ACE COMBAT 8 Flight Controls and Difficulty Levels Explained

This page explains the two settings that shape how the game plays: the flight control mode and the difficulty level. It covers what each option changes, who Bandai Namco suggests it for, how switching works, where flight sticks stand and which Steam achievements mention a setting. It is based on Bandai Namco’s official posts, the Steam store page and Steam’s achievement list, all checked on November 1, 2026.

What is the difference between Standard and Expert controls?

Bandai Namco’s September 18 guide splits customization into two areas, control of your aircraft and overall difficulty, and you choose the control mode whenever you load into the cockpit before a mission.

Standard is the simpler scheme. Pushing the left stick left or right turns the plane. Bandai Namco says this may feel more natural if you are used to most first- or third-person games.

Expert is what Bandai Namco calls full-scale control. The left stick rolls the plane left or right, and you then turn by pitching up or down. According to Bandai Namco, this allows a wider range of aerial maneuvers and more precise control of the aircraft.

The choice is about how you want to fly rather than how hard the game is. Standard asks for one input to turn; Expert asks for two, roll and pitch, in exchange for more freedom. Because the mode is picked again each time you load into the cockpit, trying the other one costs nothing more than a sortie.

What do ACE COMBAT 8’s four difficulty levels change?

Difficulty is a separate setting in the settings menu. The guide names four levels and says what each is for:

Level	Who Bandai Namco suggests it for	What the guide says changes
Rookie	Players who want to focus on the story	Extra settings you can switch on or off reduce the damage your plane takes from hitting the ground or structures
Pilot	Players new to flying or returning after a break; the default	A balanced challenge for most players
Veteran	Pilots who have logged many hours	Depending on the mission, enemies may have more health or be more aggressive; missile locks may be harder to shake; damage recovery depends heavily on your loadout
Elite	Players after a high challenge	Split-second decisions decide the mission; you need to read the battlefield and prioritize targets efficiently

Two details in that guide are easy to miss. First, Veteran’s changes are conditional: the post says enemies may be tougher or more aggressive depending on the mission, so not every mission changes the same way. Second, the Rookie collision settings reduce crash damage rather than remove it, according to the wording of the post. The guide doesn’t give numbers for health, aggression or damage at any level.

Is there a difficulty above Elite?

Apparently yes, though no official post explains it. The September 18 guide only lists four levels, but two later sources point higher. The Ver. 1.01.002 release notice (scheduled for October 23) says the difficulty of Ladon in MISSION 15 was adjusted on ELITE difficulty and above. And two Steam achievements name an ACE difficulty outright.

How ACE difficulty is unlocked, and what it changes compared with Elite, is not covered in any post checked for this page. Steam’s text only tells you that the achievements below require it.

Which achievements mention a difficulty or control setting?

Of the game’s 55 Steam achievements, only two name a difficulty, and none names Standard or Expert controls or the Rookie, Pilot, Veteran or Elite levels.

Achievement	Steam description	Unlock rate on November 1
The Ace	Completed campaign mode on ACE difficulty	5.0%
Ace of Aces (hidden)	Cleared all missions in campaign mode on ACE difficulty with an S rank (including free missions)	3.7%

The story achievements, from completing the PROLOGUE through completing campaign mode, don’t mention a difficulty in their descriptions. Some achievements test flying skill without naming a setting either: Like the Wind asks for a successful post-stall maneuver in campaign mode, By the Book asks you to complete the campaign with every takeoff and aerial refueling done successfully, and Welcome to Boot Camp asks you to clear one mission in training mode. Steam’s text doesn’t say whether a control mode makes any of these easier. The full list with current rates is on the achievements page.

Can you switch settings partway through?

For difficulty, yes. The guide says you can change it at any time in the settings menu, so you can step down from Veteran to Pilot if a mission feels too hard, or step up when it feels easy. Control mode is chosen as you load into the cockpit, so it can change between sorties too.

What the posts don’t say is whether earlier progress, ranks or rewards depend on the difficulty you used. Steam’s descriptions for the ACE achievements are the only place a specific difficulty is tied to a reward.

How do flight sticks fit in?

The Steam store page lists full controller support, including DualShock and DualSense controllers. Flight sticks are a different story. In a September 30 post, Bandai Namco said some configuration options available for certain devices in ACE COMBAT 7 are not available in the new game, apologized to HOTAS and flight stick players, and said it is exploring improvements to bring the experience closer to ACE COMBAT 7. It warned that the changes may take time.

The Ver. 1.01.002 notice changed the connection settings for certain peripheral devices and told players to contact each device’s manufacturer about how they work after the change. It also adjusted some keyboard key assignments and fixed a MISSION 13 bug tied to the BUTTON MAPPING screen. None of those lines mentions flight sticks by name, so don’t read them as the promised flight stick update. The guide also describes both control modes in terms of a left stick, without saying how they map to a flight stick’s axes. For the PC side, including crashes and requirements, see the PC and flight sticks guide.

What do players often get wrong?

• Treating Elite as the top level. Update notes and achievements both point to at least one level above it.
• Thinking difficulty is locked in. It can be changed at any time in the settings menu.
• Expecting Rookie to make crashes harmless. The optional settings reduce collision damage; they don’t remove it.
• Confusing control mode with difficulty. Expert changes how you steer, not how tough enemies are.
• Reading the October peripheral change as the flight stick fix. The notes never mention flight sticks.

What hasn’t been announced?

• How ACE difficulty is unlocked and what it changes.
• Exact enemy health, aggression or damage values for any level.
• Whether difficulty affects rewards or mission ranks.
• Whether these settings apply in ACE COMBAT ONLINE; online news is tracked on the updates and online page.
• What the flight stick improvements will include, and when.