Being able to eyeball if multiple patterns fit BEFORE committing to placing them can be extremely helpful, so always make a note of where the points on the first pattern fit and then swap to another pattern without committing to see if you can line up a second pattern for the outer lock.

This means if the pattern has three pins, all points need to fit into a slot, and a second pattern needs to fit the remaining slots on the outer ring. You can see that for each pattern that NEEDS to go into a slot, no points can be left out. See the above image for an example of solving a novice lock. So if you’re too eager to place a digipick, and it turns out it's incorrect, you’ll need to undo it, which costs a digipick. Some variations will work for both the inside and outside, but only one of them will be the actual solution. The key is to not lock in any of the picks unless you’re SURE it goes there. These variations aren’t in any order, you’ll need to cycle through them to try different combinations. You’ll see the gaps in the lock that you need to fill, and you’ll see the set of tool variations that you have to use to accomplish this. The first thing we’ll want to solve is the outside of the lock. Locks will present you with multiple rings - the harder the lock, the more rings you may have to contend with.

The goal is to use the patterns to align to each of the gaps so that all gaps are filled. It’s important to note that each of the four patterns all count towards the single digipick use, but if you use one of the wrong patterns and are unable to finish, you’ll have to undo your progress and use up digipicks in the process. In a novice lock, you’ll see the lock itself dead center, four digipick patterns, and the number of digipick items you have left.

Unlike certain skills, you don’t need a skill point in Lockpicking to be able to pick a novice lock, but it will help you bank more auto-attempts, which will present one of the correct lock combinations to you. They’re often just sitting there to be snagged. When exploring a pirate base, for example, check the tables in the offices or nearby any safes that might be around. They will usually stock ample supply for an affordable price under the Misc tab. Stop by a general store in a major city: Jemison Mercantile on New Atlantis for example. But if you’re running low, you have a few options for obtaining more. Thankfully, digipicks aren’t too difficult to come by, as they can usually be found lying around almost any point of interest, and are a bit larger than your average lockpick and easier to spot. In Starfield lockpicks go by a specific name - digipicks.

How to pick a slot machine lock