To the developers, can we please have some alternatives to lock picking? You have made a great game but lets face it if you character does not have lock picking skills the game has some limitations. However your games very concept makes this make no sense. The character is supposed to evolve to your play style and lets face it not everyone picks locks. So with this in mind and realizing every system should have limitations to balance out against the picking system here are my ideas of what could be added to give more options.

Knock Spell: This is classic DnD and fantasy for that matter, a wizard using magic to manipulate the real world. The spell should level up so that a beginning mage could not open a master lock and even at the same level the spell would not be perfect. For example a 75% chance to open same level, 50% chance for one level above spell level, 25% chance to 2 levels above and 10% for 3 levels above. The reverse for the spell being the higher level, with a spell being one level above a lock getting an 85% chance, 2 levels a 95% chance and 3 or up is auto open. Now to balance this truly against lock picking, because after all you can run out of picks, the spell gets one shot per lock. If the spell cannot open the lock then the spell is done. Or we could have the spell go down a level in relationship to the lock for each try.

Bash: Of course a thug character does not worry about picking locks or using magic, he just smashes open what he wants. The formula for this to balance is actually pretty neat. Each bash has a chance to break the weapon used to bash it or break the lock. Breaking the lock means it will not be opening, EVER. Bashing of course has ZERO chance of being silent and should in fact have a chance of placing bad guys on alert from a larger range than normal, bashing is loud. The personal could bash as much as they want but the chance of breaking the lock or weapon goes up with each try. The breaking of the weapon I thought would be a really cool balance because you know someone will forget they are using their highly enhanced ax and then, oh crap what have I done!

By adding these two elements you give a pure warrior and a pure mage a chance to experience all the potential of looting without the need for them to delve into thieving skills.

There's a guardian stone that allows you to automatically open expert or lower locks.

Where?,!

im afraid there is no skill in just bashing a case/chest??? the lockpicking is a SKILL "mini-game" that is used in all bethseda rpg,s.

i personally like it and find it very very easy.so i presume ur just not very good at it??

there was open lock spells in oblivion there was also open lock scrolls,but to be honest i havnt noticed them yet in skyrim.

just practice ur skill and you will be able to do it no problem soon enough.spend a couple of skill tree points to make it easier or buy lock picking gloves and greaves/necklace

oh, wait, there used to be an alteration spell called Open.....

Give modders a chance, and I'm sure there will soon be other ways to open those doors and chests.


Agree with you though, some quests require you unlock items. I wasn't planning on playing a stealth type character, but I'm kinda being forced to.

An open locks spell would be unfair because lockpicking is a non-combat skill, with its own perk tree. Leveling lockpicking also levels you, which makes you weaker in relation to the NPCs, whereas the open locks spell would level a combat-useful spell school. Same goes for bashing.

The solution is to pick a companion that can open locks.

Gotta disagree. Just by making bash's success chance based on your skill with whatever weapon type you use and not making so it levels that skill takes Bash improving combat off the table.

As for it as an Open spell, there is only one or two spell types that are useful for comabt in Alteration. And one of the obvious changes you can make to the spell is so it only gives XP on a successfully opened lock and that it gives less XP.

Balance problems are now solved.

Any locks that I have needed to open in this game have been pretty low level. I went through the MQ and Civil War and a ton of side quests with a lockpicking skill of less than 25, hardly something I needed to spend any time grinding on. I just have to accept that some of my character builds are not going to be able to open all the locks.

You misunderstand, I am not having any issues with lock picking in game. I am in fact loving this game for this very reason. My point is that not all characters should have this skill. A brute warrior will not bother to pick a lock, he will smash it. A mage would likely create a spell to open locks where he forgot his yet. The game encourages a player to develop his character based on play style and my point is this is where area where they limit that play style choice. I would like to see them expand that choice to let the character find a way to do similar things without doing them the same way.

For example a mage does not need a lot of sneak skill, he can use invisibility to achieve the same thing.

The fact that leveling a non-combat skill makes enemies stronger is something to be removed from the game, not put as an example of how it should be.

Just keep the "master key" you get in the thieves guild quest. There's no direct benefit to returning it, and it never breaks! I did not dump massive points into my lockpicking, and while it may take 15 tries to open harder locks, at least I don't waste 15 picks in the process.

Just don't pick locks... problem solved. There are very few locks that have to be picked to finish quests, and none of them are difficult. You've made a choice to pick locks and are not pleased with your result. This is not the game's fault.

In both of your alternatives, you leave locks unable to be opened. This could break the few quests that require that you open them.

Not everyone receives the Skeleton Key. Mages and warriors, especially lawful ones, usually stay away from the Thieves Guild.

As much as I want Open Lock spell and Bash included, I'm afraid I'd almost never use them. Just yesterday I picked a lock on an Expert chest only to find 6 gold pieces and a weak Stamina potion. Literally two feet away was another chest, no lock, with 30 gold pieces and a gem. What's the point of lockipicking anymore?

I open all locks with no lockpick perks. It's really too easy.

While I disagree with the "Just don't open them." way of thinking, mainly because that shoehorns people into using a skill they don't want to use even more, I agree on the second part.

The open spell was fine except for 2 flaws (from Oblivion):

It could be used for experience on any door/container, including unlocked ones
The XP gain versus casting cost made it an easy choice for exploitation for skill grinding

These are easily fixed by making so doors and containers only give XP if you successfully unlock it with the spell and by making the spell cost more or worth less XP.

As for the lock bash, just make so every unsuccessful bash has a chance of breaking an item in a container, excluding quest items.

I agree. It should be turned into a consequence-free exploit. That'd be a big improvement.

Lockpicking is designed the way it is to create class diversity and maintain game balance. You don't need to pick locks. If you RP a character that doesn't, and never pick any locks, it's not going to prevent you from finishing the game. Thieves are not as powerful as warriors or mages in combat, consequently, they have other advantages: access to more money.

Having said that, I don't see any reason they can't allow a lock bash for warriors or open spells for mages. It's just a balancing issue. For bash, just have a chance of breaking objects. They're not going to be able to bash traps, so just trap more of the chests and make the traps deadlier. Also, make some of the locks unbashable: bash works fine on a simple padlock, not so well on an iron door. How do you bash open an 800 lb door? They're designed to withstand battering rams. For mages, divide sub-schools into their own perk trees. Make using open lock spells require a perk the same way thieves have perks for each level of lock: a novice can open novice locks, to open apprentice locks, you need to buy the perk before you can use the open apprentice locks spell. There are ways to solve these design issues. You just have to make sure the cost is balanced against the reward: warriors will get some treasure, some mages will get more treasure, all thieves will get the most treasure. Options exist without destroying balance.