Lock Locks are found throughout the wasteland on doors , safes and boxes . In " Fallout 3 " , " " , and " Fallout 4 " , the player character can use their Lockpick skill to pick a lock using bobby pin s . Some can also be unlocked with keys . Lockpicking in " Fallout " , " Fallout 2 " and " " . Picking locks in older " Fallout " games is simpler than in " Fallout 3 " and " Fallout : New Vegas " ; instead of a mini - game , a lockpick skill roll will take place every time the skill is used on a door or a container . A successful roll will open the lock , a failure will not . A critical failure will either break the lockpicks or jam the lock itself , rendering it unavailable until the next day . The Lockpick skill can be used on unlocked doors and containers as well , and locking them will give the same amount of experience as unlocking a locked one ( 25 XP ) . Note that each door or container can only give experience once via lockpicking . Lockpicking in " Fallout 3 " , " " and " Fallout 4 " . Lock difficulties . Fallout 3 and Fallout : New Vegas . Locks come in 5 difficulties : very easy , easy , average , hard and very hard . Which locks can be picked depends on one ' s Lockpick skill ( see table to the right ) . Difficulty and the Lockpick skill also determine the probability of success for an attempt to force a lock open . Force lock . It is also possible to skip the mini game by attempting to force a lock open . The probability of success for this action depends on the Lockpick skill and the difficulty of the lock . This is far less reliable than the mini game , as the only combination which has a 100 % success rate is a very easy lock with a Lockpick skill of 90 - 100 ; every other combination will have a smaller percentage . Failing to force the lock open it will break it , and no other attempt at opening it can be made without the Infiltrator perk ( which grants a second attempt ) or the appropriate key . Fallout 4 . Locks come in 4 difficulties : novice , advanced , expert and master . Which locks can be picked depends on one ' s Locksmith skill ( see table to the right ) . Experience points . Depending on its difficulty ( harder locks reward more XP ) , successfully opening a lock grants an amount of XP . Without any XP reward - increasing perks , each level rewards the lockpicker with the XP shown in the table above . Picking a lock . In order to pick a lock you must have a Lockpick skill high enough for the difficulty of the lock , and you must possess one or more bobby pins . Bobby pins are weightless items , often found in first aid kits and locked containers . If the conditions are met , a mini game is activated . A bobby pin and screwdriver ( a free , weightless item which does not appear in the inventory ) are inserted into the keyhole of the lock . The lockpicker attempts to find the correct position for the pin , which is checked by turning the screwdriver as if it were a key . The further the screwdriver turns the lock , the closer the pin is to the correct position . Once the screwdriver is able to turn the lock a full 90 degrees , the lock opens . The basic premise is complicated by several factors . If the lockpicker fails to determine the correct position of the lock too many times , the bobby pin will break , forcing them to use another in order to continue the attempt . The number of times it takes for a pin to break varies , as placing too much force on the screwdriver will cause it to break faster than a light touch . The integrity of the pin can be roughly tracked by how violently it shakes on a failed attempt . When it is about to break , it will bounce out of the center position . The mini game can be exited and restarted , which will prevent the pin from breaking , but this will also reset the correct position for the pin . Since there are dozens of bobby pins in the main game alone , it is often more practical to simply break one or two pins on a difficult lock . In addition , the difficulty level of the lock determines how accurately the bobby pin must be placed and how easy the pin is to break . A very easy lock needs little to no pin adjustment for a successful attempt , in turn making the likelihood of breaking a pin low . A very hard lock , conversely , requires extremely precise placement , and thus the repeated checks to find the correct position will wear out a pin quickly . In the add - on Automatron , the player can modify robots with the lockpick module , which gives them the ability to open locked doors and containers . Controls for PC computers . The bobby pin is moved with the mouse , in a semi - circle around the top of the lock . The screwdriver is moved by tapping any movement key . In order to get the most out of a single pin , it is recommended to gently tap the screwdriver until it encounters resistance , then adjust the pin position and repeat until the lock is opened . Controls for consoles and joypads . The bobby pin is moved with one analog stick , and the screwdriver with the other . The controller will vibrate with the wiggling of the bobby pin , and vibrate strongly as it starts to break . As with on computer machines , a light touch is recommended to keep the pin intact as long as possible . Behind the scenes . The way in which lock picking is portrayed in " Fallout 3 " and " Fallout : New Vegas " is almost completely inaccurate . A torque wrench ( screwdriver ) and a pick ( bobby pin ) are present , but the action of actually picking the lock is nothing like what a pin tumbler lock or most other locks with a cylindrical design would require to successfully manipulate the lock .