Is there a way to find out a lock's difficulty?

[Uberzaki]

So people seem to suggest to try a chest five times before giving up, and they never suggest a way to find the lock's difficulty. Just want to confirm there isn't a way for my own peace of mind.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Without taking a look at game file internals there is no way how to determine lock difficulty. Theoretically, one could use the console and gradually increase the thief's skill value by +5 until the first attempt at opening a lock succeeds, but that would be quite some effort.

[Uberzaki]

Yeah, that would be a lot of effort. Anyway, thanks for the answer

[garytwinem]

Bashing 'em open with your tank or casting Knock sorts them in most cases.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by garytwinem:

Bashing 'em open with your tank or casting Knock sorts them in most cases.

There's a table for that:
--> https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Strength#Bashing

[Redwood]

Does knock work pretty well?

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Knock spell is limited to one lock. In rooms, houses and dungeons with more locks the party thief cannot open, the wizard must memorize Knock more than once - or rest as to refresh spells. Resting indoors isn't an option always.

[drae_perin]

Locks and traps do not exceed 100 by any meaningful degree in BG 1 or 2. In 1 I don't even think they exceed 100, which means you only need to be able to reach 91 or so ( not sure what the minimum is because I always exceed it just to minimize clicking 20 times on the same object ). If you make it your goal to always be able to reach 95 lockpicking by some combination of skills and bonuses you can usually clean out any area with ease.

This is what potions, dexterity bonuses, bashing (and strength bonuses), and Knock are for.

Just brainstorming, here are some things:

Bashing with a strength of 19 is equivalent to a lockpicking skill of 50, and each point above that add 5 more, capping this method at 80 if you reach 25 strength.

Potions of Master Thievery grant you a 40 point bonus to lockpicking, they last for 6 game hours (that's half an hour of real time), and they stack. You can clear out entire towns of loot with a rogue that has a pitiful 15-20 lockpicking skill just by using these cheap potions efficiently.

Potions of Perception grant you a 20 point bonus, useful if you don't actually need 40 points or you don't want to stretch out your resources a little. They also help you with finding traps, which means even fewer total points required to be an efficient rogue. Stacks with Potions of Master Thievery, I am not sure if multiple potions of perception stack with themselves.

Every point of dexterity you can buff yourself up with (over 15) grants you five points of lockpicking ability. Even a minimum dexterity rogue can use a potion of Agility to temporarily reach 18 dexterity, gaining 15 points of lockpicking skill for 3 game hours (15 minutes). Potions of Mind Focusing give you +3 dexterity allowing you to go even further if you already have 18 or higher dexterity, for 12 game hours (a full hour of +15 lockpicking and probably +15 to other basic rogue skills, depending on what your starting dexterity is, they all have different thresholds for bonuses from dexterity). If you happen to be a Cleric Thief you can use Draw Upon Holy Might to boost your Dexterity for a short time too.

And Knock just obliterates any lock that can be lockpicked, probably the best option if there is only one lock left in an area that you couldn't pick, or if you're just not willing to spend money on potions (I don't personally understand, almost any small amount of loot is more valuable than the potions).

It's probably a waste but a potion of Power grants you +20 to thieving skills for 4 turns. Speaking of "it exists but probably isn't a good idea" the Luck spell gives you +5 to thieving skills, but Knock is so much more useful in terms of taking up a spell slot.

Don't be afraid to get creative either, a low dex rogue can temporarily equip the Guantlets of Dexterity instead of drinking Potions of Agility, and probably a handful of other stuff I just couldn't think of or don't even know about.

You don't need to know the level of a lock if you assume a 90+ lock will usually be present, and you prepare for that.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by drae_perin:

Locks and traps do not exceed 100 by any meaningful degree in BG 1 or 2. In 1 I don't even think they exceed 100,

There are traps that cannot disarmed with skill 130. They can be detected at 90-100, but cannot be disarmed then.

[drae_perin]

A good bit of additional information, some traps and locks are not meant to be disarmed or unlocked by spells or rogue skills. These complex and spell warded mechanisms require a key, lever, switch, or some other trick to disarm them that is entirely independent from spells and rogue skills.

You will never need a Find Traps skill over 100 in BG EE, or 102 in BG2 EE.

A Find Traps skill of 103, 130, or more is a waste of skill points.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by drae_perin:

You implied that a rogue might actually benefit from a trap find skill of more than 130, which is wrong, and detrimental to other players who might believe you.

There are traps that cannot disarmed with skill 130. That is in response to you claiming that
"Locks and traps do not exceed 100 by any meaningful degree in BG 1 or 2." It could be a few traps in either game can only be found but cannot be disarmed, and then a skill value higher than 130 won't suffice.

Originally posted by drae_perin:

In the future be less argumentative, don't address other people directly in an attempt to put them down or correct them when you either aren't sure that what you are saying is correct or what you have to say is not contributing to the discussion in a meaningful way.

I didn't address you directly, but quoted you. Major difference.

[drae_perin]

Open Locks and Find Traps both use similar mechanics. The difference between your skill and the difficulty of the lock or trap determines the chance to successfully unlock, find, or disarm the lock or trap. If your skill is 1 point higher than the difficulty then success is guaranteed, assuming that the lock or trap is not special in nature. For every point less than (difficulty +1) you have a cumulative 10% chance of failure. That means that if your skill is 9 points or lower than the difficulty you cannot succeed, and that a skill 8 points lower will have only a 10% chance to succeed.

In BG EE traps have a difficulty level for detection that is separate from the difficulty level for disarming them, both use the same skill, Detect Traps. Trap detection difficulty is usually lower than trap disarming difficulty; sometimes you can find a trap that you are not able to disarm. Trap detection difficulty in BG1 EE only reaches 91, while disarm difficulty can be as high as 99. This means that in in BG1 EE you can reliably find traps with a skill of 92, but you can only reliably disarm traps with a Find traps skill of 100, any more points in find traps is a waste of skill points, and other resources. In BG2 EE detection difficulty goes up to 99, while disarm difficulty can be 101. In BG2 EE you may prefer to have a Find Traps skill of 102 just for perfection's sake, anything more is a waste of skill points.

Keep in mind that there are special traps that CANNOT BE DISARMED with a Find Traps skill of any level. These are complex or highly enchanted traps that can only be disarmed by special methods, like solving a puzzle, pulling a lever, or possessing a key item. This is why saying that "some traps can't be disarmed with a trap skill of 130+" is misleading and disinformation; these special traps have a detection difficulty in the normal range so that the player can find and avoid them, while they have an "impossible" disarm difficulty because they are only meant to be disarmed by special conditions.

Locks work in the same manner. BG1 EE lock difficulty only goes up to 95; an Open Locks skill of 96 guarantees success, and more points than that is a waste. BG2 EE lock difficulty only reaches 99; an Open Locks skill of 100 guarantees success. This is assuming that the lock is not a complex or highly enchanted lock that CANNOT BE UNLOCKED with an Open Locks skill of any level; these locks require you to solve a puzzle, find a key, or do something special to unlock them. Knock is not able to unlock these types of locks either; though I am unsure if there are certain exceptions.

This is what is meant by a "meaningful degree", you can easily aim for the minimum chance to unlock the most difficult locks if you are willing to click furiously for a little while, and even invest minimal points in disarm traps if you don't mind the risk of triggering the trap, in order to save some points for other skills. More to the point, you can use various methods, mentioned previously, to temporarily improve your skills, or bypass them entirely, and save even more skill points for a more interesting and flexible Rogue build.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by drae_perin:

You do not seem to understand how traps and locks actually work in BG EE 1 or 2, which is why I encouraged you to refrain from commenting about the mechanics involved. Continuing to argue over this will only reflect poorly on you. Please delete your poorly written comments.

Request refused. All that matters is that there are traps in the games that can be spotted but not disarmed. It is a fact that not even raising FindTraps skill to 130 is sufficient in those cases.

Originally posted by drae_perin:

You are spreading disinformation either
because you are ignorant or you have trouble expressing your thoughts clearly.

Kindly avoid flaming. None of my posts in this topic were wrong or misleading.

[drae_perin]

For anyone that may be confused by this mess:

An Open Locks skill of 96 is the most you will ever need in BG EE.

A Find Traps skill of 100 is the most you will ever need in BG EE.

An Open Locks skill of 100 is the most you will ever need in BG2 EE.

A Find Traps skill of 102 is the most you will ever need in BG2 EE.

Any trap or lock that cannot be disarmed or unlocked with this level of skill cannot be disarmed or unlocked by the Find Traps or Open Locks skills. These special Traps and Locks can only be unlocked by solving the puzzle or finding the key associated with the Trap or Lock.

This information is accurate to the best of my knowledge and sourced from :
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Thief

[Redwood]

Thanks for information. Now I will put some points toward pickpocketing.

[drae_perin]

I sincerely hope it helps make Rogues even more fun :D