Battlestations: Pacific Achievement Guide & Road Map

Battlestations: Pacific
Battlestations: Pacific Achievement Guide

Overview:

-Estimated Achievement Difficulty: 8/10 (SP is heavily skill dependent)

-Single Player: 17 for 340

-Multiplayer: 17 for 550

-Either SP or MP: 21 for 260

-Approximate Time to Complete: 200-250 hours (can be much more)

-MissableAchievements:0

-Glitched Acheivements: 0

-Does Difficulty Affect Achievements: Yes (play on Veteran in SP to earn all difficulty related achievements)

Introduction:

Battlestations: Pacific supports the use of an Xbox 360 controller on the PC. If you have one with a turbo controller, this makes it much easier to obtain the two rank achievements.

Single Player:

Play through on Veteran, getting a gold medal on each mission using the walk through. Note that if you finish the mission without getting a gold, you can continue without repeating the mission. The disadvantage is that you will not necessarily unlock all of the unit types as you go through and you will have fewer units in later missions, and for some of the later missions having the upgraded unit types makes Veteran difficulty much easier. It is well worth the time to run through the mission on Easy to get a gold if you miss the gold on Veteran. For the full 1150 however, you only need to get gold on any single mission. The walk through indicates which missions have achievements specifically related to them (like Trainkiller or Past Memories) so you can replay them on Easy immediately after you beat them on Veteran if you missed an achievement or you can wait and go back later.

The vast majority of the single player achievements will be earned as you play through the campaign on Veteran. Once you have completed both campaigns, take stock of any single player achievements you don’t have and finish them up either in Training Grounds or by replaying the specific mission it is related to.

Multiplayer:

Find a reliable partner you can spend a couple hundred hours with, because this is not a fast experience. If you are going to get Fleet Commander and Head of the Fleet, do everything in ranked matches. First, run through every map and every mode, getting a victory in each to earn Island Hopping and Victory Rush (note that the DLC maps do not contribute toward these achievements, only the first eight). After that, tackle the specific MP achievements that are not rank or games played related: Tin Can Captain, Long-range Gunnery, Repair for your Life, as well as the five DLC specific achievements if you have that content.

The next step is to ensure that you and your partner have both hosted 50 games and won 100 as both Japanese and American. This is very straightforward and can be accomplished with one person surrendering. You will spend much more time watching the loading screen than actually being in the game for this portion of the experience.

The last step is to boost the ranks. See the instructions in the guide for Fleet Commander and Head of the Fleet. It is very straight forward but very time consuming.

[x360a would like to thank Creech for this road map]

Tin Can Captain

15
Sink 20 enemy ships with your destroyer by using torpedoes.

This cannot be done in training, but is easily accomplished in Island Capture multiplayer by setting 5-10 destroyers on aggressive (press ALT and click in the left quadrant) while your partner builds LSTs or APs. Kills do not have to be in the same session, and obviously do not need to be by the same destroyer. You do not need to personally fire the torpedoes either; it can be earned purely from the Tactical Map. You can also get this in the single player campaign.
Broadside Kill

15
Sink an enemy ship with your cruiser in 15 seconds.

This is easily done in the third Japanese mission, Battle of Java Sea. At the start the Electra is closing in from your port side; simply turn towards him and run at full speed until he is about 1.6 miles out. Then slow to quarter speed ahead and turn hard starboard to unmask your full arsenal and hit him at maximum range. Aim for the magazine and fire your shots individually for increased accuracy rather than holding down the trigger. You can get two full salvos fired within the 15 second timeframe and that will easily sink the destroyer even on Veteran. If the achievement doesn’t pop, restart the mission and try again (this usually would only happen if your DD escort starts firing before you do, which would indicate you need to fire at longer range). Since this is right at the beginning, it is easy to attempt multiple times if you have problems.
Long-range Gunnery

15
Destroy an enemy ship which is over 2800 meters away using a battleship.

This is possible in the Japanese campaign in the Invasion of Midway or The Sinking of the USS Hornet missions. It is also easy to do in multiplayer with a partner. 2800 meters is 1.74 miles and the maximum range of most of the battleships in the game is 1.75 miles, so that means that you will need to very slowly approach a stationary target and stop moving as soon as the firing indicator turns green. Sink the target and it will unlock immediately.
Flat-top Commander

15
Send 50 planes into the air with the support manager.

This is cumulative across all MP games, but can only be earned in multiplayer. Ensure that you have an airfield (any medium or large Island Capture map), open the Support Manager (press Z) and choose your air base. Launch fighters until you run out of Command Points, then cycle through all of your launched fighters telling them to land (press ALT and click in the right quadrant). Rinse and repeat until the achievement unlocks. You can also manually crash your planes if you don't want to wait for them to land.
Death from Below

15
Sink an enemy battleship with your submarine.

This is easiest to earn in multiplayer. Set up a small Island Capture and have your partner build a battleship while you build a submarine, and proceed to sink him with your torpedoes (you can use your deck gun as well, but that takes a LONG time. You do not need to be submerged to earn the achievement.
Fighter Ace

15
Destroy 5 enemy planes in less than 30 seconds without losing your fighter plane.

The easiest way to get this is on the first Japanese mission, Attack on Pearl Harbor, right at the beginning of the final phase when you are in a Zero for the second time. Immediately chop back your throttle to just above stall speed and dive at the flight of P-40s exiting a hanger in the middle of the airbase. If you get all three of those and pull out of your dive, there is another hanger across the runway and ahead of you that will have another flight of 3 P-40’s rolling out from behind it. You can shoot two of them and end the mission in less than the 30 seconds required for Fighter Ace.
Hat-trick

15
Achieve 3 torpedo hits with the same torpedo bomber.

You can earn this on the first Japanese mission, Attack on Pearl Harbor, in phase three when you control a torpedo bomber, as long as you don’t switch planes during the phase. Drop your first torpedo on the West Virginia and keep heading across the airbase as you reload. The Monaghan will be headed right-to-left across your screen, and then turn towards you as it chases the mini-sub. Drop a torpedo on it from 0.3 to 0.2 miles out and the destroyer will sink straight away. After that, circle back right and drop your third torpedo on the West Virginia, ending the phase and earning Hat Trick.
Deadly Accuracy

15
Cause 20 magazine explosions with dive bombers.

This can be done throughout the campaign, in multiplayer, or in training, and is cumulative throughout. Note that firing on and hitting a magazine does not guarantee a magazine explosion. You can tell if the magazine exploded because there will be streamers that shoot off leaving smoke trails, somewhat like fireworks, along with a shockwave that expands out from the ship. If you don’t see that, no matter how big the explosion is, it doesn’t count for this achievement. Also, it is reportedly the most touchy achievement in the game and may take quite a few more explosions than the 20 listed, although this appears to be a problem restricted to the Xbox version of the game much more than the PC version.

The most simple approach is to load up the first Japanese training mission, select the dive bomber (D3A Val) and bomb the carrier’s magazine repeatedly. When it sinks, a new carrier will launch and you can keep going. In training, there is no return fire, so you won’t be shot down. As long as you don’t crash, simply repeat until the achievement unlocks. Note that you do not need to dive, you can drop the bombs from level flight and it will still count for the achievement. Also, you can use your machine guns to explode the magazine of the AK ships and that will count as well, but if you sink the third one the game will exit back to the menu and you will have to re-enter the session to continue.
Double Whammy

15
Damage at least two targets in one bombing run.

This can be done with a bit of practice in Training Grounds. Select the first Japanese training mission and select the G4M Betty as your aircraft. Sink the AK and then circle around as your bombs recharge. Keep an eye on your tactical map and you will see the replacement AK spawn at the second island and pass very close to the carrier on its way to its anchorage. Time your bombing run correctly and you can hit both the carrier and the AK with the same group of bombs. The battleship is another good one because is very large, but it takes a lot longer to sink it and as such it takes much longer to get an opportunity to try the Double Whammy.
Supply Line

5
Use the support manager to successfully send up a plane or request a ship.

You cannot avoid earning this when playing the game, either single player or multiplayer. The fastest way to get this if you don’t want to play a game is to enter Training Grounds in Single Player and select the first training mission. At that point you are forced to launch an aircraft and this achievement will unlock.
Advantage

5
Use the naval supply manager to activate a naval supply.

Similar to Supply Line, you will have plenty of opportunity to unlock this in both of the single player campaigns and multiplayer. One fast way to get this is to play Island Capture on Map 2, small. Capture one of the corner islands with a troop transport ship and you will unlock the ability to use a naval supply. Press Z and select the naval supply by left-clicking your mouse on the supply icon shown, and the achievement will unlock.
Banzaaai!

15
Crash a kamikaze plane into an enemy ship while flying at least 600km/h.

You will definitely earn this if you are going through the campaign on Veteran, or if you are playing the Competitive multiplayer scenarios. The easiest method if you don’t want to wait is to load up the Japanese Training Grounds, use the first map, and select any Kamikaze plane to launch from the airbase. Climb reasonably high and then dive at the carrier (nice big target). When you are lined up hold down ALT, which will kick in your turbo. 600 kph is roughly 370 mph if you are using the Imperial measurements, so if you are not going fast enough when you impact try again from a higher altitude.
Surprise Attack

10
Strafe all parked planes in Pearl Harbor.

You can earn this at any time in the first Japanese campaign mission, but it is easiest in phase one when you control a Zero. You need to destroy the 9 objective planes and all the other parked aircraft on the map. There is one seaplane just off the shore under your flight path as you are approaching the harbor, and all the rest are on the airbase island or in the waters directly next to it. This achievement unlocks as soon as the last plane is destroyed. Take your time and make sure you have them all before destroying the last objective plane. If it doesn’t unlock there, search around in phase two and find any missing planes before you bomb the battleship.
Turning Point

10
Sink all US Carriers in the Invasion of Midway.
See the mission walkthrough for the Japanese Campaign (Mission 7) for detailed instructions on obtaining this achievement.
Preventive Strike

10
Sink the US Battleship before the reinforcements arrive in Solomons' Skirmish.
See the mission walkthrough for the Japanese Campaign (Mission 9) for detailed instructions on obtaining this achievement.
Under Cover of Darkness

10
Win a night battle.

Playing through the campaign will earn you this achievement (for example, mission 10 in the Japanese campaign, Attack on Sydney Harbor) or you can earn it by selecting and winning on a night map in multiplayer.
Queen Sacrifice

10
Sink the abandoned Hornet in the Battle of Santa Cruz.
See the mission walkthrough for the American Campaign (Mission 3) for detailed instructions on obtaining this achievement.
Marianas Turkey Shoot

10
Destroy 20 enemy planes in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

The Battle of the Philippine Sea is mission 8 in the American Campaign. You personally need to shoot down 20 planes with aircraft or AA guns. Kills that occur while you are looking at the Tactical Map do not count for this achievement. There are a lot of enemy planes in this mission and if you are playing on Veteran there is not much chance of winning without earning this achievement. Start with a CAP of Hellcats and kill the incoming Kates and Zeros at the beginning of the mission, and then flying boats will attack from the north. Between those two groups you should be very close to 20. There is also an enemy CAP over each carrier and your fleet will be periodically attacked by land based bombers from the east.
Zero Damage

10
None of the kamikaze planes should hit any of your ships during Divine Winds of Leyte.

Divine Winds of Leyte is the 9th mission in the American Campaign. You will have an Atlanta class cruiser, which has an extremely powerful anti-air battery. You can beef it up even further by activating the autoloader Naval Supply. Ignore anything in the air except for kamikazes and Betties. Use the tactical map to quickly identify planes before they are really in visual range so that you know where to focus your gunfire. Once you switch from controlling the cruiser to a squad of Helldivers, the achievement will unlock. This is easier to unlock on Easy since the kamikazes are basically one shot kills at that point, but it is not particularly harder on Veteran.
Take No Prisoners

50
Destroy every hostile unit in Battle of Santa Cruz on Veteran difficulty.

In the American Campaign, mission 3 is the Battle of Santa Cruz, and for this achievement it must be played on Veteran difficulty. A large fleet (the Vanguard force) will come in from the west and your standard fleet doesn't really stand a chance against it. Note that once you have the objective of sinking the Japanese carrier Zuiho be aware that this feat ends the mission. Sink all of the Vanguard force prior to attacking the Zuiho to ensure you unlock Take No Prisoners. This is the one campaign achievement that you should not attempt during the normal campaign. Wait until you beat the final US mission and then come back with the upgraded Avenger. It is very close to impossible to earn this achievement without the TBM AVenger and its Tiny Tim rockets.
National Veteran

20
Participate in 25 online sessions as the US.

Win or lose, you simply need to complete 25 online multiplayer games as the US. Quitting does not count toward this achievement, but surrendering does.
National Hero

50
Participate in 100 online sessions as the US.

Win or lose, you simply need to complete 100 online multiplayer games as the US. Quitting does not count toward this achievement, but surrendering does.
Fist of the Empire

20
Participate in 25 online sessions as the Japanese.

Win or lose, you simply need to complete 25 online multiplayer games as the Japanese. Quitting does not count toward this achievement, but surrendering does.
Wrath of the Empire

50
Participate in 100 online sessions as the Japanese.

Win or lose, you simply need to complete 100 online multiplayer games as the Japanese. Quitting does not count toward this achievement, but surrendering does.
War Room

10
Host and play through 50 online sessions.

You need to host 50 online multiplayer games. If you or your opponent quit, it will not count toward this achievement, but surrendering does.
Conqueror

20
Win 50 online sessions.

You need to win 50 online multiplayer games. If your opponent quits, it does not count toward this achievement, but if he surrenders it does.
Armchair Admiral

10
Win an online Island Capture session using the map screen only to attack units or emplacements.

This is easily boosted with a partner. Simply start an Island Capture session and have your opponent build a transport and send it toward the middle of the map. You build a destroyer or PT boat, activate the Tactical Map and then select your ship and direct it toward the middle of the map. Do not press ESC at any time to ensure you stay in the Tactical Map view. As soon as the enemy transport is within visual range, tell your ship to attack it. As soon as one shot hits, your partner can surrender and the achievement will unlock.
Frontline Admiral

10
Win an online Island Capture session without switching to the map screen.

This is easily boosted with a partner. Simply start an Island Capture session and have your opponent surrender without you doing anything, and it will unlock.
Rising Sun

60
Complete the Japanese Campaign on Veteran difficulty.
Play each campaign mission on Veteran as your default. When you beat it on Veteran, if you failed to get a gold medal, replay it on Easy to get a gold before moving on to the next mission. This is very important because you will get extra units in some later missions based on getting gold on prior missions. These extra missions can make the later missions much easier and are worth the quick run through on easy.

There is a comprehensive walk through of the Japanese campaign available here.
Stars and Stripes

60
Complete the US Campaign on Veteran difficulty.
Play each campaign mission on Veteran as your default. When you beat it on Veteran, if you failed to get a gold medal, replay it on Easy to get a gold before moving on to the next mission. This is very important because you will get extra units in some later missions based on getting gold on prior missions. These extra missions can make the later missions much easier and are worth the quick run through on easy.

There is a comprehensive walkthrough of the US Campaign available here.
Submarine Hunter-killer

20
Destroy an enemy submarine with a submarine by using torpedoes.

If you are playing the campaigns on Veteran, you will have to sink two subs on the Japanese mission Hunt for the USS Hornet, earning this achievement, as you will not survive on Veteran if you ignore the subs. It can also be easily boosted in multiplayer by starting an Island Capture with a partner and each spawn a sub. Approach to within 0.5 miles and have your partner turn broadside to you and sink him with 2-3 torpedoes.
Overwhelming Force

25
Complete the Japanese Campaign on Any difficulty.

See Rising Sun for a walkthrough on Veteran for the Japanese Campaign.
Shock and Awe

25
Complete the US Campaign on Any difficulty.

See Stars and Stripes for a walkthrough on Veteran for the American Campaign.
Island Hopping

30
Win every Island Capture map at least once.

There are 8 maps, each with 3 sizes (Small, Medium, and Large), and you will need to win on each size on each map. This means 24 victories are needed in total for this achievement to unlock. The easiest approach is to find a partner and take turns winning on each size, and keep good records of which ones you have completed. Skirmish matches against the AI do not count towards this achievement, it must be completed over Live. Your partner can surrender and that will count as a win for you, but if he quits it will not. Ranked or Private matches count toward this achievement.
Victory Rush

30
Win every Competitive, Duel, Escort and Siege map at least once.

There are 8 maps and four modes (Competitive, Duel, Escort, and Siege) for a total of 32 victories needed for this achievement. In Duel, Escort, and Siege modes, your partner can surrender to give you a victory. In Competitive mode however, you must combine to beat the AI. Set the victory conditions to 1000 points and 10 minutes, and work together as a team. Most of the competitive maps are quite easy to win, but some may require a bit of practice. Note that to win, you must beat the AI and end with the most points as shown on the victory map. Ranked or Private matches count toward this achievement.
Fleet Commander

50
Reach the rank of Lieutenant.

Lieutenant rank is achieved at 2,000,000 points obtained in ranked matches only.

See this thread for discussion of the quickest method for gaining points.
Head of the Fleet

100
Reach the rank of Fleet Admiral.

Fleet Admiral rank is achieved at 8,000,000 points obtained in ranked matches only.

See this thread for discussion of the quickest method for gaining points.
Disembarkation

5
Capture a base by using landing ships.

This achievement will unlock in the campaign (Japanese mission 5, for example) but is also very easy to earn in multiplayer. Start an Island Capture mission and send an LST (or three) to attack a neutral base using the Tactical Map. As soon as they capture it, the achievement will unlock.
Airborne Invasion

10
Capture a base by using paratroopers.

This achievement is very easy to earn in multiplayer. Start an Island Capture mission (medium or large maps only so you have an airbase) and send a Japanese Tabby or American Skytrain to attack a neutral base using the Tactical Map. As soon as they capture it, the achievement will unlock.
Don’t Mess with the Big Boys

10
Sink a hostile carrier with your battleship.

You have the opportunity to do this several times in the single player campaign. The two easiest are the Japanese missions Hunt for the USS Hornet and Invasion of Midway.
Repair for your Life

10
Survive being fatally damaged by retaining minimal health.

This is one of the more difficult achievements to earn. The best approach is to get a partner in a small Island Capture map and have him bring a destroyer to attack your battleship with torpedoes. You have to communicate while doing this so that he doesn’t sink you. The trick is to get all of your dark green health to disappear while being able to repair before the light green health bar also disappears and causes you to sink. Note that artillery fire is probably necessary to help fine tune this, but does not typically cause the light green “potential” damage bar to appear (which is why you need torpedoes). You will need to actively control your damage control parties to stop the flooding with just a small fraction of your health left. This may take several tries, but definitely works.
Against the Odds

10
Sink a stronger enemy ship than your ship.

This is very easy to boost for in multiplayer. Start an Island Capture small map and have your partner spawn a destroyer while you spawn a PT boat. Sink your partner with a couple of torpedoes and you will unlock this achievement.
We're not finished yet!

20
Sink an enemy ship while your ship is under 3% health.

This is very easy to boost for in multiplayer. Start a Duel map with battleships and have your partner shoot you until your health bar is almost completely gone (be careful near the end of this to avoid hitting your magazine or fuel, and use single shots rather than volleys for more control). At that point, sink his battleship and the achievement will unlock.
Pure Gold

10
Get your first gold medal.

See the mission walk throughs under Rising Sun and Stars and Stripes for details on how to get gold on any mission. You need to complete all primary, secondary, and hidden objectives to earn a gold medal. Obviously this is easiest when playing on Easy and mission 1 in either campaign tends to be the least challenging mission overall.
Hero of Midway

10
Played Battlestations Midway.
(19)
You need to have a save file from Battlestations: Midway on your hard drive. If you have not played Battlestations: Midway on your current PC, download the file attached to THIS post, and unzip it in your My Documents folder, extracting the sub-folders as well. The next time you enter Battlestations: Pacific, the achievement will unlock.

Thanks to Sasco1st for providing the file.

Past Memories

10
Destroy both Henry’s ship and Donald’s plane in Pearl Harbor.
In the first Japanese mission, you will need to sink Henry Walker’s PT-23 and shoot down Donald Locklear’s P-40, both from Battlestations: Midway. PT-23 starts on the far side of the battleships from your spawn point at the beginning of the mission. Note that there are 4-5 other PT boats in the mission, but this is the only one that is identified as PT-23. It is easiest to attack this target prior to any of the parked planes, right at the beginning of the mission, but it can be sunk at any time prior to mission end and it will count for the achievement. If you choose to wait, it will circle the island the airbase is on and shoot at Japanese planes.

Donald’s plane appears in the fourth and final phase of the mission when you are told to shoot down five planes. The objective planes appear as light blue on your tactical display. Donald’s plane is not an objective plane (so will not contribute towards the five planes you need to destroy) and is dark blue on the tactical display. He generally spawns about 10-12 seconds into this phase at high altitude, and dives immediately to attack the Japanese forces. It may be easier to earn this achievement on Veteran since Donald will be less likely to be shot down by your wingmen or other Japanese forces.
I’ve Changed My Mind

10
Land manually on an airfield or carrier with a kamikaze squadron.

This cannot be done in training, but is easily done in multiplayer on any medium or large Island Capture map. Simply launch a flight of kamikazes and once they are fully airborne order them to land. As soon as the complete flight has landed, the achievement will unlock.
Underwater Hideout

10
Discover the secret underwater cave of Sydney Harbor.

In the Japanese mission Attack on Sydney Harbor, there is an underwater cave tucked into a corner. Proceed with the mission as normal until you are past the fourth waypoint. A checkpoint will trigger and you will no longer set off an alarm if you surface. Open your tactical map and locate the river that goes north and west above the main harbor inlet. The cave is at the end of the dark blue (deep) water, and you will need to be heading west to enter it. If you zoom the map in, you can actually see that instead of the gradual change to light blue and then sand and then grass/foliage, the water has a distinct cutoff with a darker brown colored terrain. This is essentially a hill that has the hideout underneath it. When you enter the cave the achievement will unlock.
Trainkiller

10
Destroy the train with the exploding refinery in Air raid against Indochina.

In the American campaign at the end of the Air Raid Against Indochina mission, a cut scene will be shown with a train being loaded full of supplies. Strafe the train but leave it with a small amount of health. You can destroy the machine gun mount on the rear which will make this easier, especially on Veteran. Follow the train down the valley (destroying the 30 military installations along the way) and as it closes in on a tunnel it will pass by a refinery. Strafe the large fuel containers when the train is next to them and the resulting explosion will destroy the train and unlock Trainkiller.
Flying Fish

5
Land on the water with a seaplane or flying boat.

You will unlock this achievement simply by playing through either Campaign. You can also earn it in multiplayer by starting an Island Capture mission with any medium or large map, selecting an American Catalina or a Japanese Mavis or Emily, and then landing it on the surface of the ocean. Finally, this can also be done in the aviation Training Grounds.

There are 5 achievements with a total of 150 points

The Protector

20
Protect both carriers as the Japanese in Escort mode on Map 12.

[Requires Carrier Battles Map Pack DLC] Start a mission with a partner where you play as the Japanese, selecting Escort, map 12, with your partner as the Americans. This can be ranked or unranked. Have your partner spawn as torpedo bombers and sink his own battleship before the repair ships arrive.
Northern Waves

30
Win a large map sized Island Capture mission on Map 14.

[Requires Carrier Battles Map Pack DLC] Start a mission with a partner on Island Capture using Map 14, ranked or unranked. Set the victory conditions to 1000 points. Spawn 6 Skytrains if American or 6 Tabbys if Japanese, and capture all of the neutral bases while your partner does nothing.
Battleship Shutout

30
Win 3 straight rounds without loss as the Japanese, in a battleship Duel on Map 13.

[Requires Carrier Battles Map Pack DLC] Set up a Duel match with a partner on Map 13 using battleships where you play as the Japanese, changing the number of rounds to 3 prior to launching the game. Have your partner not fire any shots while you sink him for three rounds and the achievement will unlock.
Siege of Midway

20
Win a Siege mission on Map 11.

[Requires Carrier Battles Map Pack DLC] Start a Siege mission on Map 11 as the Americans with your partner as the Japanese. Both of you use torpedo bombers to sink the Japanese transports and the game will end when the Japanese run out of command points. Switch sides and repeat for your partner.
The Survivalist

50
Win a Competitive match without losing your submarine on Map 12.

[Requires Carrier Battles Map Pack DLC] Start a Competitive match on Map 12 with a partner and set the victory conditions to 10 minutes and 1000 points. At the beginning fire a barrage of torpedoes at the targets, then submerge and proceed at high speed to distance yourself as far from the enemy as possible. Your partner needs to stay close to the fleet so the AI hunts him and allows you to disappear, but needs to avoid firing any shots. If your partner loses his submarine he will respawn and will need to instantly change to controlling the artillery (to prevent it from firing and scoring points) and then submerge and close with the enemy. The achievement will unlock at the end of the round.