Can't get past mission 6

[p R o X y m o R o N]

I don't know where I've been screwing up, been stuck on it for literal months.
There's a score and a timer, I can only get as far as the part where the drone ships are dispatched and I fail the mission before I'm able to shoot them down.
But if I recall correctly, I've shot every one of them down once and the mission still bombed.

Help anyone!?

[paomayo]

What plane are you using? Besides, the drones are more optional than you think.

[paomayo]

SHORT DISCLAIMER: I flew the F-16C on Hard difficulty without tuning parts and used the GPB as the selected SPW.

Main rule of thumb is that you destroy as many enemies as you can within one pass. Using both guns and missiles are advised. This applies to some missions involving a score requirement.

The first thing you will stumble upon is the airbase in front of you. Two pairs of F-16s will attempt to take-off. Engage the second pair as it is much easier; give one of them missiles and the other machine guns. There are also some oil tanks scattered throughout the base (the ones at the base are the first to be encountered). As much as possible, just fire the machine gun at one of them and let the explosion catch any other targets nearby. Finally, there are bombers attempting to take-off. A mixture of guns and missiles is advised against them.

Around the map, there are convoys of trucks, AA, etc. running around. Remember the main rule of thumb.

On the enemy base at the east, you need to gain some altitude in order to get your missiles and bombs to be able to reach the enemy and not hit the canyon walls. Do a dive, switch between missiles, special weapons and gun as you attempt to take out many enemy units, then regain altitude for the next run.

Same can be somewhat said about the one at the west, though it is much more open.

One other thing, use the return line as needed. Despite what your AWACS and briefing officer say, it's fine to take advantage of it for repairs and to change special weapons.

[King Fossil]

What plane and weapon are you using? You don't really have many options at that point but maybe you've got a bad setup that could be improved.
Also you win as long as you get enough points before the time runs out. Doesn't matter if you kill ground enemies or planes or what, just get those points. If a specific target is too hard to kill then ignore it and go for something easier.

[Devsman]

I always just ignored everything in the sky and kept taking out ground targets. They may not be worth as much as some of the planes, but you can take them out way faster since they don't evade.

[Lack of Stuff]

For a chill 1st campaign playthrough I'd recommend the A-10 with UGBs for Long Day. Focus on bombing and only take out air targets if it's convenient. The mission is a score attack so don't bother doing something if it takes too much time for the point value.

[K4_Kydure]

Long Day is a score attack mission. The best weapons to use are either UGBs with expanded blast radius or pulse lasers if you're good at aiming. You can safely ignore planes in terms of score as there more than enough ground targets to reach the goal even on Ace difficulty.

[King Fossil]

Originally posted by Lack of Stuff:

For a chill 1st campaign playthrough I'd recommend the A-10 with UGBs for Long Day. Focus on bombing and only take out air targets if it's convenient. The mission is a score attack so don't bother doing something if it takes too much time for the point value.

A-10 handles awfully and is incredibly slow. It has extra ammo but overall it's still probably a bad choice compared to Fulcrum or F-2 or something.

[p R o X y m o R o N]

A quick update: I finally did it with a F2-A (which I found sports the easiest handling among the starter fighters) and the rocket launcher for load out. My success was largely thanks to Mr. Devsman's advice on sticking to ground targets. Many thanks for all your tips!

[Lack of Stuff]

Originally posted by King Fossil:

Originally posted by Lack of Stuff:

For a chill 1st campaign playthrough I'd recommend the A-10 with UGBs for Long Day. Focus on bombing and only take out air targets if it's convenient. The mission is a score attack so don't bother doing something if it takes too much time for the point value.

A-10 handles awfully and is incredibly slow. It has extra ammo but overall it's still probably a bad choice compared to Fulcrum or F-2 or something.

It's speed and handling are sufficient. The primary reason is that it's a cheap purchase for a first time player and it has 40 UGBs which make bombing very easy.