Level 2: Tier 1B

Tier 1B
Start	October 11, 2022
End	October 30, 2022
Solution(s)	lxxix
Previous	Tier 1A
Next	Tier 1C

Tier 1B was the second tier of Level 2 of THE FINALS Easter Egg Hunt. It started on October 11, 2022 and ended on October 31, 2022. The primary themes of the tier were the number 79 and the Romans.

History

After Tier 1A was solved on October 11, 2022, the page led to an image named "THE_FINALS_OSPUZE", depicted a scene with all of OSPUZE's weapon cosmetics. The image contained:

1. A pigpen cipher that decoded to "FKRAMER", referring to Frank Kramer, an Italian filmmaker who largely directed spaghetti westerns.
2. Pixel art of a bag of flower & an egg, the ingredients for spaghetti. This was another hint that Frank Kramer was the correct interpretation of the pigpen cipher clue.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. An X carved into the OSPUZE badge. Frank Kramer directed a movie called The Ten Gladiators. Another hint that the theme might be Roman.

On October 14, Rob posted the image "Promo_OSPUZE_Candy_01", depicting a scene with a OSPUZE AKM on a wooden floor next to a hat and boots. Some clues in the image were not figured out until October 29.

1. "1908 01 18 15 1401" 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, was released in 1979.
2. A series of dots arranged to represent Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.25, Op.79.
3. 7 beads tied around the AKM, and 9 bullets laying around it.

On October 21, Rob posted the image "Promo_Extra_OSPUZE_Candy", depicting an OSPUZE M11 on a wooden floor next to a hat and a number of magazines. This image also contained clues that like "Promo_OSPUZE_Candy_01", pointed towards Beethoven's Sonata.

1. The numbers "11-XXV, 33, 43, 44, 34, 11", that in tap code translate into "s o n a t a - 2 5"
2. Beethoven's signature.
3. 7 bullets loose on the table, and 9 bullets strapped to the side of the M11.

On October 26, Rob posted the image "friend_you_need_03", depicted a Nama Tama dressed as a Roman Centurion holding a Pilum. This suggested that the password would relate to Romans in some way.

On October 29, Rob posted the image "Promo_OSPUZE_Candiii_", depicting an OSPUZE M60 on a hay covered floor with HOLTOW branded bags in the background. The image contained:

1. "1908 01 18 15 1401", which again was translated into SHARONA. My Sharona, by the Knack, released in 1979.
2. "Alt57" written under a hex bolt by the M60, which was decoded into the number 9. Next to the bolt was a small tally that has 7 tallies. These two clues meant 79 combined.
3. The pouch for the M60 has 7 rivets on the front of the pouch, and 9 on the outside edge, meaning 79 again.
4. The number sequence "43, 34, 33, 11, 44, 11 - XXV". This tap code, combined with Beethoven's signature, lead to Piano Sonata No.25, Op.79.

Solving

On October 30, 2022, hunter Serpenger found the password: "lxxix" and solved Tier 1B. In total this tier took 19 days to complete.

Solution Breakdown

79AD, The Ten Gladiators, and the Nama Tama dressed as a Centurion 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 be 79 itself. 79 in roman numerals is LXXIX.

The day the password was solved, Rob posted the following message:

“Hi all.!

Congratulations solving Tier 1B, AMAZiNG.!

(FYI we thought you were going to figure out that the password was going to be in Roman numerals first thing, since we planted so many clues in Roman, hehe... BTW looking at my board, it looks like we have hidden almost 80 clues for you to find during T1B)”

Gallery

• 

  THE_FINALS_OSPUZE

• 

  THE_FINALS_Promo_OSPUZE_Candy_01

• 

  THE_FINALS_Extra_OSPUZE_Candy

• 

  friend_you_need_0

• 

  THE_FINALS_Promo_OSPUZE_Candiii

Credits

• Solver - Serpenger
• Documentation - Flex4d, Kyne, RockhoundBlack, Smashel
• Various Contributions in Alphabetical Order - Buunuu, cikp, Darnoux, Duh, Dwarf, fishxw, gala, Giriko, Povich, Rader, RockhoundBlack, Saam.exe, SPEAR, Tragic

Further Reading

• RockhoundBlack's Video: THE FINALS: For A Few Easter Eggs More...
• Flex4d's Document
• Tier 1B Padlet