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Elder Scrolls Online: How to Lockpick

HomeHow ToElder Scrolls Online: How to Lockpick
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Master the art of lockpicking to open every chest in the game.

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As you explore the world of Elder Scrolls Online, you will eventually come across locked chests. These can only be opened by making use of lockpicking!

In this short guide, we’ll tell you how you can pick locks in the game quickly and easily.

How to Lockpick in Elder Scrolls Online

Source: Peritye

To initiate lockpicking, you have to press the “Unlock” button when looking at a locked chest. The prompt will appear on the screen telling you which button to press.

You need to have at least one Lockpick as well. They are commonly found across the game world.

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Note that you should be Hidden when picking the lock on an owned chest. NPCs will report you if they see you lockpicking a chest; this will put a bounty on your head!

This only applies to owned chests, though. There are unowned locked chests that you can find in the wilderness. You can lockpick these freely without any consequence.

Source: Peritye

Locked chests also come in varying levels from easiest to hardest: Trivial, Simple, Intermediate, Advanced, and Master. The level depends on your overall character level.

Lockpicking itself consists of a small minigame where you have to push down the 5 pins on the lock and set them correctly.

Notice how the pins start to wiggle once you push them down? That’s the exact moment to stop pushing it and move on to the next one. Push them longer and you’ll break your lockpick.

However, you also have to be quick since every lockpick has a timer. As you might expect, harder chests have shorter timers.

Forcing Locks

Source: Peritye

Besides lockpicking itself, you can also force locks. The button prompt and your force chance will appear in the lower section of the screen.

Forcing a lock will always break your lockpick, however, even if you are successful!

The success rate of forcing a lock depends on the chest’s difficulty. It can also be boosted by putting points into the Locksmith skill in the Legerdermain skill tree.

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Andrés
Written by

Andrés

Senior Game Guide Writer

Andrés is a veteran gaming writer with over twenty years of hands-on experience across a wide range of genres, including Action-RPGs, high-difficulty games, and narrative-driven titles. His work is based on direct gameplay, testing mechanics, progression systems, and strategies firsthand rather than relying on secondary sources. At GamesFuze, Andrés focuses on producing accurate, practical guides and walkthroughs that help players understand complex systems, avoid common mistakes, and make informed decisions throughout their playthroughs.

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