With a mighty 220 hours on the clock already, Reddit user Sea-Charge-3132 has discovered quite a useful mechanic in Starfield. Rather than risking their in-game credibility attempting to unlock containers you shouldn’t, they get someone else to do it for them.
The key skill at play here is called ‘Manipulation’ which, in its most basic form, can force a target NPC equal to or lower than the player’s level to obey commands for a limited time. It can be obtained in one of two ways, through the skill tree itself after investing 10 points into the ‘Social’ branch or via the Internal Neuromap device. The latter is earned as a reward for completing the Ryujin faction questline.
As Sea-Charge’s video demonstrates, the power is activated through the Social tab present upon a scan of your unsuspecting accomplice. From here, the simple task of sending them on their way to your desired container of choice is all that needs doing.
Those looking at this and seeing a very roundabout solution to a direct action you can take yourself are valid for their perspective. It is a lot of hassle for a bit of a laugh. But consider the possibilities of obtaining the Internal Neuromap in your early game plans and what this trickery could open up for you.
All of a sudden, there is no need to worry about spending skill points on Lockpicking. Instead, those points can be put into ‘Stealth’ which gives you plenty more utility out in the field. At rank four, you become 100 percent more difficult to detect when sneaking. Opening doors in stealth doesn’t even alert enemies. This, in combination with our new army lockpicking friends, should place every container in the game at your mercy.
And they said crime doesn’t pay.