The Orphanz Guild

Lockpicking Skill-ups
(For Rogues)

 

Where do I go for Lockpicking skill-ups?

 

Pickpocketing:

The following levels can be approached in several ways.  My personal favourite is pickpocketing.  All humanoid mobs, with the exception of the more 'bestial' worgen, yetis and the like, can be pickpocketed for cash and other items. 

Amongst those other items are vendor trash, occasional potions and (you saw this coming too) junkboxes. If you're pickpocketing mobs of roughly equivalent level to yourself, these boxes will likely be in the difficulty range for you to pick and improve your lockpicking skill.

 Here's a quick run down of various junkboxes, for the curious or those who just let their lockpicking slide and need to grind it back up:  
 
Battered Junkboxes - lvl 20-30 mobs - Skill 50 to 125  
Worn Junkboxes - lvl 30-40 mobs - Skill 75 to 150  
Sturdy Junkboxes - lvl 40-50 mobs - Skill 175 to 250  
Heavy Junkboxes - lvl 50-60 mobs - Skill 250 to 300  
 
N.B. All skill levels, here and later in this guide, are predicated on the assumption that different boxes change difficulty level at 25 points per level, and as such are approximations. As far as I've been able to test this the theory seems born out. Corrections welcome.  
 
Although the drop rate may not seem amazing, over the course of a day's grind you should pick up sufficient boxes to stay on top of your skill.  If this fails...

***

Lockboxes

...talk to your class trainer. In that first dialogue window, you'll see the option 'Where can I go to improve my lockpicking?'. I'm in two minds about this. On the one hand, I can see how it's useful; on the other, I recently had the trainer try to send me to Searing Gorge to lockpick boxes in the Slag Pit (I was around level 43 at the time). My feeling is that you can use this advice as a helpful guide, but it's not always practical, and is more often than not a little irritating unless you have access to water-breathing potions, as a number of the boxes are underwater, usually with a few aggressive mobs nearby that have to be vanquished before you can pick them. Personally, I found that a little irritating.  
Anyway, on to the numbers:  

 
Hillsbrad Foothills - Skill 95 to 160- Durnholde Keep  
Redridge Mountains - Skill 90 to 165 - Lake Everstill  
Ashenvale Forest - Skill 75 to 150 - Zoram Strand  
Stonetalon Mountains - Skill 115 to 190 - Windershear Crag  
Wetlands - Skill 90 to 165 - Murloc Camps, Inland  
Wetlands - Skill 110 to 185 - Murloc Camps, Coastal  
Desolace - Skill 150 to 225 - Sar'Theris Strand (off northwestern coast)  
Badlands - Skill 175 to 250 - Angor Fortress  
Badlands - Skill 200 to 275 - Angor Fortress  
Swamp of Sorrows - Skill 175 to 250 - Pool of Tears  
Searing Gorge - Skill 200 to 275 - Slag Pit  
Searing Gorge - Skill 225 to 300 - Slag Pit  
Tanaris - Skill 225 to 300 - Lost Rigger Cove  
Azshara - Skill 235 to 300 - Bay of Storms  
Eastern Plaguelands - Skill 250 to 305 - Tyr's Hand  
Zangarmarsh - Skill 305 to 350 - Feralfen Village
     (Note: These will become yellow at 310,
so I suggest skilling up to 325 and then go to Nagrand)  
Nagrand - 325 to 350 - Kil'sorrow Fortress  

 
N.B. Once again, numbers predicated upon 25 skill points per level; use as a guide only.  

***

Doors
 
You'll also encounter doors on your travels. These can be used to increase lockpicking skill, but be aware that they all have cooldown timers on them, (i.e. you will only be able to gain a skill point from them one time every twenty-plus minutes). Skill required:  
 
Gnomeregan - Skill Req 150 - Workshop Door  
Scarlet Monastery - Skill Req 175 - Armoury and Cathedral  
Scholomance - Skill Req 285  
Stratholme Gates - Skill Req 300  
Blackrock Depths - Skill Req 250 - Doors and Shadowforge  
Searing Gorge - Skill Req 225 - Gate  
Dire Maul Doors - Skill Req 300  
 
Of course, it's worth noting that instances are general full of humanoid mobs, so one routine would be to pick the door on any of the above, then stealth around pickpocketing everything in sight (with judicious use of distract), lockpick everything you've found outside the instance, reset it, repeat as necessary. 

(NOTE: You can only open doors to instances 5 times per hour – when in solo.) 
 

***

Advertising

Once you reach skill level 200 or so, another tactic becomes viable: advertising. 

 Across the course of their travels, your fellow adventures may happen across lockboxes which they, lacking your particular skills, will find themselves unable to open (excluding blacksmiths, who can make skeleton keys; it's worth noting those are an expendable reagent though, so they might require your assistance anyway). 

Travel to any capital city (usually Ironforge or Stormwind or Orgrimmar, where the greatest number of players tend to congregate) and advertise your lockpicking expertise via the trade channel, accessible by typing /2 (default setting) in your chat dialog, followed by your message.

I say this becomes viable at 200 because by then you can open a majority of the commonest boxes, as follows:  
 
Heavy Bronze Lockbox - Skill 25 to 100  
Ornate Bronze Lockbox - Skill 50 to 125  
Iron Lockbox - Skill 70 to 145  
Strong Iron Lockbox - Skill 125 to 200  
Steel Lockbox - Skill 175 to 250  
Reinforced Steel Lockbox - Skill 225 to 300  
Mithril Lockbox - Skill 225 to 300  
Thorium Lockbox - Skill 225 to 300  
Eternium Lockbox - Skill 225 to 300  
Reinforced Locked Chest - Skill 250 to 300  
 

FOR LEVEL 301- 450

 

 

 

 

Changes to the Guildelines:
The Guildelines may be changed by the GM at any time. If a guildie has a problem with any rule, please bring it up with the GM ---- IN PRIVATE!

 

 

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March 8, 2009