Lock (Fallout 3)

Locks are found throughout the wasteland on doors, safes and boxes. The player character can use pick a lock using bobby pins. Some can also be unlocked with keys.

Picking a lock
To pick a lock, the player character must have a Lockpick skill high enough for the difficulty of the lock and possess one or more bobby pins. Bobby pins are weightless items, often found in first aid kits and locked containers.

If the conditions are met, a mini-game is activated. A bobby pin and screwdriver (a free, weightless item that does not appear in the inventory) are inserted into the keyhole of the lock. The lockpicker attempts to find the correct position for the pin, which is checked by turning the screwdriver as if it were a key. The further the screwdriver turns the lock, the closer the pin is to the correct position. Once the screwdriver can turn the lock a full 90 degrees, the lock opens.

If the lockpicker fails to determine the correct position of the lock too many times, the bobby pin will break, forcing them to use another to continue the attempt. The mini-game can be exited and restarted which will prevent the pin from breaking, but this will also reset the correct position for the pin.

Force
It is also possible to skip the mini-game by attempting to force a lock open. The probability of success for this action depends on the Lockpick skill and the difficulty of the lock. Failing to force the lock open will break it, and no other attempt at opening it can be made without the Infiltrator perk (which grants a second attempt) or the appropriate key.

Difficulty
Locks come in five difficulties: Very Easy, Easy, Average, Hard, and Very Hard. Which locks can be picked depends on one's Lockpick skill. Difficulty and the Lockpick skill also determine the probability of success for an attempt to force a lock open.

The difficulty level of the lock determines how accurately the bobby pin must be placed and how easy the pin is to break. A Very Easy lock needs little to no pin adjustment for a successful attempt, in turn making the likelihood of breaking a pin low. A Very Hard lock requires precise placement, and thus the repeated checks to find the correct position will wear out a pin quickly.