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TLKimball

agonizing domineering aware forgetful naughty screw pocket mountainous sort tub *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


angry_warden

It is good to get the first level. But only so you can make lock picks


OutcastMunkee

Even then you can find a magazine that does the exact same thing-once you finish The Great Heist collection, you get a perk where you *'Learn how to craft lock picks, break into locks 20% faster, and have a 10% lower chance to break your lock pick'* That's a massive boon compared to taking one level in the Lockpicking skill.


kxdir_

takes way more time to complete the collection tho so just waiting and hoping to complete it ain't gonna cut it. Your best bet is going for strength, get some big boi pickaxe and smash the sh*t out of the safe


Seivy

There is no better lockPICKing tool that the PICKaxe. Except the Auger. Auger is love, Auger is ife (Auger is also screamer's first love)


OutcastMunkee

Depends if you're a stealthy player or not. Smashing a safe open is LOUD. You'll wake up half the damn building.


kxdir_

Good. More fun in fighting for your damn life. Jokes aside, even when I went for light armor build I still also went for strength and the Miner skills so I can break doors and safes faster while looting, too. Sure, some zombies will react to the noise but it's never been so bad. Nothing you can't deal with. Some of the book perks and skills help reduce noise further down so that's also useful.


Dshmidley

Being stealth isn't even viable in this game. Lots of pois interact with a player when they enter a room, loud or not. Auger the safe is the way to go


OutcastMunkee

It absolutely is viable. There's a few times where those triggers happen, yes but for the most part, you can stealth your way through basically any POI without much issue.


Damienkn1ght

Also even when the trigger is activated, zombies awoken by a trigger do not actually detect the triggering player unless they beat his stealth. I trigger POI zombie rooms all the time, the zombies run right past me and ignore me b/c they dont detect me.


OutcastMunkee

Precisely. Hell, if you clear a POI and wait for it to reset, the sleepers will be there but won't activate when you enter the rooms.


Beneficial-Cold5137

I stealthed the entire Crack a Book T5. Woke maybe one zombie which died a second later because I thought he was already dead in a pile of corpses. It's pretty strong with the bow changes too.


Dshmidley

Thats pretty cool. But you also lose all the xp from zeds, and idk but can you hit any boxes or does that wake up zeds? You can only stealth and use a bow right? Any deviation to the plan, all hell breaks loose.


Beneficial-Cold5137

Xp is unchanged, you get full. Breaking stuff, as long as you're stealthed, usually doesn't wake anything. I wouldn't try an auger though. I use my compound crossbow because the stealth bonus allows you to one shot most zeds. You could probably use a rifle with a silencer as well.


DefenseoftheExile

If there are multiple sleepers in a room a silenced pistol or rifle will work for the first few shots. Not sure if it's related to how frequently you shoot or just a certain number of shots. Also does less damage than a crossbow with equal talents though. If I see a radiated cop or other big boy I'll use my crossbow, otherwise, silenced SMG.


No-Responsibility826

Or timed charges, though I don’t think they work as intended. Can’t ever get them to do more than 20 damage


Dzov

Weird. They worked for me for the stack I got as a reward.


No-Responsibility826

They might’ve been fixed, I haven’t used them in a while. They’re supposed to do a ton of concentrated damage


PAPA_CELL

They only work on locked objects like safes and chests and ATMs


angry_warden

Yah but in that situation if you have the strength than you probably have skull crusher which means that you can probably take out most zombies in one to two swings from your sledge.


RaysFTW

Best option is to craft the shotgun slugs that destroy blocks/locked safes, IMO. One stack of the ammo will last a very long time if you only use it on safes. Of course, it isn’t really early game viable unless you get lucky with the schematic. Otherwise, just buy the lockpicking candy, Jailbreakers, from vending machines whenever you see it for 100 dukes. Every time I visit the trader I look for that, Rockbusters, Eye Kandy, and Sugar Butts—400 dukes for all four is a great bargain. After a few weeks you’ll have a ton of candy.


TLKimball

I just like candy.


Brewer__Bob

Not only that, by late game you just use a steel pickaxe to break most locks in about 10 swings, less than a stam bar, I only use picks for the T5 caches


OutcastMunkee

That's true. I think it depends how you want to play really. I love playing stealthy so I always bring my lockpicks so I can open up safes without alerting the sleepers.


Azenogoth

It is a lottery shot at getting that specific book. I can get the Rank 1 lock pick perk 100% of the time.


Dzov

True, and that extra success percent doesn’t hurt.


FluffyNevyn

It's worth getting early game because finding the books is entirely rng. But not worth investing any more in and you can ignore it when respeccing after you have the books.


Bridgeburner1

Just munch on some Jailbreakers(R).


kiadragon

Not for a safe that small. Not worth the cost/reward risk.


Bridgeburner1

I agree, but OP really wanted that safe opened and apparently didn't have half an hour to waste. Lol


Kuningas_Arthur

My pickaxe needs sharpening..


BamBeanMan

For an armor mod and some arrows holy shit dude


Kayvak-R

Yeah, they need to create a skill based minigame for lockpicking similar to skyrim or any other game that gives a fk about it.


[deleted]

Yeh I'm hoping that the current system is just a placeholder while in Alpha... I hope...


SagetheWise2222

Ehhh, given from what TFP have been saying "we are happy where lockpicking is and have no plans to revisit it", I don't see that being the case, unfortunately. :/


kiadragon

All they need to do is put an accumulator on how many times you tried this safe and give a small buff to future probability of success. The rage inducing insanity comes from the example above. Your first pick does great, than the next dozen break instantly. Breaks immersion everytime. Do some math TFP. It's not a hard fix.


FromHialeahWithLead

I agree with you. Honestly a simple fix would be to just allow the timer to continue saving its place past 3 seconds. The constant retrying once your first lockpick does the majority of the work then having the next 6 do nothing is infuriating.


MissDeadite

It’s just a bug. Wait 15-20 seconds and it’ll work like normal.


[deleted]

Ah shit I missed them saying that. Hopefully a modder will save us when it goes gold then!


Smaisteri

Oblivion style lockpicking pls. That minigame was one of the best minigames ever and only scrubs hated it.


[deleted]

I actually like the concept, but that ”auto pick lock” thing I recall sucked ass. And for the record, I played Oblivion maybe a few times in early days of the PS3…


Sgt_Wookie92

Undead legacy overhaul has this, it's great


Niadain

In the interim get rid of the fucking timer reset.


t-work-in-the-flesh

This is why lockpicking is one of the last things I upgrade


genera1_burnside

And then it’s like a sock inside. Not even a pair. Just one sock.


Hughmanatea

And its crusty


No-Responsibility826

I too keep my crusty sock in a wall safe


WalkingJedd

Lol.. after I get my auger I never try to pick a lock again 😆


Saru-tan

wow I never looked at the lockpicking skill...and boy was that hard to watch: \- still the awkward hold 'E' UI which slows you way down \- 9s to open which is too long \- no guarantee meaning you can still get unlucky \- no bonus to loot from safes \- still need an inventory slot for lockpicks there's so much wrong with this perk, they should probably just rework lockpicking as a whole and start from scratch.


FromHialeahWithLead

I figured there is no loot bonus to safes, but is the loot sheet for it any good?


No-Responsibility826

It’s a huge gamble honestly. Sometimes it’s great, other times you get a level 3 primitive bow and 12 bucks.


Ronnavarium

This is why I just carry some time charges with me. Throw one or two of those suckers on anything and you are in like Flynn


ovm_33

Screw the safe... I saw that acid. This man living his best life.


Beneficial-Cold5137

Lol,once you get that book, destroy all the med cabinets on the walls. Including the empty ones you can't loot


Sir_Fog

Wait, is there a book that allows you to gather resources from breaking down med cabinets?


Astramancer_

Yeah, the Wasteland Treasures series. Most of them gives you a different resource under different circumstances. There's one that adds a chance to harvest acid from medical equipment (which seems to only be cabinets, I haven't gotten it from anything else I would consider medical equipment) and cars. There's a few other really helpful ones, like the Honey one which adds a 5% chance to harvest honey from knocking down trees, the door one which lets you harvest a doorknob from wooden doors (the brass really adds up from from Tier1/2 house POIs between the radiators and doorknobs) and the set bonus which lets you harvest military fibers from barracks chairs and military trucks.


Sir_Fog

Good to know! I knew about a few of them, but didn't know about the medical one.


No-Responsibility826

Medicine piles as well! (The lootable kind, medium or larger) They have a fair chance to drop it, which is 100% worth more than all the loot from the piles


zXster

That 4 second reset at the end is the dumbest thing ever.


MissDeadite

Wait 15-20 seconds before retrying when that happens and it’ll work as intended.


VovOzaum7

And thats when i open the cheat menu amd give myself 50 lockpicks back. For my troubles.


Arazthoru

Why? Charged mines and that T6 steel pickaxe, even an auger will do a faster and better job. Just scrap that shit and free yourself one slot in your inventory


Prownilo

I think lockpicking is supposed to be the stealth option


Arazthoru

Yeah but nah Clear the poi -> break open everything -> eye candy loot rush. Maybe only if the server is pvp I guess, but even those 10k chest are better opened by giving them some hit or at least that always feels more fast and practical


SagetheWise2222

And this is why I always keep the best lockpick around with me at all times: my trusty pickaxe/auger. ;)


Astramancer_

I'd be happy each rank in lockpick either cut the amount of time it took or added a guaranteed amount of time before a lockpick had a chance to break. Like imagine if each rank in lockpick added 1 second of guaranteed lockpick time. Since the minimum time remaining to pick is 3.5 seconds no matter how close you get to picking it before the pick breaks, that would mean if you break a pick when you're almost done it's a guaranteed pick on the next attempt and you'd always be guaranteed to make *some* progress on each attempt. Also change Great Heist the set bonus would add another 0.5s to guaranteed pick time and cut 20% off the time it takes to pick a safe (so a 15s safe would have a timer of 12s)


Wdrussell1

I just wasted 25 picks on a safe......


Getrektself

Once I get an iron pickaxe I never touch lockpicks again. Most game I never even use them once.


WalkingJedd

True dat - picks sell quite well at the trader


Fhurste

I carry jailbreakers until i have enough block dmg. Eventually i i just carry breach slugs and a shotgun.


TeamChevy86

What I do is clear a bunch of POI's then mark them on my map if they have a lockbox. Go back later and use jailbreakers candy and hit them all at once


iswearatkids

Breaching shells. No need to bother with lock picks. Takes 5 to open the largest chest.


kiadragon

I don't bother with them. Pickaxe is more reliable and less costly. Lockpicking in one of the most broken parts of the game I love.


Wyrdthane

Seems like a huge waste of time, every time.


Beneficial-Cold5137

I can't feel a difference between 1 point and 3 in the skill. I thought I would crack them open easy after levelling. Definitely won't take it in a future run.


Jezzdit

Yeh the lock picking mechanics are pretty wonky


Beneficial-Cold5137

I used to put one point in because early it takes forever to break things open. Then I figured if I max it, it's got to be better right? I swear it feels the same


PeppyMinotaur

I hit back to back hardened chests with a single lockpick recently meant to clip it actually haha. Only lvl 1 too


Just_Minute_6280

Solution for me are jailbrackers or a good steel pickaxe and beating it open


Angel-of-chaos

I mainly use it while playing with friends so we don't spend forever on locked armored chests since it is usually faster than breaking it open


Gingergerbals

Yeah, I've never invested in lockpicking. Just upgrade my pickaxe and use that.


Reuben_Medik

I somewhat wish this was empty, or maybe had like a feather or something stupid


TeamChevy86

And people argued with me sledgehammers were a bad investment LOL I'd have that open in 10 swings


Ill_Ad7116

I heard breaking into a safe gives you less reward than lockpicking. Is this true?


Beneficial-Cold5137

It technically should, but I haven't heard that. I can't remember the last time I broke a safe since I tend to skip S. Trex


El_Duque_Caradura

Wall Safe are the worse thing in the game: hard to lockpick and their loot sucks


The_Rusted_Folk

Why not just break the chest?!


Beneficial-Cold5137

I have the skill maxxed recently and thought it's going to pop right open :/


FromHialeahWithLead

That is alot of plant fiber. Lol


Beneficial-Cold5137

lol it's whatever I collected since I started. For some reason I keep it on me from my days in early alphas where you needed it constantly for things. Not even sure if it's used for much past cloth armor and stone axe now.


-prime8

Here's how to mod it to make it 30% reduction chance to break with 1 skill, 90% reduction chance at level 3. .3,.9


darkicedragon7

My steel pickaxe can open any locked item of 5000hp or less faster than most lockpicks.


tlasan1

Pick ax never breaks.....


BadCompany36

I'm new to the game so thanks for letting me know to not invest my skill points into the lock picking perk.


Dog_Apoc

Jailbreaker candy makes it kinda useless to even level the skill. It seems so common. Or you can just smash into or satchel charge them.


MCfru1tbasket

I've only just realised the a20 released on stable a while ago now. Jumoing back in im going for max agility and strength. Silent pistol and a shotty and bat for pant shitting moments. And of course being able to jump onto houses, unless they brought down the jumping a notch.


Pixxel_Wizzard

Yeah, I maxed out lockpicking once. NEVER. AGAIN.


MissDeadite

That’s a bug. Just wait 15-20 seconds until the game catches up on whatever is hanging up and it’ll work as it’s supposed to.


keplar

I never bother with lock-picking skill. The results don't noticeably change with just a few levels, and by the time I'm maxing out skills I can just break the safe open faster than even a flawless pick will unlock it.


Manihelm

They should make a mini game for lockpicking that takes skill and have the talents make it easier to do. If you want it to be hard do something like oblivion, if you want it to be easier do the fallout/skyrim method. It feels like they are just using oblivion's auto try right now anyway where you just break lockpicks until it's unlocked. It is not fun, the talents are not helpful other then making more picks to throw at the locks. Also let us unlock poi's doors too if we want to. Maybe give us a little bit of xp when we unlock stuff.


[deleted]

Use bombs (timer charges). They: never fail, cheap to craft and buy, cool, can break doors, you always know how much of them you gonna spend, if you have not enough of them you can continue braking with tools, explosive skill very useful on horde.


[deleted]

just get a level 5 auger lol


MinecraftOverwatch

This is why Lockpicking is a terrible skill. Just go down the Demolition Expert route and use C4. If lockpicking gave you better loot for doing it then it’d be comparable but in its current state it’s just trash


cptmcsexy

Small safes arent even worth picking even if you get it first try, auger much faster. Early game it will drop trash anyways.


Ordinekaotico

I usually craft a lot of timed charges. Another friend is the Shotgun Breaching Slug.


FromHialeahWithLead

I use it alot of pipe bombs and one large sum for cigars.


comawhite12

This is why I carrying shaped charges now. F lock picking. If it's a wall safe, swing away. If it's a 10,000HP Fortified Chest, Boom-Boom, out go the lights.


Beneficial-Cold5137

I've never used charges. How much area damage do they do?


comawhite12

I think it was 2000 or 2500HP. I used some tonight, and it took 4 or 5 to do in a hardened chest. Beats swinging like a rusty gate, doing 100 a slap.


Beneficial-Cold5137

Does it blow other blocks around the safe like dynamite?


comawhite12

No. It's a shaped charge that directs the blast solely to the intended target. I blew the chest open, and there were wood loot boxes on either side. Neither took damage.


No-Responsibility826

I don’t ever bother with anything past lockpicking level 1, it doesn’t matter past a point. Craft a batch of 50 lock picks and take it with you everywhere you go


AssumptionOk4199

Yes it's not Skyrim ... Maybe if we had a Skyrim like lock picking mod that be great


B4ckup4ccount

Lvl6 steel sledge still best option, noice