it seems strange that i haven't asked about this before.but since playing skyrim (apologies :wink_smile: i found that i was becoming reasonably handy at lockpicking in the game (was able to open master level locks).have always been terrible at lockpicking in oblivion though :blush2: i can open very easy locks,but anything more i really struggle (until i find a certain item :whistling: how the daedra do you do it right? i am hopeless as a thief anyways (have always played as a crusader type character) :facepalm:

I prefer the lockpicking in Oblivion. Just go really slow, you'll eventually get used to it and be able to go really fast. Sometimes after the tumbler goes up fast, the next time it will be slow and vice versa.

There should be a pattern to how fast the tumblers rise and fall. Keep pushing the tumblers up without clicking to find out what the pattern is, then you'll be able to quite easily click the tumbler into place on the slowest rise/fall. Repeat for all tumblers.

Of course you can always

If you feel that the lockpicking is too hard, just go practice on an easy one. Just keep push the tumbler without unlocking the lock. But i felt it was too easy anyways but thats just me.

I find by hitting the tumblers a few times and watching, you will notice a pattern. Usually every 3 times, 1 of them the tumbler stays up a bit longer. By hitting it then, it's al little easier. Also, if your Alteration is high enough, you can buy spells to open everything except Very Hard. And if you learn the Open Hard Lock spell, it will open all the ones below it as well. I forget who sells those spells, but it was from one of the Mages Guild Halls.

or just get the Skeleton Key. I honestly don't like this business of being able to open any lock at any time, it almost ruins the incentive for raising Security.

Practice, practice, practice.

There is a pattern, as others have mentioned. I also keep nudging the tumblers till I find the fast one, then I click on the one after that. There's a certain rhythm to it. Once you find it, it gets easier.

Upping your Security is also another good strategy. My char managed to get her hands on the Ring of Thieves and Ring of the Grey. Together, they add 20 points. I like mirocus' suggestion, I'll have to try that next time.

Every tumbler you set adds about 1.4 points, IIRC, toward your security level. So you'll have to open a lot of locks to level up. What I do is set all the tumblers except the last one, cancel and start over. Rinse and repeat. When I raise a level, then I open the chest, grab loot and move on. I did this for all the locks I found. It takes a lot of patience, and lockpicks. But I wanted my char to do it the hard way this time round.

She's now a master in security. So now it's nudge *click*, nudge *click*...tada!

I really should practice on this, as it befits my character to be pretty handy!
Currently though I keep using the "auto" function...

A good risk-free way to practice lock-picking skills, assuming one is member of one or more guild...

Many guild halls contain locked trophy cases. If one is a member of that particular guild you can hone your opening skills on those. Just remember, if you want infinite practice stop each practice attempt at the final tumbler, back out of the mini-game screen and start afresh.

My avatar used the Skeleton Key for some time. We eventually tired of it ...made things too easy and sort of botches skill improvement after a certain skill-level. Our Skeleton Key is now safely stored away in a chest at our home. Luckily, as a PC player I have access to a number of lock-bashing mods...perfect for those times one finds him or herself short on picks.

-Decrepit-

I can pick the hardest of locks, with my eyes closed <_< ..Literally.
Consider, how could I possibly do this..???

The answer to this riddle will give you the 'key' to how Oblivions, Lockpicking is done properly.
(I dont want to spell it out too simply, feels almost like a spoiler... If you guys can't work it out and really need to know, I will post it here, following your requests.

Discounting spells and the Skellie key, most who open locks prefer either the sight technique or the sound technique. I prefer the sight technique. As has been said above, bounce a tumbler quite a few times and note how its speed varies. Normally a very fast bounce is followed by a slow one - that is the time to try to pin it up.

Well that's my evening sorted then!!
It's about time Niamh got her [censored] in gear and started skilling up on the lockpicking, rather than trusting to chance...

Heh, my current character is a mystic archer and has never touched a lockpick. She opens everything by magic.

Disclaimer: In the vanilla game, you cannot make 'unlock on touch' spells and you can't cast target spells underwater. My character's ability to magically open underwater locks therefore is not a vanilla feature of the game. Buffy simply sits down underwater and patiently waits while Acadian works his own form of magic to open any waterlogged locks.

LOL - loving that disclaimer!

Tip: Use your ears, not your eyes.

Listen for a double click upon nudging a tumbler, this will alert you that you'll have sufficient time to lock the pin in place at the top of the chamber.

Both the watch technique and the listen technique are pretty well-known. Some folks have better luck with one than the other.

UESP wiki does a fine job of detailing both here: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Security#Lockpicking:_The_Mini-Game

thanks everyone.i will start to practice now (hope to be able to unlock master level locks in around a few weeks :thumbsup:

Hmm, could it involve a console and a command perhaps?

I was talking about skill.. B)
I guess, if one has plenty of lockpicks, they can simply try again... Eventually, you might get lucky.. :goodjob:

Is it bad i always cheated and just used the auto button?

Nah it's what I did.

Nah, not bad at all and not cheating. The creators put it there for a reason, after all. Me, though I actually enjoy the lock-pick mini-game, I sometimes use auto, with absolutely no remorse.

-Decrepit-

I always use the auto button. I try to roleplay my character's skills, not mine. The auto button takes my abillity to play the minigame out of the picture, and makes the outcome be based only on luck and my character's security skill level.

I realize that I'm in the minority on this subject, but I don't care for the minigames, as I find they break immersion. I would much rather see my character's hand wiggling a lockpick in the air in front of a locked chest (as in Morrowind) than to have a window pop open showing me the inside of a very unrealistic (and anachronistic!*) spring-tumbler lock.

*Nowhere else in the technology of Cyrodiil do we see the craftsmanship needed to make this type of lock. Maybe some of the Dwemer technology in Morrowind, but nothing in Cyrodiil. There are not even any clocks. The most sophisticated craftsmanship in the game is at the level of the hammer/anvil/forge, and yet we see that even crude chests in musty caves can be secured by locks that require machined parts... :rolleyes:

Locks used to be big business, especially in the Middle Ages.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=medieval+lock&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=1072l5636l0l6209l13l11l0l2l2l1l370l3058l2-7.4l13l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=999&bih=581&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi
We didn't invent the mechanical clock until a few hundred years after the mechanical lock.