Skyrim fans horrified to learn lockpicking secret that makes picking locks 10 times easier

Despite releasing 12 years ago, fans of The Elder Scrolls series are asking themselves, have they been playing Skyrim correctly?

It’s an age-old question asked since the dawn of time when residents of Tamriel were once epic and daring adventurers before they were taken down thanks to an arrow to the knee. A fate that has been bestowed upon us all, probably.

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Until The Elder Scrolls VI arrives, Skyrim has the biggest single-player world that this series has to offer. In Skyrim, players have a choice of playstyles and factions to join. Some might be a warrior befitting Valhalla, while others might join a vampiric cult to become a creature of the night. Whereas others may choose to lurk within the shadows for a different reason, and that’s because they have thieving sticky fingers.

One aspect of any good thief in Skyrim, other than pickpocketing, is breaking and entering. Of course, if you get caught, everyone including their dog and cat will be hunting you down for pinching that mouldy apple. Thankfully, you can help avoid becoming Tamriel’s most-wanted if you were a lockpicking expert.

However, this lockpicking skill set has not been mastered (of has it?) by Reddit user, who by their own admission has apparently been doing it differently for 12 years or in other words, since the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

“I never noticed the subtle vibrations on the controller if you move the left stick slowly. I always thought it was just about careful guess-and-check—try lightly over here, move a bit, lightly over there,” explained Redditor ChesterVsCheetor. “For difficult locks, I would look at the visual pattern around the edge to memorise where the current pick might break so that I could make it back there and adjust slowly.”

They continued: “Then I fully learned how to do it this way—never taken a perk of lockpicking and at this point, I can open master locks with 5-10 picks at the beginning of the game. I’ve probably done this a thousand times or more. Yesterday I was moving slowly and I noticed these slight vibrations…worked my way around the outside and realised that one was slightly stronger than the others…no f****** way.”

It seems much of the Reddit thread has a mixed reaction with some knowing of the vibrations and others not. It all depends on what perks you acquire and what you upgrade. As far as I’m aware, it's always been the case of when you feel a vibration, you subtly move the analogue stick to the left or right and with a bit of luck, you’ll pop that lock.

It seems that ChesterVsCheetor has been picking locks the hard way after all these years, but judging by what they say, they might actually rival the legendary Jill Valentine to claim the mantle of being the ‘master of unlocking’. Just don't mention that to Barry Burton.

“I’ve learned the same way as you. Guess based on patterns and common angles. Don’t recall vibration on any version of Skyrim I’ve played,” replied BoxCarTyrone. “We mastered the hard way, feel pride in that,” responded a triumphant SupermarketAware4948.

“There is a noise. It’s very faint on the computer, but when I hear it, I always unlock the lock. Like immediately. Idk if it’s meant to be a clue or not. Been playing for a little over a year,” said FearlessOwl0920.

In somewhat related news, it’s been revealed that Starfield has real-time pickpocketing mechanics, and the release of The Elder Scrolls VI may arrive much sooner than we expected.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available on just about every platform imaginable.