They are both easy.

So long as I meet the requirements to attempt, they will be unlocked.


Hacking does get tedious. There is some (small) comfort in the ability to have companions do the work for you.

Though I really dislike not being able to hack in stealth.

Not me! I remember lock-picking in Oblivion. Argh! I got the spells as quick as possible.

FO3, Skyrim, FONV and FO4 lockpicking is OK.

Between FO3, Skyrim, and FO4, I have picked soooo many locks and hacked soooo many computers, the outcome of EVERY attempt is inevitable: I will succeed. So what these attempts become is a waste of my time, keeping me from getting on with doing what it is I will be doing after I open the lock or computer. So I installed two mods that simplify the process, letting gain access in about 2 seconds.

I don't mind 'em. I am hoping for a mod to speed them up a bit though.

I just deal with it. For the lock-picking maybe do something like ESO, add a timer. The harder the lock the less time you have and upping your perk slows the timer. I don't like my toon to not try because it's to hard. How does he/she know it's to hard without trying.

I don't like that lockpicking requires a perk to even attempt it and don't care enough about the contents to spend points on it.

Yeah, I never tallied it up officially, but if I had to guess how much of my game time in FO4 was taken up with these minigames before I modded them up, I'd guess it was probably over 10%. Definitely a total waste of my time.

Lockpicking is easy. But try hacking with 1 Intelligence, whitout swearing. 1 int for idiot savant of course.

I'm OK with the lockpicking, but I'm obviously too stupid to grasp the hacking. It's supposed to show the right letters at the right position, but it doesn't seem to work that way.

Hacking shows the right letters in the right position but won't tell you anything more. So say you have HEART and it tells you 3. If you have SMART, TABLE, CHAIR, SMOKE, HELDE (yeah know it's not a word but can't thing of a good one) only one word matches SMART.

you don't change just to change, sometimes you can change something and it svcks bad and its way worse then what you have before, todd howard talks about this type of thing, they do make changes but incrementaly, they like to keek the basic experience the same, they did make changes with the game, modding armors and weapons, settlements i really enjoy both of those things but as far as redoing hacking and lockpicking, i think lockpicking is good, it could be a bit harder but i like it way better than the lockpicking in oblivion and as far as hacking, yeah they could change it i suppose but i guess thats one thng they decided to leave alone, i like the hacking deus ex but thats a bit different cause its more of main thing in deus ex as opposed to fallout there's so much else going on that hacking and locking don't need to be overly complex.

Some people are naturals at seeing the solutions to word/letter puzzles like that. I'm not one of them, and have no desire to be. Thank goodness for mods.

Oblivion's lockpicking was just weird. The higher my skill was, the more trouble I had with it. Very hard locks were very easy to do at low skill levels, but got progressively harder for me the higher my skill went.

I think you should have to work to acquire the skill/tool/knowledge to open or hack a certain level lock or terminal, but once you do your good to go for all those at that level.

While I don't like hacking as much, I think they are ok. Though If it were up to me, I'd totally revamp picking to make it more interesting and rewarding.

I'm fine with lock picking. It's quick and easy. But hacking master terminals gets pretty tedious after a while. They could change the last perk point in lockpicking/hacker to auto pick/hack. Since they are useless anyway.

They are both fine, nothing more and nothing less. I wish they would bring back lockpicking from Oblivion or use the system from ESO. Make bobby pins abit more scattered, the drop rate is insane, and make the lock break after a few failed attempts.

I don't have any issues with them.

It's another part of the game, and I'm okay with them. I really don't mind lockpicking at all. Although after a few times, hacking can get a little tiresome. That's why I love having Nick Valentine along.

Lockpicking is just fine but nothing special.

Hacking on the other hand, is the best I've seen i any game. It not some stupid catch the scrolling thing reflex check or tap really fast. It a contextual puzzle which actually feels like hacking while being nothing like it so nobody gets uncomfortable.

I use them for XP points. Hack the terminal but don't use the computer to open the safe, then open the safe by lock picking and get the XP from that too.


I have to admit I don't try and figure out the hacks from the letters, I just pick the first four words every time (I have five hacks from a perk - not sure where I got that, magazine or the detective?). If it's not in first four I just close the terminal and start again.


Mind you this is a hangover from the old game where you would get locked out on the last try (which forced you to get the final perk of computer hacker). Now you just have to wait a few seconds so my method isn't as necessary.

I do the same thing...lockpick the safe first and then hack the terminal for the XP. May as well get *something* from doing the minigames that I hate over and over and over and over and over and over.....

I've noticed that some people in this thread are demanding permanent lockouts for failures. If that happened, I'd just reload after every failure. Pain in the tush to be sure, and definitely makes the minigames even more tedious and annoying than they already are, but if that's what it takes, then that's what it takes. (Which is probably why Bethesda made it the way it is now since they know most of us would just keep reloading until we got it right anyway.)

I wish terminals would sound an alarm during the timeout phase, or if they're hooked up to Protectrons release them as hostiles to the player.

The poll is flawed. It should either be a yes no answer. How about the person who hates it but clicked on I use a mod to by pass it. He hates it, but didn't click on hate so people can now say a lot of people don't hate it.

For me, I HATE IT. As for lock picking I find it even harder because I really can't see the pin nock back and then just breaks out of the blue lots of times. Makes the mini game even more annoying.

They are also pretty useless. Why? Oh look I am not at that level. I need to come back. So 1) game is already telling me I can't do it, so 2) when I can do it, I should just be able to do it without the mini game. What is the point of the game telling me I can do it, but for what ever reason I missed the 4 attempts or don't have the real life dexterity to lock pick. It's stupid.

Ok it was better than Oblivion's lock picking system in Fallout 3. Then New Vegas is basically off Fallout 3 so expect the same. But after 8, EIGHT YEARS of developing this is all Bethesda can come up with.

Man, I love the game, love Bethesda, but dang it Bethesda and TODD, this is all you can come up with? Is your greatness all gone and you have no vision on how to be different anymore?

I guess this just shows you how much I HATE the mini games.

I tend to really enjoy them both for a while but after a few hundred of them they tend to become just part of the game which I don't mind. Still an easy source of XP.

It would be nice if they could come up with a few new mini games to rotate in with these just for variety.