I completed ACE COMBAT 8 Purple Magic Takes Flight quite easy breezy. For me, it was one of the simpler missions in the game. The mission takes place on November 5, 2029, near White Valley Base. It’s part of the Frostwave Operation. Our main goal here is to simply defend the base as best as humanly possible. To be more specific, there are three radars that you need to protect. The actually troublesome jets that will be attacking the radars are mainly bombers.
I can confidently say this mission is pretty easy to beat once you follow this simple procedure:
- Take down bombers and other aircrafts attacking the base.
- Do NOT get stuck in long dogfights with other types of fighters.
There is also a named ace fighter, Raia, that you can spawn by destroying the mission’s bombers (on Veteran or higher difficulty) before they reach the vicinity of the base.
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Purple Magic Takes Flight Guide, Step by Step
First things first; keep those peepers on the map. I had to constantly be mindful of every bomber aircraft that was getting close to the base. Those are the ones you need to hit and drop first. Always go for the bombers first and foremost.
As for the fighters, you need to learn how to perform a Post-Stall Maneuver (PSM) The maneuver is useful when you’re locked in a close-range dogfights. For this specific mission, make sure you don’t try it on the bombers though. That’d be a waste of time.
Destroy the Mi-24s
Keep those beautiful missiles facing north. That’s where the six pesky Mi-24 helicopters come from. And the trick here is very easy.
Don’t try to rush past them, keep your speed steady, get behind them, and take them out one by one. They don’t move too fast so they make for easy pickings.
Deal With the Mirage 2000-5s, MiG-21BIS, and A-6Es
Now I anticipated that bombers HAD to follow after those helis. And I was right. I kept track of what each wave included. They’ll arrive in this order: Two Mirage 2000-5s, then two MiG-21bis, followed by one A-6E. Afterwards, another wave of MiG-21bis appears, followed by another A-6E.
Strike down A-6Es first because they’re the bombers. Dodge the fighters; don’t engage with them. Yes, it is annoying to have them on your tail while chasing the bombers. No, focusing on them is not worth your time. I say this because I wasn’t worried about destroying every fighter one bit. Purple Magic Flight and the other allied aircraft will help, so as the player, your true objective should be protecting the base, not fighting aggressively.
Intercept the TU-160 Bombers
The next annoying group consists of two TU-160 bombers. Here’s a good trick I learned: Fly toward the northeastern edge of the map. From there, I just waited for them to spawn and arrive. Then it was the simple matter of blowing them up before they could get close to the radars.
If you want to spawn Raia, you MUST destroy all of the bombers before they reach a certain range of the base. Besides putting the game on veteran or higher, this is the other condition I had to meet for Raia to appear.
Take Down the Su-25SMs
Around the same time, a group of Su-25SMs spawns from the northwest section of the map. If you’re trying to battle Raia, I recommend you watch the eastern side of the map for her F/A-18C Hornet. When I was going for a Raia run, I had to take her out quickly because afterwards, I had to return my attention to the remaining jets.
Destroy the Lux Lunae 160th Unit
And today’s final group *drum roll* is none other than four MiG-29A Fulcrums. They go by these code names: Gladiator – Captor – Domitor – PraedoA
Once you destroy this last group too, the mission will be accomplished.
How to Make Raia Spawn
Naturally the first requirement is to have the difficulty set on Veteran, or higher if you like. Second, you’ve got to destroy all of the mission’s bombers before they get too close to base. Then Raia should spawn. PSM can be extra useful here because you’ll want to get behind her quickly and finish the engagement rather than spending a long time maneuvering. I already explained what you should do to fight her, but in case you missed it, take a look:
- Head toward the northeast side of the map.
- Hit the two TU-160 bombers before they reach the base.
- Raia will appear on the eastern side of the map, while the Su-25SM formation appears farther to the northwest
How to Take Raia Down
So as soon as Raia appeared on the map, I immediately turned toward her and reached her before she got too far away. She’s flying an F/A-18C Hornet, so she can prove to be quite dodgy. Keep tracking her, use standard missile attacks when you have a clean lock, and use a Post-Stall Maneuver (PSM) if she gets behind you or you need to quickly reverse your position mid-fight.
Like the rest of the mission, this fight is also simple. Keep your speed under control, avoid flying past her, and take your shots whenever you have a good angle. If you’re comfortable with PSMs, go for it. If not, keep it simple. I liked to pull one off just for the flair.
Getting the S Rank
Remember: balance speed and score. If you want my personal recommendation for aircraft and weapon choice, I went with the F-14A + SAAM. This mission is almost entirely an air-to-air battle, so there’s little reason to bring an aircraft or special weapon designed primarily for ground targets. The F-14A’s SAAM is particularly useful for dealing with the large number of enemy fighters and can also help when you go after Raia.
To get S Rank, you need to reach 16,500 points at least. The maximum time bonus possible is 3,000 points. According to my testing, time deductions begin at around 16:20 and the maximum penalty I received was at around 27:20.
This is how you can get maximum points for an S Rank run: Go for the A-6E and TU-160 bombers instead of getting dragged into dogfights with fighters, and destroy the TU-160s before they reach the base. I definitely needed Raia to spawn because taking her down is well worth it. Named aces provide a great score boost. It’s not for me, but if you’re a perfectionist masochist, complete the mission without taking damage to achieve the additional Damage Taken bonus.
Who Is Purple Magic Flight?
Purple Magic Flight is the squadron that mission 03 gets its name from. Its placing is the 12th Air Wing, 43rd Flight, and the squadron is based at White Valley Base. The flight is led by A. Garnett (Purple Magic 1) and flies F-15C Eagles. Its other listed members are D. Keyes, T. Bird, and S. Wilson. These are the buddies we fight alongside with. The squadron is notable because its members are also part of a rock band (reminds anyone of Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix?)
Mission 03 Tips
- The biggest thing to remember is that this is a defense mission, so no extra points for looking cool taking down all the fighters.
- Maneuver in a way so that enemies get engaged by allied squadrons. That’s how I was able to concentrate on the bombers heading toward the radar sites.
- ABCTM. Always be checking the map. Don’t engage targets willy-nilly-like. If you’re far away from the base and an enemy bomber is approaching it, turn around and deal with the bomber first.
- Before dogfighting Raia, I intentionally intercepted the TU-160s. Doing so not only protected the base but also gave me the best chance of triggering her encounter.
