Chest unlocking difficult on EU servers?

jesterstear · May 2014

I've never had much luck picking locks, even the "Easy" ones fail 75% of the time.

The issue is that when the plunger starts rumbling and I let go of the mouse button, i'm too slow and we've gone past the sweet spot. Takes multiple attempts on each plunger and I usually run out of time.

I'm wondering if this can be anything to do with the lag you get being so far from the server. I did an reaction speed test app and i'm about average, 250ms or so. Whilst researching this , I discovered that we can react faster to audio stimuli than visual (it's true! try a sound based reaction time test!) so I started closing my eyes when pressing a plunger so I can react to the sound instead. I went from no success to about 30% success rate. Pity the game doesn't show latency.

I fought MB the other day too. At times in the video,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPizRANnzt4

There's a glitch at 2.51 as I stop and restart recording to work around the 10 minute limit on unregistered Bandicam videos. Other than that there's a few instances of rubberbanding, not getting hit when I appeared to be in something red, getting hit when apparently clear of it, and the dreaded clunk of doom when pressing my heal skill and it not triggering. Also right before the join in recording, I get caught by MB jump in the air attack even though i'm clearly out of the red circle when he comes down.

zgrssd · June 2014

I noticed that the point where it starts tumbling is actually where it is too late to release them. So I often need a second try for one tumbler. Or I release on instict and happen to hit the sweet spot.
Once I figured that out my Lockpick consumption from breaking has been non-existant and I make 95% of the chest (even mediocre ones) on the first try. Harder ones have to short time to do this.
I never consiered that this might be related to lag and I just managed to "adapt" to my average lag. But it would make sense that even the minigames like lockpicking are run on the server (otherwise to easy to hack them).

Yakidafi · June 2014

The sound does not come before the visual, but it might help for some. Unless they programmed it that way.

Before it start to wiggle frantically you will see it start to bend a little on the spiral as it is getting compressed and that should be your first warning to release then or very soon.

Works for me.

gypsythief · June 2014

jesterstear wrote: »

I'm wondering if this can be anything to do with the lag you get being so far from the server. I did an reaction speed test app and i'm about average, 250ms or so.

I'd reckon it could be a lot due to lag; from the UK I have ~135ms ping through to ESO's servers when it's quiet and up to ~250ms when it's busy, and a reaction time similar to yours.

So the lock pin starts to rumble on the server. 135ms later, it starts to rumble on my computer. 250ms after that I have released my mouse button, and 135ms after that the server finds out that I have released my mouse button.

Total time from pin rumble to lockpick release is now over half a second when it's quiet to 3/4 of a second when it's busy. By which time the lock pick has snapped and the pin jumped back up. Grrr...

Ojustaboo · June 2014

I'm in the UK and now I know how to open them, could probably open 200 with just 10 lockpicks, but at first I felt exactly like the OP

Now I find lockpicking to be a silly waste of time as theres no real skill or luck involved once you sus out how to do it.

I know this could come across as rubbing it in, me better than you, thats not my intention, again I used to find it as frustrating as you do, please bear with me.

Press and hold the left mouse button.

When you hear the noise change and see it start to shake,
KEEP the left mouse button pressed and at the same time press the right button.

That is the big trick to opening chests, even if you press the right button at the wrong time, as your left is held down, the pin automatically starts going down again saving valuable seconds.

Also there's only four possible positions for the tumblers, the lowest being about 1cm (on my monitor) from the bottom, once you get used to this, if its gone past the first 3 positions, you can right click the forth before it even starts to shake.

Once you get used to it, even the hardest chests are very simple, although on the hardesst ones if you do snap a lockpick, you have little chance of completing it due to the much shorter time.

Bear with it, I'm sure you'll get there. And when you do, you will wonder why you used to struggle.

Sindala · June 2014

Post patch, yes it's a bit of hit and miss due to the game constantly 'stuttering' but before the patch I had no problem even doing the master chests. It's just a matter of timing....also I play Imperial so I get that racial buff 'Luck' dunno if that helps or not.

p.hurst1b16_ESO · June 2014

I have no problem since the patch. Only master are a little tricky if you misjudge more than once, we all have our bad days.

I can unlock any less than master 100% of the time. Master I would put at 1 in 20 needs a retry.

Practice makes perfect and listening carefully makes it much more reliable.