Need advice on Lockpicking/disarming

[Jolena]

When GSIV came out, I opted to drop lockpicking/disarming for better hunting skills and became a pure hunter for Jolena. However recently I have decided that I wanted to resume lockpicking and disarming for an alternate way to gain experience and to keep me from being bored with hunt hunt hunt.

So many changes have occurred with lockpicking/disarming however that I find myself on new ground once more. I managed to keep all my old skills as they were (with the exception of armor which I dropped down some to accomodate my wearing brig and never planning to change that) and pick up 1x in lockpicking and disarming with 2x in perception.

Obviously I'm in guild so I can utilize lockpick mastery skills that way, but I need some help/advice on how I can guage how high of a lock/trap I can handle with 46 ranks in each at this point.
My dex bonus is 24.

Any ideas/opinions please?

[Alfster]

I'm not one for forumals, I really have no clue about them.

For a while, I also had dropped my picking skils, then went to 1x. What I did, was basically trial and error. I started low, and then picked higher, and I found that 1x picking sucks, and I dropped a couple of ranks of PT as well as arcane symbols and went back to 2x picking. At your train, 1x picking is not going to do much good in my eyes, hell I need lores to pick roa'ters, which are a couple of levels below me.

[TheEschaton]

1x in lockpicking/disarming is pointless. You can't even pick your own boxes at that difficulty.

The problem with the jack-of-all-tradeness of rogues is that you can't excel in any one thing. IF you want to be a really amazing locksmith (3x), then you need to give up some, and be, at best, an at par hunter. IF you want to be a tanked, hunting rogue, then you have to give up lockpicking. If you want to do both, you won't be all that great at either.

-TheE-

[Prosperanna]

Is it safe to say that if you 3x disarm and picking locks, you should be able to open boxes from critters that are your own level?

[Nieninque]

and some way above you

[Jorddyn]

Obviously I'm in guild so I can utilize lockpick mastery skills that way, but I need some help/advice on how I can guage how high of a lock/trap I can handle with 46 ranks in each at this point.
My dex bonus is 24.

You're roughly on par with a level 14 tripler. You should be able to handle zombies, warfs and the like. Anything over that will likely give you problems.

My advice? If you 1x, don't expect to be able to pick your own boxes, unless you have lore, or don't mind breaking a lot of picks.


Originally posted by Prosperanna
Is it safe to say that if you 3x disarm and picking locks, you should be able to open boxes from critters that are your own level?

With rare exceptions, yes.

Jorddyn

[TheEschaton]

My rogue is doubled and picked up the lores, and he can pick above his head, at like, 52 trains......


-TheE-

[Parkbandit]

Originally posted by TheEschaton
1x in lockpicking/disarming is pointless. You can't even pick your own boxes at that difficulty.

The problem with the jack-of-all-tradeness of rogues is that you can't excel in any one thing. IF you want to be a really amazing locksmith (3x), then you need to give up some, and be, at best, an at par hunter. IF you want to be a tanked, hunting rogue, then you have to give up lockpicking. If you want to do both, you won't be all that great at either.

-TheE-

I don't know.. my rogue is a tank and can pick anything he can hunt. 3x picking/disarming isn't necessary in my opinion.. unless you ONLY want to pick. If you 2x pick/disarm and get 4 spells in the minor elemental.. you can be great at both hunting and picking.

[Cayge]

Originally posted by TheEschaton
1x in lockpicking/disarming is pointless. You can't even pick your own boxes at that difficulty.

The problem with the jack-of-all-tradeness of rogues is that you can't excel in any one thing. IF you want to be a really amazing locksmith (3x), then you need to give up some, and be, at best, an at par hunter. IF you want to be a tanked, hunting rogue, then you have to give up lockpicking. If you want to do both, you won't be all that great at either.

-TheE-

I disagree with that statement, I can pick very well, hunt very well and hide, very well. With age, it gets easier to diversify, I've found and Cayge is my main. I will leave my skills below. I can pick to at least 20-25 over my head. My DEX is maxed at 105, [gift item bonus] and that helps out as well.

Cayge (at level 49), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 178 78
Shield Use.........................| 147 47
Combat Maneuvers...................| 168 68
Edged Weapons......................| 202 102
Ambush.............................| 176 76
Physical Fitness...................| 149 49
Dodging............................| 184 84
Arcane Symbols.....................| 50 10
Magic Item Use.....................| 62 13
Disarming Traps....................| 234 134
Picking Locks......................| 234 134
Stalking and Hiding................| 225 125
Perception.........................| 223 123
Climbing...........................| 58 12
Swimming...........................| 40 8

[Jolena]

Well, I spose I should clarify here for you all. I don't -need- to be a really great locksmith. I am only picking it up for something else to do besides hunt hunt hunt. I realize I can only pick mid 20's right now and disarm up to around 130 or so.. because since I made this thread I have found information I needed and tested it. And I'm okay with that figure because my main desire will always be to hunt well. I dropped NOTHING from my hunting skills to do lockpicking. The only thing I sacrificed was my armor ranks and as I said I was already doing that because I won't wear anything more then brig.

I do have to disagree that you can't be good at one thing and be so so at the other, TheE because I am able to still hunt just as well as I did before I picked up locksmithing since I didn't drop or lose the ability to train just as much in the skills I was training in before.

(at level 44), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 120 30
Shield Use.........................| 167 67
Combat Maneuvers...................| 192 92
Edged Weapons......................| 192 92
Ambush.............................| 192 92
Multi Opponent Combat..............| 70 15
Physical Fitness...................| 146 46
Dodging............................| 192 92
Magic Item Use.....................| 93 21
Harness Power......................| 10 2
Survival...........................| 146 46
Disarming Traps....................| 149 49
Picking Locks......................| 148 48
Stalking and Hiding................| 192 92
Perception.........................| 192 92
Climbing...........................| 128 34
Swimming...........................| 58 12

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and advice though!

[Edited on 9-30-2004 by Jolena]

[TheEschaton]

My rogue can hunt in the Blighted Forest at 52. I'm not saying its hard to be a good fighter AND a good locksmith, it's just that I'd be better availed to hunt if I didn't have the 2x locks/traps/4 spells. I'd be able to double CM, for one thing, which would improve my combat greatly, my redux would be greater, etc, etc, etc.

As it is, my rogue demolishes the Forest. Mainly because he's using a fel hafter in the Forest and nothing there wears much in terms of armor, but it's a hit-or-be-hit sort of situation, and as a dark elf, being hit doesn't work too well for the general status of my health. I still have to run from the boars and their stupid uncrittableness.

-TheE-

[Ivex]

I'm the middle grounds type, I've 2x'd Disarm/Picking, but also my Edged Weapons, Armor and Hiding/Ambushing. I can pick the boxes of the critters I kill rather easily. I pick frost giant boxes on a regular basis and I'm 32, so I can pick a little over my head.

[Alfster]

Originally posted by Ivex
I'm the middle grounds type, I've 2x'd Disarm/Picking, but also my Edged Weapons, Armor and Hiding/Ambushing. I can pick the boxes of the critters I kill rather easily. I pick frost giant boxes on a regular basis and I'm 32, so I can pick a little over my head.

If I remember correctly, the frost giant boxes are insanely easy for their train...when they went up in levels at the switch, their boxes stayed the same...so in reality, those are like 19 train boxes

[hectomaner]

at level 37, my rogue is a few ranks shy of being 2x in disarm, and is 2.5x in picking, i was 3x in both, but then dropped down disarm and picking a bit to learn up to 404, and now i'm letting them level off to 2x so i can get more CM and MOC. my best trap is -250 and best lock is -720, both with lore, i know i can pick better, but havent gotten a box higher so far, and i can hunt pretty well too

thing ive found though, being able to pick things 10-20 levels over your head isnt really a good judgment, i'm able to pick wynebs wich i'm told are like 65ish, but they are cake, as where some stone sent/banshee/mtk boxes are twice as hard, but not nearly as old. ive found quite a few older critters that the boxes are pretty damn easy, so sometimes picking over your head isnt that big of a deal.

and yes, the frost giant boxes are easy, the age went up, but not the boxes