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For an overview of locks, see Lock. For information on hacking, see Hacking (Fallout 3). |
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Locks are found throughout the wasteland on doors, safes and boxes. The player character can use pick a lock using bobby pins. Some can also be unlocked with keys.
Picking a lock[]
To pick a lock, the player character must have a Lockpick skill high enough for the difficulty of the lock and possess one or more bobby pins. Bobby pins are weightless items, often found in first aid kits and locked containers.
If the conditions are met, a mini-game is activated. A bobby pin and screwdriver (a free, weightless item that does not appear in the inventory) are inserted into the keyhole of the lock. The lockpicker attempts to find the correct position for the pin, which is checked by turning the screwdriver as if it were a key. The further the screwdriver turns the lock, the closer the pin is to the correct position. Once the screwdriver can turn the lock a full 90 degrees, the lock opens.
If the lockpicker fails to determine the correct position of the lock too many times, the bobby pin will break, forcing them to use another to continue the attempt. The mini-game can be exited and restarted which will prevent the pin from breaking, but this will also reset the correct position for the pin.
Force[]
It is also possible to skip the mini-game by attempting to force a lock open. The probability of success for this action depends on the Lockpick skill and the difficulty of the lock. Failing to force the lock open will break it, and no other attempt at opening it can be made without the Infiltrator perk (which grants a second attempt) or the appropriate key.
Difficulty[]
| Difficulty | Required Lockpick | XP reward |
|---|---|---|
| Very Easy | 0 | 20 |
| Easy | 25 | 30 |
| Average | 50 | 40 |
| Hard | 75 | 50 |
| Very Hard | 100 | 60 |
Locks come in five difficulties: Very Easy, Easy, Average, Hard, and Very Hard. Which locks can be picked depends on one's Lockpick skill. Difficulty and the Lockpick skill also determine the probability of success for an attempt to force a lock open.
The difficulty level of the lock determines how accurately the bobby pin must be placed and how easy the pin is to break. A Very Easy lock needs little to no pin adjustment for a successful attempt, in turn making the likelihood of breaking a pin low. A Very Hard lock requires precise placement, and thus the repeated checks to find the correct position will wear out a pin quickly.
Locations[]
| Closest map marker | Directions | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Chryslus Building | Lower offices, first door on the left in the hallway. | Very Hard |
| Citadel | B-Ring: Elder Lyons' safe in the far back of his room, near his bed. | Very Hard |
| Citadel | Citadel laboratory: The armory is located in an extra room on the bottom level with a locked cell door. | Very Hard |
| Corvega factory | South of it, a footlocker in a flipped-over truck trailer. | Very Hard |
| Dukov's Place | South of it, in a small enclosed raider camp. Ammunition box behind a counter. | Very Hard |
| Falls Church | The southernmost of the office buildings with a bunch of super mutants has a 100 skill door inside. | Very Hard |
| Fort Bannister | In a bunker to the right just as one enters the front entrance. | Very Hard |
| Fort Constantine | Bomb storage, and several doors within. | Very Hard |
| Grayditch | Dumpster, behind the diner. | Very Hard |
| L.O.B. Enterprises | Safe in the CEO office. | Very Hard |
| Mama Dolce's | Food distribution, two doors on an isolated catwalk with blank walls behind them. | Very Hard |
| MDPL mass relay station | Safe inside. | Very Hard |
| Megaton | Back door to Moriarty's Saloon. | Very Easy |
| Megaton | Mister Burke's house | Very Hard |
| Megaton | Craterside Supply | Very Hard |
| Megaton | Desk in Water processing plant. | Very Hard |
| Megaton | Megaton armory | Very Hard |
| Meresti trainyard | First aid kit in Robert's area in Meresti service tunnel. | Very Easy |
| Meresti trainyard | Ammunition box in Robert's area in Meresti service tunnel. | Average |
| Meresti trainyard | 3 locked first aid kits in Meresti Metro station, one behind the counter in Karl's shop, one up the escalators on a shelf, and one in Vance's room. | Very Easy |
| Meresti trainyard | 2 ammunition boxes behind the counter in Karl's shop. | Average |
| Megaton | The cabinet in Moriarty's room in Moriarty's Saloon can contain quite a few caps. | Hard |
| Meresti trainyard | Ammunition box behind the counter in Karl's shop. | Hard |
| Meresti trainyard | Cabinet up the escalators. | Very Easy |
| Meresti trainyard | Cabinet up the escalators. | Hard |
| Meresti trainyard | Wall safe in Vance's room on the second floor also can be unlocked by the terminal next to it. | Average |
| Minefield | Entrance to Gibson house, also can be opened by Ridgefield gate key. | Very Easy |
| Minefield | Ammunition box in Arkansas' sniping post. | Easy |
| Minefield | Entrance to Gillian house, also can be opened by Ridgefield gate key. | Average |
| Minefield | Entrance to Zane house, also can be opened by Ridgefield gate key. | Average |
| Minefield | Entrance to Benson house, also can be opened by Ridgefield gate key. | Hard |
| Minefield | Wall safe behind the dresser in an upstairs bedroom in Benson's house. | Easy |
| Minefield | Wall safe behind a bookcase in an upstairs bedroom in Gibson house. | Easy |
| Minefield | Small model house inside the Gibson house (the key to this model house can be found inside the Capitol Post building in L'Enfant Plaza on the body of Gibson). | Very Hard |
| Minefield | Floor safe under the bed in an upstairs bedroom in Gillian's house. | Easy |
| Minefield | Wall safe behind the dresser on the first floor of the Zane house. | Easy |
| Museum of History | On the 2nd floor. | Very Hard |
| National Archives | Along the "front door" (long way) entrance to Button Gwinnett's office. | Very Hard |
| National Archives | Gate, archives sub-basement, on top of the staircase, opposite to "Door to Archives Secure Wing East." | Very Hard |
| Nuka-Cola plant | Door straight ahead as one enters. It can be opened from the other side with a switch on the left. | Very Hard |
| Oasis | Gate to the damp caves to fulfill the Oasis quest. | Very Hard |
| Old Olney | Olney sewers has one. | Very Hard |
| Rivet City | In the broken bow at the west end of the ship. Bear in mind there is a frag mine on the left as upon entering. This door can also be unlocked by activating a flip switch just on the other side of the door if the broken bow is entered the long way (underwater entrance). | Very Hard |
| Rockbreaker's Last Gas | Gun locker in the abandoned shack at the top of the cliff. Contains the Victory rifle. | Very Hard |
| Roosevelt Academy | Roosevelt Library | Very Hard |
| SatCom Array NW-07c | First aid kit due east inside at the back of a blue semi-truck. Near "Internment Orders" holotape at the mouth of the truck's rear opening. | Very Hard |
| Springvale school | On the lower level - leads to an unfinished tunnel towards Vault 101 | Very Hard |
| Springvale school | On the second level - ammunition box located next to a terminal. | Easy |
| Super-Duper Mart | Pharmacy in the back of the building | Easy |
| VAPL-58 power station | Safe inside, also north of it, inside a walled-up cable tower. | Very Hard |
| Wheaton Armory | In a very radioactive bunker with an excellent stash of weapons behind it. | Very Hard |
| Vault 87 | Living Quarters, there is a safe (southern part of the map). | Hard |
| Vault 101 | In the atrium, the door to the Overseer's office. | Very Easy |
| Vault 101 | In James' office, the picture on the wall of Catherine's favorite passage. | Average |