Humanity can travel through space in Starfield, but locks are still an issue. That’s right, Bethesda fans, lockpicking is alive and well in the future, but it’s different from what you are familiar with in the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series, as you’re now dealing with futuristic Digipicks and a whole new electronic form of lockpicking.
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Your character might have a spaceship, but that doesn’t mean anything in the face of a sturdy electronic lock. In Starfield, many doors are locked and require specific card keys, as well as numerous safes and storage chests that demand you to whip out your Digipicks and start fumbling them. They’re the only thing that can pry open metal containers, as the industrial-scale mining laser you get in the first five minutes of the game just isn’t up to snuff.
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How Digipicks & the Security Skill Work in Starfield
To pick locks in Starfield, the first thing you need to do is find Digipicks. These are found all over the game world and can be bought in many shops, so grab/buy as many as you can and always keep them with you on missions.
Each lock has its own difficulty level, and you’ll only be able to pick Novice level locks at the start of the game. There is a Skill in Starfield called Security, which allows you to pick Advanced, Expert, and Master locks. Like all of the Skills in Starfield, you need to complete challenges in order to be able to level it up, and in the case of the Security Skill, you need to pick as many locks as possible to beat the challenge.
How Lockpicking Works in Starfield
To pick a lock in Starfield, you need to fill the holes in the center ring using pieces from a selection provided by your Digipick. In the example in the screenshot above, the player needs to use a combination from the pieces on the right of the screen (just below where it says “Digipicks”) to fill out the five pieces in the middle.
To solve this lock, you need to take the two-pronged Digipick piece shown above…
…Followed by this three-pronged piece. The two pieces together line up perfectly with all five holes when used after each other, so that’s how you break the first of the two parts of this lock.
It’s important to note that you don’t have to use every single piece in every puzzle! In most cases, you can break the lock using fewer pieces. In fact, as the difficulty of the lock increases, you’ll be given pieces that are red herrings and that will trip you up if you use them. The locks will include several rings that you need to fill out, with the Novice example shown above containing two. The more difficult locks will have more rings, so you need to plan out your moves as carefully as possible.
The best way to break the lock is to simply line up the pieces one by one beforehand and ensure they work. It takes a little practice, but once you’ve broken a few locks, you’ll be dealing with them easily. It’s just a case of getting used to the shapes and recognizing how they all fit together.
If you mess up the order or quit out of the minigame, then you’ll lose a Digipick. A number on the screen tells you how many Digipicks you have left. You can also use the “Undo” command to go back a move if you believe you’ve only made a single screw-up. If the lock is too difficult for you, then feel free to quit the minigame and try again, as you’ll lose a Digipick, but you’ll be given a new puzzle.
As you level up the Security Skill, you’ll unlock Auto Attempts. When you use an Auto Attempt, the game will pick the next correct piece for the puzzle. Bear in mind that you only have a finite number of Auto Attempts and earn more by completing locks, but you can bank them for future use, and the number increases as you level up Security.
Where To Find Digipicks In Starfield
Like most of the loot in Starfield, Digipicks are distributed randomly throughout enemy bases, but you should be guaranteed to find a few of them out in the field. It’s also possible to buy them from most vendors, though they’ll have limited stock available. If you badly need some Digipicks, you can wait a day or two, which should refresh their supply.
If you’re concerned about your Digipick stock, then it might be wise to savescum. Simply save your game before attempting any lock and attempt to complete it in one go. This will save you lots of Digipicks over the course of the game, allowing you to bank plenty for the times when you face Master-level locks in outposts.
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The lockpicking minigame in Starfield can initially seem overwhelming, as you aren’t given a proper tutorial and have to work it out independently. With this guide and your own growing skill with the game, you should soon become the universe’s most feared cat burglar.
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