Quick answer
Mission 29 is "Selene" (Operation Lunar Eclipse), set over FCU Capital: Theve.[1][2][3] It has no mission medal.[1] This page covers objectives and tactics only, with no story outcomes.
It is a one-on-one boss mission. The community wiki lists it as Air-to-Air with a 30-minute time limit, and its only objective is to take down Moon 11, the X-40 Nightmare flown by Selene.[4][5] The fight has a second phase: destroying the X-40 the first time does not end the mission.[4]
The conditional enemy ace is Prudens in an Su-57 Felon. On Veteran or higher, fly under an urban highway bridge to make Prudens appear.[5][6][7]
Mission 29 at a glance
| Item | Mission 29 |
|---|---|
| Mission name | Selene[1][2][3] |
| Operation | Lunar Eclipse[1][2][3] |
| Location | FCU Capital: Theve[3] |
| In-game date | April 1, 2030[3] |
| Focus / time limit | Air-to-Air / 30 minutes (community wiki)[4] |
| Boss | Selene, X-40 Nightmare (appears automatically)[5] |
| Mission medal | None[1] |
| Story trophy | The Anemone (Bronze), on any difficulty[8] |
| Conditional ace | Prudens, Su-57 Felon (Veteran or higher)[5][6] |
| Comes after / before | Mission 28, A Thousand Points of Light / Mission 30, Song of Wings[1] |
The fight in phases
No bylined guide has written up this fight yet, so this order follows the community wiki's mission page, in our own words.[4]
- Phase 1: dogfight the X-40. The wiki gives the objective as shooting down the X-40 before a Tonitrus Spear strike can hit the land battleship Xanthos. Four escort UAVs fly with it. They only become targetable after a dialogue sequence, and they protect the X-40 with force fields. The wiki does not say whether you have to destroy them first.
- The mission updates. Destroying the X-40 does not complete the mission. Its outer wings drop off and its nose unit detaches.
- Phase 2: close-range finish. The game switches to a close-range assault view. Shoot down the nose unit, then destroy the laser designator, which only becomes targetable once the nose unit is gone. That completes the mission.
For what the X-40 can do as a player plane, and how to unlock it after the campaign, see X-40 Nightmare.
Targets and point values
Point values come from the community wiki's enemy list for this mission.[4] We regrouped them by phase and added the totals.
| Phase | Target | Points each | Count | Points in total | Mission target (TGT)? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | X-40 "MOON 11 SELENE" | 1,250 | 1 | 1,250 | Yes |
| Phase 1 | Escort UAV | 300 | 4 | 1,200 | No |
| Phase 2 | X-40 nose unit | 1,050 | 1 | 1,050 | Yes |
| Phase 2 | Laser designator | 200 | 1 | 200 | Yes |
| Optional | Su-57 "PRUDENS" | 2,020 | 1 | 2,020 | No |
Our calculation:
- The standard units add up to 1,250 + 1,200 + 1,050 + 200 = 3,700 points.
- The four escort UAVs are 1,200 of that, about 32%.
- Prudens alone is worth 2,020 points, so triggering the ace raises the listed total to 5,720 points, about 55% more than the standard units. That fits PowerPyx's general figure of around 2,000 points for an ace kill.[9]
How to get Prudens: the steps in order
- Play on Veteran or higher. Named aces only spawn on Veteran difficulty or above.[1]
- Fly under an urban highway bridge.[5][6][7] The wiki's mission page adds that Prudens then spawns to the east.[4]
- Shoot down Prudens (Su-57 Felon).[5]
- Finish the mission. A named ace kill only saves once you complete the mission. Restarting, quitting or failing after the kill erases it.[8]
Downing a conditional ace unlocks a paint scheme for that ace's aircraft type,[5] which for Prudens is the Su-57. All aces: named aces and skins.
Missed Prudens? You can replay Mission 29 in Free Mission after your first campaign clear, on any difficulty you have unlocked.[1]
Mission 29 and S rank
- Taking no damage adds a 5,000-point bonus. A checkpoint restart costs points.[9]
- As of October 3, 2026, PowerPyx's Ace-difficulty S-rank walkthrough has no written route for Mission 29,[9] and the S Rank section of the wiki's mission page is empty.[4] The S-rank score is not confirmed.
More on scoring: S rank requirements.
Not confirmed yet
We found no source for these, so we do not list them:
- A recommended aircraft or special weapon for this fight
- Whether the escort UAVs must be destroyed before the X-40 can be hurt
- Where exactly the qualifying bridge is
- The S-rank score
The full mission order is on missions list and length.
Sources & References
- KeenGamer: ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE – All Missions List (Rafly Wibowo, Sep 29, 2026) ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
- The Click: ACE COMBAT 8 Mission List (PaulD, Sep 30, 2026) ↩ 1, 2, 3
- Ace Combat Wiki (wiki.gg, community wiki): Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve/Missions ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
- Ace Combat Wiki (wiki.gg, community wiki): Selene (mission) (edited Oct 2, 2026; stub page with story spoilers) ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
- PowerPyx: Ace Combat 8 All Assault Records & Enemy Aces (Jack McBastard, Sep 29, 2026) ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
- The Click: ACE COMBAT 8 Assault Records: All Enemy Aces and How to Find Them (PaulD, Sep 30, 2026) ↩ 1, 2, 3
- Ace Combat Wiki (wiki.gg, community wiki): Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve/Aces (edited Oct 3, 2026) ↩ 1, 2
- KeenGamer: ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE – All Trophies List and Platinum Roadmap (Rafly Wibowo, Sep 29, 2026) ↩ 1, 2
- PowerPyx: Ace Combat 8 All Ace S-Ranks Walkthrough (Oct 1, 2026) ↩ 1, 2, 3