I can't give you the image that confirms it because I'll get banned for five days again like I did with the werewolf thing, but there's an item in the game called the Skeleton Key. It's an unbreakable lockpick. From the same person I've learned that lockpicking isn't particularly difficult anyway.

Looking to save some perk points? Feel free to entirely ignore lockpicking.

if you could handle fallout lockpicking i cant imagine needing any of the perks for skyrim.

Skeleton key is nothing new. I'm sure the majority of the people on these forums know what your talking about.

Extra treasure and gold is hardly useless.

YES! I KNEW THE SKELETON KEY WAS GONNA BE BACK

No, but this is bull crap just like it was in Oblivion. The existence of the Skeleton Key makes lockpicking a worthless skill to major in Oblivion and a worthless skill to spend perks on in Skyrim. That's really not fair to the skill.

So basically I can just spam auto again tell it works? Eh I might pass that up this time around, the lockpicking system this time around is the same one they made for Fallout 3 and that wasn't really that complicated. Not like Oblivion's tumbler system *shudders* ugh that was a pain, made the skeleton key a requirement just to keep your sanity. So like I said, I'll probably skip the item, just take the basic increase to skill perks and leave the rest of the tree alone. That way I can leave a bit of a challenge.

What about golden touch and treasure hunter?

Has it ever been difficult to become insanely rich in TES games? Or any game with unlimited enemy spawns?

It just seems unfair. If the mini-game had been made difficult and the Skeleton Key was left out, lockpicking perks might have been as worthwhile as other perk trees. As it stands, there's an item in the game that completely replicates the final perk in the tree.

Haha! Hell yes! The Skeleton key is in! Thanks OP.

It is a shame they brought skeleton key back. I for one will ignore it, like I ignored it in Oblivion. To each his own.

Pretty much agree. I plan on playing a stealth character with no lockpick perks. Picking locks is not a huge challenge as is, so no need to make it easier. Getting rich is so easy that I mod the game and intentionally limit myself to make it more difficult, so no real need for extra treasure. Never breaking a pick? I threw away the skeleton key in Ob because it made lcokpicking utterly boring.

The game might prove me wrong but at the moment there is nothing that I want on this perk tree.

Any chance the skeleton key is just a post-game item? Perhaps you have to be a very high level to get the quest or something.

Some more information:

"when you join the thiefs guild, it is the second to last quest you perform there (you can get it pretty early on just go to rifter and join the guild.. you do like 4 missions.. then you get the key)

the only kicker with the skeleton key is the last quest you're supposed to return it.. but you can keep it until you return the key"


So apparently it's a limited-time item. Still, he hasn't beaten the whole quest line yet. It's possible you get to keep it later, and certainly you can just hold onto it for a while.

I'm sure someone won't even try to find that key and if so he/she will need those perks.

You were also supposed to return the unbreakable hammer in Oblivion back but had the option of keeping it.

Lockpicking in oblivion was useless with or without the skeleton key. Imo the whole tumbler system of oblivion was far two easy, i never used auto pick cause it was stupid and could still get through hard and very hard locks without losing many lockpicks, and thats with only 25 security skill

Treasure Hunter 70 Lockpicking, Golden Touch 50% greater chance of finding special treasure.



how is that crap?

I'll again reiterate that this game has respawning. It will be extremely easy to get insanely rich. It hardly seems worth blowing through so many perks just to get more money.

I'm pretty sure trying to force the lock won't break your pick - it will jam the door. It did in Fallout, yes? So there you go. The skeleton key means your lockpicks won't break, but doesn't mean you can press x to jason infinity. Unless I'm wrong, though I'm rather sure I'm not.

Yeah from a power-gamer, don't-want-to-spend-a-single-perkpoint-in-a-non-pwn-lategame-skill, I guess you're right. Lockpicking perks are not for u. For the vast majority of us, many who might never find the skeleton key, and who want to be good at lockpicking early on, before late-game wealth, it's a very legit skill. Same with the drop enhancers. Lucky for you, you only get to pick the 50 - 70 most uber-power-lategame skills anyways, so lockpicking probably wouldnt really be on that list anyway.

My point is it really depends entirely on how and who you intend to play. Doesn't in any way mean it is now a worthless perk because somewhere, at some later point, there's an equivalent alternative.

In Fallout 3 and New Vegas the only way to break a lock was to force it. You could break endless pins without any trouble.

I guess you feel the same way about speech perks? I intend to max out that tree, but it, too, is primarily all about making money.

Exactly. So you still have to pick the lock with a skeleton key, right? Lockpicking perks still have uses - you just won't need to find new lockpicks. Which, in my opinion is perfectly acceptable.

Please update me on whether you can keep the key or not. If you have to return it, i'll still be putting skills in LP... if not, that'll change things up.