Things Hogwarts Legacy Doesn't Tell You

Overflowing with hidden secrets and unexplained features, Portkey Games have purposefully designed Hogwarts Legacy in a way that encourages players to explore the vast wizarding world and uncover the secrets themselves. But, with little explanation of many of the game's key features, things can quickly become a little overwhelming, so we've gathered a list and explained all the important features and secrets that Hogwarts Legacy doesn't tell you or necessarily explain very well.

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When casting Revelio, listen for a bell-like sound. If the bell is present, it will indicate a Field Guide Page is nearby and available to discover. The louder the chime and the strong the vibration from your control, the closer you are to uncovering the collectible. Just be warned, the sound can sometimes be a little misleading, so if you think you’re standing in the right location, you may want to consider checking the floor above and below you.

If you’ve been exploring The Highlands, you’ll have noticed that there are quite a few large ponds around, and unless you’ve completed The Lost Astrolabe Side Quest, you likely haven’t noticed that swimming is actually a thing you can do.

While the feature is fairly basic – you can’t dive underwater, at least not in the traditional sense – you can find a number of bubbling spots that you can search, much like chests, that contain rewards such as Galleons and Gear.

While much of what you experience will be the same no matter which house you choose, there are some differences, though, such as house colors being reflected in the gear you receive, additional dialogue lines that are unique to your house, some extra socializing with certain 5th-year students that are in your house, exclusive common rooms, and special Floo Flame fast travel points that lead to your house wing.

The biggest difference is that there are some slight deviations in the story after you complete the Trials of Merlin - a somewhat early quest in the main storyline - as each house will be presented with a house-exclusive quest.

If you're curious, check out the spoiler box below to learn more about the unique quests and how differently they play out.

While the Wand designing process is extremely intricate and thorough, your choices, whether it be the wood, length, or flexibility, are simply cosmetic and will not affect the way in which your wand performs or casts in combat.

If you have explored Hogwarts at all, there’s a good chance you have stumbled across those strange puzzle doors that are surrounded by magical beast symbols. Well, unless you have found the hidden cipher note above The Library Annex, you’re probably just as stumped as we were when it came to figuring out a solution.

Thankfully, these doors can be opened immediately, and you do not need any special spells or to have found the cipher in order to open them. Instead, you simply need to know what the symbols represent and how to apply them to the mathematical equations that need to be solved to open the door. Once you’ve cracked the code, you’ll be rewarded with collectible loot, Field Guide Pages, and sometimes secret rooms.

While we won’t get into the exact process needed to solve these puzzle doors, you can check out our complete solution guides below to learn more.

We wish Open Sesame worked because those pesky locked doors that you’ll encounter early in the game will stay locked for quite some time. This is due to needing the Alohomora spell, which is unlocked around seven to ten hours into the main story – more specifically, The Caretaker's Lunar Lament quest.

Behind these locked doors, you’ll discover small hidden rooms, loot chests, and Field Guide Pages.

Much like the locked doors, the Eyeball Chests are gated behind the Disillusionment spell. Thankfully, unlike some spells, this one is unlocked relatively early in the main story – specifically during the Secrets of the Restricted Section quest.

Once you unlock the spell, simply cast the spell to turn yourself invisible and begin sneaking up slowly to the chest. If you’re careful, you’ll be able to unlock the chest before it’s spooked and sealed shut.

Be on the lookout for destructible objects and secret walls that you can interact with, as you'll often discover hidden chests that contain gear upgrades and other valuable loot.

As you might expect, Hogwarts is full of secrets, so we highly recommend that you interact with everything you can. Yes, we mean everything, as there’s a good chance you’ll uncover hidden staircases and other handy objects that will lead you to secret chests and other collectibles, such as Field Guide Pages.

As for some hints, here are some secrets you can discover early on in Hogwarts Legacy:

Field Guide Pages are sometimes hidden behind statues marked with the Levioso symbol on their base. These orb-holding statues are highlighted with the Revelio Spell and are highlighted white when walking by them. To uncover the Field Guide Page, you’ll need to cast the Levioso spell on the statue.

This also applies to the dragon brazier statues you'll find on the ground and hanging from walls. But, instead of casting Levioso, you’ll need to light them with the Incendo spell to uncover the Field Guide Page.

When viewing the world map, you’ll find a small “Wait” option that can be toggled by pressing your controller’s analog stick. Selecting this option will allow you to change the game from day to night.

Before leaving Hogwarts to complete The Girl From Uagadou quest, we highly recommend that you first attend the Herbology class, as it’ll lead you into Trials of Merlin. This quest will teach you everything you need to know about completing the Merlin Trials, a series of optional puzzles that unlock additional inventory slots.

However, to activate these trials, you’ll need Mallowsweet Leaves – a plant you’ll learn to grow in the Herbology class. Mallowsweet Leaves are sold by a small number of vendors who have a limited inventory of this resource. But, if you have Mallowsweet Leaves planted, you can always fast-travel to the Greenhouses to retrieve them as needed.

With that said, though, if you’re looking to grind out the Merlin Trials, you’ll likely need to purchase these in bulk. But there’s a catch, as the stock for these leaves is extremely limited, and vendors will only restock after two and half days have passed.

Thankfully, there’s a way to fast-track this process. To do so, simply visit the world map and use the Wait option we mentioned earlier to skip three days ahead. Now, when revisiting the store, everything will be completely restocked.

Trying to grow plants? Keep in mind that plant growth is stopped when viewing the map and the general pause menu.

While you can’t change your character's overall facial structure after the initial creation, you can instead visit the Barber in Hogsmeade, who will do a bit more than just give you a fresh cut, as you can also change your complexion and eye color as well! To learn more about changing your appearance, see our handy guide below:

As long as you’ve obtained a piece of gear, you’ll always have access to the transmog – whether you’ve sold or destroyed the item.

Gear scales with your character level, so when it comes to opening those Legendary Chests, we recommend holding off on opening these chests until you’re higher level to ensure you’re making the most out of these items, as they’ll offer the best stats and upgrade capabilities.

Unfortunately, the loot you receive when searching chests in Hogwarts Legacy is completely random. However, certain gear types are known to spawn in certain chest types, so if you’re chasing something in particular, such as Wand Handles, keep your eyes peeled for the following chests:

While exploring The Highlands, there’ll be times when you stumble across multiple factions fighting each other. This is a fantastic way to earn easy loot because you'll receive the items the enemy drops as long as you deal the finishing blow.

So, if you’re in no rush, simply sit back, cast Disillusionment, and watch as the factions fight it out. When they’re almost worn down, swoop in, deal the finishing blows, and clean up all your “hard-earned” resources.

Many of Hogwarts Legacy's core features – such as Flying Mounts, Brooms, Picklocking, and Disillusionment – are all gated behind story progression, and not by just a few hours. We estimate that it takes approximately seven to ten hours before you reach the point in which you can access the vast majority of Hogwart's key features.

Mainlining the story up until you unlock Beasts – around the mid-point of the game – will help you avoid having to backtrack too much to refind chests and other hidden areas and features that weren't otherwise available for you to access.

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