Rank

Ranks are a gameplay feature that shows up rarely in the Ace Combat series. It was introduced in Ace Combat 2, and has most recently been utilized in Ace Combat Infinity.

Description
This feature works similarly to the "level" system in most other games, especially role-playing games. Through destroying more targets, a player will "level up" to the next military rank in the list.

Ace Combat 2
Ace Combat 2 works differently with the rank system from future games. The player is awarded their rank depending on how many targets they destroyed through one campaign run. Upon starting a new campaign run, they will start from the first rank in the list, Airman. To achieve the final rank, Commander-in-Chief, the player must destroy every single target in every single mission that they play (the only exception being some of the enemies in the final mission that respawn endlessly).

If the player receives Commander in Chief at the end of the game, the bonus attract will display the text "You're the Ace pilot". There are no other rewards related to the rank system.


 * 1) Airman
 * 2) Airman First Class
 * 3) Senior Airman
 * 4) Sergeant
 * 5) Staff Sergeant
 * 6) Master Sergeant
 * 7) Senior Master Sergeant
 * 8) Chief Master Sergeant
 * 9) First Sergeant
 * 10) Warrant Officer
 * 11) Second Lieutenant
 * 12) First Lieutenant
 * 13) Captain
 * 14) Major
 * 15) Lieutenant Colonel
 * 16) Colonel
 * 17) Brigadier General
 * 18) Major General
 * 19) Lieutenant General
 * 20) General
 * 21) Commander in Chief

Assault Horizon Legacy
The rank system reprises in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy. The list of ranks is identical from Ace Combat 2, but instead of being awarded a final rank at the end of the game, a rank is applied to the save file as a whole. The player can continue to "farm" Free Mission and Campaign modes to earn higher ranks.

The rank system in Assault Horizon Legacy seems completely arbitrary with no known rewards related to the system.

Ace Combat Infinity
Ace Combat Infinity utilizes the rank system with more weight, linking it to the core gameplay feature of tuning. The player will be locked from upgrades that are further on the aircraft tree than their rank allows them. Additionally, unlocked titles cannot be used until the rank of Second Lieutenant.

The rank system has also been modified. This time, each rank has a certain number of "levels" that must be progressed through in order to reach the next rank. For example, there are 10 levels for Warrant Officer. Once the player reaches Warrant Officer #1, their next "level-up" will send them to Second Lieutenant #50.

Details are vague on how the system allows the player to progress through the levels, but it appears that completing one multiplayer mission increases the player's level by one increment.

During all beta test periods of Infinity, the highest rank available was Second Lieutenant.
 * 1) Warrant Officer (10 levels)
 * 2) Second Lieutenant (50 levels)
 * 3) Further ranks are currently unknown, pending the game's release.