Tumbler locks

[Ziggurat]

This may be a stupid question. Is there any pattern to tumbler locks, a sequence to learn? I am in the Seventh Bough area that has the two chests and cabinet. My Nin is lev 37 in locks but no luck on the cabinet. I don't have knock knock. I guess I should try forever or come back later.

[stealthblade78]

Eventually, after you tinker with the lock long enough, it will open. Also, try using knock picks to speed it up.

[gator]

There is no pattern or sequence that I have ever seen. When you click on a tumbler, it always locks that one in place. Then it seems to roll (based on your skill) if the other tumblers, one by one, fall down or not. How many tumblers are on that lock? With a skill of 37 you should be able to do a 3 tumbler lock fairly easily. A 4 tumbler lock will take you a while but you should be able to get past that. A 5 tumbler lock I would give up on and come back when my skill increased. You can also find Knock Picks almost everywhere in the game. I do not remember if a particular vendor sells them or not. Your Ninja can get the Knock-Knock spell eventually. You need to be level 9 and have a 30 in (Alchemy + 10% of Earth).

[Wereboar]

Also note that each character might cast knock-knock or using knock picks individually, and the success is added. But you shouldn't use it twice with one character (or tumblers already fixed by other characters might become loose again)

[Ziggurat]

It's a 5 tumbler lock. What do those horizontal marks on the tumblers mean? Some are etched higher than others. I thought this might be a clue that might help to discover which ones have to be up first. Or it may be totally random, and every attempt has some probability.

[ChaosTheorist]

It's a 5 tumbler lock. What do those horizontal marks on the tumblers mean?

Nuttin'.

Some are etched higher than others. I thought this might be a clue that might help to discover which ones have to be up first.

Nope. Just visual variety.

Or it may be totally random, and every attempt has some probability.

Dat's it. And, with a Locks skill of 37, that probability (of not dropping at least one of the other pins) is pretty low. The failure-chance-vs.-Locks-skill relationship seems to be logarithmic: low skill levels--like, below 50--have a really crappy chance of opening even a 4-pin lock in any reasonable amount of time, and the difference between Locks=30 and Locks=40 doesn't seem to mean much. With a Locks skill of 37 against a 5-pin lock, you're looking at a typical time-to-open of literally hundreds of pin touches. Buy some knock picks, or build up someone's Knock-Knock skill, or come back when the character's Locks skill is more like 60-70.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

You know what's dumb about that whole thing though? Why do you need a key for some locks and yet you can pick others? Isn't the point of "picking locks" so that you don't need a key?

[Rezdude03]

that is a good point. my theory on lock picking is that your skill level equals the percent chance that the tumbler will stay up. also, if the tumbler goes down, it may be the odds the tumbler(s) stays up insted of going down with the other one.
And i think it was crock that sells knock picks for about 2000g or so.
the topic i have is just a theory. it may not be right but is probobly logical. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Wereboar]

my theory on lock picking is that your skill level equals the percent chance that the tumbler will stay up.

Well, even with a skill of 145, the tumblers sometimes fall down.
(rogue skill 100 +25% bonus + 2 x 10% for thieves daggers)