Hogwarts legacy has finally arrived, realizing a dream that fans of the Harry Potter saga have been harboring for decades. Sure, it's not the perfect video game, but he managed to capture all the atmospheres of the saga and replicate them in a huge virtual construct that overflows with activity, raising the curtain on dozens of facets of the magical world. Between flying brooms, fantastic animals and spell lessons, the most loyal fans will be able to go well beyond the twenty hours that make up the main plot, going so far as to literally build a house on the other side of the screen, complete with sanctuaries dedicated to the care of creatures magical.
The offer of the title of Avalanche Software it is very rich and, as often happens within the confines of works of this size, there are several things that we would have liked to know before diving into the Wizarding World, getting lost in the corridors of the castle and flying over the coasts of the highlands. The mechanics of Hogwarts Legacy never reach prohibitive heights of complexity, but they have some shadow sides that deserve to be explored in detail: the pages of the Guide to Hogwarts will not be your only allies, because we have decided to give you the advice that we would have liked to have received before starting the greatest Harry Potter video game ever made.
Here 10 tips for starting Hogwarts Legacy on the right foot!
The Protego spell
The defensive spell take care it is part of the essential magic, that is, the skills that will always be with you without the need to equip them, and the same goes for the Stupeficium Stunner. Protego erects a barrier around the protagonist that lasts for a few seconds, and if summoned with the right timing this can deflect any incoming spell. But there's more: if the attacks marked by a red indicator cannot be deflected but only dodged, the yellow and orange ones instead open up the perfect Protego, a sort of "parry" which must be performed just when the indicator around the character's face narrows until it takes on the shape of a circle. By respecting the timing it is possible to respond instantly with one Astonishment, stunning the enemy and dealing additional damage.
And that's not all, because in the Main Talents tree some particular upgrades are available: one allows you to send the spell back to the sender with a perfect Protego, releasing a shock wave that knocks down all surrounding enemies, while another greatly increases the damage of Stunning Spell, making it the deadliest weapon at your disposal after Avada Kedavra. Get familiar with the saves now!
The crafting system
From the moment you have access to the Room of Requirements, you will be able to build a series of stations dedicated to crafting - in order to grow plants and prepare potions - by spending the Moonstone that you have collected around the world. This is found simply by destroying the blue crystalline formations that color every corner of the magical world. Our advice is to get them as soon as possible recipes for potions and i semi necessary to grow plants, and then create beautiful terraced stations in your base of operations.
The reason is easily explained: resources such as Mandrakes and Thunder Potions, in addition to being very powerful and very expensive, are often required to complete the tasks assigned by the professors. By having the necessary ingredients and recipes available - thanks to a one-off expense - you will avoid numerous trips to Hogsmeade and at the same time save a lot of money. Furthermore, the possibility of cultivating Dittany and preparing it personally Potions of Healing allows us to cross off the list of problems that relating to care, which is often in short supply on the battlefield. Therefore, do not underestimate the Room of Requirement: always pay attention to the requests of Professor Weasley and the house elf Tik, especially when you can raise your animals, because they will also prove to be a precious source of materials.
alohomora
Alohomora, just like Protego, is an essential spell, so once obtained it will always be present in your arsenal, allowing you to pick any lock present in the magical world. This is obviously a fundamental resource that you must obtain in order to continue with the main mission, and the guardian Gladwin Moon will teach it to you, at the gates of winter. However the basic version of Alohomora is capable of only pick level one locks and, as you might imagine, Hogwarts' darkest secrets are hidden behind doors that require a far greater level of skill with such magic.
The guardian Moon therefore opens up to an unreported mission which consists in identifying sixteen statuettes of Demiguise - a particular magical animal - which become interactable only in the middle of the night. The figurines are found inside the castle, in the village of Hogsmeade and also in some villages among those that dot the open world. The protagonist will not fail to point out the presence of a Demiguise, so our advice is to start the aforementioned mission as soon as possible and always keep your eyes open, otherwise you risk depriving yourself of some of the most hidden secrets of the magic school.
The arenas: farm experience points
In the magical world there are three arenas which allow you to face a series of battles, practically a classic horde mode divided into seven rounds which reward the player with unique rewards and above all with precious experience points. Since it will often be necessary to reach a certain level to continue the main mission, these activities can prove extremely useful for saving time, especially for those who are enjoying the combat system.
The first arena is located directly north of Hogsmeade, in the marshy area not far from Upper Hogsfield, and will not appear on the map until you approach it. The second is the Arena of the Dark Arts, a content included in the Deluxe edition which can also be purchased separately, and which opens the doors to a battlefield in the heart of the Forbidden Forest where you can indulge in Unforgivable Curses. The third and final arena is located in the Feldcroft region, just southwest of the village of Irondale. To access the various arenas you will first have to destroy all the vases in the area, after which it will be possible to face the challenge. These are pretty challenging fights, but there's no better way to gain experience quickly.
The dark arts
When Hogwarts Legacy was announced, a single look at the curse was enough Avada kedavra to animate the gears in the minds of enthusiasts. Can you become a dark wizard? How do spells work? Are there any repercussions on the plot? Obviously we won't make any kind of spoilers here, but there are a couple of pieces of information that are worth knowing. The first consists in the fact that all the Unforgivable Curses and the missions that introduce them are optional content, therefore you will not encounter them during the adventure. The mission that definitively opens the gates to the dark arts is "In the Shadow of the Underground" - available from the winter season - and from that moment on you will have to actively choose whether or not to rely on such a dangerous power.
It is also worth mentioning the fact that all curses break the opponent's shields, while Avada Kedavra allows you to eliminate any enemy or boss in the open world with a single blow, with the sole exception of some powerful opponents related to the plot. The only negative note lies in the fact that there are no real consequences for those who choose to take on the role of the dark wizard, except in the orbit of a couple of decisions within the confines of the bond missions, while your traveling companions will rarely react to the use of Unforgivable Curses.
Puzzles: doors with animals, chests with eyes and moths
I puzzle of Hogwarts Legacy are never particularly complex, but there are some that become available right from the first beats of the adventure and may not be very intuitive, so it's worth clarifying a bit. The first type of puzzle you will come across are the doors dotted with symbols of fantastic animals. How do they open? The aim of the mini-game is to insert the correct animal symbols into the two triangles placed along the walls - marked by question marks, so that by adding all the vertices of the triangles represented on the door the result is the number in the centre. Very simply, the animal symbols each correspond to a value ranging from zero, which is the owl, up to nine, the last magical beast on the right side. Do the math, interact with the triangles the right way, and you'll be opening these doors in no time.
Different speech for i one-eyed chests set that follows your every movement: in their case it is necessary to have the Disillusionment spell, which will allow you to become invisible and open them in a few seconds; these chests contain 500 coins each, therefore they represent the best method to earn money quickly. Illuminating the dark paintings with the Lumos spell, however, the position of a magical moth will be revealed: reach this moth, use Lumos to make it follow you, and deactivate it when you are near the painting.
The most important talents
The trees of the talents of Hogwarts Legacy modify the impact of some spells, enhance the character's arsenal, but also provide a series of bonuses that are worth getting your hands on right away. In the main Talents branch it is in fact possible to expand your spell bar, to the point that it will be possible to equip sixteen of them at the same time. There's also an ability that doubles the range of the Revelio spell, and it's pretty much a must have for any player interested in open world exploration. If you suffer a lot of damage during battles, we recommend that you instead take a look at the two Talents which significantly increase the effectiveness of healing.
Moving into the branch dedicated to spells, it is worth focusing on those that add area effects to spells, for example by associating a ring of fire with the casting of Incendio or transforming Repulse into a large circular explosion. An often ignored branch also deserves a mention, namely the one defined as the Room of Requirements: plants and potions they are devastating to say the least, you often don't realize how effective they are until you try to use them, but by exploiting the relevant Talents they become truly unstoppable forces.
Stealth
The Disillusionment spell allows you to become nearly invisible at any time, opening up game-based sections stealth and allowing you to explore even areas patrolled by high-level enemies. Once you cast the Disillusionment spell, you will also have access to Petrificus totalus, a very powerful hex that knocks out any opponent in one fell swoop, inflicting a lot of damage on the toughest enemies such as Trolls. This sort of execution allows you to clean up in a few seconds even camps manned by opponents whose power is much superior to yours, and we must not forget that through the Potions of Invisibility It is possible to enter stealth mode even in the middle of combat.
Furthermore, the Talent tree dedicated to stealth provides a further series of advantages aimed at making the impact of the stealth phases even more devastating: first of all you can increase your movement speed when you are invisible, while after having acquired the talents which reduce the effectiveness of the guards you will be able to move almost in complete safety on the battlefield.
The Secrets of Hogwarts
Exploring the corridors of Hogwarts you will come across several fairly simple and immediate puzzles, accompanied by the presence of guide pages to collect at every possible interaction. But the school is actually also dotted with bigger puzzles, often not reported, as well as secret passages that could escape you even for several hours of play, just as happened in our case. We will point out just a couple of them to give you some points of reference and an idea of what you can find in the wings of the castle: as soon as you learn about Alohomora, we recommend you take a look at the Hogwarts clock tower, especially the large pendulum that looms over the external cloister.
Another place worth visiting is the large stone bridge that connects the great hall of the school to the east wing of the castle: look around carefully when you cross it. Furthermore, you must keep in mind that there are many unmarked rooms: the kitchens of Hogwarts, for example, are ready to welcome you at any time if you know where to look, while the tapestries hanging on the walls could hide much more than meets the eye. You have undoubtedly wondered if it is possible to enter the common rooms of other houses: well, at Hogwarts almost everything is possible, especially if you are a young wizard hungry for exploration. Generally speaking, the darkest secrets of the school are always kept in the side missions, but that doesn't mean there isn't much more to discover with total freedom.
The magical world
L'scouting of the wizarding world, whether in or out of the school corridors, is a daydream for Harry Potter fans, and Hogwarts Legacy has tons of activities available to them, so it's worth giving some general advice. First of all, our main tip is not to jump into the open world before you have unlocked the volo through the main mission: once you have obtained your broom, you can start a long chain of quests at Albie Weekes' shop in Hogsmeade which will allow you to improve its speed and handling through a series of time trials; Likewise, it's a good idea to take some time to do a little tour of Hogwarts, in order to unlock more underground fireplaces that you can, in order to gain useful reference points as well as valuable fast travel stations.
Staying on the subject of exploration, if you are wondering how to reach the south-east area of the map, know that the only way to access it is to go through an underground tunnel dug into the side of the mountain: just look for the goblin drills and follow the galleries all the way to the end. Open world activities are never particularly profitable, but by completing Merlin's Trials you can expand your inventory: there are about a hundred of them scattered around the small villages. Next to them there are twenty Fulcrums of Ancient Magic which allow you to increase the relative power indicator, offering the possibility of exploiting executions more frequently. For the rest, you can recognize the more substantial points of interest thanks to the different frame that embraces the relative diamond on the map: in such situations you could happen to delve into the depths of some dungeon, deviating from the much more minute environmental interactions.
All we can do is wish you good luck in your new life at Hogwarts! Have you already got your hands on the Avalanche Software title?
