There are a lot of ways you can play Fallout 76, but eventually, you’re going to need to break into a sage or someone’s home. Enter the Picklock perk, which allows you to start cracking the basic level of lockpicking. While you won’t be able to grab this perk right away, thankfully the wait isn’t too long until this perk is available.
When you start playing Fallout 76, the lockpicking perk will be available once you hit Level 5. If you are following the main quest then this skill should be available once you are tasked with visiting the airport to clear our a Scorched infestation. This will vary from the player to player, but it should only take a few hours for you to hit Level 5.
Once you are given the ability to select a perk, go to Perception and then select the Picklock perk. After applying this perk you’ll be able to open the basic level of Picklocking. There are two additional levels – Expert and Masters – both of which will need to be either found in Card Packs or unlocked later down the road.
For the unfamiliar, you can pick locks in Fallout 76 by using Bobby Pins. Regardless of your rank, you will need Bobby Pins so make sure to stock up whenever you find them! The lockpicking mini-game simply has you rotating a piece of the pin and then turning the lock. If the pin doesn’t shake then that means you’ve found the sweet spot.
This is a key skill that we suggest everyone obtains – especially early on. There are a lot of valuable items you can find in safes or locked chests. These can give you a distinct advantage and make your life easier. Unless you’re going for a very specific build, there’s no downside for grabbing this.