X-Wing | Y-Wing | A-Wing | B-Wing | All Four

Description: You fly solo against top ace Star Destroyers.

Intent: In this mission you learn how to defeat varying stages of Star Destroyer difficulty.

Enemy Craft:

1. Stationary - one, Rookie
2. Mover - one, Veteran
3. Circler - one, Top Ace
4. Attacker - one, Top Ace

Goal: Circler must be destroyed.

Time Limit: 45 minutes. (although, if you do it right, you can have Attacker gone within a half an hour with each of the Allied StarFighters)

Setup: Each subsequent wave will enter on, or shortly thereafter, the destruction of the preceding wave.

General tactics for this set of missions: You'll be going after the the Shield Towers first on each of the STDs. It'll make your work shorter for you, and you'll be able to use the tactic in regular missions, as well. Save 4 Torpedoes for the Attacker's towers, and 4 for the Circler's (yep, I know an X-Wing only carries 6 - don't worry about that for now). Save ALL your Missiles if you're flying the A-Wing for the Circler. If you have Ions, after you bring down the shield towers, your next task will be to disable the Star Destroyer.

As you enter this mission, your first target will be above and behind you. Take down the Shield Generators with your lasers and disable it if you have ion capability. If not, Max your lasers and shields and find a nice cozy spot between the center engine and one of the others. Move in until you're about .70 kilometers away as read from your Command ID screen. This is a Star Destroyer's blind spot - at least most of them, in most of the missions you're going to face. A Top Ace Star Destroyer will be able to fire through it's own hull at you (kinda funky, yes, but you can't change the rules of the game). Sit and fire at the STD, transferring energy from your shields as necessary until it is gone.

At this time set your speed to full and fly straight up at a ninety degree angle from your present position for a few seconds, then pull straight up again so that you're flying back to meet the next STD as it comes in, which is Mover.

Your tactics this time will be pretty much the same, except that you'll be able to use Torpedoes to help you take down the towers if you're in a B-Wing. Finish the towers with your lasers, and find that same spot between the engines as you did before. This time, though, to maintain the .7 kilometer distance, you'll have to keep your engines on, but at a reduced power. Use the "minus" or "plus" key to adjust your speed to keep the distance constant. Fire on the STD until it is gone, but be careful because once it starts to go it'll stop and you'll still be moving forward. Don't ram it in the process.

Use the same maneuver you did the last time to go meet the third STD, the Circler. Again, you're first job is to take down the towers, but do not trust a missile lock. This crafts movements are largely unpredictable and you'll have to fire your projectiles at point blank range. If your torpedoes miss, don't waist any more on this tower - do it with your lasers. If you can't disable the STD, then you'll have to make attack runs. This craft will have a very short run in any one direction so you can back off to a fairly good distance for each run. Remember that this STD will shoot back, so be careful!

Meeting the next STD won't be easy because you have no point of reference to judge it's entry point by. The best thing to do is to shut down your engines and wait until it comes in. The Attacker STD is a real funky enemy to fly against - it doesn't shoot at you. It WILL, however, try to swat you with any part of itself that it can - it's nose, the bridge, it's side - what ever it can reach you with. And it will change direction suddenly to be able to do it! Taking down the towers will be a little tricky because you have to get close and then jink to avoid getting crushed. Once the towers are down, if you can't disable it, you're going to have to make attack runs - the thing is, though, they have to be short ones. If you move far enough away it'll turn it's nose at you. In my humble opinion, the nose is the most dangerous part of the STD to face because you almost can't get around it once that's the part you're facing.
So, make your runs short and make LOTS of them. When it goes that'll be it.

You've got a lot of time to complete this mission so don't rush, and don't take unnecessary chances.

If you have any questions, please see Castor's "X-Wing Hints" page, "General Tactics and Strategies" chapter, "Star Destroyers" section.

Good luck!