Unlocking chests

[Apollyon]

I remember in the olden days when I had a GM mage on Pacific.
Back then I used to be able to magically unlock chests that I found in
shops, after red spawns, etc.
I'm starting again and I'm unable to open anything. I've now spent
about 2k in lockpicks to get my
lockpick skill up to about 45, but I still can't pop a chest that I find
out in the woods after a spawn.

Does magic unlock only apply to magic lock now?
What kind of lockpicking skill is needed to get these chests open?
Is it worth the money in broken picks?

Ariel of Hokuto

[Richard Cortese]

Apollyon <Apol...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:37F553D1...@pacbell.net...

> I remember in the olden days when I had a GM mage on Pacific.
> Back then I used to be able to magically unlock chests that I found in
> shops, after red spawns, etc.
> I'm starting again and I'm unable to open anything. I've now spent
> about 2k in lockpicks to get my
> lockpick skill up to about 45, but I still can't pop a chest that I find
> out in the woods after a spawn.

I have been looking at lockpicking on TC. As others have informed me,
lockpicking skill is like cartography or anatomy, it is not difficulty
based. It does seem like busting a few lockpicks from time to time gets the
skill unstuck, but for the most part you just want a wooden crate made by a
~20 skill level tinker to practice on.

I didn't follow this as close as I usually do, but the break even point for
lockpicking seems to be somewhere around 70-80. That is, at that skill level
you can go into a dungeon and loot from lockpicking chests will cover the
cost of reagents and busted picks.

I have also noticed that the difficulty of opening a crate never seems to
change. That is, if you broke 10 picks trying to open a crate this time, you
will probably break 10 every time you try to open that one. Stick with the
ones you know you can open.

>
> Does magic unlock only apply to magic lock now?

No, it still works on level 1 treasure chests.

> What kind of lockpicking skill is needed to get these chests open?
> Is it worth the money in broken picks?

Matter of style, but HUGELY WORTH IT! I put this one right up there with
latest/greatest skills like meditation.

Don't even bother with the town chests except for one outside the guard area
in Serpent's Hold, I can show you where it is. The dungeon crates are where
it is at, you lockpick in a sec, cast a couple of telekinesis spells to get
rid of the traps, and tons of loot: Plate, shields, page 1-8 spells,
weapons.

Currently stuck at 97ish skill on TC and there is nothing I can't open
('cept treasure chest from maps). The average value of crates is close to
200 gold each. Only limiting factor is mana for casting and the constant
selling you have to do. I am not joking about this part, you really spend
1/3 your time waiting on the mana train and another 1/2 getting rid of the
loot.
>
> Ariel of Hokuto
>

[Apollyon]

Thanks for the reply, your feedback is always helpful.
I'll try approaching a dungeon, but the way I remember it, they were
always a feeding ground for PK's waiting for you to brave the chests
so they could whack you.
The chest in Serpent's sounds interesting as well. I'll have a look-see.
The chests I was using were in "A Gir'ls Best Friend." The jeweler
in East Britain.