Lock picking, is this the way it's supposed to be?

MikeMoss

Hi

I can't pick any locks anymore, it's been this way for quite a while.
It used to be easy to do the simple ones, now even they are next to impossible.

I waited figuring it would get fixed, but it hasn't.

It's like something is off with the timing.

The lock picks now break all the time and no matter when I click the tumbler doesn't stay down.

I don't even bother to try anymore, other then to check once in a while to see if its been fixed.

Is this something to do with my computer, or it it like this for other people.

Mike

AlnilamE

Other people have made the same comment, though not for a while. I may be breaking a few more lockpicks than I did before Update 3, but I don't think it's a big difference.

But then, I have several stacks of lockpicks...

Someone mentioned that there was a lag between the sound and the animation?

Ourorboros

I routinely hunt chests and have had no difficulty opening them. I don't think this is a game issue.

Arsenic_Touch

Haven't had any issues with lockpicking.

SoulScream

I have opened over 1000 chests and it works okay. I look at the bottom of the tumbler to watch for it to slow down before wiggling. I hold left click till I see the slow down or start of wiggle then release the button for the lock.

driosketch

I broke a few lock picks last night opening several chests, though I assume it's due to my own impatience rather then game mechanics.

PSLAnimal

There can be an issue of connection lag. I travel a lot (my business pretty much requires it) and spend a lot of time in hotel rooms. On my main rig at the house, I have a stable, high-speed cable connection and never have any issue with picking locks.

In hotel rooms, where I frequently have kind of laggy wireless connections, chests are a lot harder to open - and the process is, for lack of a better word, "jumpy." I suppose part of that may be the lower graphics capacity of my travel laptop, but I have tried it on that same laptop here in the house, hooked up to the cable (I'm innately curious) and didn't have the same problem.

Tentative conclusion: Internet connection speed can affect lockpicking.

Athas24

I'd agree with the connection thing over any game related issue. I have yet to have even the slightest difficulty in opening chests no matter their level. I'd check your router, modem or isp and start slapping people. .. or things?

heavy_artillery

I almost never break lockpicks. I have a very fast (100MBps) connection so perhaps there is something to that theory. I hope it improves for you

UrQuan

Are you using the technique where you hold down the left mouse button until the tumbler is ready, and then clicking the right mouse button to release the pick? That technique doesn't work anymore (it's what I always used to do, and it was way more accurate) - you have to release the pick by releasing the left mouse button now.

Also, shortly after the release where this was changed, I was finding that the animation didn't sync up with the sound, and you had to go by the sound rather than the animation. I haven't been encountering that particular issue in the last couple of weeks though.

GnatB

Apparently it was a bug that you could lock it in with the right click. IIRC the instructions said to just let go when it was in position. Personally never even tried the right click method until after it had been "fixed".


That said, still not hard, even the most difficult ones. IIRC you only have to get it right on the first try on one of the tumblers. Otherwise there's pretty much enough time to try each one twice. First one find where it goes, second time get it there.

Lag

I feel like I haven't broke a lock pick since week 1 of the game. Also feel like I don't find anything other than simple lock picks. Literally have only found 1 master, and that was 2 weeks into the game launch.

purple-magicb16_ESO

If they did make chests harder to open, it would probably be due to the fact that lockpicks are so plentiful. Ever open a drawer and not see a lockpick? I'd say you get a lockpick like 80% of the time if not more.

GnatB

Lag wrote: »

I feel like I haven't broke a lock pick since week 1 of the game. Also feel like I don't find anything other than simple lock picks. Literally have only found 1 master, and that was 2 weeks into the game launch.

From what I've read/seen, the difficulty of the locks is based on your level vs. the area's level. If you're level 9 and wander in a lvl 30 zone, you'll find much more difficult ones. (probably impossible ones, really)


Really just a way to keep low level farmers getting stuff they shouldn't (yet)

mar1ano1987nrb18_ESO

I dont find them more hard ...but it is true that lockpicks break more easy now.

Now ..since we are talking about lockpicking , anyone else notice a huge drop on the master difficult chests? I think I havent seen a master difficul chest in ....3 months at least :P

Drazhar14

Are you kidding? Lock picking needs to be made harder! Its so easy right now. Its probably a technical issue with your computer/game.

Rodario

Any chance those without problems are playing on the NA server? Because since the EU server migration many EU players experience latency issues that werent there before, which become very noticeable while picking locks.

Tandor

Adventuring at appropriate levels to my character's level, I have only found simple chests since the lock-picking revamp a while ago.

I've had no problem picking the locks, however, and that was true before the revamp when I was getting tougher chests. Given that there are only a few set positions there is plenty of time to see where the pick starts to wobble and then repeat it to click at that point. I can do all of the simple locks that way before the timer reaches the halfway stage, and used to do the tougher ones too.

I have a decent but not exceptional internet connection so perhaps a slow connection is half the problem for anyone struggling to complete the lock-picking, although broken picks in my experience are down to trying to force the lock as soon as you get the wobble rather than spotting which of the positions it's in and hitting it second time around.

Be sure to check all the containers/desks in banks because they're a good source of free lock-picks if you are prone to breaking them.

Lag

GnatB wrote: »

Lag wrote: »

I feel like I haven't broke a lock pick since week 1 of the game. Also feel like I don't find anything other than simple lock picks. Literally have only found 1 master, and that was 2 weeks into the game launch.

From what I've read/seen, the difficulty of the locks is based on your level vs. the area's level. If you're level 9 and wander in a lvl 30 zone, you'll find much more difficult ones. (probably impossible ones, really)


Really just a way to keep low level farmers getting stuff they shouldn't (yet)

It makes sense, except the fact when I'm a VR12 and even when I'm in a VR12 zone I still only find simple. Kind of a broken system.

SirAndy

UrQuan wrote: »

Are you using the technique where you hold down the left mouse button until the tumbler is ready, and then clicking the right mouse button to release the pick? That technique doesn't work anymore ...

If you're using the right mouse button to try to lock in the tumbler, that does *not* work anymore.


I have had no issues with lockpicking using the left mouse button only ...

Chuggernaut

I'm guessing your computer, because I haven't noticed any additional difficulty on any difficulty level. My only issue is that I get easy 99% of the time, and really want more intermediate and hard.

Rodario

Lag wrote: »

GnatB wrote: »

Lag wrote: »

I feel like I haven't broke a lock pick since week 1 of the game. Also feel like I don't find anything other than simple lock picks. Literally have only found 1 master, and that was 2 weeks into the game launch.

From what I've read/seen, the difficulty of the locks is based on your level vs. the area's level. If you're level 9 and wander in a lvl 30 zone, you'll find much more difficult ones. (probably impossible ones, really)


Really just a way to keep low level farmers getting stuff they shouldn't (yet)

It makes sense, except the fact when I'm a VR12 and even when I'm in a VR12 zone I still only find simple. Kind of a broken system.

Especially since the more difficult ones tend to have better loot in them, or at least a higher chance for rarer drops.

GnatB

Rodario wrote: »

Especially since the more difficult ones tend to have better loot in them, or at least a higher chance for rarer drops.

Not that I've noticed. Other than of course more difficult chests are in higher level areas, and thus have higher level loot.

seanolan

Rodario wrote: »

Lag wrote: »

GnatB wrote: »

Lag wrote: »

I feel like I haven't broke a lock pick since week 1 of the game. Also feel like I don't find anything other than simple lock picks. Literally have only found 1 master, and that was 2 weeks into the game launch.

From what I've read/seen, the difficulty of the locks is based on your level vs. the area's level. If you're level 9 and wander in a lvl 30 zone, you'll find much more difficult ones. (probably impossible ones, really)


Really just a way to keep low level farmers getting stuff they shouldn't (yet)

It makes sense, except the fact when I'm a VR12 and even when I'm in a VR12 zone I still only find simple. Kind of a broken system.

Especially since the more difficult ones tend to have better loot in them, or at least a higher chance for rarer drops.

Where are you getting this from? This certainly is not something I've ever heard.

driosketch

Aren't the contents of the chest mostly leveled to the area to find it in, and if the contents should be higher than you, the lock becomes impossible.

However, more difficult locks that you can open have better gear. I.E. a simple lock will have gold, a green item, and maybe a lock pick or soul gem. An intermediate lock may have a blue item.

brimits

I used to break picks every time until I realized there is a bad lag. So do it twice for each tumbler. Wait for the firs sign of a wiggle, release and then start the tumbler again but stop just before you saw the wiggle first time round.
That works mostly except when the tumblers are all way down and then you can run out of time.
I mostly find simple and some int. but I've never found a hard lock.

seanolan

Again, what is your source for this idea that item quality is based on lock complexity? I have never heard this nor seen evidence of this in the whole time the game has been up. I get blues and ever very rare purples from simples. I have gotten gold and a gem with no item from masters. I have never noticed any qualitative difference from chest, and I have 2 characters with the 1000 treasure chest achievement. So cite your source, sir, or cede your point.

driosketch

seanolan wrote: »

Again, what is your source for this idea that item quality is based on lock complexity? I have never heard this nor seen evidence of this in the whole time the game has been up. I get blues and ever very rare purples from simples. I have gotten gold and a gem with no item from masters. I have never noticed any qualitative difference from chest, and I have 2 characters with the 1000 treasure chest achievement. So cite your source, sir, or cede your point.

The only thing I have to go on is experience, and as recently as last night opening several chests this is what I am finding. I don't mind if you doubt me, that's your call. The only way to be sure would be to take a character, non maxed so you could test zones above level, and document what you find. You could also take a friend below level and see if chests appear impossible or at higher dificulty to them but not to you.

seanolan

No, you misunderstand...I know the complexity of the lock is based on relative level to the area level. I challenge your and another's assertion that the loot is based somehow on this complexity. There is no evidence of this unless you can provide some, and unless you can confirm more than 2000 chest openings, as I can, then no, I will not accept your personal anecdotal evidence. As I have said, I have found blues and purples in simple chests. I have found trash in master chests. So don't spread rumors unless you have evidence to back them up.

GnatB

driosketch wrote: »

seanolan wrote: »

Again, what is your source for this idea that item quality is based on lock complexity? I have never heard this nor seen evidence of this in the whole time the game has been up. I get blues and ever very rare purples from simples. I have gotten gold and a gem with no item from masters. I have never noticed any qualitative difference from chest, and I have 2 characters with the 1000 treasure chest achievement. So cite your source, sir, or cede your point.

The only thing I have to go on is experience, and as recently as last night opening several chests this is what I am finding. I don't mind if you doubt me, that's your call. The only way to be sure would be to take a character, non maxed so you could test zones above level, and document what you find. You could also take a friend below level and see if chests appear impossible or at higher dificulty to them but not to you.

*shrug* My highest level character is 18, my smith is 9. I occasionally venture into significantly higher level zones to do crafting sets. I'll open chests there (or try).

Seen plenty of hard/impossible chests. (don't remember exact terminology) No idea what the impossible ones hold, but the hard ones held area level appropriate stuff, but nothing "rarity wise" too out of the ordinary.

Sorry, chest difficulty *may* be slightly influenced based on contents (It's pretty much impossible to prove a negative, after all) , but it's definitely highly based on relative level between the opener and the area. When my chars were first starting out in Auridon, (lvl 8ish) the chests up by the ashen grip set were almost always intermediate/hard/impossible. When I actually got to that part of the zone, (levelwise) they were always simple, with the extremely rare intermediate.

driosketch

seanolan wrote: »

No, you misunderstand...I know the complexity of the lock is based on relative level to the area level. I challenge your and another's assertion that the loot is based somehow on this complexity. There is no evidence of this unless you can provide some, and unless you can confirm more than 2000 chest openings, as I can, then no, I will not accept your personal anecdotal evidence. As I have said, I have found blues and purples in simple chests. I have found trash in master chests. So don't spread rumors unless you have evidence to back them up.

Do you have logs of those 2000 chest openings? Then saying you found purple items in a simple chest is as much anecdotal rumor as mine.

I'm not making an assertion that can't be tested. And personally I don't see what difference it makes. I almost never skip a chest, simple in a low level zone or not.