So, here's my noob question for the game (hopefully my one and only)
I had no problem picking in oblivion, or in any fallout game. But I can't find a 'trick' to lockpicking in skyrim... help?

i think its like fallout 3 or NV (not sure dont flame me lol) but I think you have to hear a tick and go by that.

just take your time and be gentle....... sounds a bit hmmmm wrong but yeah that's my advice.

Depends on the difficulty of lock. I found sort of a pattern on the locks,
Easy- More towards the middle at a sharp diagonal.
Medium- Towards a 90 degree (Acute) and middle
Hard and others- Still yet to find out that pattern

Be gentle is all I can say

That's odd, I thought the lock-picking was very similar to how it's done in fallout. I think most of it is trial and error, at least until you get close to the sweet spot area. Don't forget that as the difficulty of the lock increases, then the accuracy of where the pick needs to be to open the lock gets smaller and smaller. For example, with novice locks, there is quite a wide degree angle of the "right" spot, whereas I've found with just the next difficulty up I have to be very precise to stop the pick breaking just before it opens.

I think patience (and turning the lock slowly and gently!) is the key

Is it just me that was overjoyed that the oblivion lock picking system was replaced .

If you don't invest perks in lockpicking the picking is really hard.

Just position the pick and tap A or D to turn the lock. If you see the pick start to jiggle and the lock doesn't turn (or doesn't fully turn) then the pick is positioned incorrectly, so reposition it and try again until the lock turns all the way. If the pick is positioned wrong and you force the lock then you'll break the pick.

It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

Edit: Holy crap, there was only one reply when I started composing this post, but by the time I finished, six other people had already posted!

It actually is pretty simple compared to OB's system -- position the pick using the mouse - press the d key slowly to see if it turns keep pressing until it stops turning and the pick wobbles - move the pick to another position press d again -once the position is correct the lock will start turning - keep pressing d until it starts to wobble the pick (if that happens release d ) reposition the pick and try again -- eventually the position will be correct and the lock opens - just go slow and release the d button at the first sign of wobbling of the pick - once it starts turning small position changes between presses of the d key will get it to the correct position quickly

Seems to be new vegas system but a tad harder which is a good thing imo. Only advice is don't pick your lock like a barbarian.

I hate lockpicking,

Why can't we specialize in smashing locked chests with a % to see if the items inside survive the smash or not?

yeah i love the fallout3 lockpick system. its exactly like that so i havent had any issues

okay I feel bad, I really should have clarified that the only difficulty level I'm having a hard time on is master, I can pick all the other ones no problem now.
It doesn't matter how gentle (and i mean, i'm BARELY touching my controller) how slow, how steady I go - when I listen, there's no tick. and I have no warning 'hmmm' of the controller about to vibrate before it snaps, it's just instantaneous.
It's soul-crushing, I just want to be able to open these without trying 32 times.

I got really close once by fluke, turned 99% of the way then snapped at the very end so I went back EXACTLY where I had the pick the first time and it wouldn't let me spin it at all, it would just instantly snap off each time. I'm confused! Does the sweet spot move when your pick breaks on a master level lock?! Or is it just THAT picky? ( I wasted a half hour trying to open one crate after opening 6 in a row of varying difficulty with little to no problem whatsoever)
I was hoping maybe there's a trick that you listen for or something but alas, it sounds like not from your responses

Yeah I have some problems too. I have broke most of my picks, even I try to be careful.

I was confused for about 60 seconds, I broke a few picks, now I am able to pick anything you throw at me. Using a controller, you just need to be very subtle, like if you were barely pushing the stick to walk. Angle the pick, and at the same time rotate the lock. If it resists, stop rotating in that direction, just keep rotating the lock and angling the pick as long as it doesn't resist.

hey at least lockpicking isn't as bad as these f****** puzzles. Playing the game cruising so much fun then WHAM the fun comes screeching to a halt with some dumb f***** puzzle.

THIS ISN'T MYST GDI!!!

Does the difficulty of lock picking depend in part on character skill? If you're a novice trying to pick a master level lock then that could be problem.

Wait can you force the lock like info3 where if you force it theres a chance you'll break it?

No! I loved the way the way they did it in fallout and I'm so happy they implemented it here.

You're not alone...

Every level up to master wasn't a problem so I honestly overlooked that but I'm thinking this is the reason why. I'll just have to focus on raising my level faster so the next time I hit a master lock it's not 'near-impossible'
took me 15 picks this last try to get the master lock open better than 32 the first time at least

Not just you. Lockpicking in Skyrim is comparable to New Vegas. It's really fun. I am trying to find that video on youtube where someone fails a lockpick dozens of times then goes on a rampage, after the rampage ends, he tries to lockpick again, fails again.

lol

Post back here if you find it

i dunno i never used that in fo3 either lol, its just rotate pick and rotate lock system