I used to think that the lockpicking perks were a total waste, but my current character is practically a pure adventurer always looking for treasure so I took the Golden Touch and Treasure Hunter perks to try it out and I can't play this type of character without these perks. The perks are really useful if your not doing enchanting and stumble upon some really nice enchanted gear that you can use. I just love finding so much more treasure making every adventure epic. Plus this is my first character that relies heavily on alchemy as opposed to restoration, so it's nice to have some treasure to help me buy ingredients and sustain this craft.

It's just so much rewarding finding a chest with a diamond, circlet of major alchemy, ebony war axe, an expensive spell tomb, and 300 gold.

Good to know. I was planning a theif type character and I wondered if Lockpicking perks were any good.

I'm hoping I stumble upon an enchanted Daedric Bow since I'm doing limited smithing, no enchanting, and no conjuration.

Combine that with my deadly alchemy skill with great poisons, I can have quite a bit of fun.

The Perks that help you with the lock picking itself are not to useful, but the other Perks are. Too bad you have to pick the lock picking perks to get the other ones.

True. You have to waste perks to get the perks you want. I'm not using the perks for half magica for novice or apprentice destruction magic anymore since my favorite destruction spell is Ice Storm.

As far as gameplay is concerned, Lockpicking and Pickpocketing Perks are worthless.
As far as RPing is concerned, Lockpicking and Pickpocketing Perks are very useful.

Quick Save & Quick Load completely makes ever having to invest any Perk points pointless. If you however have created some ruleset where you do not use this feature, they are very valuable.

Lockpicking is like any other skill, in that there are some Good perks in it & some that are Uncessary. as CCNA points out specificly for Lockpicking, the perks that help you pick locks easier are not necessary as it's so easy, but the ones attached are nice.

If i have some perks left over, i'm trying for those perks in lockpicking, for better loot & more gold, but they need 60+ i belive.

The Pickpocketing perk for putting poison into NPC's inventory & +100 carry weight look real nice in that tree.

I rolled a khajiit that's going to be my master thief. I have a Bosmer Arcance Archer, and a Redguard assassin both who use sneak... and of course all my chars pick any lock w/o issue... but neither is a THIEF

I'm going to loot all of Skyrim with my Khajiit. I'm even going to go into Speech to make him a "fast talker" type.

What level are you? I found one when I was somewhere around high 40's or low 50's. First one I found was on my way to deal with a vampire lair. I came across some Draugr and there was a high level one that had one. Don't remember what chant it had on it, but I was tickled to find it. Very happy moment. Also, I didn't have ANY perks in lockpicking. Now, I'm thinking that I might go with some mercantile tree for my next build(if 1.4 actually works), so I can have some easy money without having to run around to different merchants to sell my other merchandise and worrying about them running out of money and having to wait 2 days for their funds to replenish.

Edit @ Adcal : The extra 100 was enough for me to put some perks in that tree. I considered it needed for my treasure hunter.

Pick-pocketing isn't all that useless. The perk set that lets you pickpocket equipped items is pure awesome, as well as the 100+ carryweight. As for lock picking, I see how finding more loot can be awesome and how a lock pick that never breaks is sweet but I just cant find myself wasting points on the useless perks just to get the good ones.

With alchemy, if you pick up ingredients as you travel, you can then use those to craft potions, which will help pay for the good ones sold by merchants.

At first, I avoided the more expensive ingredients, but after being able to craft invisibility, fortify, resist, slow potions and etc., that more than pays for any daedra hearts and whatever else an alchemy merchant might have. I have to pay Arcadia for training just so she'll have the money to buy my potions from me.

Heck, I took Alteration(I think) just to get the magicka resistance. I see it as some perks require a base knowledge to use the better stuff. Kinda like school. You have to know the basics before you learn the really useful stuff. I guess I look at it from an RP'er standpoint.

The lockpicking perks are virtually worthless its a what.e you have to get so many perks that border on useless to get a few interesting ones. Lockpicking is one of those trees that is largely inadequate with one to two worthwhile perks, but they are good tor a roleplaying build. Wk if your approaching it from a roleplaying mindset any skill in this game is useful.

Nice OP! It's perks like that that make the game fun. Especially, like you mentioned, if one didn't take a crafting skill or two. It sure beats grinding out a crafting skill as well. I'm in this dungeon and there's a locked chest? Well I'm already here, now it'll be easier to pick so I can move on AND it's probably gonna have some awesome loot? SWEET.


So is grinding out crafting skills. Anybody can say anything they want, but when it comes down to it, anybody using a crafting skill has to grind it out in Skyrim. Whether they enchant iron daggers, buy ore, mine ore, enchant found weapons or armor, or mix potions. It's a grind pure and simple. I think the crafting skill are worthless because I don't want to grind them out.


As far as gameplay is concerned, Lockpicking and Pickpocketing Perks are awesome! C wut i did thar? I gave my opinion too. Quick Save & Quick Load? If "gaming" the system is fun to you. By all means. I think that is an extremely boring way to play any single player game. Have fun with that though.

Grinding is simply not fun leveling them up slowly is fun. I also do not max out one character with all or the crafting perks but they are useful for any build.

Sure anybody can say whatever they want, I also said they was good for roleplaying builds and if you have a roleplaying build that requires the skill add it in. I said it was virtually useless only good for roleplaying builds. Try not to focus ob the one negative line I wrote and focus on the rest as well: my current character uses speechcraft because it suits him as a person.

Are you saying that the chest loot gets better with those perks?

Worthless unless roleplaying. That's what you said. I'm saying they are not worthless...at all. I could also say that the lockpicking skills are good for any build too. Why wouldn't someone want more/better loot? Lockpicking is tedious? The perks reduce that. No roleplaying necessary. Now if you said...say..more effective in a roleplaying build or makes more sense in a roleplaying build, that's a different story.

Pickpocketing? i dont find 100 extra carryweight useless.

Smithing and enchanting may be grindy, but not alchemy. I only mix potions I need (mostly slow and paralysis which are some of the fastest leveling poisons coincidentally). This is why I think smithing needs arrow crafting, and the weapon upgrades should be temporary (ie. a sharpened sword will dull with use) and level smithing. No idea how to make enchanting not grindy though.

Not save scumming and carrying a limited number of lock picks does, for me at least improve the usefulness of the perks by an extraordinary amount. I never carry more than 10 picks, and drop some if I'm ever given more, as well as never buying more than 10 or looting them at all. That means 10 picks for each dungeon, which is usually enough to either pick all the novice-average locks, or just a few master ones.

Maybe I was a bit harsh, they would be more effective for a roleplaying build how is that. That is how I meant it, but I can pick a master lock at like in between five and ten and open it unperked that is what I was getting at. I also like rare loot coming up less often unless if course its for a thief or somebody like that. As for not wanting better loot I already have the weapon I want enchanted but not to maximize its power I like to gave more charges than overall power, and with alchemy I can make potions and sell them for around four hundred and fifty to give hundred a piece, that is ky main income but again this is for roleplaying a spellsword it just depends in what build you wish.

I love lock picking skills, soon as sneak skills are done at least the ones I want and archery I'm gonna start training lock picking.

I carry over 200 always, why not they don't weigh anything.

Great post, OP. Makes me consider making a thief who doesn't invest in Smithing (because honestly, feeling obligated to do so is kind of annoying). Without Smithing, I can just put five points into the +20% armor perk of my choice and viola: my unimproved armor is just as effective as a fully smithed set with only on point in said perk. In the end, that saves perk points; Smithing is expensive in the long run.

Using Lockpicking will be a great way to get good weapons and armors without smithing them, as well as give me a means of moneymaking (and a way to escape jail with that perk that prevents lockpicks from breaking!). It also makes the weapons and armors more valuable to me sentimentally; I'd really be able to appreciate having a full, matching set to take advantage of both armor perks instead of just going "eh, I'll make a set." And instead of spending money to get arms and armors, I'm earning money while doing it.

I'm really digging your post


This isn't even an opinion, it's an assertion. And it's wrong. Very, very wrong.

Forgetting that Pickpocket is a source of immense wealth, allows players to creatively poison enemies (useful for stealth kills, 100% security as opposed to a possible missed shot for archers and close-combat alternative for them, or monks who can't poison their fists), gives players 100 extra points of carry weight (useful for alchemists, like the OP, who constantly carry a lot), and gives players a means of circumventing locks by picking keys (and even quest-related items at times), Pickpocket is probably one of the most powerful skills in the game.

Aside from all of the above (which is more than enough reason to invest in the skill), a player who combines Pickpocket with Sneak can make short work of even the most difficult battles. A skilled thief can strip an enemy of all of his weapons and arms in the middle of his attack, and render them both offense-less and defenseless. An angry Orc swings his battleaxe at you, and before it comes crashing down on your head, he's left dazed, naked, empty-handed and paralyzed, all in one fell swoop. That kind of combat prowess is found nowhere else in the game.

Have fun save scumming.

Edited my post