Lockpicking

Lockpicking is a game mechanic in The Burgle Cats.

Overview
Lockpicking is one of the only two ways to open chests you receive from heists, with the other being spending cat food on it. You can hire the Locksmith to open a chest halfway for free, however it will take time. Opening a chest before halfway (ex: opening a chest 1/3 of the way using keys) will only reduce the locksmith's time, instead of allowing him to open the chest further than usual.

Using Keys
The process of using keys is somewhat simple. You can move the key left or right, and it will reduce the chest's durability depending on how much you rotated it. However, there is also a chance that the key will break instead of reducing durability. There is also a chance that there will be a clack instead of the usual rotation, which will also freeze your key in place for a moment. This will decrease much more durability than usual.