Returning to Cyrodiil inOblivion Remasteredgives us a heavy dose of nostalgia, but behind all the rose-colored memories lies a hidden truth: opening locks is hard. While it’s possible to open locks either manually or by magic, chances are you’ll be using the lockpick method, at least during the early stages, before you level up your Alteration skill.
We’ll review the basics of lockpicking to help you master Oblivion Remastered’s lockpicking minigame while also offering Alterationalternatives for Mage characters.Stock up on lockpicks and patience to learn the secret to easily picking locks in Oblivion Remastered.
How To Open Locks
There are two main ways to open locks in Oblivion Remastered:
While usingAlteration magicis technically easier, itrequires much more setup,since you’ll need tolevel up your Alterationmagic’s level to use a spell that matches the lock’s difficulty.
So, if you want to use the ‘Open Average Lock’ spell, you must level up your Alteration to Journeyman level.
Themore difficult,but far moreaccessibleoption is to uselockpicksto manipulate the tumblers and open locks. Since this method will likely be your main method of opening locks in Oblivion Remastered, let’s dive into the details.
How To Complete The Lockpicking Minigame
Before you can get good at the Oblivion Remastered lockpicking minigame, first you need to know the basics:
Yourlockpickingsuccess is governed by yourSecurity skill,which determines how many tumblers remain in place after a broken pick.
Master
All
While this sounds straightforward,the crux of this minigame is learning when to lock a tumbler in placeby studying how quickly the tumblers fall.
Generally, there are three tiers oftumbler falling speed:
Different difficulties of locks present slight variations in the tumbler falling speed, so beware of the lock’s difficulty before using the method below.
First, test out the tumbler a few timesto see the speeds to find the pattern. One of each speed always happens in rotations.
Thus,on an average lockwith three distinct tumbler falling speeds, afast, medium, and slow tumbler drop must always happen;however, they can transpire in random order.
If a tumbler drops at medium speed, and then fast speed, that means the third time you move the tumbler up, it will be a slow drop. This is the optimal time to lock your tumbler in place atthe moment after you push upon your lock pick.
You’ll notice in the video that trying to secure a tumbler on a fast drop usually results in a broken lockpick. Take your time.
The best, safest way to pick locks in Oblivion Remasteredis by waiting for either a fast-medium-slow or medium-fast-slow cycle.
Doing so allows both likely failures to occur, allowing you to secure the tumbler on the slowest drop when it’s easiest to set.
How To Use Alteration Magic To Open Locks
If you’re sick of lockpicking in Oblivion Remastered and prefer the Alteration school of magic, then there’s a magical alternative to painstakingly picking locks. Some spells will instantly open locks when cast, but they aren’t easy to learn.
You’ll need to focus onleveling up your Alterationskill by using Alteration spells.
You should aim for 50 Alteration at minimum before making this your main method of opening locks, as this unlocks the Journeyman tier, which allows you to open Average locks.
Here are theAlterationspells and the correspondinglevelneededto learn them:
Open Very Hard Lock
If you want tobuy these lock-opening spells,thenthe Mage’s Guild vendorsare the easiest places to find them.
Arch-Mage’s Lobby – Arcane University, Imperial City
Hard
The only way toopen very hard locks using Alterationmagic is bymaking the spell yourself,which requiresMaster-level Alterationand an undying commitment to grinding.
While mages who already specialize in Alteration will enjoy opening locks this way, the lockpicking minigame is still the best bet for opening locks fast in Oblivion Remastered.
