Gothic 1 Remake Lockpicking Solver – How to Center Every Pin

The lockpicking in Gothic 1 Remake replaces the old left-right sequence with a sliding puzzle. Each lock is built from several plates, every plate holds a pin, and the lock opens only when every pin sits in the dead-center hole. The trick is that some plates are linked, so moving one shifts another, which is exactly where a solver helps.

Quick answer: Get every plate’s pin into the center hole (position 4 on a 1-7 row). A solver does the math for you once you enter three things: the number of plates, the current pin position of each plate, and which other plates move when you push a plate left. It then returns the exact order of moves to center all pins.

How the lockpicking minigame works

When you interact with a locked chest or door, the lock opens as a grid of horizontal plates. Each plate has seven holes and a single pin. You select a plate by pressing up or down (the active plate highlights), then move it left or right to slide the pin between holes. The pin pops up, turning red, only when it reaches the center hole.

The difficulty comes from links between plates. Pushing one plate can drag another plate in the same direction or the opposite direction. The wiring is different for each lock, so a plate that moves freely on one chest may be tied to two others on the next.

There is also a hard fail condition. If a pin is already at the far edge and you push it further, the lockpick strains. Strain it twice while untrained and the lockpick breaks, and the lock resets to its starting layout. The menu does not pause the game either, so an alerted guard can reach you mid-puzzle.

Element	Detail
Plates per lock	4 to 7, more plates on higher-tier chests
Holes per plate	7, numbered 1 to 7
Target hole	Center, position 4
Success signal	Every pin is up and red
Fail signal	Lockpick strains at an edge; breaking resets the lock

How to use a lockpicking solver

A solver treats the lock as a logic puzzle and works out a move order that never pushes a linked pin off the edge. Fan-made web tools such as Gothic Remake Lockbreaker run entirely in your browser, support 4 to 7 plate locks, and output a copyable sequence. The process is the same across these tools.

Count the plates on the lock and choose that number in the solver. Plates are counted from bottom to top, so Plate 1 is the lowest row in the game and the last plate is the top row. Keep this order for every later entry.

Read each pin’s current hole and enter it. Some tools number holes 1 to 7 with center at 4, while others use -3 to +3 with center at 0. Either way, the center is the goal for every plate.

Map the links. In the game, push one plate to the left and watch which other plates move and in which direction. In the solver, mark each link as Same (the other plate moves the same way) or Opposite. Right-hand movement is mirrored automatically, so you only need to test the left push.

Run the solve. The tool returns a step list telling you which plate to push and in which direction, often with a count like “Plate 2 → Right x3” meaning repeat that move three times. Follow the order exactly in the game.

Tip: A notation of 1 means the linked plate moves one pin in the same direction, and -1 means it moves one pin in the opposite direction. Some solvers also ask which hole the lock opens on, which is the center hole in nearly every case.

Solving a lock by hand

If you would rather not use a tool, the puzzle is still beatable with a methodical order. The aim is to avoid the edge-strike that breaks your pick.

Before anything else, find every pin already sitting at the far left or far right. Nudge those plates one or two holes toward the center first to remove the immediate risk of straining the pick.

Work from the bottom plate upward. The lowest plate often moves nothing else, so center its pin first to lock in safe progress.

Note which plate moves which as you go. Memorizing these links lets you predict the side effect of each push, so you can center higher plates without knocking a lower one off the center.

Save your game before you start. Lockpicks are limited and cost ore early on, so loading a save after a break costs nothing. You can also reset the lock at any time during the minigame without a penalty.

Lockpicking skill levels and trainers

Training the lockpicking skill makes the minigame far more forgiving. You can learn it from Fingers in the Old Camp, found near the arena beside Scatty’s hut, or from Wedge in the New Camp, each for a small fee in Learning Points and ore.

Level	Effect	Cost
Untrained	Pick breaks after 2 failed attempts; lock resets to its starting state	Starting level
Trained	Pick breaks after 4 attempts; current lock state is kept	10 LP, 100 ore
Master	6 attempts per pick; one plate connection is removed, simplifying the puzzle	20 LP, 200 ore

You can attempt any lock from the start of the game without training, but a hard chest is much easier to revisit once you reach Trained or Master. The removed connection at Master level cuts one of the links that makes the puzzle hard to solve in your head.

Where to get lockpicks

You need a lockpick in your inventory before a lock will open. Dexter in the Old Camp marketplace is the first merchant who sells them, at 15 ore nuggets each, which is steep in the early game. Other traders across the colony stock them too.

Buy from merchants such as Dexter once you have a steady ore income.
Loot world chests, including one near the locked mine across the bridge in the opening area and an abandoned campsite on the higher ground near the bridge.
Search enemy corpses, which sometimes carry picks.

How to confirm the lock is solved

The lock opens the moment all pins are up and red in the center hole. If a move is blocked, a pin has hit the edge and the next push will strain the pick, so back that plate away from the edge before continuing. A solver only fails to help if the plate count, pin positions, or link directions were entered incorrectly, so re-check those entries against the in-game lock and run it again.