The most annoying thing on Tamriel for Skyrim fans: having doors and chests locked when you DON’T have lockpicking. Any of us knows what it feels like to end up with no picks at all staring at a Master lock, sweating it like it’s the real deal interrogation. The way out is there; save scumming doesn’t apply to this life.
Just in case you didn’t spec into the Thieves Guild lifestyle or absolutely hate the lockpicking minigame, this is where Alteration magic comes in. The magic that changes iron into gold (albeit temporarily) is also good for opening locks to some extent. Reminds us of that official Skyrim tweet: “Open Lock” spells exist and are criminally underused.
So, things to keep in mind before casting “Unlock” on every door in Whiterun. Much like the locks themselves, the spells come in tiers. You have got:
– “Unlock” for Novice locks (the baby ones)
– “Knock” for Apprentice locks (still pretty easy)
– You know what comes down the line.
However, if you try to apply the basic “Unlock” spell on a Master lock, the key point is you might as well forget about it. Magic fizzles, the lock laughs at you, and you just wasted some magicka. Same rules go for spell level versus lock level, it’s like trying to bring along your right-sized key.
Why isn’t anyone using it? Mostly probably because Alteration isn’t the glam one out there. Nobody’s flexing with his “Detect Life” spells when he could be hurling fireballs. But really, for full utility? Alteration is lowkey OP. Water breathing, paralysis, and this: lock opening, a Swiss army knife of magic.
Hay, pro tip for mage builds: when diving through dungeons, keep one open-lock spell hot key. There is nothing more frustrating than finding some great loot in a chest behind an Expert lock while you’re 20 pounds of dragon bones over your limit; fast travel is absolutely out of the question at that point. Just zap it open and take your reward.
But why in the world was Bethesda not making that more obvious? Lockpicking gets a whole skill tree with perks, while its magic counterpart is just… there. No fanfare, no quests about it, just quietly waiting in the inventories of spell merchants. Who knows? Maybe they didn’t want to obsolete the Thieves Guild, but really, let magic shine.
That hurts especially for new players. Instead of spending points on Lockpicking (which you practically feel guilty after mastering), put them into Alteration and solve ten problems at once. Makes for good roleplay for any non-thief characters: your scholarly mage shouldn’t be picking locks like a common burglar.
So, next time you find yourself out in front of some fancy Jarl’s private stash, remember: Magic beats metal. Unless it’s a Daedric lock. Then you’re probably screwed either way.
