My char build includes lockpicking which i've found useful but absolutely not required (thus far in game)
Useful in sense of more loot but nothing absolutely unique locked behind a safe.

Terminals though, am not sure about. Have zero points in the hacking perk and for most part seem to get to all places fine, and few places found thus far with area locked behind terminal was accessible via key or access card you find usually on or near named npc nearby

However, as far as gated content - it does seem a decent number of PA is locked behind terminal access which so far I've had to skip.

Without needing to go into specifics, in general how useful or required is hacking throughout later stages of game in terms of gated content?
E.g. A locked safe is not gated content because its just more caps i can make, more increments of loot items found on shelf next to terminal. But PA only accessible via that one terminal is what i would say is gated content via hacking. Or areas you cant enter without hacking (this far not found one but spent most my 2 weeks settlement building, hardly any story or exploring beyond upper NA quarter of map.

Hacking, for the most part can do a couple of things. They can unlock doors turn on/off turretes and security robots. Second you get a LOT of interesting back story form them, On ocassion you will even get map pointers that open up minior quests. I personaly could not see playing this game or FO 3 FNV without both lock picking and hacking. Not to mention you gain experiance for every lock you pick and ever terminal you hack. If a safe can be opned by hacking a terminal or picked I always pick it first then hack the terminal so I get the experiance from both.

Anyway if you pass on hacking you will miss a lot of interesting back story. With the current RPG system there is no need really not to take the perks.

Ok thnks. After spending most of two weeks on settlements, am venturing into further parts of game and used my points on crafting first - gun, sciemce, and armor nut.

Guess i will delay some other perks and pickup 2-3 poimts into hackimg.

I just bring Nick to hack terminals.

Let's put it this way

I have Hacking Advanced and nothing in Lockpicking. I'm a combat focused character and yet stop to get plenty of loot and am satisfied

There are a number of advantages Hacking has over Lockpicking

1) Extra lore

2) Robots fighting on your side, and turrets disabled

Meh you kinda need/want both for the extra loot/xp and lore and since there is no lvl cap this time its np rly(you need 3 points in each-last one is absolutly unnecesarry) and you can max it at lvl 18 lockpickng/21 hacking(ability to open master locks/terminals).

At least thats how i play i always max those two asap, combat perks are not rly that necesary in early game, my latest char is playing on survival and i had no issiues despite this perk distribution up to lvl 23:

-5 in S.P.E.C.I.A.L(as a general rule i always take one stat every 4 lvls)

-3 lockpicking(not gonna take 4th rank)

-3 hacking(not gonna take 4th rank)

-2 gun mods

-2 armor mods

-2 barter

-3 rifleman

-2 local leader(was unsure weather to take this first or start investing into energy weapon mods but decided ill do energy weapon mods later)

I love combat perks. They help a lot, even if each increase is less and less. I prefer dynamic combat

It is lockpicking that is not necessary at all.

1: You can already open 90% of safes yourself. For those that cannot be lockpicked, sometimes a nearby terminal will open them.

2: There is more than enough loot already in the game, I have all the equipment and caps that I need

3: There is occasionally about 1 lock in 5 missions where it could open, and yet even if that safe contained the most amazing gear it would be totally superfluous for me. And it can possibly be opened by a nearby terminal - which means I know that those safes don't contain the most amazing gear

I think it's worth noting that there is a copy of Guns and Bullets located in an Expert level safe in the Cambridge Police Station after the BoS shows up. It's probably the only unique item locked in a safe in the game, so saying unique gear isn't locked in safes is mostly accurate, but it's not completely accurate.

Well if I just had to pick one Hacking for sure as you would just lose too much backstory but really, in the current character creation/growth system there is NO reason not to take both, One of the reasons i am not super high on this game. They have simplified the RPG side of things so much that it easy to have all the perks you want. Heck my current character is level 40 and I really haven't even touched the main story line yet.

Still would never get it.

And if we think about it, any combat perk >>> any magazine. And there is a companion who can open it ^^ but even if there wasn't, would not get

I wasn't saying that the one magazine was enough to swing the vote over to "must-have", nor was I saying that there weren't other ways to get the magazine. I was simply pointing out that the statement "there are no unique items in Lockpick containers" is only mostly true, not completely true.

I picked that lock when I first got there (before the BoS shows up) but there was no skill book. Wonder if I go back if it will have spawned?

It only shows up after the BoS has sent reinforcements. Trust me, you'll know exactly when this happens.

In hindsight, given i now know many / lot / most safes can be opened via terminal, i should have put my 2 points i put into LP and 0 in hacking the other way around.

I've now caught up and have 2 pts in each, will eventually get them to 3 eacn. But next playthrough, i will prob just immediately get hacking to 2 points with eventual 3. And ignore lock picking until/unless i get really high level and dont really have anywhere else to put points, (and just bring Nick for the one BoS safe with guns and bullets.)

Cait can pick locks for you (though she breaks lots of bobbypins). Valentine can open safes for you. So *technically* you do not need either perk.

Similarly, you do not strictly need combat perks if you are willing to use up supplies to compensate.

Games are structured with things to do, things to stop you from doing those things and ways to circumvent those things.