How does lockpicking actually work?

[Millenia]

I first thought it was just find the next thingie to pop but you only have two options and what happens when neither of those two options work?

[Fiach]

Remember the patters of when they drop down after you get them up.
I start at the furthest away and work my way back, so at that stage you have pushed them all up and most likely some have dropped back down, then, work your way back to the start watching what causes subsequent ones to drop.

It's easy to "overthink" it, but it doesnt really make alot of sense until you get the the higher level loks that have maybe nine tumblers. But on the easier locks just randomly move back and forth until you get a feel for it, but it wont make much sense until you have a good few tumblers to contend with.

[Millenia]

I dont get it :<

[Pisolo]

It becomes very clear the very istant you wrap your head around it.
You must move the lockpick from a piston to another, in the right sequence so that the tumblers that you already pushed up stay there.

So, first find a piston that once pushed up stay locked in up position. Then move slowly to another ADJACENT tumbler, and try to push it up as well. If that new tumbler locks in up position, it means you probalby are on the right path, go for another ADJACENT tumbler and repeat. If that tumbler was not the right one in the sequence, then the tumbler you previously pushed and locked up is released, and you have to go back to it and restart the whole sequence. You must complete the sequence by having ALL of the piston locked in up posiition. Obviously the less the tumblers the easier the lock to pick.

If you can't manage it, it means you started the sequence from the wrong tumbler. Try another one and see if you can build the whole sequence from there.

What makes everything easier is the fact you can move only through ADJACENT tumblers. So if both the tumblers adjacent to the one you just locked in up position are not the right ones as next in the sequence (ie: pushing any of them up activates the release of the tumbler you already locked in up position) means that you started the sequence from the wrong tumbler. Find another that locks in up position when touched, and move on from there.

Let's say you have a lock with just 3 tumblers (actually the easiest lock in the game is comprised of 4 tumblers). If you push up tumbler A, and it stays locked, now you MUST move to tumbler B (no other option: you can't jump to tumbler C) and so tumbler B MUST be the right choice in the sequence and it WILL stay locked up. So now you MUST move to tumbler C (no other possibile choice") and tumbler C WILL stay locked up.
That means that by trial and error you can easily pick any lock. Just try to remind (or write it down) the sequence while you move towards its completion.

It's way easier to do it than to explain it.

[Millenia]

But thats my problem, theres only 1 point to start at but suddenly both choices for continuation are wrong.

[Pisolo]

Originally posted by Millenia:

But thats my problem, theres only 1 point to start at but suddenly both choices for continuation are wrong.

That's not possibile. If there is only one place to start from you can be rest assured that one of the two adjacent pistons is the right next choice. How many pistons are in the lock you're picking?

[Millenia]

Cant remember, I think it was 5-6

[Pisolo]

Originally posted by Millenia:

Cant remember, I think it was 5-6

Any tumbler that stays locked up when touched can be a valid starting point for the sequence.

[Fiach]

As I said, dont overthink it, move all the way to the right and work your way back

[Aetrion]

If you encounter a situation where multiple tumblers stay up but they drop no matter in which direction you move you are doing them too early, start somewhere else.

I'm actually not sure what the logical basis for this puzzle is, but basically every tumbler has some tumblers that need to be up before it can be touched, so you need to figure out the order by just trying different combinations of left and right until you figure it out. Most simple locks can be solved by just running the lockpick back and forth through them a couple times. The more complex ones can have tumblers in the middle where you need to reverse direction.

Once you have multiple tumblers up and are at either end of the lock you can usually run straight through to the other end to open it, since there are no other possible combinations to consider anymore.

[akent]

With most locks so far, I just jam the mouse back and forth and voila, the thing unlocks. No rhyme or reason....