I'm out of Kleenex and I've got boogies all up my nose. Looks like its time for some...
| Lockpick Type | Modifier | Price | Ranks Needed |
| Vaalin | 2.50 | 125,000 | 50 |
| Eahnor | 2.30 | 95,000 | 40 |
| Invar | 2.25 | 75,000 | 35 |
| Kelyn | 2.40 | 62,000 | 30 |
| Veniom | 2.20 | 50,000 | 25 |
| Rolaren | 1.90 | 36,000 | 20 |
| Vultite | 1.80 | 30,000 | 20 |
| Alum | 2.30 | 23,000 | 16 |
| Laje | 1.75 | 17,000 | 12 |
| Glaes | 1.60 | 9,500 | 8 |
| Mithril | 1.45 | 6,000 | 5 |
| Ora | 1.55 | 5,000 | 5 |
| Silver | 1.30 | 2,500 | 3 |
| Gold | 1.20 | 2,000 | 3 |
| Ivory | 1.20 | 750 | 1 |
| Steel | 1.10 | 500 | 1 |
| Brass | 1.00 | 250 | 0 |
| Copper | 1.00 | 100 | 0 |
This is simply the number of lockpicking ranks that you need to effectively use that pick. If you double train, you can use all picks at level 24. Keep in mind that there are still some old lockpicks floating around. The old alums converted over to Vaalin if I remember correctly, so looks can sometimes be deceiving.
Figuring out what your max lock is simple.
This is the basic formula: Max Lock = (Lockpicking Skill + Wisdom Bonus + Lockpick Enhance Bonus) * (Lockpick Modifier)
Your lockpick enhance bonus is determined by the following formula: (Level / 2) + (LockpickSkill / 10) + [(DexterityBonus / 2) + (WisdomBonus / 2)] / 2
Some folks make a pretty good living as a locksmith. In fact, some people rely on lockpicking for the lion's share of their advancement.
The most you can get from picking a lock is 150 experience points. The least you can get is 25 if you have more than 30 ranks of lockpicking, and 20 exp if you have under 30 ranks. If your max lock with a copper pick is -200, and you pick a -200, then you get 150 exp. If your max lock is -500 with a Vaalin pick, and you pick a -500, you get 150 exp. So the bonus of your lockpick is taken into consideration when determining experience gained.
Also, using spell 403 (picking enhancement) will cut your experience gain in half.
Basically, it works like this. For your max lock, you get 150 experience points. For every 10 difficulty less than your max, you get 5 less experience. Once you hit the 90 exp mark, it goes down at the rate of 10 exp per 10 difficulty.
For instance, if your max lock is -500:
A -490 will give you 145 exp. A -480 will give you 140 exp. A -390 will give you 95 exp. A -380 will give you 90 exp. And a -370 will give you 80 exp.
People used to advance very quickly using spell 407 to blow through everything that came at them. Now, you'll be lucky to notice that you've gotten any experience for it at all. Sometimes you get some, sometimes you don't. As far as I know, nobody is sure exactly how it works. I don't think I've ever noticed more than 20 experience from a single lock. In other words, don't count on gaining any levels by using 407.
This honestly depends on how good of a locksmith you want to be. If you want to be the best, then find a way to 3x lockpicking for life, and pick up spell 403 eventually.
If you want to be able to open up most of the boxes from the creatures you hunt, you need to at least 2x and get spell 403. There will be some creatures that you'll have difficulty with unless you're more than 2x trained. It might be a wise choice to pick up 3x in picking at some point in your career, but that certainly isn't completely necessary. Also, Spell 407 will lighten your load a bit, since you'll only *have* to pick boxes that are enruned/mithril/glyphed.
If your goal is simply to learn from lockpicking during dry periods of hunting, then just pick up as many ranks as you think you'll want, as long as its over 30 (to maximize experience gain). I personally feel this is a waste of training points, but hey, its your character.