Skeleton keys

[Doubleplay]

Does anyone know what skeleton keys do? I can see no difference when using them as compared to a normal lock pick.

 

[Gb8719]

Apparently supposed to increase your chance to pick the lock. I also notice that I fail just as frequently at GM lockpicking with a skeleton key as I do with a normal lockpick...

 

[Doubleplay]

Same here. I was already at GM when the keys came out. Perhaps they enable lower skill lock pickers to succeed with higher level chests before they have the required skill level. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Basara]

Upsides
Slightly better chance of opening (not enough to be noticeable with the RNG silliness)
Much easier to open level 5-7 Paragon chests with
weigh a fraction of the weight of a big pile of picks
only expend a charge when successful (as opposed to potentially breaking a couple dozen picks if the RNG hates you on a chest)

Downsides
Grubber
loot destruction on some fails

 

[Varingian]

When your key is down to one charge throw it away. They give decent points.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[Logrus]

I don't think the Grubber is a downside.

I think the keys give you a 10% increased success chance. Master keys grant 100% success.

 

[Doubleplay]

What are "Master Keys" ?

 

[Frarc]

What are "Master Keys" ?

Skeleton master keys never fail to open a chest.

 

[hen]

Grubbers give two ordinary leather hides too! Yes I am a meany.

 

[Basara]

I think the Master Keys come from level 7 chests, but I've not gotten one in the 2 level 7s I've done

 

[Doubleplay]

Yea, I have not gotten one either, but then again I have only done about 15 level 7 chests.

 

[startle]

Skeleton master keys never fail to open a chest.

Do they break or have a certain number of uses?

 

[Frarc]

Do they break or have a certain number of uses?

One use.

 

[startle]

One use.

Well, that certainly suks... I won't be spending any time looking for them... thx...

 

[Frarc]

Well, that certainly suks... I won't be spending any time looking for them... thx...

I use them for Level 7 Treasure Maps chests.

 

[Doubleplay]

Hmmm. I did two diabolicals yesterday, both had normal keys inside. Oddly enough, using normal lockpicks, both chests opened on the first try. I guess getting a master pick is not something to look forward to lol. These two chests were in Ter Mer and the only difference I could see between them and a level six was the appearance of an enraged colossus guardian (much weaker than a normal wyrm or greater dragon). The treasure was comparable to level 6 chests too, except for 5000 more gold and 500 more turn in points.

 

[popps]

Well, that certainly suks... I won't be spending any time looking for them... thx...

The thing with regular lockpicks and skeleton keys is that, if I understood it well, for each failure an item gets or might get destroyed inside the chest which it could also be some artifact or good stuff...

So, trying over and over with regular lockpicks with high level chests might end up losing quite a few good items from inside the chest as compared to using a skeleton key which offers a higher chance on suceeding in picking the lock.

Does anyone have a good experience on using master skeleton keys on level 6 or 7 chests ? How easy is it to pick those levels chests locks with a master skeleton key ? On first try in most cases ?

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

I love the skeleton keys, I failed a lot more with regular lock picks, I can usually get a level 6 chest open within 3-4 attempts as where it sometimes took up to 8-15 without.

 

[Doubleplay]

I do not think that the skeleton keys improve success (except the master key). It's just that they don't break. My experience is that it takes just as long to get into a chest with the skeleton key, and I lose just as many items to gas and grubber, but when the chest finally opens, only one use shows on the key. Consequently, a skeleton key will open 10 chests. The master key opens chests on the first try but it has only one use. I am really getting to like the keys because I know when I leave for a dig, if my key has one use left, that I will be able to open what I find. That was not the case with regular picks, as 10 may not always be enough to crack the lock and I found myself always carrying a lot of picks.

I cannot be sure I am right on the failure issue because I switched over to the skeleton keys right away and have been using them since. It just seems to me that the failure rate has not changed since switching over.