Lockpick

Skill
Lockpick
Lockpick icon in Fallout and Fallout 2
Fallout / Fallout 2 / Fallout Tactics
modifies	Chance to pick a lock
governed by	Perception, Agility
initial value	20% + (1% x (Perception + Agility) /2)
related perks	Master Thief
related traits	Small Frame, Night Person
Fallout 3
modifies	Difficulty of locks the player is able to pick, chance for a successful "force lock" attempt
governed by	Perception
initial value	2 + (Perception x 2) + ceil (Luck / 2)
related perks	Infiltrator, Thief, Covert Ops
Fallout: New Vegas
modifies	Difficulty of locks the player is able to pick, chance for a successful "force lock" attempt
governed by	Perception
initial value	2 + (Perception x 2) + ceil (Luck / 2)
related perks	Infiltrator
Lockpick icon in Fallout: New Vegas

 

“The skill of opening locks without the proper key. The use of lockpicks or electronic lockpicks will greatly enhance this skill.”— In-game description

Lockpick is a skill in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout Tactics. Its functionality was replaced by the Locksmith perk in Fallout 4 and the Picklock perk in Fallout 76.

Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics

• Fallout:

${\text{Initial level}}\%=20+({\text{Perception}}+{\text{Agility}})/2$

• Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics:

${\text{Initial level}}\%=10+({\text{Perception}}+{\text{Agility}})$

The use of lock picks or the expanded lock pick set for mechanical locks, the electronic lock pick or the electronic lock pick Mk II for electronic locks will significantly enhance this skill. In Fallout 2, this skill can also be used to lock doors, allowing the lockpicker to trap enemies in or lock them out of rooms. The first time a lock is picked, there is a chance it will jam if the skill is low. In this case, it can be retried after midnight.

Fallout 3

See also: Lock

${\text{Initial level}}=2+(2\times {\text{Perception}})+\left\lceil {\frac {\text{Luck}}{2}}\right\rceil$

Example: A starting Perception of 5 and Luck of 5.

$2+(2\times 5)+\left\lceil {\frac {5}{2}}\right\rceil =14.5$

In Fallout 3, the Lockpick skill determines which locks one can attempt to pick. The skill must be at least the lock rating to try, and locks are rated at increments: Very Easy - 15%, Easy - 25%, Average - 50%, Hard - 75%, and Very Hard - 100%. With the prerequisite skill, picking a lock takes the form of a mini-game.

Investing in this skill also increases the probability of successfully forcing the lock open, which, combined with the Infiltrator perk, can be a convenience mechanism. The chance of forcing the lock can be found by taking their skill, subtracting the requirement for the lock, and adding 10%.

Example: Skill of 67 - Average lock (50) + 10 = 27% chance.

Ways To increase Lockpick

Permanent

• Leveling up (10 + INT + 3 with Educated perk)
• Bobblehead - Lockpick (+10)
• Tumblers Today (+1 or +2 with Comprehension perk)
• Thief (+5 for each rank, max 3 ranks)
• Tag! (+15)
• Covert Ops (+3)

Temporary

• Mentats (+2-10 depending on Perception, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit)
• Dad's wasteland outfit (+5)
• Vault 101 utility jumpsuit (+5)
• Lag-Bolt's shades (+3)

Perks that require Lockpick skill

Perk	Requirement	Level	Additional Requirements
Infiltrator	70	18	Perception 7

Fallout: New Vegas

${\text{Initial level}}=2+(2\times {\text{Perception}})+\left\lceil {\frac {\text{Luck}}{2}}\right\rceil$

Example: A starting Perception of 5 and Luck of 5.

$2+(2\times 5)+\left\lceil {\frac {5}{2}}\right\rceil =14.5$

Lockpick in Fallout: New Vegas operates in much the same way as Fallout 3, with the Lockpick skill determining which locks the game will allow the lockpicker to attempt picking. Their skill must, again, be at least the lock rating to try, and locks are rated at 25% increments: Very Easy - 0%, Easy - 25%, Average - 50%, Hard - 75% and Very Hard - 100%. With the prerequisite skill, picking a lock takes the form of a mini game (see Lock for details).

Ways to increase Lockpick

Permanent

• Leveling up (10 + half of INT + 2 with Educated perk)
• Tumblers Today (+3 or +4 with Comprehension)
• Optics Enhancer (+2 depending on Perception, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit.)
• Tag! (+15)
• Skilled (+5)

Temporary

• Locksmith's Reader (+10 or +20 with Comprehension)
• Absinthe (up to +6 with 100 Survival, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit.)
• Coyote tobacco chew (+2 depending on Perception, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit.)
• Mentats (+2-4 depending on Perception, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit.)
• Party Time Mentats (+2-4 depending on Perception, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit.)
• Most hats (+2 depending on Perception, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit.)
• Vault 3 utility jumpsuit (+5)
• Advanced riot gear helmet (+2-4 depending on Perception, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit.)
• Marked patrol armor (+2 depending on Perception, a perfect Perception of 10 will see no benefit.)

Perks that require Lockpick skill

Perk	Requirement	Level	Additional Requirements
Infiltrator	70	18	Perception 7

Interactions that require Lockpick skill

• 35 Lockpick is needed to persuade God to follow the Courier.
• 50 Lockpick is required to unlock the truck door at Cottonwood overlook during the quest Eye for an Eye.
• 75 Lockpick is required to persuade Elijah to come down to the Sierra Madre vault.

Notable Lockpick skilled non-player characters

• Three Dog: 28 (29 with apparel)
• Allistair Tenpenny: 49
• Ernest Roe: 54

Behind the scenes

“Question: "I've got myself a hand-cannon and yet I can't get through a rickety door cus it's "locked." Shouldn't different features have more interactivity with each other?"
Joshua Sawyer: "If you have a hammer and a screwdriver, but you can hammer in screws as well as nails, there's no reason to have the screwdriver.

Apply this to Guns and Lockpicking and I hope it's clear why we didn't allow players to just smash down/blow up/shoot apart every locked object they came across."
Josh Sawyer Formspring answers”

“Question: "The "realism must be across the board" counter argument is equally disingenuous, as all things you mentioned are unrealistic to make gameplay easier and flow better. And shooting out a lock wouldn't replace lockpick for the same reason it doesn't IRL,"
Joshua Sawyer: "No, it's not a "disingenuous" counter. If a person makes an argument for a feature because it's realistic, it begs the question of why they don't want other things to be realistic. If the person wants a feature because it makes the gameplay easier and flow better (subjective), he or she shouldn't use realism as an argument because it confuses the issue. And that's what I said: if someone wants to be able to blow locks off with weapons because you don't want to put points into Lockpick or play the lockpicking minigame, just say so. I still think it's a bad idea, but at least the people involved would be arguing on the same topic."
Josh Sawyer Formspring answers”

Skills Fallout / Fallout 2 Small Guns · Big Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Throwing · First Aid · Doctor · Sneak · Lockpick · Steal · Traps · Science · Repair · Speech · Barter · Gambling · Outdoorsman Fallout 3 Small Guns · Big Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Throwing · Explosives · Medicine · Sneak · Lockpick · Science · Repair · Speech · Barter Fallout: New Vegas Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Explosives · Medicine · Sneak · Lockpick · Science · Repair · Speech · Barter · Survival Fallout Tactics Small Guns · Big Guns · Energy Weapons · Unarmed · Melee Weapons · Throwing · First Aid · Doctor · Sneak · Lockpick · Steal · Traps · Science · Repair · Pilot · Barter · Gambling · Outdoorsman · Speech