Lock

A lock is a simple or electronic machine that secures a valuable container until some kind of tool or information (in the case of an electronic lock) is used to deactivate the device. Locks appear in all Deus Ex games.

Deus Ex
In the first game, locks appear both as traditional and electronic (keypads). Traditional locks have a meter indicating their "Lock Strength" and one indicating their "Door Strength". The Lock Strength must be taken to 0% of 100%, though it can start at any number in between. One lockpick will lower the percentage by a certain number, and this is determined by the Lockpicking skill. The Door Strength can be lowered through striking the door with a solid melee weapon if it is low enough, or using explosives such as the GEP Gun or a LAM. NanoKeys on the keyring can be used to instantly unlock a container with no hassle, but they must be found first and there is not a Nanokey for every container in the game. Electric Locks, or Keypads, will activate once the correct code has been entered, or a multitool is used to activate it. The longest Keypad code is a 7-digit code in the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard, and they may be as short as 2 digits. Keycodes can be found written on paper and in datacubes, but the player can always open the keypad with nothing but the code, such as guessing or having prior knowledge of the code. There is no penalty for missing a code.

If JC Denton is spotted by friendly AIs when he is lockpicking or bypassing, they might turn hostile.

There's also an easy, confortable and mostly useful way to open locked doors with the help of a random NPC by pushing him to the locked door: he should open it by running behind it after touching it. This can sometimes be the best way to open special doors (e.g. pushing Kaplan to the UNATCO HQ's door) or common doors, but sometimes results a bit boring way.

Deus Ex: Invisible War
In Deus Ex: Invisible War, there are still interactive electronic and simple locks. All interactive locks can be opened through explosives, softkeys or universal multitools, which will now open a metal lock on a door along with keypads, which can no longer be used button-by-button as they were in Deus Ex. The Keycode must be read to access a keypad, and the code is never revealed to the player. Many more locks can now be opened through hacking a computer and selecting the "open" queue.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
In Deus Ex: Human Revolution, only electronic locks can be found throughout the game. They can be accessed by the hacking minigame or by entering a four-digit code. Unlike Deus Ex, they are always four-digit and they cannot contain symbols such as "*" or "#". Those symbols on the keypad are replaced with the "Close" and "Undo" buttons. If Adam Jensen has been given the code, it will be displayed when the right keypad is used.

If Jensen has missed the code, no penalty will be given, however, if he has failed to hack the device it will be locked down for 30 seconds and an alarm may sound.