TFEE T1C

Tier 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 118 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. This tier took a total of 18 days to complete.

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”.

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

“CONGRATULATION all EE-hunters, well done.!
hehe, well, there are a lot of clues (18 to be exact) directly linked to Dmitri Mendeleev hidden in the images released... for example his birthday is hidden in a couple of places, birth town in Siberia, Karol Lacko who made a famous statue of Medeleev, a medal named after Mendeleev with his portrait, a mendeleev flower, Iris sibirica, clues and atom number to Mendelevium etc, etc...
I know this tier was a little bit too easy, we will make sure next tier will be a little bit harder… ._.
Hi.! Seems like you all need to recharge your batteries and take some rest, the next tiers will finally get a little bit more challenging, as per your request.!
(don't rest too long...)”

A few days later on November 19th, Rob posted a follow up message:

“No no OFC not, 460 BC was just a super obvious clue to Democritus... as well as Άβδηρα, Abderus, Leucippus that all this leads to atom... and you had 118 in several places, and many clues pointing spectrometer and to Ångström, and also coordinates to the city where Mendeleev where born, as well as 2 clues to electronic configuration... so you had Mendeleev, 118 Atoms, Electronic Configuration already in the first image.

There were 118 clues hidden in the last tier in total, all pointing towards (of course in more or less obvious ways) to the password... I will never tell where they are, haha.”

Images

THE_FINALS_Promo_ISEULT_Candy_
THE_FINALS_Promo_ISEULT_Candy_2
THE_FINALS_Promo_ISEULT_Candy_3
THE_FINALS_Promo_ISEULT_Candy_4
THE_FINALS_a_friend_you_APPARENTLY_dont_need

Credits

Solver - Duh

Documentation - Flex4d, Kyne, RockhoundBlack, Smashel

Various Contributions in Alphabetical Order - Darnoux, Duh, fishxw, Flex4d, exin, Giriko, kopatroopa123, Ndria, Resk, Rikta, RockhoundBlack, Saam.exe, SPEAR