I have plenty of perks in lockpicking. They can be quite useful at times.

They're just saying that the perks that make lockpicking "easier" are fairly useless, since lockpicking is a player-learned skill, and whether the "sweet spot" is a bit bigger doesn't make much difference. With enough lockpicks, you can open any lock already.

nope, we are saying that the perks that gives you better loot and more gold are useful, try read the OP

It`s funny, but I have no lockpicking perks at all but still manage to open Locks. I`ve even opened Master locks with no perks and I`m a warrior who won`t make enchanted stuff and uses no magic. I just use stuff I find in chests. I use up a few lockpicks doing it (5 or 6), but considering i have 60 lockpicks every Master Lock gets opened eventually.

I think there`s something wrong when, I with no locking-picking skills can open a Master chest. A Master chest should be impossible to open when you have no skill in it.

Waiting for a Mod.

That's never happened to me, since my non-lockpicking characters never pick locks.

No mods required. Why spend your mod slots on mods you don't need?

Ah, the self-discipline with Lock-picking, eh? Never thought of that.

But on the other hand shouldn`t I try? I know in real life I have no lockpicking skills, but if I had a hair pin or some lock picks i`d have a go at picking the locks and maybe I`d get lucky. This is how it was in Morrowind. I was no thief, but that didn`t stop me trying, but my skills only allowed me to get away with easy locks.

Nah, I like trying, so all I need is a mod that makes Master Locks and Expert very hard to impossible to open for someone with no skill.

I've never tried to pick a lock in real life, either. (Actually, that's not true: I did when I was about 14. I broke the lock. But in principle I don't. )

Granted, the mini-game could use a whole heap of work to make it worthwhile. I'd up the difficulty so that it takes about a thousand picks for someone with a skill of 15 to pick a master. That ought to make the perks worth investing in. Raise your hand if you're going to reload this many times...didn't think so.

Your average adventurer is probably much more inclined to try their hand at a lock than I am, though I've had plenty of characters who don't touch them because, frankly, they don't know anything about them. Money has never been an issue in this game, so I don't think it's a big deal to skip locks. I just makes money worth something.

Let's not bicker about this. Either all the Perks are useful to you, or some of the perks are useful to you or none of the perks are useful to you. Nothing to bicker about in a single player game. Just something to discuss.

Closed for review.

Useful lockpicking perks?

Quick Hands - You can pick locks right in front of everyone and nobody notices.

Golden Touch - Phatter Lewt is always fun

Treasure Hunter - Even Phatter Lewt is even more fun.

Locksmith - Saves a bit of the lock-hunting perks.

Unbreakable - Never need another lockpick again, and you can return the Skeleton Key to Nocturnal. Or, not even bother with the Thieves' Guild at all.

While some argue that Quicksave+Quickload make Lockpicking useless... I find that argument can be extended to EVERY skill. Also, saving before EVERY lock you come across is an exercise in tedium that I, and a lot of people, would rather not bother with. It's not about "roleplaying" - It's about playing the game. A lot of people don't have the patience to put up with Enchanting+Smithing Grinding. Lockpicking perks don't break the flow of the game.

Honestly, I don't mind the ability for anyone to eventually open any chest - level-locking loot containers is stupid. However, for someone who perks up Lockpicking, it becomes easier, more rewarding, and less costly - all logical rewards for progression.

Posts which were flaming, flamebaiting, grammar and spelling policing and personal insults went away. All of those things are in the rules as warn worthy. Please read the rules and please respect one another here on the open forum. We don't have to agree, but we must show respect even when we disagree. It's ok to disagree, just do so respectfully.

And goodness folks we are talking about lockpicking. If you want to use the perks, please do. It's part of the game and provided for those who want to use it. And if you don't want to, fine don't. But stop with the show of disrespect for those who want to and those who don't. Just be mature and accept that not everyone will agree on such matters.

Now, please...discuss away, disagree if you want but no personal attacks, insults or disrespect or I'll Fus Ra Dah you into the middle of next week.

Lock picking skills are great for my thief. The whole reason he goes into tombs and such is the treasure, so those perks fit. It's just like blacksmithing he had a agreement with whiterun blacksmith that if he made her iron daggers she would teach him arcane blacksmithing,

I actually have a story behind why I picked all my perks and they all fit into character development

I decided to try out the Treasure Hunter perk with my current character, and I love it, though I do think it's tucked a little too high up in the perk tree.

My previous characters all went down the crafting paths, which ultimately made dungeon crawling feel less exciting for me (once I'd learned all available enchantments) knowing that nothing I found would be as good as what I could make. I find it a great deal more fun to find treasure than make it, where magical items are concerned.

I wish I could quote nested quotes...

Deft hands - Every locked door on every building in town disagrees.

Golden Touch+Treasure Hunter - I'm not sure where you're coming from. One of my characters has a lot of gold, yes, but my other 5 are near broke. And, if you don't feel like camping vendors, wasting hours farming souls, carrying dozens of pounds of soul gems or alchemy reagents, bending over a Crafting Table, or otherwise not being out exploring the world, crawling through dungeons, finding new things, and actually playing the game, then Lockpicking perks sound like they become VERY valuable.

Locksmith - It cuts time out of spot-hunting, and time is an invaluable, irreplaceable resource. Furthermore, along with Unbreakable, only one of my characters has "enough lockpicks". The others are barely scraping by.

My character knows the basics of enchanting and disenchanting but that's it so him finding better gear is important. He will never be able to craft anything but iron and he tried to not even make those. He does not like doing stuff that could damage his hands.

Greenwarden just summed it up nicely. As far as the lewt and what can be carried, yes the armor/weapon enchants can be underwhelming, +10%, +15% etc two handed damage/sneak/light armor ad nauseum, yes everyone will probably have a different amount they can carry, and yes vendors have a certain amount of gold. However, those enchantments can be useful if one didn't want to fuss with enchanting. There are several ways to carry more gear. There are also ways to increase vendor gold. I think people are so astounded with the crafting skills the argument against lockpicking/pickpocketing has turned into "Well you can just craft something better". I say, why craft anything, when I can find something better.

my thief will take the 5 perks up to treasure hunter, but, i'm not sure how many worthy "unique" treasures there are in skyrim.

i don't need to add any other of the lock perks but will later on for rp purposes or i just have so many extra.

You pretty much hit the point here.

Yes better items an be crafted but some of us like myself get more fulfillment by finding stuff. It's a super reward when I spend a hour in a dungeon beat some crazy hard boss and walk away with his weapon. I have 2 perks in blacksmithing to get arcane and none in enchanting even though both those skills will be at 100. My character will have the ability to make stuff but not the training, he can't be bothered to train he has houses to rob.

also, for having good smithing and anchants you'll need way more perks than the 5 you need for treasure hunter IMO, and you can still use blacksmith potions for better smithing even if you don't perk it, unless you wanna be overpowered

This is a good observation. Yes, Treasure Hunter is cheaper, perks wise, than Enchanting, and those perks you save can afford you greater freedom to mess around with other skills, adding flavor to your character. I honestly don't see myself taking enchanting again, unless a particular character idea demands it from a roleplaying perspective.

People seem to think that Lockpicking perks are useless because it is... well... useless

The main arguments seem to be these:
1. Lockpicks are virtually unlimited in the game. I can literally check the lock inch by bloody inch and still have lots left
2. Gold is useless late game.
3. If all else fails, god dang it, I can get Skeleton Key! It renders the whole tree invalid!
4. The whole tree is a joke! Who'd take Master Lockpicking instead of Unbreakable?

But I say, Lockpicking perks are one of those little gems that are left out for the sake of "profit". Yes, you can pick master locks with only level 15 in Lockpicking, and yes I can see the validity of the three statements, and yes I haven't returned Skeleton Key and it renders the whole tree pretty much invalid

But the perks are one of those that don't lie: picking the locks are indeed much easier. Lockpicking is not about whether you can or not, it's whether it is boring as hell or not

And it is.

And the perks actually make your life a WHOLE lot easier. It saves you the time to play a horrible minigame and gives you more time to play the actual game. More often than not I can pretty much rotate the lock from the starting point and it opens


The standard perks widen the sweet spot. Combined with high skill level, these are real gems

Quick Hands allows you to steal those strongbox right under the owner's nose. Literally. Rendered useless by Shadow Warrior

Wax Key gives you a copy, very useful when you want to break into the same place more than once and don't want to be bothered with the minigame. In dungeons with doors that require the same key, it can even save you lots of time

Locksmith puts you right near the sweet spot. Rotate it right there, try a bit to the right, or the left. There are now literally only three options instead of the usual 5 with blind luck

Unbreakable is the motherlode that will finally make you finish Thieves Guild questline


I will not lie: I thought the whole tree was a joke too.

I used to think it is a joke, until I actually make use of it.

Now I love it.

Actually money is hard as heck to make unless your boosting for it. I'm level 24 on this character and have 5k, sure I can go enchant banish daggers or spam some potions to make money but then I think would my character do that? No he would not. He makes money by taking bedlam and other jobs and stealing stuff to sell, that's how a theif makes mOney.

Is that the complete list? Im not impressed tbh. There are loads of enchanted ebony and glass in shops by lvl25+. And materials and potions are never absent anyway. Im not sure why you are listing these common items(some may call them junk) as unique, as it only proves how weak TH is. Especially blacksmith and enchanter potions, which would imply they are actually being used. Where the only meaningful use of Treasure Hunter is if the character in question selflimits himself to not using it. You do realize that investing 5 perks info smithing instead, would get you all the full daedric gear ever desired? As soon as level 5. Btw, at early levels investing in lockpick is not wise either, at least not at higher difficulty levels. Where people reload on failed lockpicks(a myth really) a lockpicker will reload during frustrating fights, lockpicking doesnt help in fights. And running away isnt fun. Well maybe not on Novice.

So im not seeing any meaningful use here. Not for 5 perks. If you think otherwise, also fine. Its a singleplayer game, not some kind of a MMO, where choices matter.


Well, these "ways" are more abusive in nature than any possible smithing any enchanting. Really, if even finding 500 daedric armors (which is not to say it is impossible to find for anyone else) loading them up on a bugged follower, then fast travelling on a bugged horse out of the middle of nowhere directly to the home base is "legit". Then, really, save yourself the trouble and just use the console. No need to imagine any kind of roleplaying or "evil" smithing or waste perks on lockpicking.

This game is a ton more then just fighting. Heck I spend more time in towns then I do in dungeons. I'm not really self limiting myself to not using blacksmithing and enchanting it just does not fit the character I built. He knows a tiny bit of each skill, what was taught to him. He is a thief he is not gonna spend his time learning how to make dragon armor....he would rather just steal it.