Forums » Elder Scrolls

How good are you at picking locks? (Skyrim)

    • 96 posts
    June 8, 2016 7:09 AM EDT
    Lockpicking, a skill that is overlooked as often as it is used. One may say the perks are useless but how often have you wasted time on breaking lockpicks, just to find that 12 gold in a standard chest?

    What I'd like to know is how good you are when it comes to picking the locks of chests, doors etc.
    1. Do you need more than 2 lockpicks for Novice - Adept locks?
    2. How long does it take (in general) you to open them?
    3. When you're breaking a lockpick, does it make you wish to have perks spent in the lockpicking skill?
    4. How many lockpicks do you need to open Expert - Master locks and how long does it take (in general)?
    5. Do you invest perk in the lockpicking tree, regardless of the class you're playing? If yes, why? No, why?


    _________________________________
    Me: 1. Most of the times I'm able to open them with just one lockpick.
    2. I'd say 10-30 seconds.
    3. Yes :D. Adept locks are the worst...
    4. 2-4. One to find the spot and one-two to open it (sometimes I'm just unlucky). It takes 25-50 seconds, I'd say.
    5. Sometimes I do, but the problem here is that the lockpicking lvl doesn't really increase without training/opening every lock you come across, so higher perks are 'locked' away in eternity.
    Roleplaying that you cant pick locks without the related perk (i.e. Adept Lockpicking for Adept locks) really helps to make the skill 'useful'.
    • 393 posts
    June 8, 2016 7:18 AM EDT

    1. Most of the times it's just one lockpick.

    2. In most cases 5-10 seconds, sometimes up to 30.

    3. Not really. Every time I break a lockpick my lockpicking skill grows a bit)) Not that it happens often anyway.

    4. Usually 2-4 lockpicks. Around 20-30 seconds. Master locks are the worst, Expert locks don't cause me much problem. 

    5. I probably would if I played a thief. Never done that though.

    • 59 posts
    June 8, 2016 10:14 AM EDT

    1-sometimes I need three or four for adept

    2-30 seconds except on novice

    3-no

    4- 4-6

    5-no, unless I am a role play heavy thief.

    • 261 posts
    June 8, 2016 10:25 AM EDT

    1. Not usually.

    2. Usually, not long at all, though there are exceptions.

    3. Not really.

    4. About 3 lockpicks and a minute.

    5. I sometimes do, believe it or not- more gold and treasure are always handy. 

    • 77 posts
    June 8, 2016 10:56 AM EDT

    I never perk this skill, I see no point in doing so.  Any lock in the game can be picked if you have enough picks through process of elimination.  I've never needed more than 9 picks to pick a master lock with only 15 in lockpicking. 

    • 288 posts
    June 8, 2016 11:01 AM EDT

    That depends on how much I'm playing the game at the given moment.

    At my peak I was pretty good, right now I'll probably suck

    • 288 posts
    June 8, 2016 11:03 AM EDT

    Golden Touch and Treasure Hunter are the reasons to perk Lockpicking. But even they are not game changers and are more of a roleplay choice or a high level option when you have nowhere else to put points in.

    • 45 posts
    June 8, 2016 4:37 PM EDT
    1. 1 lockpick, sometimes 2 on adept locks if they're being bitchy XD

    2. 10-15 seconds usually

    3. Nope

    4. 1-4 on a scale of lucky to "you stupid lock!" XD

    5. Never had need of them. I always managed to pick master locks with no skill investment, so I never saw a reason to waste my perks on something I could do without them XD
    • 1 posts
    June 8, 2016 4:51 PM EDT
    I don't see the point in perking this skill tree because I've gotten to the point where I can open an adept chest with 1-2 lockpicks then find 7 in the chest. Lockpicks are too common to perk the tree. However, if some mod came around to make lockpicks rarer and chests a little bit more difficult, I can see myself perking the tree a little bit. But investing in that tree is a waste of perk points unless you are RPing.
  • Tom
    • 624 posts
    June 8, 2016 5:10 PM EDT

    1. I'm gonna say it's a 50/50. Half the time I need one, the rest I need more.

    2. I don't keep track.

    3. No. It is the least valuable perk tree in the game. Every room with a lock on it is just a bit of extra treasure, and it's stupid easy to get treasure in this game.

    4. Expert are the easiest. No joke, I find Expert locks easier than anything else. Adept is by far the second hardest after Master. I've opened a Master once out of sheer dumb luck of my first guess being right.

    5. The worst tree in the game. Don't invest in it.

    • 295 posts
    June 8, 2016 6:13 PM EDT

    1. No

    2. About 10 seconds, longer if it's a master lock.

    3. No, usually swimming in lockpicks. Just whip out another.

    4. I can do an Expert in 1 if I'm careful. Takes about 3 to do a Master. Those take longer, about a minute, especially the master ones, unless I have a ton of picks and then I don't care cause I can break them. 

    5. I do if I'm playing a heist-type thief. Usually for treasure hunting perks. Requiem also requires perk investment unless  you disable it in the MCM. 

    • 59 posts
    June 8, 2016 7:01 PM EDT

    the requiem part, doesn't sound that immersive. i mean, thats like FO4 which i hate. Anyone with a lock pick could try, they just should have made it harder.

    • 321 posts
    June 8, 2016 8:18 PM EDT

    Ah, lockpicking. It's a pain in the ass when opening those Master chests. Those 'so close' moments make you wanna throw your mouse/controller when you almost got it, but it breaks just near the end.

    1.  Just one is enough, except Adept.
    2. Around 10 - 30 seconds. Almost a minute if it's a Master.
    3. No, it just makes want to bring more lockpicks. Thank the gods there's craftable lockpicks in my game.
    4. Well around 5-8. I just give up if it takes more than 10.
    5. I only invest in Novice-Apprentice Lockpicking just to ease my time. Rarely do I need Master Lockpicking because it ain't worth it. 
    • 122 posts
    June 8, 2016 9:03 PM EDT

    1. Do you need more than 2 lockpicks for Novice - Adept locks?

    Rarely, but sometimes.


    2. How long does it take (in general) you to open them?

    Maybe 10-40 seconds, depending on the lock?


    3. When you're breaking a lockpick, does it make you wish to have perks spent in the lockpicking skill?

    I usually have around 50-100 lockpicks on me, so only when I break more than ten picks on a single chest or come across an Expert/Master lock.


    4. How many lockpicks do you need to open Expert - Master locks and how long does it take (in general)?

    Expert Locks tend to take around 1-2 minutes and 5-10 picks. I just leave Master Locks alone. I'm always disappointed by the loot in a Master chest compared to the infuriating effort put into cracking it.


    5. Do you invest perk in the lockpicking tree, regardless of the class you're playing? If yes, why? No, why?

    I rarely invest in lockpicking, simply because I put so much emphasis on throwing away all my perk points into magic schools.

    Lockpicking is a great skill for builds which rely heavily on dungeoning or thieving for their main source of income, it's true, but I too often end up playing a character with alchemy or enchanting, which are both good enough money makers that I don't have to obsess too much over loot.

    • 33 posts
    June 9, 2016 3:47 AM EDT

    1. One lock Pick (Only played thief classes normally)

    2. 5 seconds to 10 seconds tops

    3. I rarely think that. I normally think that I should calm down and take it slowly.

    4. 2 lock picks and takes 20-30 seconds.

    5. I rarely put points in the lock picking tree when the character doesn't need it. Most of the time I have to take my time and end up taking 2 minutes on a master lock with next to no points in the lock picking tree.

    • 224 posts
    June 9, 2016 5:50 AM EDT

    On Skyrim I'm good, I like Lockpicking, is like treasure hunt, and If you play as thief and steal some things is even more treasure hunt, xP, on real life one time I disarmed and fixed a real lock what wasn't working and then make it work, was so cool 

    • 33 posts
    June 9, 2016 5:54 AM EDT

    That is actually impressive Medieval. I have tried to fix things with more that 2 parts and I think I make it worse 

    • 215 posts
    June 9, 2016 9:20 AM EDT

    hate lockpicking.  One mod I must have to play.

    • 273 posts
    June 9, 2016 1:01 PM EDT

    1. Very rarely on Novice-Apprentice, Adept usually takes me 3 or so.

    2. Usually under a minute

    3. Nope

    4. 10 or so and about 5 minutes, sometimes less if I'm in a good mood.

    5.  Nope