Lock (Fallout 4)

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.

Difficulty
Locks come in four difficulties: Novice, Advanced, Expert, and Master. Which locks can be picked depends on one's Locksmith skill. Depending on its difficulty (harder locks reward more XP), successfully opening a lock grants an amount of XP.

In the Fallout 4 add-on Automatron, the player character can modify robots with the lockpick module, giving them the ability to open locked doors and containers. For PC, the bobby pin is moved with the mouse in a semi-circle around the top of the lock. The screwdriver is moved by tapping any movement key. For consoles, the bobby pin is moved with one analog stick and the screwdriver with the other. The controller will vibrate with the wiggling of the bobby pin, and vibrate strongly as it starts to break.