Tier Overview
On September 5th, 2022 Embark Studios made a post with the following messageː New concept art..ǃ.ǃǃǃǃ Using a binary to text translator, assuming the periods are 0s and the ǃs are 1s, revealed that it means /. Upon futher examination of the image, Slash it was found that there are binary strings on the upper right, and lower right of the image. DEVON was the text on the upper right, and CROSSING was the text on the lower right. With these two pieces of information in hand, it was discovered that going to www.reachthefinals.com/devoncrossing would lead to a curious page with a giant red X on it.
On September 8th, a new image was posted to the announcements channel on the Offical Discord named Statues_001 it contained small figurines of the Light, Medium, and Heavy Builds. Examining the image revealed a series of numbers 49 53, 54 52, 48 50, 49 53. When these are cross referenced with an ASCII table it gives the date 1564/02/15. This is Galileo Galilei's birthdate, but there was no confirmation that it was connected yet.
On September 9th, another image was posted to the announcements channel, named Happystatues_002 This time it was small Nama Tama figures of the Light, Medium, and Heavy Builds. Once again examining the image lead to another set of numbers 56 54 48 49 when referenced with an ASCII table it gives us 8601, given the fact we didn't know if the date from the previous image was supposed to be a date being told indirectly it was ISO-8601, a standard code for date formatting, confirmed it was a date, and the Galileo connection. Going to www.reachthefinals.com/galileo would also lead to a page with a giant red X on it.
On September 13th, an image named BarrelsBarrelsBarrels was posted to the announcements channel, and on Embark's social media account. It contained a scene of a character in military gear, and a Shinobi vaulting over them with a few barrels behind them. Closer examination of the image would reveal two potential cluesː On one of the barrels the string 002f, Unicode for / was found, and on the character with military gear, on his back he was carrying a can of OSPUZE OG Beans; although, this clue was overlooked at the time.
On September 15th, a new image named friend_you_need was posted in the Easter Eggs channel. The image contained a Nama Tama, holding a can of OSPUZE OG BEANS. A can of beans, titled OCB, Original Can of Beans was the first item put in a geocache by Dave Ulmer, the inventor of Geocaching. Going to www.reachthefinals.com/ocb would result in the third and final page with a red X on it.
Solving
On September 16th, 2022. Hunter Duh found the correct answer for the level. https://www.reachthefinals.com/geocache A new image awaited the hunters there. Nama Tama saying Level One Completed! You Are Awesome.! In total this level took 11 days to complete.
Summary
- Devon Crossing relates to William Crossing of Devon. Which can be traced back to the origins of a hobby called Letterboxing in Dartmoor, Devon. The hobby is referred to as the original geocaching, but with compasses and maps.
- Dusty gave a message which included Shell-lock Holmes’s. One of first books written by Arthur Conan Doyle was The Hound of the Baskervilles, which takes place mostly in Dartmoor, Devon, and whose main character is Sherlock Holmes.
- Galileo is the name of a European Satellite System. GPS devices are used for geocaching and they require satellites to function.
- O.C.B stands for Original Can of Beans. A can of beans was the first item placed in the original stash by the inventor of geocaching.
Images
Credits
Solver - Duh
Documentation - Giriko, Flex4d, RockhoundBlack
Various Contributions - ATAEGGYU, Darnoux, Dwarf, Madalin, Mike Eggmantraut, Oli, Sparky, Swa
Further Reading
RockhoundBlack's Video: THE FINALS: The 'Geocache' Easter Egg!
Flex4d's DocumentLevel Two Unlocking
On October 2nd, 2022. Rob posted an image of half of a QR code and a messageː HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0O (This has been edited for brevity, the full message had ̃400 zeroes). It was noticed later that evening there was a 0 on the 18th position of the phrase. A few minutes later a new web address was found https://www.reachthefinals.com/tfee_level2 (This address was made inactive and leads to a 404 error, the updated address is https://www.reachthefinals.com/tfee-level2). On the site was a GIF of Nama Tama saying that Level Two - THE PROMISE was loading. After midnight it was discovered that https://www.reachthefinals.com/gooooooooooooooooo contained a quarter of the QR code, although not needed now it was another clue to get to the TFEE Level2 Site.
On October 4th it was discovered that https://www.reachthefinals.com/tfee-level2 was active, with 9 tiers all locked. (It is worth noting that at some point the Level 2 Page got changed so Tier 2ABC and T2DEF share the same line instead of seperated like all the other tiers.)
Tier 1A: The "1064 Aethusa" puzzle
Tier Overview
On October 6th, 2022 Dusty posted two images in the easter egg channel with the caption Oriri ex cinere. It was discovered that if you overlaid the two images and looked at the differences and edited the levels you'd see a griffin. This griffin was the Pisa Griffin, which sits atop the Pisa Cathedral which started construction in 1064.
On October 7th, 2022 Dusty posted a new image in the easter egg channel, titled TakeCover, it contained a scene of the Church on Monaco getting hit by a series of meteors. This image had a fair amount of clues hidden in it.
- Αἵ θου σα, or Aethusa, had been hidden in the rubble, and on the church itself.
- The various white blooming plants seen around the scene are Aethusa Cynapium, a herb native to Europe.
- A broken trident could be found in the rubble, and a trident symbol can be seen on the floating ring on top of the scene.
- Poseidon's daughter is named Aethusa.
- Due to the amount of meteors it was also a hint to be on the lookout for connected meteors.
On October 11th, 2022 Rob posted a new image in the easter egg Discord channel, titled friend_you_need_02, that contained a scene of Nama Tama dressed as Galileo observing a comet with a telescope. It was discovered there was an asteroid, 1064 Aethusa, named after the Aethusa herb found in the previous image.
Solving
On October 11th, 2022. Hunter Serpenger found the correct password for the tier, 1064, from looking at the asteroid that had been found a couple hours previously. In total this tier took 7 days to complete, and a new image awaited our hunters.ǃ
Summary
The Pisa Griffin provided two important clues to the hunt, first, the date 1064, and that it was the birthplace of Galileo.
The Aethusa clues all pointed to the meteor 1064 Aethusa.
Images
Credits
Solver - Serpenger
Documentation - Flex4d, Ralliden, RockhoundBlack
Various Contributions - Buunuu, Darnoux, DashGames, Duh, Fishxw, Giriko, OrpheusHEI, SPEAR, Swa, Tragic
Further Reading:
RockhoundBlack's Video: THE FINALS: A Fistful Of Easter Eggs + New Concept Art!
Flex4d's DocumentTier 1B: The "79" puzzle
Tier Overview
On October 11th, 2022, Serpenger posted the image he got from inputting the T1A password, titled THE_FINALS_OSPUZE, depicted a scene with all of OSPUZE's weapon cosmetics, with a lot of clues hidden within.
- In the background of the image there was a pigpen cipher hidden, when decoded it meant FKRAMER, or Frank Kramer. A Italian filmmaker who largely directed spaghetti westerns.
- In the OSPUZE Logo pixel art of a bag of flower & an egg was found, or the ingredients for spaghetti. This was another hint that Frank Kramer was the correct interpretation of the clue.
- The M11 had 8 bullets wrapped around it, and 32 written on the side of it. 832 Ab urbe condita( years since Rome was founded) translates to 79 AD.
- The ammo belts for the M60 in the shot had markings on the primer for the bullets. 1 on the far left, 9 next to the previous one, 6 on the bullets coming out of the receiver, and 2 almost in the receiver. 1962 was the year that Frank Kramer released 79 A.D.A political drama about Mount Vesuvius's impending eruption.
- On the OSPUZE badge there was a X carved into it. Frank Kramer directed a movie called The Ten Gladiators. Another hint that the theme might be Roman.
On October 14th, 2022, Rob posted a new image on the easter egg channel, titled Promo_OSPUZE_Candy_01, depicted a scene with a OSPUZE AKM sitting on a wooden floor next to a hat and boots. This image had a couple of clues in it, although they were not figured out until October 29th, 2022. 190B 01 1B151A01 was written on the side of the AKM, this was eventually figured out to be SHARONA if you replaced the string with letters. My Sharona, by the Knack, released in 1979. The other clue hidden within was a series of dots that looked like they were arranged as a musical piece. This likewise was solved on October 29th, 2022 with the piece being discovered to be Piano Sonata No.25, Op.79, another hint to 79.
On October 21st, 2022, Rob posted a new image on the easter egg channel, titled Promo_Extra_OSPUZE_Candy, depicted a scene with a OSPUZE M11 sitting on a wooden floor next to a hat and a number of magazines. This image also contained clues that like Promo_OSPUZE_Candy_01, would help uncover the Sonata. 11-XXV 33 43 44 34 11 was scratched onto the wooden surface, in tap code it turns into s o n a t a - 2 5. Beethoven's signature was also found on the wooden table.
On October 26th, 2022, Rob posted a new image on the easter egg channel, titled friend_you_need_03, depicted a scene with a Nama Tama dressed as a Roman Centurian holding a Pilum. This was a hint that whatever the password was, was most likely Roman themed.
On October 29th, 2022, Rob posted a new image on the easter egg channel, titled Promo_OSPUZE_Candiii_, depicted a scene with a OSPUZE M60 sitting on a hay covered floor with HOLTOW branded bags in the background. There were a series of clues hidden within the image.
- 1908 01 18 15 1401 was hidden on the side of the M60, which was translated into SHARONA. My Sharona, by the Knack, released in 1979.
- A hex bolt on the side of the M60 had Alt57 written under it. That is a alt code that produces 9 when you do the code. Next to the bolt was a small tally that has 7 tallies. 79 when combined.
- The pouch for the M60 has 7 rivets on the outside of the pouch, and 9 on the outside. 79 again.
- XXV was at the end of a string of numbers hidden on the side of the M60. This, combined with Beethoven's signature, lead to Piano Sonata No.25, Op.79.
Solving
On October 30th, 2022. Hunter Serpenger found the correct password for the tier, lxxix, after noticing the constant theme of 7s and 9s, and the Roman undertones thoughout the entire tier. In total this tier took 19 days to complete, and a new image awaited our hunters.ǃ
Summary
79AD, The Ten Gladiators, and the Nama Tama dressed as a Centurian all pointed to the password being Roman themed in nature.
My Sharona, Piano Sonata No.25, Op.79, and all of the 7s and 9s showing up hinted that the password might just be 79 itself.
Images
Credits
Solver - Serpenger
Documentation - Flex4d, Kyne, RockhoundBlack
Various Contributions - Buunuu, Darnoux, Duh, Dwarf, Giriko, Rader, RockhoundBlack, SPEAR, Tragic, cikp, fishxw, gala, saamdotexe
Further Reading:
RockhoundBlack's Video: THE FINALS: For A Few Easter Eggs More...
Flex4d's DocumentTier 1C: The "Mendelevium" puzzle
Tier Overview
On October 30th, Tier B was unlocked and a new image was posted with the name “THE_FINALS_Promo_ISEULT_Candy_”. This image included the same three weapons from the last tier, the M60, AKM, and M11. The image's metadata read, “Finally… ...some brand new candy for you... GLHF.!” By this point, the Hunters knew the drill... and the search for clues began!
- On the LMG's ammo pouch, Cyrillic script was found that translated to "Luna 3," the first spacecraft to photograph the far side of the moon.
- The number 188 was found on the M60 and M11, referencing the 118 elements of the periodic table.
- On the stock of the LMG was a symbol "Å" meaning Ångström, a very small unit of length.
- A pink triangle and the presence of colored pixels throughout the image led to a possible connection to Pink Floyd, which was reinforced by the "far side of the moon" clue.
On November 3rd, a new image was posted, titled “THE_FINALS_Promo_ISEULT_Candy_2” with the metadata "Hi, hope you like this… ...and have a great day.!” Clues in this image solidified previous theories and presented some brand new information.
- Lunar coordinates were found on the stock label, giving the location of the Ångström Crater.
- The number 1869 in Cistercian numerals was found, which corresponded to the year that the periodic table was published by Mendeleev.
- Greek symbols spelling the name "Abderus" were hidden on the stock of the AKM.
- An acrylic prism was shown in the image exhibiting the dispersion of light, similar to the album cover of Pink Floyd's "The Far Side of the Moon."
A third image was posted on November 7th, titled “THE_FINALS_Promo_ISEULT_Candy_3” with metadata “Hi there dear EE-hunters.!” “Keep it up, be happy, you are doing GREAT... ._.” The major findings in this image were the names "Karol," found on the sight of the LMG, and "Lacko," found is Morse Code in the background. Karol Lacko was the artist of a famous sculpture of Mendeleev.
On November 10th, a fourth image was posted called “THE_FINALS_Promo_ISEULT_Candy_4” with the metadata “Hi EE-hunters.!” “A new day, a new image... no more rabbit holes.!" This image contained even more clues for the Hunters, but the final nail in the coffin for this tier was the identification of the Mendeleev Medal in the background of the image.
After these findings, the Hunters knew they were right on the verge of the answer, and with one last image, the puzzle would finally be solved. On November 16th Rob posted a clue called “THE_FINALS_a_friend_you_APPARENTLY_dont_need.png” with metadata “...yes we know…” “...you already solve this tier loooooong time ago (lol)... with love embark.!” The image was of Nama Tama dressed like a scientist, which reinforced the idea of Mendeleev and the periodic table.
Solving
On November 17th, Duh entered the electron configuration “5f137s2” for the element Mendelevium, completing Tier 1C. Two of the major themes of this tier were: 1. The scientist Dmitri Mendeleev and 2. The periodic table and its elements. These led to the final answer: the electron configuration for the element Mendelevium.
Summary
The main clues were the Luna 3 far side of the moon mission and album cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark side of the moon, hinting at spectroscopy and one of its founders Anders Ångström. Also, Ångström units, atomic configurations, and the 118 clue pointed to the periodic table and Dmitri Mendeleev. Later clues related to atomic orbitals and electron configurations, which all pointed to the code “5f137s2”.
Images
Credits
Solver - Duh
Documentation - Flex4d, Kyne, RockhoundBlack
Various Contributions - Flex4d, Giriko, RockhoundBlack, Darnoux, Duh, fishxw, SPEAR, Ndria, kopatroopa123, Resk, exin, Saam.exe, Rikta
Further Reading:
RockhoundBlack's Video: THE FINALS: The Dark Side Of The Easter Egg
Flex4d's DocumentTier 1D: The "0vif0rm" puzzle
Tier Overview
Solving
Summary
Images
Credits
Solver -
Documentation -
Various Contributions -
Further Reading:
Flex4d's DocumentTier 1E: The "cacoiii" puzzle
Tier Overview
Solving
Summary
Images
Credits
Solver -
Documentation -
Various Contributions -
Further Reading:
Flex4d's Document
Slash
Statues_001
Happystatues_002
BarrelsBarrelsBarrels
friend_you_need
Awesome.!
