How to Lockpick in Oblivion Remastered

Lockpicking in Oblivion Remastered can be annoying, frustrating, finicky, and everything in between. The old-school mechanic has been perfectly preserved in the remaster, which is why it can be a nuisance for new players and veterans alike. Just when you think you’ve got the hang of it, a medium-difficulty lock can be incredibly humbling. On top of this, you’ll find yourself running out of lockpicks fairly quickly, with no idea how to get more in volume. To help solve all these problems, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on lockpicking in Oblivion Remastered. So with that, here’s how to lockpick in Oblivion Remastered.

How to Lockpick in Oblivion Remastered

Lockpicking in Oblivion Remastered is all about pushing pins into a tight spot and setting them in place. Once each pin is in its correct spot and is greyed out, the lock will open. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the process:

• To begin lockpicking, walk up to any locked object or door, and press the X button on PS5, the A button on Xbox Series X/S, or the E key on a keyboard. You’ll see a prompt to begin lockpicking, which will also indicate the difficulty level of the lock.

• After this, the mini-game screen will pop up. It shows off the lock’s mechanism, the pins you need to set, and your lockpick jimmied right underneath them. Use the left analog stick on a controller, or flick the mouse up on PC to tap your chosen pin.

• Tapping the pin will see the lockpick raise its position. To set the pin near the top, press the X button on PS5, the A button on Xbox, or the Space bar on a keyboard.
• If you’ve set the pin correctly, it will appear greyed out. So, you can move on to the other pins.

• Once all pins are in place, the lock will slide open on its own.

Depending on the difficulty of the lock, you could be dealing with one pin or up to a total of five pins. Every time you tap a pin, it will move upwards, making a metallic sound, before returning to its original state. The key to lockpicking is using this tiny window to ensure that the pins remain elevated, instead of coming back down and securing the lock’s mechanism.

After being raised, pins come back down at three different speeds. These are easily distinguishable if you wait and observe their pattern. What you need to look for is the slowest of the three, since it offers the best chance of setting the pin in place. Timing is crucial here, so try not to rush. You’ll lose all your progress, and the lock will reset if you enter even a single pin incorrectly.

Unsuccessful attempts at setting pins will also cause your lockpick to break immediately. And as Oblivion veterans will know, lockpicks are harder to find than heaps of gold.

How to Get Lockpicks in Oblivion Remastered

There are multiple ways of getting lockpicks in the RPG, and at the start of your journey, you’ll mainly be searching barrels, chests, and drawers, all of which have a slight chance of carrying the item. Enemies such as bandits and goblins usually have lockpicks as well, so it might be worth raiding some dungeons if you’re running low.

With that being said, the easiest way to get lockpicks is by purchasing them from Shady Sam. The dubious NPC lurks just outside the walls of Imperial City and can be found on the left side of the gate leading into the Talos Plaza District. You can buy 30 lockpicks from him at once, each of which typically costs less than 10 coins.

If you want to replenish your reserves even further, we recommend joining the Thieves Guild. The guild always has a sizable supply of lockpicks, and it’ll even send you on quests that involve the activity.

Best Lockpicking Tips in Oblivion Remastered

Practice makes perfect, and lockpicking in Oblivion Remastered is no exception. Failing repeatedly will teach you more about the minigame than anything else, but we do have some helpful pointers:

• Ignore the sounds: The metallic sounds made by pins as you maneuver them around really don’t matter, at least in a discernible way. Following the sounds is a much better strategy in games like Skyrim or Fallout 3, but you can comfortably ignore them in Oblivion.
• Wait for the slow drop: As mentioned earlier, pins drop at three different speeds, with the slowest one offering the best chance of successfully setting them. You’ll be able to identify this speed with a bit of practice. So once it arrives, hold the pin up and don’t let it go back down. Once you see the pin, tap the top of the chamber, and lock it in place. Make sure only to attempt this when the slow pin animation kicks in. Otherwise, you risk breaking the lockpick.
• Get the Skeleton Key: If you never want this activity to bother you ever again, the Skeleton Key is the perfect tool for you. The special key will let you auto-attempt locks without ever breaking, and you won’t have to scrounge around for lockpicks either. To get it, reach level 10 and then follow our guide linked above.

That wraps up our guide on how to lockpick in Oblivion Remastered. Did any of our tips help you out? Be sure to let us know in the comments.