Lock Mastery question

[Deathravin]

What would prevent somebody from just training in picking locks enough to use a veniom lockpick (25 trains in Picking) then killing as many lowbee things as you can to get boxes for it? That would mean at rank 62, you still only need a -200 for 'hard boxes' reps, and a -178 for audience reps...

[fallenSaint]

That was actually my tactic when I started, lowered my smithing so I could keep a steady supply of boxes right at my top end.

[Zarli]

yeah, I stopped training my rogue in picking to help me get through lock mastery too.. she's 64 and can still pick pretty well but I dropped a bunch of her ranks in picking awhile back because it was way too hard to get a rep.

[Gnomad]

What would prevent somebody from just training in picking locks enough to use a veniom lockpick (25 trains in Picking) then killing as many lowbee things as you can to get boxes for it?the fact that they can only pick as well as a level 12 rogue would probably be the major deterrent

hth

[Deathravin]

Well if you're level 30 or something and you can slaughter hundreds of something for a bunch of boxes all day long then just go pick em all - things that drop -200 boxes are pretty easy... But ya, hunting and picking your own boxes would be a problem.

[AestheticDeath]

My plan was either 40 or 50 ranks of picking and hunting the glacier or similar type of area. Warfarers and stuff. With only 50 ranks you could still pick -500 or higher locks. With lore. And still able to use all the way to vaalin picks.

[B2]

Don't forget to mod down your lockpicks.

I can't recall how many times you have to break it before you can't use it for a rep. 10 or so? 15? But you can still use the metal on way easier locks for reps.

[Zarli]

at 64 my rogue can still pick up to temple stuff in Illistim.. after I learned the ability to wedge stuff open I dont worry about it too much, then it's just a matter of wedging my own boxes or a customers.. I still triple in traps, but I can get reps from everything from the big boxes from around trali with an alum I think and of course the bigger stuff with Vaalin.

[Deathravin]

Is there a critter that you have noticed that drops boxes at an unusually high rate?

[g++]

Lichs and monks used too in MC

[Zarli]

I used to get a lot of boxes from the moors and it seems like Trali drop a decent amount but they're pretty poor. I guess if you just care about having a box to pick and not the contents, they're ok.

[SolitareConfinement]

back when i used to hunt them....(years ago) zombies in the landing dropped boxes like crazy...very very very poor...but boxes none the less. not sure if they still drop tons of boxes or not though

[Deathravin]

I think I remember zombie boxes... that might be a good idea.

[Gibreficul]

I'll just say that if you keep your picking ranks way low, the range of locks you can rep from becomes a very very small window.

As for something that drops a ton of boxes. TERAS. Something is always dropping boxes there. If it isn't mages, it's pyros, or sand devils, or banshees, or the basalt flats.... Other than the flats, the locks should be good for any locksmith to get even tuff lock reps from.

[NocturnalRob]

I'll just say that if you keep your picking ranks way low, the range of locks you can rep from becomes a very very small window.

As for something that drops a ton of boxes. TERAS. Something is always dropping boxes there. If it isn't mages, it's pyros, or sand devils, or banshees, or the basalt flats.... Other than the flats, the locks should be good for any locksmith to get even tuff lock reps from.

and if you head to teras in your early 20s, even the trolls in greymist drop decent boxes for your age

[SolitareConfinement]

there are days that mages will drop boxes more than anything ive seen...i remember days it would take me 3-4 hunts to fry simply because of the boxes my containers would fill that fast even with a disk...so if you can handle major e-wave every 2 seconds, and annoying death gazes, then fire mages is the place for you

[Gibreficul]

there are days that mages will drop boxes more than anything ive seen...i remember days it would take me 3-4 hunts to fry simply because of the boxes my containers would fill that fast even with a disk...so if you can handle major e-wave every 2 seconds, and annoying death gazes, then fire mages is the place for you

For a rogue... stealth kills mages. They're in robes, as are sprites, and the tsarks can be avoided to some extent, and are still only in brig. Mages die to an eye shot, sprites stun easily. If you snipe (hurl or ranged) or use a flaring weapon from hiding, or silentstrike to deal the death blow, you can avoid the death throes totally. So, if you're a locksmith on top of all that, and they're dropping boxes like crazy, who cares if you fry during the hunt, you'll fry afterwards.

[fallenSaint]

As far as finding a fair supply of boxes I found that no matter what I never could gather enough between my crew and a friends and we hunted pretty regularly. I finally wound up just picking public to finish most of it off, probably a safer bet if you wanna burn through it faster is pick a location and find a average of boxes and get a few picks lined up to do it with and adjust your skills from there.

If your able to do Barrier boxes those seem to always be in good supply for when I did it. Also I really really really loved using Golvern picks broken and repaired or in any such fashion when you can use them. If you can get boxes just at the tip of your range you can keep trying with that pick without snapping the effer.

[Deathravin]

That brings up another question...

Rank 25 = Veniom = 2.2
Rank 30 = Kelyn = 2.4
Rank 35 = Invar = 2.25
Rank 40 = Glovern = 2.3
Rank 50 = Vaalin = 2.5

Alright, so I'd say that Box Difficulty is based on 2x picking locks skills for that level. So rank 25 = level 12 mobs' boxes. Ogre Warriors lets say have boxes that don't generally go above -250, so that's about right for maximum.

You can just hunt ogre warriors over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over... Forever and ever.

Use the boxes to get experience (and level lockmastery). Wonder how much xp per hour you could get by keeping your picking locks skill level low and leveling that way...

[Gibreficul]

When Gib was about level 85-90ish, he spent an entire level gaining experience from fire mage boxes. It wasn't as fast as hunting for experience, but it wasn't a slow process either. The EMPATH was learning a ton....

[Deathravin]

In prime I really wanted to get master in lockmastery, so I had a sorcerer just outside of learning from Vruul hunting them just for the boxes, come back and give them to my waiting rogue who could use them for the cool down time between customers.

My rogue (on different boxes than just vruul) had picked for my sorcerer from level 15 to 45, never hunted seriously once. Maybe the occasional fry here and there just from doing sweep critter reps, and needing to kill a mob or 10 while he was there.

But he was a professional picker for a long time. My sorcerer went from 0 to 56, all the while my rogue picking all of his and some others boxes leveled right there with him for quite a while.

What I'm saying though, is the fact that you could potentially get a few ranks of picking, and slaughter kobolds and other level 1 box carriers, and fry off their boxes until a respectable level (60 or so). Or get up to a level of skill that you could master LM (minimum ranks to master LM is 25), and just kill zombies and the like forever.

[fallenSaint]

My Rogue when I actually play him has gone from 65-78ish off picking alone, granted if I sat down and hunted non stop I could do better but for just shootin the shit on the Dais and picking as they come in, staying on node and fried ... not bad learning at all its kinda relaxing actually. And on top of that if you get decent tippers and scarabs it all adds up nicely.

[Audriana]

Do you think I should change my policy from offering them the scarab to just pocketing it? LOL

[fallenSaint]

Well most people never liked my point of view on things but since scarabs were introduced my Rogues gave no option, if I found one it was mine. Dont think any of the Barrier hunters ever barked at me for keeping them thou think that was all Landing folk.

But yea keep scarabs, find a friend with tradeskill and bank off them its not tons but it adds up over time, I think they are a Rogues right.

[Zarli]

I think in all the time I've been picking I've only had maybe 5 people keep the scarab if it was offered to them, so rather than pissing off a customer by not at least offering it I just do.. 99% of the time I get to keep it anyway. The ones that kept the scarabs tipped pretty well too, so I didn't much care.

[Gibreficul]

Do you think I should change my policy from offering them the scarab to just pocketing it? LOL

I had a list of highlighted players who have kept scarabs, and/or commented about me keeping the scarab. Needless to say, I preferred to avoid working for those people than to explain to those people that without me, the bug doesn't exist. Town locksmith takes it, doesn't tell you it's there, and charges you MORE to open the box because he had to disarm it. Just say nothing. If that person is overly offended that you kept a scarab, you didn't need that customer anyway.

[g++]

I think in all the time I've been picking I've only had maybe 5 people keep the scarab

I can say the same if I replace the phrase in all the time I've been picking with last night.

[fallenSaint]

I had a list of highlighted players who have kept scarabs, and/or commented about me keeping the scarab. Needless to say, I preferred to avoid working for those people than to explain to those people that without me, the bug doesn't exist. Town locksmith takes it, doesn't tell you it's there, and charges you MORE to open the box because he had to disarm it. Just say nothing. If that person is overly offended that you kept a scarab, you didn't need that customer anyway.


I didnt wanna go into my spill of black listing people for bitching about it but yea, my kinda rogue right there.