Chests, doors, hidden treasures — if you want to make progress in Gothic 1 Remake, there is no getting around lockpicking. This guide explains how the system really works and how to open every lock reliably.
At first glance, lockpicking in Gothic 1 Remake looks like a simple minigame, but it is actually a logic puzzle with clear rules. Even if it seems chaotic at first, every lock follows a fixed pattern. There are no random combinations and no hidden tricks. Everything is based on the connections between the teeth.
Once you understand those connections, the minigame becomes a system you can clearly read. From that point on, you no longer open chests by trial and error, but through deliberate decisions.
How the System Behind the Locks Works
Every lock consists of several teeth, which you can think of as individual sliders. Each of these teeth has several positions, shown as holes. A golden pin sits in one of those holes.
Your goal is to move all pins into the correct position so the teeth end up beneath the bolt and all pins protrude from the center hole. The currently selected tooth is always highlighted in blue. You switch between teeth vertically, while moving them back and forth horizontally.
Why Your Lockpicks Keep Breaking
Once you have moved a tooth all the way to the outermost hole, you need to be careful. Push it any farther in the same direction and the lockpick will break immediately. That alone would be manageable, but the real problem runs deeper: teeth are often connected to one another.
When you move one, others often shift along with it. These chain reactions are exactly why a move that seems safe can suddenly push another pin in the wrong direction and snap your lockpick.
How to Analyze Every Lock Correctly
The most important question before every move is this: Which other teeth will this also affect? Most lockpicks are lost when you focus only on the active tooth and ignore the chain reactions.
So when you come across a new lock, do not immediately try to open it “somehow.” Instead, it pays to take a quick look at how the teeth behave.
Move each tooth once to the left and once to the right, and watch closely to see which other teeth move with it. This reveals the connections within the system. At the same time, memorize the current starting positions of the pins.
Once you have that information in mind, the minigame becomes a clear puzzle. You will know which teeth are independent and which ones always pull others along with them.
Reach the Goal in the Right Order
Do not always try to line up a single tooth perfectly right away. That almost always causes problems, because later moves may shift it again. It is much better to think in stages: get everything roughly aligned first, then fine-tune it. This works far more reliably, especially with linked teeth.
The easiest teeth are the ones that can be moved on their own. You should always bring these into the center position first. That gives you enough room on the left and right in case the tooth is moved later by another one.
After that, focus on teeth that are linked in smaller groups. Here, you are not trying to move individual pins perfectly into place. Instead, first shift the entire group roughly in the right direction.
Save the heavily connected teeth for last. These can often only be influenced indirectly and require a bit of finesse. This is where it pays off if you have already positioned as many other teeth correctly as possible.
More Guides for Gothic 1 Remake
- Gothic 1 Remake Beginner’s Guide: How to Survive Your First Hours
- Gothic 1 Remake Mount Guide: How to Tame and Ride a Scavenger
- Gothic 1 Remake Walkthrough: How to Join the Old Camp – All Quests and Decisions
- Gothic 1 Remake: The Cult’s Recipe Walkthrough – How to Open Cor Kalom’s Lab Chests
- Gothic 1 Remake: How to Beat the Minecrawler Queen in Chapter 2
