Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade – Inspired Outfits You May Find

EVE has a wardrobe most dress-up sims would envy, and one look keeps popping up in fan clips – the slick aviator jacket that screams cocky fighter pilot. You’ve seen it, right? Somebody struts around Xion in a bomber and suddenly looks like they wandered off a flight deck. That’s the fit everyone keeps hunting for. And honestly, it’s easy to see why. There’s something about that pilot vibe that just clicks when you see a Top Gun costume-inspired outfit in Stellar Blade. So let’s sort out where it comes from, how you actually earn it, and what trips people up along the way.

Getting the Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade, Explained

Quick heads-up before we get rolling. The thing people are really searching for when they type “pilot jacket” is one of two nanosuits, and they’re basically cousins. One shows up in your first playthrough. The other is a fresh coat of paint you grab later. Both lean hard into that maverick-pilot energy.

The Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade isn’t an official movie tie-in, by the way. There’s no licensed crossover here. It’s Shift Up winking at the whole aviator-hero aesthetic with a nanosuit that feels like it belongs in a hangar. The in-game lore even plays it for laughs, which we’ll get to.

Here’s the short version: the green jacket is called Sky Ace, and you earn it during a story-side quest in your normal run. The white jacket is called Air Ace, and it’s the New Game Plus twin of that same look. Same cut, same swagger, different color. That’s the split that confuses a lot of folks scrolling guides at midnight.

So when somebody says they want the Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade, they usually mean the white one – Air Ace – because the clean white bomber photographs like a dream. But you can’t really talk about one without the other. They share a quest, a vibe, and the same goofy backstory.

Let me explain why that matters for your save file. If you skipped the green version, the white version basically doesn’t exist for you. The game ties them together. Get comfy with that idea and the rest falls into place.

What Is the Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade Actually?

Time for the fun part – the lore. The Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade comes from an in-world fashion brand called Tetrastar C&T. They went big on data science and fancy augmented-reality tech, then tried to make aviator bombers cool again with their “Ace” line.

It flopped. Hard. The game flat-out jokes that the most polished reaction the brand got was people asking if the designers had lost their minds. That’s the kind of dry humor I love in a loot description. A high-tech bomber jacket nobody asked for, sold as cutting-edge, met with a shrug.

The flavor text leans into the pilot theme too. It says the jacket carries data captured from the memory of several “top guns” – fighter-pilot legends, basically – so you’re paying homage to aces of the past while you swing a sword at alien Naytiba. It’s pure cosmetic, though. No stat boost. No defense bump. Nothing.

That’s worth repeating because newer players assume rare outfits buff your build. They don’t. Every nanosuit in this game changes how EVE looks and nothing else. So you’re chasing the Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade for the drip, not the damage. And that’s totally fine – fashion is its own endgame here.

You know what’s funny? A jacket that “failed” in the game’s fiction is one of the most requested looks among real players. The brand bombed in-universe; the bomber thrives out here. A little bit of irony baked right in.

Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade

Sky Ace and Air Ace, Two Sides of the Same Jacket

Let’s line them up so there’s zero confusion. They look almost identical at a glance. The cut is the same, the pilot energy is the same, and they come from the same questline. The difference is in color and when you can grab each one.

Detail Sky Ace Air Ace
Jacket color Dark green coat Clean white bomber
Game stage First playthrough New Game Plus
Quest source Encounter side quest Encounter, replayed in NG+
Combat perk None, cosmetic only None, cosmetic only
Vibe Veteran squadron leader Fresh-faced ace pilot

See the pattern? The white Air Ace is the glow-up version. Same heart, brighter wrapping. A lot of players grab the green one, finish the campaign, then come back hungry for the white swap during their second lap.

One more thing worth flagging – the futuristic stockings stay the same across both. So if you liked EVE’s silhouette in the green, you’ll like it in the white. The change is really about that jacket shade and the cleaner, sharper read the white gives in photo mode.

Step One – Starting the Encounter Side Quest

Right, let’s get tactical. The whole pilot-jacket dream starts with a side quest called Encounter. This is your gateway to the green Sky Ace, which then opens the door to the white Air Ace later. No Encounter, no jacket. Simple as that.

But Encounter doesn’t just show up on a platter. You’ve got a few boxes to tick first, and missing one is the number-one reason players get stuck wondering why the quest won’t trigger.

Here’s what needs to be true before Kaya will even hand you the job:

  • You’ve cleared the main mission where you beat the Alpha Naytiba in Matrix 11 – players also know this story beat as the Tachy fight and the Alpha Signal mission.
  • You’ve finished the side quest called The Scavenger’s Story.
  • You’ve hit at least Level 2 affinity with Kaya, the shopkeeper at Sisters’ Junk in Xion.

That last one is the sneaky requirement. People storm into Xion expecting the quest, and it’s just not there, because Kaya doesn’t trust you yet. The game wants you to build a little rapport with her first. Annoying? Maybe. But it’s a small ask.

Once all three are sorted, head to Sisters’ Junk in Xion and chat with Kaya outside her shop. She’ll bring up her missing sister, Kara, and ask for your help. That’s your green light. Accept it, and you’re officially on the road to the pilot look.

Buttering Up Kaya at Sisters’ Junk

So how do you raise Kaya’s affinity? You shop. That’s the whole trick. Every purchase from her stall nudges her affinity higher, and you only need Level 2 to start Encounter, though plenty of players push to Level 3 just to keep things tidy.

Buy materials, buy gear bits, buy whatever you can spare gold on. It’s not expensive in the grand scheme, and you’ll burn through that stuff anyway. Think of it as paying a tiny social tax to access a fashion drop. A low price for swagger.

Here’s a tip from folks who’ve run it: tackle other Xion side quests along the way. Some of them loop back to Kaya through story threads, and the more you interact with the world around her, the smoother this gatekeeping feels. You barely notice the grind when you’re busy doing other stuff.

And look, if you’re the type who blasts straight through the main story, ignoring shops, this is your wake-up call. Slow down for a sec, drop some gold at Sisters’ Junk, and you’ll save yourself a confused Google search later. Been there. It’s a small habit that pays off.

Step Two – Finding Kara Out in the Great Desert

With Encounter accepted, Kaya points you toward the Great Desert. Her sister Kara wandered off out there and never came back, which – spoiler-lite warning – does not end on a happy note. This is where the quest gets a little somber under all the pilot-jacket excitement.

The Great Desert is a tricky zone. Sandstorms wall off huge chunks of the map, so you can’t just sprint to your goal. You’ll first need to handle the Solar Tower objective, which clears those storms and opens up the region for proper exploring. Skip that, and you’ll keep hitting invisible walls of sand, scratching your head.

After the storm’s calm, you’re looking for a spot in the northern stretch of the desert – a circular area boxed in by tall rocks. You slip in through a small gap. Different guides describe it as the northwest or northeast corner, so keep your map handy; the landmark to anchor on is that ring of rock formations near the desert’s supply camps.

Here’s the rough flow once you’re cleared to explore:

  • Sort out the Solar Tower objective first so the sandstorms lift and the map opens up.
  • Head to the rocky, circular arena tucked into the northern desert.
  • Find the gap in the rocks and slip inside.
  • Spot the body in the distance, walk toward it, and brace for a cutscene plus a boss fight.
  • After the fight, scan Kara’s remains for her Memorystick, then return to Kaya in Xion.

That last leg matters. You have to report back to Kaya to actually finish the quest and trigger the reward. Don’t just kill the boss and wander off thinking you’re done. Walk it back to Xion, deliver the bad news, and the jacket is yours.

Quick gut-check moment, though. This quest carries some weight to it. You’re hunting for someone’s sister and the ending lands with a thud. It’s a reminder that Stellar Blade, for all its over-the-top combat and flashy fits, sneaks in genuine melancholy when you least expect it. The pilot jacket you get feels a touch bittersweet because of how you earned it.

How to Beat the Behemoth Without Sweating It?

So about that boss fight. Walking into the rocky arena triggers a scrap with a Behemoth – an Elite, beefed-up version of the lesser Behemoths you’ve probably already swatted around the Wastelands. This one’s bigger, hits harder, and brings a couple of extra tricks like ranged pokes and longer attack chains.

Don’t panic. It telegraphs most of its big stuff. The dangerous bits are its charging rushes and its pouncing leap, both of which cover a scary amount of ground fast. Watch its hips and shoulders, and the moment it winds up, prioritize a perfect dodge or a clean parry over greedy attacks.

A few quick pointers that help here:

  • Top up your health items at a camp before you walk in – getting caught dry mid-fight is a rookie ending.
  • Spend any loose skill points before the cutscene so your kit’s as deep as possible.
  • Bait the charge, sidestep, then punish during the recovery window when it’s lumbering and slow.

If you’re the kind of player who finds boss patterns soothing, you’ll be golden. If you’re scrappy and aggressive, just respect the charges and you’ll come out fine. Either way, the Behemoth is more of a speed bump than a wall once you read its tells.

Beat it, scan the body, jog back to Kaya, and the green Sky Ace lands in your inventory. You also pocket some gold, a stack of Polymer materials, and a trophy called Sisterly Love for your troubles. Not bad for one desert detour.

Step Three – Stepping Into New Game Plus for the White Jacket

Okay, so now you’ve got the green. But maybe you came here specifically for that crisp white look – the one that really sells the Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade fantasy. For that, you’ve got to roll into New Game Plus.

NG+ in this game is its own beast. A whole batch of outfits exists only on a second run, and most of them are recolors or remixes of fits you grabbed the first time. Air Ace is exactly that – the white sibling of green Sky Ace, dropping when you replay the same Encounter quest on your fresh save.

There’s a catch, though, and it’s a big one. NG+ outfit variants only appear if you opened the matching treasure chests during your earlier playthrough. The game tracks what you found before. So if you blitzed the campaign skipping chests, some NG+ fits – potentially including pieces of this set – won’t show up. Pop open everything you can your first time around. Future-you will be grateful.

How to Get the Air Ace Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade – Detailed Steps

Here’s the clean walkthrough for the white one:

  1. Start your New Game Plus run. Rebuild Kaya’s affinity to Level 2 again, just like before, since the social gate resets. Then run the Encounter quest a second time – same desert, same Behemoth, same trek back to Xion.
  2. Finish it on NG+ and the reward swaps from the green Sky Ace to the white Air Ace. That’s the heart of the Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade hunt right there. Same effort, different jacket color, and arguably the better-looking of the two for photo mode lovers.

Now, a bit of history that’s worth knowing. Early on, there was a nasty bug that blocked players from even starting Encounter in NG+, which made the white jacket impossible to get for a while. Shift Up patched it in update 1.003 – the same patch that added the Boss Challenge mode, for those keeping score. So if you’re playing today, you’re well past that headache. Just thought you’d want the context.

Is the Air Ace Worth Chasing? Honest Thoughts

Let me be straight with you. The Air Ace gives you zero combat edge. None. So if you’re a min-maxer who only cares about clearing bosses faster, this isn’t a priority. You can ignore it and lose nothing on the gameplay front.

But that’s not really why people want it, is it? Stellar Blade’s outfit system is half the appeal for a lot of players. The fashion is the reward. EVE’s wardrobe is huge, expressive, and weirdly central to how folks bond with the game. Photo mode is practically a sport in this community.

So who’s this one actually for? Roughly speaking:

  • Fashion-first players who treat EVE’s closet like a personal project.
  • Photo mode enthusiasts who want that clean white pop against neon backdrops.
  • Completionists chasing every nanosuit and trophy on the list.
  • Anyone who just thinks the pilot-ace look is rad – which, fair, it is.

If you nodded at any of those, the grind’s worth it. If you didn’t, no shame in skipping. The beauty of a cosmetic-only system is that it’s there when you want it and invisible when you don’t. No pressure either way.

Stage What to do What you get
Prep Beat the Alpha Naytiba, finish The Scavenger’s Story Encounter becomes possible
Affinity Shop at Kaya’s Sisters’ Junk to reach Level 2 Encounter unlocks
Quest Find Kara, beat the Behemoth, report back Green Sky Ace, gold, Polymers, trophy
NG+ Replay Encounter on a second run White Air Ace pilot jacket

One gentle reminder buried in that table – grab Sky Ace first, every time. The white version is built on the foundation of the green. You can’t shortcut your way to Air Ace without walking the Encounter path at least once. So treat that first desert trip as an investment, not a chore.

And hey, while you’re farming for fashion, soak in the world a bit. Xion’s got texture, the desert’s got mood, and the questlines hide little gut-punches like Kara’s story. The jacket’s the trophy, but the journey to it is half the charm. That’s the stuff that sticks with you long after you’ve swapped to the next outfit.

FAQ

Is the Top Gun Costume an Official Movie Crossover?

No. There’s no licensed tie-in. Shift Up designed the Sky Ace and Air Ace nanosuits with a pilot-ace aesthetic, and players nicknamed the look after the famous aviator vibe. It’s a homage, not a brand deal.

Does the Air Ace Jacket Give Any Combat Bonus?

Nope. Every nanosuit in the game is cosmetic. The Air Ace changes EVE’s appearance and nothing else – no defense, no damage, no stats.

Why Can’t I Start the Encounter Quest?

You’re probably missing a requirement. You need to beat the Alpha Naytiba in Matrix 11, finish The Scavenger’s Story side quest, and hit Level 2 affinity with Kaya by shopping at her stall in Xion.

What’s the Difference Between Sky Ace and Air Ace?

Color and timing, mostly. Sky Ace is the dark green coat you earn in your first run. Air Ace is the white bomber you grab on New Game Plus. Same cut, different shade.

Do I Have to Beat a Boss for This Outfit?

Yes. The Encounter quest ends with a fight against an Elite Behemoth in the Great Desert. Win it, scan Kara’s remains, then return to Kaya to claim the green jacket.

Is the White Air Ace Still Bugged?

Not anymore. An old issue blocked the NG+ quest, but Shift Up fixed it in update 1.003. On any current version, the white pilot jacket is fully obtainable.

Can I Get Air Ace Without Playing New Game Plus?

No. The white variant is locked to a second playthrough. You also need to have opened the matching chests on your first run for NG+ outfits to appear properly.

Wrapping Up the Pilot Jacket Hunt

So there’s the full picture. The Top Gun Costume in Stellar Blade really comes down to one questline worn twice – green on your first lap, white on your second. Build a little goodwill with Kaya, brave the Great Desert, drop the Behemoth, and the swagger’s yours.

It won’t make EVE hit harder. But it’ll make her look like she just stepped off a flight deck, and sometimes that’s the only stat that matters. Suit up, fly cocky, and enjoy the drip.

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