HOW TO LOCKPICK IN KINGDOM COME DELIVERANCE
Life in Kingdom Come Deliverance’s medieval setting is harsh and brutal, and worst of all, you start the game completely broke. Stealing is a risky but effective way of making some good coin early on in the game, and there’s many a hidden secret and alternative path to be discovered by breaking into locked areas. To do so, you’re going to have to master the game’s lockpicking. That’s easier said than done, though, because while lockpicking isn’t exactly a mechanic we haven’t seen in other RPGs before, it’s much more tricky in Kingdom Come Deliverance. Here’s how to lockpick chests and doors in the game.
Note that you’ll only be able to start picking locks once the armed forces arrive at the castle in which Henry is located. Once the ability has been made available in Kingdom Come Deliverance, the first item you need to acquire is a lockpick (duh), which can be purchased from a merchant, found in many different areas across the open world or given to you as a gift by other NPCs. Don’t worry too much about making a special effort to find them since they’re pretty easy to come by. That being said, it’s useful to have as many in your inventory as possible.
Before attempting to do any lockpicking in Kingdom Come Deliverance, do keep in mind that any guards that spot you in the act will arrest you, which could mean prison time and lost items. You can also view the difficulty of a lock as you approach it.
The lockpicking mechanic in the game is essentially about finding the correct spot and then rotating the lock. These are both controlled separately but must be done in unison. It’s fairly straightforward on PC, but extremely challenging with a dual analog controller setup. If you’re playing on PC with a controller, pop the gamepad down and use a mouse and keyboard for this particular activity.
Once you enter the lockpicking screen, immediately move the Cursor around the image with the right stick (PS4 and Xbox One) or Mouse (PC) until it turns yellow – this is how you’ll know you’ve located the correct spot. You’ll notice it stays yellow as you move around in a circular motion on holding that same line. Now comes the tricky part, you’ll need to remember on what line that spot remains yellow and hold it steady as you rotate the lock with a circular motion on the left stick (or pressing and holding “D” on PC). Since you need to spin the outer frame halfway around its circumference and it’s super easy to accidentally bump it off where it’s supposed to be (it moves up and down, not just counter-clockwise), the best strategy is to perform the motion in one single, fluid act. Remember that the vibration on the gamepad is an indication you are doing something wrong, so stay mindful of that and use it as a guideline. Your lockpick has a health bar, too, which needs to be considered as you feel the vibration building. Failing will break your lockpick.
Ultimately, lockpicking in Kingdom Come Deliverance is about practice and patience, but we highly recommend pouring skill points into the skill to make things easier. There is a quest early in the game involving Miller Peschek in which Henry can be taught lockpicking (the quest is called “The Good Thief”). Be sure to agree to do this. Miller will take you to a chest that offers an unlimited amount of tries and will always lock, even when you succeed. Remember, skills such as lockpicking can be upgraded, so just stick at it and utilize the skill as much as possible. As it levels, you’ll be granted the opportunity to upgrade the skill with new abilities (the first is at level 3).
That’s everything you should need in order to lockpick in Kingdom Come Deliverance. For more useful guides on the game, be sure to search for Twinfinite.
