• Guide

How to pick locks - Atomic Heart

Learn how to pick the different types of locks you'll find while exploring Atomic Heart.

Sam Chandler

February 21, 2023 11:25 PM

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There are all manner of locks to pick in Atomic Heart. From traditional tumblers seen in other games to electrodes, timers, and combinations, the people in Atomic Heart have their doors, containers, and more locked down tight. Below we’ve outlined some of the more common types of locks you’ll find and how to go about picking them.

How to pick locks

There are a few different kinds of locks you will encounter in Atomic Hearts. One of the most common is the spinning lights and electrodes. Picking this type of lock can be a bit tricky, given it requires reflexes and there is a time limit. To pick it, press the “Use” button to snap your fingers whenever the red light lands on an extended electrode. The node will sink into the mechanism. The goal is to have all the electrodes completed before the timer finishes counting down.

The challenge of this lock is that each time you complete a node, the direction of the red light will change and speed up. It’s also possible to undo your work by snapping your fingers on a completed node, extending it again.

There are some other types of locks you will encounter in Atomic Heart. The lock pictured above is a combination lock that can realistically only be opened by finding the code. You might be able to guess it, but that would take a while. The code is typically nearby.

Players will also encounter a more traditional style of lockpicking game. This game is similar to those from Skyrim or Fallout and involves moving the wires around the outside of the dial until the correct angle is found. Thankfully, you won’t snap Charles’ wires, so you can keep seeing if you’re getting closer to the unlock point by pressing the “Use” button.

Each time you find a lock in Atomic Heart, take a moment to try your hand at lockpicking. More often than not there’s something useful to find or it will drive the story forward. Check out our Atomic Heart page for more help surviving this robot-dense world.

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler