Starfield lockpicking: How to pick locks every time

Lockpicking is one of the primary features in Starfield, as it is in all Bethesda titles. However, the mechanic has been changed drastically from the traditional lockpicking system that Elder Scrolls and Fallout fans have grown accustomed to.

As Starfield is set 300 years into the future, you will no longer get to use a simple hairpin to lockpick safes, doors, and other locked objects. Instead, you use what’s called a “Digpick,” which is a cylindrical item that you can find on the bodies of dead enemies, inside containers, and on top of desks, among other places.

With your Digpick, you will have to solve a series of security lock puzzles, which can be extremely confusing when you first look at it.

How lockpicking works in Starfield

When you go to open a locked object in Starfield, you will need to have at least one Digpick in your inventory. If you have a single Digpick, you will look through it and proceed to the lockpicking screen.

Your first time picking a lock will prompt a tutorial on the screen, but it doesn’t do a great job of explaining what you need to do. So, I will list out precisely what you need to do below.

• On the lockpicking screen, you will see a certain number of circles with lines under the “Digpicks” box. You will then see a larger version of the circle you have selected in the middle of the screen
• Your job is to use your movement controls to rotate the lines on the outer edge of the circle to fit in with the gaps on the chunkier lines in the middle of the circle
• If you find that the circle you have selected doesn’t have lines that match up with the puzzle, then you need to select a new circle and see if it has the correct lines
• If it does, then you need to press the “Slot Key” keybind. This will trigger a new puzzle to appear, which has new gaps for lines to fit into
• You need to then repeat the process, going through all of the remaining circles until you find the one with the proper line orientation.
• Once you have found the right combination for all four circles, the lock will open

This is a confusing process to explain. My best advice is to go through and select each circle first. Then, you should have a better understanding of which one is needed to complete your current puzzle. It will take some time to fully grasp, but once you understand what to do, you’ll be lockpicking like a pro in Starfield.