Can’t figure out lockpicking mini-game in Oblivion

[StaceyPowers]

I can pick the easy locks in Oblivion, but for some reason, I can’t pick Average locks? I don’t understand this mini-game. When I push up on one of the tumblers, it literally doesn’t let me move to the next one until it comes back down. There seems to be no physical way to open the lock. What am I doing wrong/missing? Any recommendations anyone can give me for beating this mini-game or avoiding it completely would be awesome. On that note, I can’t find lockpicks for sale anywhere. I have been playing for weeks and have only four.

@DylanC

[Crazycrab]

I prefer the lockpicking mechanic in Skyrim but never had that much trouble in Oblivion.  In fact it seems  expert at it judging by what some people say about their struggles, one of the first things I usually do is loot the lockbox outside the Arena and that's a master lock 😁.  The mechanic is all about timing, you need to hit the button the instant the pin hits the top of the lock for each one, the harder the lock, more pins you have to secure AND the faster the pins move.

 

What's maybe not so obvious at first is the pins don't respond the same way or retract at the same speed every time, occasionally they will even bounce around that the top and if you try to hit the button then you're guaranteed to fail.  There is a trick to this and that's listening, there are audio clues that give you a clue as to what the pin is going to do. Here is a video that explains this better than I can with the written word:

 

 

With this knowledge and a bit of practice you should get the hang of it.  Also look around the barrels and crates in the Imperial City market as you can usually find a few lock picks there and they at least should be on sale in the general stores.

 

If you still can't get the hang of it there are some alternatives, Alteration magic has spells that can open locks and at level 10 you can do the quest at Nocturnal's shrine which rewards you with the Skeleton Key, which is essentially an unbreakable lockpick so you can auto attempt past your way any lock.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited December 18, 2019 by Crazycrab

[StaceyPowers]

On 12/18/2019 at 3:20 PM, Crazycrab said:

I prefer the lockpicking mechanic in Skyrim but never had that much trouble in Oblivion.  In fact it seems  expert at it judging by what some people say about their struggles, one of the first things I usually do is loot the lockbox outside the Arena and that's a master lock 😁.  The mechanic is all about timing, you need to hit the button the instant the pin hits the top of the lock for each one, the harder the lock, more pins you have to secure AND the faster the pins move.

 

What's maybe not so obvious at first is the pins don't respond the same way or retract at the same speed every time, occasionally they will even bounce around that the top and if you try to hit the button then you're guaranteed to fail.  There is a trick to this and that's listening, there are audio clues that give you a clue as to what the pin is going to do. Here is a video that explains this better than I can with the written word:

 

 

With this knowledge and a bit of practice you should get the hang of it.  Also look around the barrels and crates in the Imperial City market as you can usually find a few lock picks there and they at least should be on sale in the general stores.

 

If you still can't get the hang of it there are some alternatives, Alteration magic has spells that can open locks and at level 10 you can do the quest at Nocturnal's shrine which rewards you with the Skeleton Key, which is essentially an unbreakable lockpick so you can auto attempt past your way any lock.

 

Hope this helps!

Maybe I've been misunderstanding the timing of when to hit the button--I'm going to give it a try now ... and if that fails, it's off to the shrine. Thank you for all this detail.

[StaceyPowers]

@Crazycrab First average lock picked successfully :) Great things are in my future =D Thanks again!