace Age 21 Lv 7 ATA 10 ATG 2 Doug Age 26 Lv 7 ATA 4 ATG 8 Nandini Age 28 Lv 7 ATA 2 ATG 10 Martin Age 24 Lv 8 ATA 6 ATG 7 8) Mission walkthroughs Note: I am missing some secret planes and stuff like that there. Soooooo... feel free to tell me EXACTLY how you unlocked some things, and then if they are true, they will get posted here and your name will be in the "Thanks to" section. Mission 1) The Messenger "The Messenger" Location: N.Y. Sea Weather: Clear Time: 11:00 EST Type: Destroy Ship Mission target mission time: 3 mins Enemy info F-14D x 4; chaff/flare x 1; 16AAM/0AGM DDG60 x 2; vulcan/SAM Salvage x 3; none; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Jake; any plane; attack all Grace; any plane; attack air Your weapons: try to fit as many AGM900's onto the plane of your choice, they make the mission very easy. with the other pylons, pack on at least one set of sidewinders, or sidewinder equivalent missiles. Don't take the newt missiles that HQ says are the best for the mission, they suck. Walkthrough: Ahhhhh. The first mission. Well to start you have to perform a take off. Just floor the throttle and as you take off, make sure not to crash into the water. The mission is very straightforward. Take out the 3 salvage boats. But that won't get you the better ranks. To get better ranks, kill the other boats, and down at least 2 enemy tomcats. A note on the multi missiles. It's best to fire them from nearly their maximum range so if they do lock onto more than one target, they have enough time to split and track those targets. Mission 2) Frontier Century "On wings of escape" Location: Nazca Weather: Clear Time: 10:00 Local time Type: Strike Mission target time: 3 mins Enemy info F-16 x 4; chaff/flares x 1; 16AAM/0AGM Gepard x 20; vulcan Parabola(1) x 3; MISSION CRITICAL Parabola(2) x 4; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Jake; any plane; attack ground Grace; any plane; attack air Your weapons: Again, as many AGM900's as the plane can handle, as well as the usual air-to-air missiles. Try to experiment with the mid range air to air missile. It enables you to have the "first look, first shot, first kill" capabilities at some times, and in later levels can save your tail. A fuel tank is not a good choice right now. Mission walkthrough: Well still the missions are not that hard, but getting there. the AGM900's will speed up the mission by a lot. None of the gepards are away from the arrays, so look for the groups, lock and fire away. One AGM900 should be enough to down the parabolas. Start downing planes as you see fit. They are more of a nuisance than anything right now. No landing so once the mission is done, on to the next one. Mission 3) Easter Parade "Supply Convoy" Location: Pacific Ocean Weather: Foggy Time: 11:00 OST Type: Escort Mission Target time: 4 mins Enemy info Mig29 x 6; chaff/flare x 2; 4 AAM/16AGM Reinforcements Wingman Jake; any plane; attack air Grace; any plane; attack air Your weapons: Air-to-air weapons. Your best bet is to pack on a couple of AAM900s and some mid range missiles to make the mission a little easier. This is also a good time to get accustomed to the vulcan in air-to-air combat. Mission walkthrough: The first real air superiority mission. By this time you should be confident in your skills to shoot stuff with a missile, if not, well go and get some confidence. Having the mid range missiles will make the mission go very quickly. Note that this mission is an escort. If the ships sink, you're sunk. If you hear the operator say something like "friendly ship under attack" find whatever plane is attacking the ship and make sure it learns the hard way that messing with you will be the last mistake of his life. Reinforcements will come after the initial mig's are downed. After you down them, you will be prompted to land, that is if the carrier is not destroyed. If it is, the mission will just end. If you can't seem to land, pause and select give up. The mission will end by doing that. Mission 4) Jetroller Destruction "Jetroller Destruction" Location: Alaska Weather: Clear Time: 18:00 AHST Type: Deep Strike Mission target time: 4 mins Enemy info Tiger x 6; chaff/flare x 0; 6 AAM/ 10 AGM DDG60 x 2; vulcan/SAM Lab; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman None Your weapons: Again, as many AGM900 as possible, they make taking out the lab quick and painless. The Tigers should be shot down with guns, as it is the easiest way to down them given the terrain. Mission walkthrough: OK, I'm going to find whoever thought that canyon flight missions are fun and personally yell at them. Ok, well enough of that. Well first things first... DO NOT EXIT THE CANYON AT ANY COSTS!!!!!!!! Doing so will make the mission a failure. As far as I've seen the best way to do the mission, not for ease but for rank, is to head right to begin with, then head up the middle to the lab. The lab is not all that hard to destroy, given some things. First, make sure that when the tarantulas split that you give them enough room for all of them to hit. And second that the massive amounts of flak it sends your way don't hit you. If you can deal with nearly no maneuvering room, you can do this mission. And if it seems hard, don't worry; it took me a lot of time to get the better ranks on this mission. Mission 5) Belzebub "Retaliation" Location: Texas Snowfield Weather: Clear Time: 6:00 CST Type: Intercept Mission target time: 4 mins Enemy info F-16 x 4; chaff/flare x 4; 4 AAM/ 11AGM Huge Weapon; Gun x 2(one on each side); Rotor x 4 Wingman Jake; any plane; attack air Grace; any plane; attack air Doug; any plane; attack air Your weapons: Pack in as many air-to-air missiles as possible. If you do feel the need to get the AAM900 save them for the huge weapon. (Trust me on that one!!) Mission walkthrough: The initial attack should not be a problem (try to conserve missiles here), but the huge weapon is a very huge (sorry bad pun) problem. Initially the only targets will be its 2 guns, one on each side. After those are destroyed, its four rotors will be its main targets. Attacking from above it is the best course of action against it. This is where any AGM900s come in handy. They make quick work of the beast. Also in the mission there is a chance for you to refuel. It's not that hard, but catching up with the KC-17 is a tough feat. To refuel, match speed with the tanker and get close. A red crosshair will appear, keep that on screen for a couple of seconds and you will automatically do the rest. Whilst refueling, don't fire any weapons or the tanker will detach you. This is where the missions pick up in difficultly. From here on out, luck is just as important as any missile or amount of skill you have. Mission 6) New Beginning "High Fortress" Location: The Pyrenees Weather: Clear Time: 10:00 WET Type: Escort Mission target time: 3 mins Enemy info F-16 x 4; chaff/flare x 1; 14 AAM/ 0 AGM; MISSION CRITICAL Reinforcements; usually F-15 x 2; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Jake; any plane; attack air Grace; any plane; attack air Doug; any plane; attack air Your weapons: Air-to-air only. Again, try to get the mid-range missiles for the easy kills. Also, if your plane has an "L" pylon, attach either rockets or the AGM900 (rockets recommended). Again you'll have to trust me on that one. Mission walkthrough: OK, you know how I told you that if you could pack the AGM900 missiles or rockets, here's why. Near the start of the mission there's a mansion. Blow it up! Yes, you heard me right, blow it up. Doing so and then getting A or better ranking unlocks the X-16S. Now onto the mission. After the escorted realizes that it's in danger, it will dive to the deck. But that's not going to help you. The first couple of enemies are not a problem, but the reinforcements are. (F-15E's) They approach nearly unchecked by anyone. They are a real threat to the mission. Down them the instant they show to make the mission go easier. Again, if the escorted goes down, you fail. Mission 7) Death City "Dust Cloud" Location: Tokyo Desert Weather: Thunderstorm Time: 11:00 JST Type: Strike Mission target time: 3 mins Enemy info Mig29 x 2; chaff/flare x 2; 10 AAM/ 0 AGM F-25 x 1; chaff/flare x 8; 14 AAM/ 0 AGM; MISSION CRITICAL (sort of) Huge Weapon; Pod x 6, Drive x 4, Bridge x 1; vulcan/SAM Reinforcements Wingman Jake; any plane; attack air Grace; any plane; attack air Doug; any plane; attack ground Your weapons: The multi missiles get a lot of work here. But also pack some air-to-air weapons in case something goes horribly wrong. Mission walkthrough: First, break toward the right. Get a good angle on the huge weapon, preferably one that allows one AGM900 to destroy all the pods. After they are all destroyed, the drives become the targets. They are low to the ground and kind of hard to destroy because they have a lot of armor. Take the front ones down first, and then take out the back two. After those are destroyed, the bridge becomes the only target. Destroy it fast. Now you're probably wondering, "Where is the F-25 you speak of??" Well there's the tough one. By not destroying the huge weapon fast enough, the F-25 will takeoff and motor it out of the area. Trust me, if you see that it's going to launch, don't worry about the land weapon, get those air-to-air missiles ready fast and blast that thing to pieces. It's way too fast for you to hesitate for a "good" shot, just fire missiles like crazy. It's way(!!) easier to just destroy the land carrier. Mission 8) Power Balance "Defending Digs" Location: Southeast Asia Weather: Clear Time: 20:00 Local time Type: Intercept Mission target time: 1 min 30 secs Enemy info B-2 x 2; chaff/flare x 8; 0 AAM/ 16 AGM; MISSION CRITICAL Mig29 x 2; chaff/flare x 2; 8 AAM/ 0 AGM Tiger x 4; chaff/flare x 1; 2 AAM/ 4 AGML MISSION CRITICAL Reinforcements, B-2 and Tiger Wingman Jake; any plane; attack air Grace; any plane; attack air Doug; any plane; attack air Your weapons: Hmmmm. Let's think about this for a second... You vs. a lot of airborne threats. Again, mid-range and multi's make the mission easier. Mission walkthrough: OK, get on defense. If all the rigs are destroyed, you fail. The B-2's can take a good amount of hits before buying the farm, but however they go down easy after a couple missiles. The Tigers are more of a threat due to the fact they can hover and pound the ever loving crap out of all the rigs all the time. Prioritizing is a skill you will have to learn here, very fast. If at all possible, take out the Tigers with your vulcans, save the missiles for the B-2's. Mission 9) Whitestorm "Whitestorm" Location Alps Weather: Snowstorm Time: 10:00 WET Type: Strike Mission target time: 3 mins Enemy info Mig 29 x 4; chaff/flare x 2; 10 AAM/ 0 AGM; MISSION CRITICAL Tiger x 4; chaff/flare x 2; 8 AAM/ 0 AGM Gepard x 9; vulcan SAIS x 5; SAM METLABO x 1 Parabola x 4; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Jake; any plane; attack all Grace; any plane; attack air Doug; any plane; attack ground Your weapons: Pack whatever you can onto your plane. AGM900's come in handy vs. the ground targets, but the Mig's are a threat as well. Try to balance your weapons to suit your needs and shortcomings. Mission walkthrough: Joy, people messing with weather. (Don't ask, I'm a meteorology major) You don't have radar at first; however you do get radar in areas not near the parabolas (or areas with parabolas that are craters). The easiest way to do this mission is to destroy the parabolas with AGM900's then for that area, you will have radar. The Tigers, again, are a nuisance. Ether down them with guns or a wing mounted crap missile. The biggest thing about this mission is living without the radar, however, they seem to forget that the map isn't affected, if you get lost, press pause, and check out the map to get your bearings. (Which is really odd, but whatever) Make sure to down the Mig's if you get the chance, they are mission critical, and it helps to have one less missile to evade. Mission 10) Sun Setting at Paris "Twilight Tango" Location: Old Paris Weather: Clear Time: 17:00 WET Type: Strike Mission target time: 2 mins Enemy info Su27K x 2; chaff/flare x 2; 18 AAM/ 0 AGM Tiger x 2; chaff/ flare x 1; 6 AAM/ 0 AGM Unknown weapon; launcher x 2; cannon x 1; core x 1; vulcan/SAM; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Jake; any plane; attack air Grace; any plane; attack air Martin; any plane; attack air Your weapons: Pack as many AGM900s and at least one (or two) sets of AGM65 (or equivalent). Save the latter for later. Mission walkthrough: Oh boy, here we go with the difficulty. Don't worry about the air targets, just focus on the big walker thingy. Make sure the multi missiles have enough room to split and track the targets for maximum effect. The launchers on top will be the first targets. Then the cannon on the top of the walker. Now here's where it gets tricky. The core of the beast is UNDER the weapon. This is where the AGM65 comes into play. Get low, really low... as in, "Hi people in buildings" low. Get a good, solid, UNOBSTRUCTED lock and fire ONE missile. The core can only be hit from certain angles (I've been told that the only direction the core will be vulnerable is the same direction the cannon is facing; cannon facing north, approach from north), so if you see that it was a positive hit, fire again, if not, try the opposite side. If you run out of missiles, pray that your gun skills are top notch, as that will be the only way to take it out. Mission 11) Mission of the L.A. "Not There" Location: L.A. Megafloat Weather: Clear Time: 11:00 PST Type: Intercept Mission target time: 4 min 30 secs Enemy info B-2 x 2; chaff/flare x 2; 0 AAM/ 16 AGM; MISSION CRITICAL Tiger x 2; chaff/flare x 1, 2 AAM/ 2 AGM; MISSION CRITICAL Reinforcements; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Grace; any plane; attack air Martin; any plane; attack air Jake; any plane; attack air Your weapons: Lots and lots of air-to-air weapons. Conserve ammo, but down every single plane. Mission walkthrough: To start, takeoff from carrier. Well another defense mission. You need to down everything very quickly. The B-2s are a big threat because they can destroy those dome things very quickly. The Tigers are just as much of a threat. If they get close enough, the domes are as good as gone. Your wingman will occasionally help out, but don't count on them. The B-2s will fly very slowly so getting behind them isn't hard. Your best bet is to snipe them from a distance with mid-range missiles. A carrier landing ends the mission. Reinforcements to appear if you take out the B-2's and Tiger's quickly, so keep an eye out on the radar. Mission 12) Jetroller 2 "Red Valley" Location: West Australia Weather: Rain (Understatement) Time: 18:00 AST Type: Deep Strike Mission target time: 3 mins Enemy info Gepard x 8; vulcan Launcher x 5; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman None Your weapons: Nothing but air to ground weapons. Also try to take out a plane with high vulcan, speed and mobility ratings. Try to take the mid-range, high power missiles as apposed to the multi-missiles. Mission walkthrough: Well first off, I want to point out something. At the start of the mission the operator says that there's turbulence, but all these high tech planes should be able to get through it. (See note at bottom) OK back to the mission at hand. I hope you have a good hand and a lot of patience. Going counter-clock wise will make the mission tolerable, although the first launcher may cause a little problem. Stick to the outside caverns. It's faster than going through the middle. You have four minutes to do this mission before the rockets launch so be quick. I still haven't found how to get a higher rank in the time allowed, because I hate canyon flight and the time is restricting. EXPERT PILOTS ONLY: You can fly over the ravine, but the turbulence is very, very tough to fly through. but however if you can bear it, the mission becomes a fast one. Try to keep the nose level and enough clearance from the ground to help a lot. Mission 13) Aurora Attack "Aurora Attack" Location: Antarctica Weather: Clear Time: 00:00 Local Time Type: Destroy Ship Mission target time: 2 min 30 secs Enemy info Mig29 x 4; chaff/flare x 2; 10 AAM/ 0 AGM Tiger x 1; chaff/flare x 2; 6 AAM/ 0 AGM SAIS x 4; SAM Gepard x 4; vulcan CGT3 x 1; vulcan/SAM Typhoon x 3; SAM; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Doug; any plane; attack air Nandini; any plane; attack ground Martin; any plane; attack ground Your weapons: As many AGM900s as the plane can carry, as well as all the air- to-ground weapons you can pack on. The only air-to-air weapons that should be on the plane are the ones that go on the wing pylon. Mission walkthrough: This is a quickie. Get a good angle on all the subs and the base and let loose all the AGM900s you got. If any subs didn't sink, just take them out with the other air-to-ground missiles you have. Ignore the CGT3 and Tiger they are just distractions. Note that the subs will submerge after a minute or so, so do the work for them, that is if you catch my drift. :) Mission 14) Silent Touchdown "Silent Touchdown" Location: Amazon Weather: Clear Time: 6:00 Local Time Type: Sweep Mission target time: 3 mins Enemy info Unknown x 3; unknown; MISSION CRITICAL (S-37s) Tiger x 2; chaff/flare x 2; 6 AAM/ 0 AGM; MISSION CRITICAL SAIS x 3; SAM; MISSION CRITICAL Gepard x 4; vulcan; MISSION CRITICAL Base x 3; various components, mainly around the control tower Wingman Martin; any plane; attack air Nandini; any plane; attack ground Jake; any plane; attack all Your weapons: AGM900 and mid range air-to-air missiles make this easy. Mission walkthrough: This really isn't that hard, but the "unknown" aircraft are superior in the air to any plane I had at the time. However there is only one plane that actually has to get in the air, the others can be taken out while they are taxi-ing (hint, hint). You can thoroughly destroy the base if you want, I have seen no consequences from it, except that if you damage the runway, there will be no landing at the end of the mission. They say that if you are detected that reinforcements will come, but I haven't seen any so far. A landing ends the mission, provided that the runway is intact. Mission 15) Easy Operation "Red Lotus" Location: North Siberia Weather: Clear Time: 00:00 RET Type: Strike Mission target time: 4 mins Enemy info Plant; Gun x 4; Generator x 4; MISSION CRITICAL Huge weapon; Gun x 2; Rotor x 4 Wingman Grace; any plane; attack air Nandini; any plane; attack ground Jake; any plane; attack air Your weapons: Pack as many AGM900s as the plane can carry. The guns can be taken out with guns or regular missiles, but you should save the AGM900s for later. Mission walkthrough: And you thought it would be cold in Siberia! Well your favorite chopper is back, and if that wasn't enough, the plant has invulnerable SAMS. (May be mistaken as they actually may be attached to the guns you destroy, unconfirmed.) Personally I just ignore the huge weapon, but that choice is up to you. Once you destroy the guns the interior generators become the targets. Climb vertically and arm the AGM900s. When you go to attack the generators, attack straight down so there is no way to miss. A couple of AGM900s and the plant is toast. If you seem to be having problems with the chopper, feel free to take it out, but I wouldn't waste the time. If you are fast, it should pose no problem as it starts far away from the base. Mission 16) Babel "Babel" Location: Tokyo Desert Weather: Clear Time: 17:00 JST Type: Strike Mission target time: 4 mins 30 sec Enemy info F-25 x 4; chaff/flare x 10; 12 AAM/ 0 AGM; MISSION CRITICAL Gepard x 4; vulcan SAIS x 4; SAM Facilities x 1; multiple targets; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Grace; any plane; attack air Jake; any plane; attack air Martin; any plane; attack air Your weapons: AGM900s and any other weapons you see fit. The amount of ground targets in this mission doesn't seem large, but they are packed tight. Mission Walkthrough: Well, hope you picked a plane with either a lot, and I do mean A LOT, of chaff and flares or a plane with a high stealth rating because in this mission, every missile is headed toward you. That alone makes the mission very frustrating. Now the first order you should take care of is using an AGM900 to destroy as many of the SAIS and Gepards as possible. Without those, you will only see maybe one or two less missile alerts. The targets on the towers are on the four points of the compass; so don't fret if you don't get clean hits on all of them. They start near the low middle and work their way up. If you did happen to take along some air-to-air weapons, feel free to down some of the F-25's. They are top of the line though, not to mention mission critical. The last target you will have to destroy is the station on the ground and the tip of the tower; it's right next to the tower and doesn't take much punishment. Sweep up the remaining F-25s and clear the mission. Mission 17) Shadow of Leviathan "Decisive" Location: Pacific Ocean Weather: Clear Time: 11:00 OST Type: Destroy Ship Mission target time: 6 mins Enemy info Su-27k x 5; chaff/flare x 8; 6 AAM/ 7 AGM CVN72 x 1; vulcan; SAM; MISSION CRITICAL DDG60 x 2; vulcan/SAM; MISSION CRITICAL CG73 x 2; vulcan/SAM; MISSION CRITICAL Wingman Jake; any plane; attack ground Grace; any plane; attack air Doug; any plane; attack air Your weapons: AGM900s and any other weapons you can fit on. Mission walkthrough: Ok, first off, forget about the fighters for now. Yes they pose a threat, and yes they can end the mission (both ways), but honestly, you can end the mission much quicker by just destroying the ships. First things first, sink the carrier. It fires missiles like that's its job, and no missiles means no problems. Secondly, the three ships in back are your next targets. Before just firing missiles whenever you have the lock, take this advice. After the carrier is sunk, break hard right (or left) and approach the last three ships on a perpendicular course. This way, when your AGM900s break, they will hit more and sink more. Sweep the remaining Su-27ks, if any. The mission ends with a carrier landing, provided it isn't sunk. Mission 18) Moby Dick "Moby Dick" Location: Colorado Weather: Foggy Time: 10:00 MST Type: Intercept Mission target time: 4 mins Enemy info YF-23 x 2; chaff/flare x 6; 8 AAM/ 0 AGM S-37 x 2; chaff/flare x 6; 16 AAM/ 0 AGM AIRCV; engine x 4; gun x 4; hatch x 2; core x 1; MISSION CRITICAL Your wingman Jake; any plane; attack air Grace; any plane; attack air Martin; any plane; attack air Your weapons: AAM900s and some rockets, possibly a set of mid range missiles. Mission walkthrough: The enemy is getting desperate and launching everything at your base, and we all know what that means!! Yep a new huge weapon!! Ok, it's up to you whether or not to down the support, but try to do it fast if you choose to claim air superiority. The actual AIRCV is very tough, so what's new?? The engines can only be hit from behind the plane, so get there fast. Then guns become targets, one on the top of each engine. Then two hatches become targets, one on the nose of the craft, one under the tail wing. After all that, you have to destroy the core, and guess where it is, yep you guessed it, it's inside the beast. This is where all the piloting skills you have could save this mission. I have had luck of locking on with a midrange missile and killing the beast, but it has a very low rate of success. In one side out the other, hopefully. Note: I think that if the plane leaves the area you will fail... so time is of the essence. Mission 19) Hopeless "In the Face of Death" Location: Texas Snowfield Weather: Thunderstorm with snow (!?) Time: 06:00 CST Type: Intercept Mission target time: 6 mins Enemy info Tiger x 4; info unknown (I think they are the same as always... easy kills... heheh) Huge ground walker (x 2); launcher x 2; cannon x 1; core x 1; MISSION CRITICAL Huge helicopter; gun x 2; rotor x 4; MISSION CRITICAL Your wingman Jake; any plane; attack all Nandini: any plane; attack ground Martin; any plane; attack air Your weapons: It's entirely up to you. Dependent on how you can handle the huge weapons, take whatever you fell comfortable with. You do face 2 (two) ground walkers though, so keep that in mind. Mission walkthrough: Before you read on, if swearing isn't allowed in your house, you may want to wait till you're alone to play this mission. Let me clear the air about something... If I wanted to, and could, I would classify this as the last mission. It's really hard, nearly impossible without knowledge of both weapons and to top it all off, there's no refuel. Ok, on to the mission. First off, down the Tigers with GUNS!!! Don't waste your missiles on weaklings. By now you should be familiar on how to take down both the walker and the helicopter, if not... GET FAMILIAR!!! Play, and see walkthrough for, missions five and ten for more details. After destroying the first ground walker, the second comes in via air transport of the huge helicopter. Not much can be said other than hope you can dodge, shoot and keep status on your plane all at once. This is pretty much the hardest mission, and you do have to protect a base from attack. It gets really hairy and this will test your patience as you get a crappy rank for the first couple tries. Trust me, it's hard. Mission 20) Shining Wings "Distant Prayer" Location: N.Y. Sea Weather: Clear Time: 04:00 EST Type: Deep Strike Mission target time: 4 mins Enemy info S-37 x 4; chaff/flare x 6; 16 AAM/ 0 AGM Megafloat x 1; gun x 16; gate x 2; door x 2; core x 1; MISSION CRITICAL Your wingman Jake; any plane; attack all Grace; any plane; attack air Doug; attack ground Your weapons: Your vulcans and rockets are essential. Other than that, feel free to take whatever you want. Mission walkthrough: Carrier takeoff into mission. It's not a deep strike like you're used to, so don't fret. Take out the guns around the base; there are two at each point of the compass. Feel free to down the Berkuts if you want to, but really now, why waste time? Then you can take out the grates to enter the base. Fly slow, making sure to destroy the doors before you crash into them. The core doesn't take much punishment before it goes. This is why I consider mission 19 the last mission. This is just too easy. Watch the ending and get your, and your wingman, stats at the end. 9) FAQ Q) How do I unlock (insert plane here) A) Check the plane info section Q) Why is some of your info unconfirmed? A) Because once you unlock something, I can't go back and see how I did it exactly, other time it's just the fact that it's so miniscule that I don't think it was anything more than worth noting. Q) Is this game good? A) Yes, for its own reasons. Semi-arcade, semi-simulation feel. Personally, I liked the engine to the game, but game play was lacking. 10) Secrets and stuff like that there (some may be unconfirmed) Getting S ranks on missions unlocks that respective free flight map. 11) Thanks to section CjayC for running the only cheat site I go to. for reading my Faq. Jerseyjoe1029 for the S-37 info Archosage for the YF-23 info Belam75 for the EF-2000, tip on Jetroller 2, and info on F-22 Sylvan Reich on the boards for re-motivating me to finish this. All my friends, you know who you are. Anyone else I forgot 11a) Contact info Email - icmann@hotmail.com Make sure to include Lethal Skies in the topic list or I will never get it. Gamefaqs message boards name - Hells Dragoon (Check this board, also AC4, AC5 and Aero Elite) 12) Version Updates Version 1.0 - Started the Faq, finished up to mission 5. Version 2.0 - Fixed grammar mistakes, missions 6 to 15 done. Version 2.1 - Added my email address. Version 3.0 - Finished most of the walkthrough, just need to unlock planes, etc. Version 4.0 - Got most of the planes found and stuff, updated walkthrough, got rid of "Reward for A rank or above" crap, put how to unlock plane in plane section, added thanks to. Version 4.1 - Changed some crap that I forgot to do in the last update. Version 4.2 - Added a banned section as well as sites. Version 5.0 - Pretty much finished it up... (Finally) Banned from hosting my FAQ: (the below sites may not host my FAQ in any form period end the only legal sites are listed in the copyright section that is below the banned sites) www.cheatcc.com Platinum.cheatcc.com Copyright notice is as follows, also contains the ONLY site this should be on. This FAQ copyright 2002-2003 Scott Dumblauskas and may not be reproduced in any form and may not appear on any site except www.gamefaqs.com and my personal homepage without the expressed written consent of Scott Dumblauskas. All rights reserved.