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I'm not sure I've come across a lockpicking minigame that feels quite as brutal as the one in Gothic Remake, especially when you're untrained. I guess it's probably quite similar to how it would feel if I gave you a lockpick and asked you to open a locked chest in real life (assuming you're not some kind of master thief on the sly).
Luckily, like most things in Gothic, it becomes significantly easier if you invest in training and gather plenty of lockpicks to use when you're intent on cracking open a container and filching some items. So, here are the fundamentals of lockpicking, how to make it easier, and where to get more picks.
How to lockpick in Gothic Remake
Gothic has some of the hardest lockpicking I've encountered in an RPG, especially when tackling complex locks with six sliders. You can see me lockpicking a chest during The Cult's Recipe quest above. Otherwise, here's a brief rundown of how it works:
- Your goal is to align all of the sliders: Each slider has seven holes and your job is to align them all (by selecting and moving each) so the copper-coloured pin is in the middle hole for each of them. When a slider is correctly aligned, the pin will stick out of the hole.
- Sliders move other sliders: The tricky part is that moving a slider will either:
- Move just that slider
- Move other sliders in the same direction
- Move other sliders in the opposite direction
- Lockpicks have durability: If a slider hits either side of the lock (which you'll know because it will be unable to move and will rattle), it will cost one durability. By default, lockpicks have two durability. When a pick breaks, the lock will reset, though you can also reset it at any time by pressing R. Though, if you exit lockpicking and your pick has any strain on it already, it will break.
- Training improves lockpick durability and adds break bonuses: If you're Trained, a pick will take four strains and the lock won't reset on a break. If you're a Master, it takes six strains, but a break will also remove a connection within the lock, simplifying the relationship between the sliders so it's easier to solve.
So, if you're serious about lockpicking, you'll want to get some training as soon as possible. If you pursue the Casting Shadows quest for Diego, you can ask him about teachers, and he will recommend you speak to Fingers in the Old Camp.
If you head left from the castle entrance, past Snaf and his cauldron, you'll find Fingers' shack up the slope to your right. He can train you in lockpicking, provided you have the ore nuggets and learning points from levelling up.
How to get lockpicks in Gothic Remake
Your best bet for acquiring lockpicks is either by keeping an eye out for them while exploring the world, particularly in prisoner-inhabited areas, or by buying them from Mordrag in the Old Camp. This New Camp representative is sitting on a bench outside a shack on the east side of the cloth-covered market area, in the south of the camp.
He sells them for 13 ore a piece, which is fairly expensive, so you're better off finding them and save-scumming to preserve your picks when you actually do some lockpicking. You can also buy them from Dexter in the same market area, the merchant who gives you The Cult's Recipe quest.
