Understanding out how to pick locks in Starfield is confusing at first as it's a totally new system. It's all about rotating pins to slot into a series of rings that act like tumblers. It uses digipicks in stead of lockpicks and there's no tutorial to explain the system. It's technically a simple mechanic once you get your head around it but it takes some trial and error to work out, and high difficulty locks can be baffling even if you have fully grasped how it all works. Hopefully, my Starfield lockpicking advice below will help you make sense of it all, including where to get digipicks in the first place.
Starfield lockpicking quick guide
- Every lock is made up of two or more rings with slots cut into them. Each digipick provides a fixed selection of pins which can fill the slots and 'clear' the rings, starting with the outermost ring and working inwards.
- Every pin that enters a slot, removes it, with the goal being to remove all the slots and clear the ring entirely.
- Sometimes you can use two digipicks on one ring, with slots left over, but what's left must match a remaining pick, or you won't be able to complete the lock.
- If you level up the lockpicking Starfield skill, you can highlight all the layers a pin combination will fit in so you don't have to test them all out.
How lockpicking works in Starfield
Starfield lockpicking using Digipicks to match small pins to slots in a series of rings - line up pins with slots and you cancel them out and, when you've cleared all the slots in a layer, you remove it and move to the next one. Once all the layers have been cleared, the lock will open.
The trick to understanding how this Starfield system works is that you can rarely clear a layer in one go. Most layers involve a combination of two, and sometimes more, Digipicks. So you need to look at all the pin options you have and think ahead, working out the best combinations to clear every layer without getting litereally locked out.
The key thing is to not leave a pattern of holes behind that isn't matched by a group of pins. If you do, you can create a combination with no pins that match it, blocking you progress. Upgrading the lockpicking skill will eventually highlight the layers a Digipick will fit, helping you see what you can use much more quickly.
So, taking the lock above as an example, you can see that these two sets of pins match the first layer:
It doesn't matter what order you use those two highlighted options in because the only thing that matters is that you clear the layer leaving no holes, clearing it. Because it's possible to leave combinations with no matching pins, you always want to try and work out what will clear a layer before you commit to anything.
Once that first layer is clear, the second layer is cleared in a similar way:
Again, it doesn't matter which pin you use first, as long as the combination overall clears all the holes. As you level up the Security skill and access Advanced, Master and Expert locks, you will see more complicated layers and pins, but the same principle remains - use digipicks to clear the holes, always ensuring you leave a pattern behind you can still match. You do get a few levels of undo if you make a mistake, and can bank these with higher skill levels, but generally you want to test out all the options and confirm what fits the whole lock before doing anything permanent.
How to get more Digipicks in Starfield
The best way to get more Digipicks in Starfield is to just explore and loot all the things. While a few merchants will sell them, you'll get loads more by searching the random bases and installations you'll find on various planets and moons. You won't have to search long before you pick enough to keep you going for a while, so just get in the habit to make sure you never run out.
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