Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol Walkthrough [Guide]

Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol lets players take to the skies as they play the role of ace pilots representing different countries during World War II. Complete different missions and chalk up kills using your vintage flying machines and superior skills. Play through different campaigns and test your abilities in intense dogfights with this tactical warfare game.

Gameplay
Ace Patrol is a turn based flight combat simulation game where players go on campaigns to complete a variety of missions. One or more pilots can be controlled one at a time, and victory can be attained through good flying and shooting tactics. Pilot skills as well as flying and shooting capabilities can be enhanced in order to improve your performance during missions. Putting your fleet in the best defensive or offensive position will ultimately spell the difference between victory and defeat.

Countries
Four countries are represented within Ace Patrol, namely the British, French, Americans, and Germans. Each country has a different set of missions that players can participate in, although most involve shooting down enemy planes, mixed in with destroying enemies’ bases or airships and defending an ally plane, among other parameters. Initially, only the British pilots, as well as one set of missions are available, while others require in-app purchases to unlock.

Pilots
Players will have to assign a squad leader, which will be their main pilot. Other pilots will also be available, and players can take them along during missions, or they can be assigned on solo missions as well. Initially, pilots have specific skills that can be put to use during campaigns, although this can be enhanced whenever pilots level up and get promoted. In addition, special upgrades can be assigned to pilots to give them better maneuverability as well as shooting skills so that they can be better aces.

Better aces may also be unlocked as in-app purchases. However, you would have to unlock the campaigns for that country before they can be purchased.

Maneuvers
Each pilot has a set of maneuvers that can be used which would determine how well they fly. Additional maneuvers like ace maneuvers may also be learned. Having a rich set of maneuvers will determine how well you can place yourself in a good position to complete your quest. During flight, blue areas determine what maneuvers you can perform, while green arrows will not only move your craft to that location, but would allow you to shoot at enemies as well.

Planes
As you perform missions, new planes will be made available, and pilots can be assigned to different planes. Premium planes can also be unlocked as in-app purchases. Planes have different statistics such as movement and diving, and these will reflect on how well you can maneuver during flight. It Is recommended that you equip pilots with the latest planes so that you can make the most out of the improved stats.

Missions
Each campaign has six missions, and each win or loss will be computed towards your overall victory or defeat. Points can also be earned based on the amount of damage that you have given and taken. Each mission falls into one of two categories, mainly with both offensive and defensive objectives, though the concept still revolves around dogfights. Players can select as to what missions they would like to take and which pilot or pilots they would like to assign the mission to.

Players may also assign different difficulty settings to each mission that they take. Although fights will become longer and harder, this will allow you to earn more points and this would also test your skills as a pilot and fighter.

Multiplayer
Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol also has a multiplayer function where players can fight with other pilots one on one via network or online.

Tips and Tricks
It would be wise to send out pilots on an equal basis so that they can level up side by side. This is extremely important especially when many pilots can be sent out on the same mission. If you would like to max out less pilots, though, then you can use your other planes as decoys so that your better aces can maneuver around hostiles to shoot them down better. However, this strategy can backfire as pilots that have been shot down cannot be used for a certain period of time unless you used in-app purchases to speed their recovery or incarceration period up.

It would also be a good strategy to use the environment to your advantage. Clouds will provide you with cover against gunfire, and leading enemies towards your bases will allow surface to air missiles to deal good damage. Of course, enemies will be able to have this advantage, too, so try to lead enemies away from using clouds as well, and you should also steer away from their bases.

Another solid advice is to know what each pilot is capable of, especially when it comes to maneuvering. It might take more turns to position yourself in a more advantageous spot, so knowing what each pilot can do is extremely essential. Players must also be aware of altitude, as being higher will allow you to perform more moves but susceptible to gunfire, but flying lower will make your shots more accurate at the expense of being able to maneuver less. Being able to land is also a good maneuver to learn, as this will help you escape from being shot down.

Lastly, know the concept of shooting, Different positions, like being behind or below enemies, will most likely allow you to deal greater damage, the information of which will be shown in your HUD. Take note still, however, of your ending position, as you might put yourself in a situation where your own plane may be susceptible to damage from surrounding planes. It would also be wise to prioritize positioning and determining what planes to attack with your fleet before shooting at enemies so that you would be able to have a bigger window to attack and hopefully shoot a plane down with as few turns as possible.