Battlefield 1
| Battlefield 1 | |
|---|---|
| The Battlefield 1 ARG - an ARG that began with headphones and Morse Code. | |
| Type | [[List_of_Investigations#Official|Official]] |
| Creator | EA Dice |
| Discovered | 06-21-2016 |
Main Page > List of Investigations > Battlefield 1
This wiki page documents the Morse code Easter Egg / ARG that is hidden in Battlefield 1. The Google doc used to populate this wiki page can be found here. Currently, the primary solving hub for this ARG is the Battlefield Easter Egg community, who have a Wiki here and also a YouTube channel as well.
Headphones and Morse
Pairs of headphones were discovered hidden on some maps. The headphones are indestructible and can be located on every server, as long as they have not already been picked up. It appears that there are 5 sets of headphones per map, although the spawn locations of some pairs remain undiscovered. In addition, only only one pair of headphones spawns upon the initiation of a new round, which makes discovering all of the spawn locations quite difficult. The headphones can be picked up by any player by walking near enough to them. Upon approaching a hidden MCOM station (1 MCOM per map, except Giant's Shadow) wafter having retrieved a pair of headphones, the player will hear some Morse code being tapped out. A player can carry only one pair of headphones at a time, and only the player wearing the headphones will be able to hear the Morse code when near enough to a hidden MCOM.
Headphone Locations
NOTE: These guide maps feature headphone locations which were changed in the November 15th, 2016 update; they remain on this page as archive.
Amiens
The location of the MCOM on Amiens (credit to Half-life)
The known locations of headphones on Amiens (credit to RenegadeX5)
Argonne Forest
The location of the MCOM on Argonne Forest (credit to Half-life)
The known locations of headphones on Argonne Forest (credit to RenegadeX5)
Empire's Edge
The location of the MCOM on Empire's Edge (credit to Half-life)
The known locations of headphones on Empire's Edge (credit to RenegadeX5)
FAO Fortress
The location of the MCOM on FAO Fortress (credit to Half-life)
The known locations of headphones on Fao Fortress (credit to RenegadeX5)
Monte Grappa
The location of the MCOM on Monte Grappa (credit to Half-life)
The known locations of headphones on Monte Grappa (credit to RenegadeX5)
Sinai Desert
The location of the MCOM on Sinai Desert (credit to Half-life)
The known locations of headphones on Sinai Desert (credit to RenegadeX5)
St-Quentin-Scar
The location of the MCOM on St-Quentin-Scar (credit to Half-life)
The known locations of headphones on St-Quentin-Scar (credit to RenegadeX5)
Suez Canal
The location of the MCOM on Suez Canal (credit to Half-life)
The known locations of headphones on Suez Canal (credit to RenegadeX5)
November 15, 2016
On November 15th, Battlefield 1 received an update which changed the Morse code heard on all maps' hidden MCOM stations to the following:
.--. .-. . ...- .. --- ..- ... | -- . ... ... .- --. . | -.-. --- .-. .-. ..- .--. - . -.. .- .-- .- .. - | ..-. ..- .-. - .... . .-. | .. -. ... - .-. ..- -.-. - .. --- -. ...
PREVIOUS MESSAGE CORRUPTED AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS
Included in & added since this update on November 15th:
- Ballroom Blitz has had an MCOM station and headphones added to it, whereas pre-patch it was the only map with neither
- The spawn locations of many headphones on most maps has changed
- The above Morse message plays on loop until the MCOM station eventually explodes, although this appears to be buggy and thus the station will not always behave in this way
- Once the MCOM station explodes, headphones stop spawning on the map
- Dying after having retrieved a headphone will no longer cause a new headphone to spawn at the initial spawn location of the one the dead player was carrying
- Only one pair of headphones will spawn upon the initiation of a round on each map
February 14, 2017
On February 14, the Morse code changed again, to the following message:
GO STRAIGHT TO <location_name>. OLD METHODS COMPROMISED. MUST ACQUIRE NEW KEY. WILL MISS DROPOFF IF DELAY OR INCORRECT LOCATION.
Each user hears a different location name. It is currently unknown which factors determine who hears which location, or if locations are simply randomly assigned to players. Additionally, APREMONT must be swapped with VARENNES due to an error on the developer's part. There are 27 locations total: 3 locations on each of the 9 maps. Here is the list of locations, along with their respective maps, in alphabetical order:
-
ABBEY MAP APREMONT: Ballroom Blitz (SwapAPREMONTwithVARENNES, which is near Ballroom Blitz) -
APREMONT RITZ BED: Ballroom Blitz -
AMIENS NEUF FURNITURE: Amiens -
BUCKET MARSHLANDS FAW: FAO Fortress (Al-Faw is translated to "Fao" from Arabic) -
CANAL KANTARA VASES: Suez Canal -
CASTELLO ISLE ADRIATIC: Empire Edge (Empire Edge is on the Adriatic Coast) -
CHURCH RUINS AMIENS: Amiens -
COASTAL FORTRESS ADRIATIC: Empire Edge -
CRATE JABAL JIFAR: Sinai Desert (El-Jifar is close to Sinai Desert) -
CRATE SEREN VENETIAN: Monte Grappa (Monte Grappa is in Venice) -
CRATE TRENCH CANAL: Suez Canal -
FERRO FIRE VENETIAN: Monte Grappa -
HILL BARN ADRIATIC: Empire Edge -
HILL TOWER CANAL: Suez Canal -
HOTEL CHECK PERONNE: St. Quentin Scar (Peronne is close to SQ Scar) -
LONGUEVILLE STATUE AMIENS: Amiens -
LUGGAGE BASEMENT VARENNES: Argonne Forest (SwapVARENNESwithAPREMONT, which is near Argonne Forest) -
OUTPOST BARREL FAW: FAO Fortress -
PANEL WATER VARENNES: Argonne Forest -
PILLAR OUTSKIRTS JIFAR: Sinai Desert -
PILLOW MAZAR JIFAR: Sinai Desert -
RUIN VENTURE PERONNE: St. Quentin Scar -
STATUES GARDEN APREMONT: Ballroom Blitz -
STOVE TURRET VENETIAN: Monte Grappa -
TRAVECY ATTIC PERONNE: St. Quentin Scar -
TREE FORTRESS FAW: FAO Fortress -
TREE TRAIN VARENNES: Argonne Forest
The message will repeat until you move away from the MCOM station, at which point the MCOM will explode. Each of the locations mentioned above seems to have the same symbol near it.
Symbols
The first symbols discovered at each location are difficult to find; they are small double arrows pointing to the left and right, and only appear when the player comes within 0.4 meters. A player will typically need to crouch or go prone in order to be able to see their symbol. Additionally, players can only see the symbol at the location they've been "assigned" to. When examining a symbol up close, a distinct sound is played (video). Here are the symbol locations that have been discovered thus far:
ABBEY MAP APREMONT
Near wall of ballroom in Ballroom Blitz
BUCKET MARSHLANDS FAW
Rock near bucket on FAO Fortress
CANAL KANTARA VASES
Near vases on B point of Suez Canal
CHURCH RUINS AMIENS
Keep left from German spawn on Amiens (go prone)
CRATE JABAL JIFAR
On rock behind crate on Sinai Desert- Crate Seren.png
CRATE SEREN VENETIAN
On wall by crates on Monte Grappa 
HILL BARN ADRIATIC
Barn on a hill on Empire's Edge- Hotel Check.png
HOTEL CHECK PERONNE
By stairs in hotel on SQ Scar 
HILL TOWER CANAL
On a rock by ropes at Suez Canal
LONGUEVILLE STATUE AMIENS
Under bushes near statue in Amiens
LUGGAGE BASEMENT APREMONT
On pillar in E basement on Argonne
PANEL WATER APREMONT
Conquest Flag B on Argonne, coming up the stairs from A inside the bunker
PILLAR OUTSKIRTS JIFAR
Pillar on Sinai Desert
PILLOW MAZAR JIFAR
Between C and D, next to the blown up tanks on Sinai
STATUES GARDEN VARENNES
Wall of garden on Ballroom Blitz\
STOVE TURRET VENETIAN
On wall near stove on Monte Grappa
TRAVECY ATTIC PERONNE
On the roof of B on SQ Scar
TREE FORTRESS FAW
Above the F flag on FAO Fortress
TREE TRAIN VARENNES
In building by train tracks on Argonne - video
VARENNES SERVANT BED
On windowsill on Ballroom Blitz
Second Message
After a player discovers their symbol, returning to an MCOM station with headphones yields another following message in Morse code. Additionally, the MCOM's lights glow yellow instead of the usual white when broadcasting this message. The message starts with one of the above location names, but reversed:
<reversed_location_name> REMEMBER FIRST RULE. IF COMPROMISED. L PILL.
An L. PILL is short for lethal pill, a pill intended to be taken by soldiers to commit suicide rather than be tortured. Visiting the specified reversed location, the second location, yields a triangle symbol in place of the normal double-arrow symbol. The second symbol appears in the exact same spot that the first symbol may appear for other players.
Third Message
After a player discovers the triangle symbol at their second location, returning to an MCOM station with headphones yields another message. This time, the MCOM lights glow purple. Here's the text of the message:
<atbash_cipher> SECOND RULE. SIGHTING. REPORT AND WAIT. INVESTIGATING ALONE COULD LEAD TO DEATH
Solving the Atbash cipher in the message yields another location from the list above. Visiting the third location leads to an arrow symbol pointing right.
Fourth Message
Returning to an MCOM station after discovering the third symbol yields yet another message. This time, the MCOM lights glow green (previously, they glowed white, yellow, and purple for the first, second, and third messages respectively). Here's the text of the message:
<rot_cipher> THIRD RULE. IF TAKEN BY THE OTHERS DISCOVER MEANS TO COMMUNICATE TO HOUSE
Solving the ROT cipher with a key of 7 (N = 19) yields another location from the list of locations, leading to a fourth symbol, which is shown on the right.
Fifth Message
After finding the fourth symbol, the MCOM's light colour turns transparent. This message begins with an anagrammed location from the list of locations:
<anagrammed_location> FOURTH RULE. KILL ALL ON SAME TRAIL. REMOVE DOG TAGS AND REPORT TO HOUSE
The fifth symbol is a pattern of broken and unbroken dashes. No meaning has been derived from this symbol as of yet.
Sixth Message
After finding the fifth symbol, the MCOM's lights turn to a gold (potentially orange?) colour. Here's the content of the sixth message:
<double_cipher> MORSE MESSAGES BEING INTERCEPTED. BEGINNING FULL ENCRYPTION SOON
The "double_cipher" is comprised only of single dots and single dashes: E's and T's in Morse code. The cipher can be solved by converting the transmission into A's and B's, where A is a dot and B is a dash. Then decode the ciphertext (AABBABABBAA etc) using a Baconian cipher, then decode the output of the Baconian cipher with an Atbash cipher to obtain another location from the list.
Visiting the sixth location yields the sixth symbol: a series of horizontal and vertical lines with the name "EDWARD" prominently featured between them.
Seventh Message
After finding the sixth symbol, the MCOM's lights turn to a pink colour. Here's an example seventh message, which is a Vigenere cipher:
PXCGRJIEWSVPIQPVRUIQJEJDPOEEJFEQXETOSWDEUDWHJEDLIVANVPMHOCRQFHYLFWLHZAJDPOEEJDPZWOJXWHED
This transmission is encoded via Vigenere Cipher with the key "Edward". It decodes to:
LUGGAGEBASEMENTVARENNESALLIESCANBECLOTHEDASENEMIESENEMIESCANBECLOTHEDASALLIESALWAOSUSEID
LUGGAGE BASEMENT VARENNES ALLIES CAN BE CLOTHED AS ENEMIES. ENEMIES CAN BE CLOTHED AS ALLIES. ALWAYS USE ID
In the example above, LUGGAGE BASEMENT VARENNES may be replaced with any of the locations from the complete list. Going to the specified location reveals the seventh symbol, which prominently contains the word "George".
Eighth Message
After finding the seventh symbol, the MCOM's lights turn to a lime colour. Here's an example eighth message, which is an Autokey cipher:
ONADIFZWMPTJSHJGXROUUEKUWFHGJHNWUYMESYQYXXFAWAUGQNMESY
This message decodes to the following, by using an Autokey cipher with passphrase of "George" and alphabet key of ZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY:
HILLBARNADRIATICFINALBELIEVEEVERYTHINGREPORTEVERYTHING
HILL BARN ADRIATIC FINAL BELIEVE EVERYTHING REPORT EVERYTHING
In the example above, HILL BARN ADRIATIC may be replaced with any of the locations from the complete list. The eighth symbol, which is just the word "LONDON", will be at the specified location.
Final Message
After discovering the eighth "LONDON" symbol, the MCOM's lights turn cyan. The Morse code beeps out an encoded message that has yet to be deciphered;
ZQBRIPPYOHBFIUPEYLAZAMARZIOZDSYJB
Additional Notes
The following image was datamined after the release of the February 14, 2017 patch:
Between its colour channels, this image contains all of the symbols mentioned above.
To be added: pictures of the MCOM station with all light colours
This investigation is still developing, and this page will be updated accordingly as new leads emerge.
