Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity Original Sin - Beta Lockpicking Issues and suggestions

It's perfectly reasonable and (abused as the word often is) immersive to have a key for every lock because people don't generally install locks on things without having keys to get them open. That's particularly true of things they'll be using often (like the door to their house). Sure, someone might occasionally lose a key, but the key is still somewhere to be found (even if it's hard to get at), and if the person actually wants access to the thing then they'll change the lock.

I don't like the idea of damaging or destroying contents if you force the thing open. In practice, forcing open a container (or even a door) would normally involve prying it open with a crowbar or breaking the lock itself, not obliterating the entire door/container a greataxe or fireball (something that is really only done in emergencies); that the game mechanics force the latter on the PC is actually a fault in the design (one common to CRPGs, admittedly).

In fact, it's perfectly reasonable that towns are usually the only place where you'd bother picking a lock - they're typically the only place where getting one open without attracting the attention of the owner and/or guards actually matters. Of course, town is often the place where the key will be in the possession of its owner, which means that picking the lock is an alternative to trying to get the key from that person by whatever method, and that's advantageous enough if you're trying to avoid notice.

And yes, it is quite weird to have lockpicks be 'used up' by picking a single lock. They're not disposable items (at least no more so than other hardware), nor are they particularly fragile. (This is also a case where lockpicking gets arbitrarily singled out for some reason: it's not like the game requires you to get a new repair hammer for every item you mend or a new magnifying glass for every item you inspect.)


So no, I don't like the idea of forcing lockpicking on every party to avoid destroying loot; like many others, it's a situational skill and its value is plot-dependent, but that's as it should be. I do agree with the above poster that the 'disposable lockpick' model is a silly one and makes the skill difficult to justify or use even in scenarios where it should be a valid or outright optimal approach.