In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, lockpicking is an essential skill that opens up a world of hidden treasures, secret rooms, and exclusive loot. Whether you’re a stealthy thief or a curious adventurer, mastering the art of lockpicking can significantly enhance your gameplay experience.
Lockpicking in Oblivion Remastered involves a minigame where you interact with a lock’s tumblers. Each lock has up to five tumblers, and your goal is to set each one without breaking your lockpick. The process requires timing and precision, as tumblers move at varying speeds. Successfully setting a tumbler locks it in place, and once all are set, the lock opens.
The difficulty of locks ranges from Easy to Very Hard, with higher difficulty locks having more tumblers and faster-moving pins. Your character’s Security skill influences the ease of lockpicking; higher skill levels slow down tumbler movement and reduce the chance of tumblers resetting upon a failed attempt.
Acquiring Lockpicks
Before you can pick locks, you’ll need a supply of lockpicks. These can be obtained through various means:
- Shady Sam: Located just outside the Imperial City, Shady Sam sells up to 30 lockpicks daily at 6 gold each. He’s a reliable source, especially early in the game.
- Thieves Guild: Joining the Thieves Guild grants access to fences who sell lockpicks. Ongar the World-Weary in Bruma is one such fence, offering lockpicks for 6 gold each.
- Looting: Lockpicks can be found on the corpses of enemies like goblins and bandits or in containers throughout dungeons.
- Quests and Guilds: Certain quests and guilds provide lockpicks as rewards or grant access to areas where they can be found.
Tips for Successful Lockpicking
Mastering lockpicking requires practice and patience. Here are some tips to improve your success rate:
- Observe Tumbler Movement: Tumblers move at different speeds. Wait for a tumbler to rise slowly before attempting to set it, as this increases the chance of success.
- Practice Makes Perfect: Spend time practicing on easier locks to improve your timing and understanding of tumbler behavior.
- Save Frequently: Before attempting to pick a difficult lock, save your game. This allows you to reload if you break too many lockpicks.
- Use the Auto-Attempt Feature Sparingly: The auto-attempt option can be tempting, but it’s a gamble. It’s more effective when your Security skill is high and the lock is of lower difficulty.
Enhancing Your Security Skill
Improving your Security skill not only makes lockpicking easier but also reduces the number of tumblers that reset upon failure. Here’s how to level up:
- Practice Lockpicking: Each successful tumbler set increases your Security skill. Even if you don’t open the lock, setting tumblers contributes to skill advancement.
- Training: Seek out trainers in the game who can help improve your Security skill for a fee.
- Skill Books: Reading certain books, like “Advances in Lock Picking,” grants a one-time skill increase.
- Skeleton Key: Completing the quest at the Shrine of Nocturnal rewards you with the Skeleton Key, an unbreakable lockpick that also boosts your Security skill by 40 points.
Utilizing Mods for Real-Time Lockpicking
For players seeking a different lockpicking experience, mods like “Zumbs Lockpicking Mod OBSE” offer real-time lockpicking mechanics. This mod replaces the traditional minigame with a more immersive system, allowing you to pick locks in real-time. It’s a great option for those looking to enhance realism in their gameplay.
