Lockpicking Discussion

[Deleted1600859User]

I plan on making a sneaky mage/thief character, so obviously picking perks in lockpicking would be beneficial, however I'd much rather invest fully in things like magic, sneak, and other random things like extra pockets. So my question is; do you think lockpicking will be necessary to steal everything? Or will I be able to get by with a high lockpicking skill alone, even if it means I will get caught more often and be lacking in the other benefits of the lockpicking tree? There's also the benefit of extra loot etc. from that tree, but I figure I can just run through more dungeons if I want more gear. Thoughts? Thanks for all feedback!

[MidbossVyers]

Mage Thief? You mean a ninja?

[DyingAtheist]

I really don't think this is the type of question that's going to be answerable until the game is out and people have actually played it.

[Morilibus]

I'm doing a thief character also and am also have difficulty justifying taking perks in the lockpicking tree. On paper they don't seem all that necessary and am also hoping that skill level alone still has an impact on how easy it is to accomplish. Like you said there are a few in there that are tempting to take.

 

If skill level alone has no impact on your ability to pick locks, I'm probably going to at least take the - Novice - Apprentice - Quikchands - Perks

 

If not, I'll probably take none.

 

My opinion of the perks:

 

Quick Hands(40)(2 prerequisite Perks) Undetectable picking. I could see this one become pretty useful. Assuming there are places to break into that are never without people around it. Like trying to pick into certain places in Oblivion where there were patrolling or stationary guards around all the time. Would need to see it's affect in game, and whether sneak skill and perks could negate the use of this all together.

 

-Wax Key-(50)(3 prerequisite Perks) Don't see this as being worth it, maybe if your picking the same lock many times over, but even then picking the lock again shouldn't be that big of a deal

 

-Golden Touch-(60)(3 prerequisite Perks) Would be nice, but probably only beneficial earlier on when are characters are poor, and since it takes skill of 60 to unlock, maybe too late to be useful. Useful perhaps only to unlock the next perk:

 

Treasure Hunter(70)(4 Prerequisite Perks) Sounds nice on paper, depends how much of a difference you actually notice in game. And how rare it is by default to come across 'special' loot. If it's a 1% in game then an increase of 50% would be a total of 1.5% chance which is still garbage. If it's a 20% by default then it becomes 30%. Better but still not all that amazing. Might be one I try saving in a dungeon, then giving perk and seeing what difference it makes.

 

Locksmith(80)(4 prerequisite Perks) Useful but probably only means saving a bit of time in the mini game, if it is like fallout 3+ it's probably not all that necessary and not worth the use of a perk.

 

Unbreakable(100)(5 prerequisite Perks) Sounds good on paper, deciding factors would be how abundant or picks, and would having this perk mean you could just choose 'force lock'(or equivalent) over and over again till it opened, completely bypass the mini game. If yes, then this could be handy as the mini game may get annoying after a while. However the mini game in fallout 3+ was pretty quick and easy, so wasn't a big deal. Not like the hacking mini game which become annoying to do after a while. But dumping 6 perks in just to only unlock this makes it less worthwhile.

 

-Novice-Apprentice-Adept-Expert-Master- In oblivion these were unlocked as you progressed your skill. So if skill alone has very little impact on our ability to pick a lock, which sounds stupid to me. Meaning these perks may be necessary in order to get into master locks, then adding an extra perk here and there to unlock the other ones is less of a big deal. However if you can get into any lock with only a high skill level and no perks at all. Then I can't see any of these being worth picking. I'd rather spend the perks in other skill trees.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Morilibus

[VoraNoxstella]

you could just choose 'force lock'(or equivalent) over and over again till it opened

Not really. They did away with 'force lock'. All you can do is rotate the pick, rotate the lock, or give up and walk away :P

Edited November 6, 2011 by Colonel_Ivan_Noble

[Morilibus]

you could just choose 'force lock'(or equivalent) over and over again till it opened

Not really. They did away with 'force lock'. All you can do is rotate the pick, rotate the lock, or give up and walk away :P

Thank you, then I would say that unbreakable pick becomes fairly worthless. Unless picks are rare and expensive.

[malevolentraven]

I really hope lock picking is not like how it is in fo3 in the sense that you have to have a certain skill to even attempt it. I hope it is like Oblivion where it is just harder to do but still possible.

[tylitalo]

you could just choose 'force lock'(or equivalent) over and over again till it opened

Not really. They did away with 'force lock'. All you can do is rotate the pick, rotate the lock, or give up and walk away :P

Thank you, then I would say that unbreakable pick becomes fairly worthless. Unless picks are rare and expensive.

 

I'm guessing they won't be as common or cheap as bobby pins :D

[Evilllamas]

I loved the lock picking in oblivion!

Going by screens i'v seen though, the way you actually do it is going to be allot more like FO3, I'm hoping I can attempt any lock though, I want freedom, as soon as I enter the game.

[Deleted1600859User]

I really hope lock picking is not like how it is in fo3 in the sense that you have to have a certain skill to even attempt it. I hope it is like Oblivion where it is just harder to do but still possible.

 

Good point, I guess we'll see how it turns out. The other thing I suppose I could do would be invest in alteration, if there is an open lock spell, and see how duel casting that works if my lockpicking skill does not meet the skill check.