Scum has finally come out of early access, bringing all the hardcore survival adventures to even more players. However, whether you’re new to the game or have been playing for years, there’s one tricky feature that many really struggle to master… lockpicking.
Lockpicking isn’t exactly a skill many possess; it can be useful in the real world (unless you’re stealing, don’t do that), but it’s even more useful when the world has gone to hell and you need to get some loot to survive.
This is the case with Scum, but it’s arguably the hardest mechanic in the game right now, and is incredibly tough to master. Luckily, our handy guide explains exactly how to do it.
How to pick a lock in Scum
To pick a lock, you’ll need either a bobby pin, a safety pin, a lockpick, or a screwdriver. The first in that list is the weakest, whereas a screwdriver will have the most ‘charges’ on it. It’s important to note that the item you use to pick the lock doesn’t make lockpicking easier, so you’re purely focusing on durability here.
Once you’ve got your tool, head over to a lock. Ideally, if you’re just starting, you’ll want to look for a rusted iron lock as they’re the easiest to pick.
When you’ve found one, follow the steps below:
- Hover over the lock and press F to ‘pick lock’.
- When you’re in, prepare yourself and press the spacebar on PC (or equivalent on console).
- Carefully tap F while slowly moving your mouse around the lock until it slightly moves.
- When it does move, hold that position and hold F, moving the mouse to unlock the lock.
Essentially, you’re looking for that release point. You’re testing each position of the lock with the F taps until you spot a slight give. It’ll require some practice to spot this. Once you do, you have the sweet spot. Then it’s a case of holding F to keep the lockpick in and using your mouse to slowly turn the lock to open it.
Top tips
While practicing or learning how to lockpick, we found the most success by sticking to one side of the lock. When picking it, we kept our lockpick to the right of the lock, searching for that sweet spot. Given the time limits imposed, it’s easier to focus on a smaller part of the lock rather than the entire thing.
If that’s not working for you, try sticking to the middle third, on the top of the lock. Keep to either the left, right, or top of the lock, and you’ll have better luck.
On top of this, be sure to craft some gloves. As you pick more challenging locks, there will be protection on them, dealing damage to you, unless you’re wearing gloves.
How to practice lockpicking
Lockpicking Board
As we mentioned above, mastering lockpicking will take plenty of practice in Scum. As such, we recommend you craft a Lockpicking Board for your base.
This is done using the following ingredients at an Improvised Workbench:
- 1x wooden plank
- 2x rubber bands
- 3x nails
- 3x padlocks
The Lockpicking Board lets you practice on the three different types of locks. It’ll take up your lockpicks when you break them, but it’s a perfect way to practice the technique without any pressure.
Police Station
If you’re looking to practice while getting some loot, then the next best thing is to loot a Police Station.
There’s one in every major town, and most of them will hold a box of bobby pins for you to use. They also house a fair few locked cabinets and weapons cases.
Of course, you’ll want to focus on the iron locks first, as they’re easier, then go over to the harder locks as you learn the method.
Locks explained
There are three types of locks in Scum, iron locks (often seen to be rusty), silver locks, and gold locks. Each is more challenging than the one that came before it, so if you come up against a gold lock, you’ll have a harder time, but you’ll likely also get better loot.
On top of this, the XP you gain from each lock differs, and will level up your Thievery at a different speed.
- Iron locks give 25 XP
- Silver locks give 75 XP
- Gold locks give 250 XP
So, once you master the art of picking locks, you’ll be able to grab more loot, gain more XP, and survive a little better in Scum.
Bluesky briefly suspended JD Vance’s account after he joined