Summary

  • Essential Spells in Hogwarts Legacy are crucial for combat and exploring hidden secrets.
  • Spells like Revelio and Protego have specific uses and add depth to gameplay.
  • Talents can enhance the effectiveness of spells like Basic Cast and Ancient Magic, making combat more engaging.

There are eight Essential Spells in Hogwarts Legacy, and ranking all of them comes down to understanding their finer aspects in the game. These spells cannot be slotted into the diamond formation that players can use with RB/RT, and they don’t have a cooldown either. What makes them essential is that players cannot avoid them and feasibly complete the game or enjoy all that it has to offer.

As many fans may be aware, all of Hogwarts Legacy’s Essential Spells aren’t combat oriented. Two are aimed at discovering hidden secrets, arguably the best thing that developer Avalanche Software’s game brings to the table.

All the Essentials Spells in Hogwarts Legacy are ranked here based on their overall viability and impact, rather than raw damage or immediate benefit. Aspects like ease of use, importance to gameplay, maxed-out performance, and such have been considered.

hogwarts legacy most overpowered spells
Hogwarts Legacy: 14 Most Overpowered Spells

To completely master the arcane arts in Hogwarts Legacy, players will want to pick up these incredible spells.

1

8 Petrificus Totalus

Great For A Stealthy Approach

Every Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy - Petrificus Totalus

Best Talents

Required Level

Effect

Sense of Secrecy I

5

Enemies' ability to detect you is reduced.

Human Demiguise

5

Allows you to Sprint while using Disillusionment.

Sense of Secrecy II

16

Enemies' ability to detect you is reduced.

Petrificus Totalus Mastery

22

Petrificus Totalus emanates an area of effect that can impact nearby enemies.

Invisibility Potion Potency

5

The Invisibility Potion's undetectable effect lasts for a longer period of time.

Petrificus Totalus is a good Essential Spell to use in Hogwarts Legacy, but its use case is rather limited. Players can use it only when making a stealthy approach . So, it’s available only if they sneak up on an enemy with the Disillusionment spell or by using the Invisibility Potion. This is rather limited and rules out fans who like to experience Hogwarts Legacy’s combat like an all-out, unafraid brawler.

As an Essential Spell, it does come in handy during certain missions and when confronting enemies at low health. If players invest in the Petrificus Totalus Mastery, they can reliably take out at least a couple of enemies close with no risk. If they choose this route, they should also invest in Invisibility Potion Potency (increases duration of said potion) and Human Demiguise (allows sprinting when disillusioned), among others.

7 Alohomora

Necessary For Accessing Locked Rooms, Collectible Hunting

Every Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy - Alohomora

There is no Talent that can improve Alohomora. The only way to upgrade it is to collect Demiguise Statues for The Man Behind The Moons quest in Hogwarts Legacy.

Due to its appearance in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Alohomora may just be the most popular Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy. It’s important for gaining access to locked doors for new areas and loot. The spell, however, is not instantaneous. It comes with a minigame that players must complete every time they cast it on a lock, and one that gets trickier with each level.

As many fans may be aware, one needs to collect all the Demiguise Statues to upgrade to Alohomora Level 3. Since they are well-hidden throughout the map and can only be found at night, things can get a tad difficult. Further, while it’s an important Essential Spell to use in Hogwarts Legacy, it’s not as impactful as the others on this list.

6 Basic Cast

Low-Damage Spell With No Cooldown, Adds To Combo

Every Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy - Basic Cast

Best Talents

Required Level

Effect

Basic Cast Mastery

5

Basic Cast impacts reduce spell cooldowns.

Basic Cast Airborne Absorption

16

Basic Cast impacts airborne enemies contribute more to the Ancient Magic Meter.

It may seem confusing as to why the Basic Cast is an Essential Spell, when something like Expelliarmus is not. However, its impact in the game cannot be overstated. The Basic Cast is the first spell that players can use, and it’s naturally the most important early on. In later phases, its damage count drives up reasonably well to spam it without worry.

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What makes the Basic Cast a great Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy is that it helps keep the combo counter going when the four slotted spells are on cooldown. Further, when players invest in the above-mentioned Talents, the Basic Cast can reduce cooldown and help rack up the Ancient Damage meter even faster. Since it’s spammable, it’s very effective in combat.

5 Revelio

Reveal Hidden Objects All Around

Every Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy - Revelio

Best Talent

Required Level

Effect

Revelio Mastery

16

Increases the range of Revelio.

Revelio is the most important spell in the game, at least where exploration is concerned. This Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy is used to reveal items of interest around the players, though it doesn’t show a clear path to how to get them. It also makes the items glow in different colors, helping players distinguish the type of loot.

Since the map is quite vast and intricately detailed, especially in the castle and grounds proper, Revelio’s mechanic as a spammable Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy is apt. It is indispensable if they want to get every trophy and collectible in Hogwarts Legacy. It’s also important that players invest in the Revelio Mastery Talent as soon as they can. The radius is quite small, which does make it a bit frustrating without the additional range.

4 Ancient Magic Throw

Great Attack To Deal A Ton Of Damage

Every Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy - Ancient Magic Throw

Best Talents

Required Level

Effect

Ancient Magic Throw Expertise

5

Ancient Magic Throw catches and throws disarmed enemy weapons.

Transformation Mastery

22

Enemies struck with the Transformation spell transform into explosive objects.

The Ancient Magic Throw is a devastating attack that sees a lot of use in combat. It’s a bit limited early on since the environmental or actionable objects are a bit scarce. However, it still deals a good chunk of damage even then. Another important point is that the Ancient Magic Throw doesn’t care about shields and goes right through them. This naturally makes it even more impactful in combat.

This Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy’ s repertoire is particularly helpful in group fights, especially when paired with the Transformation Mastery talent. By using this, players can usually one-shot two non-boss enemies: they can transform one into an explosive barrel and blow up the other with it. This creates a lot of breathing space and cuts down on the enemy count. Further, it doesn’t use up the Ancient Magic Meter and is essentially spammable as long as there are throwable objects around.

3 Ancient Magic

Devastating Attack With Multiple Animations

Every Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy - Ancient Magic

Best Talents

Required Level

Effect

Protego Absorption

5

Successful Protego blocks will contribute to the Ancient Magic Meter. Perfect Protego blocks contribute even more.

Evasion Absorption

16

Successfully evading an unblockable attack with Dodge contributes to the Ancient Magic Meter.

Basic Cast Airborne Absorption

16

Basic Cast impacts airborne enemies contribute more to the Ancient Magic Meter.

Ancient Magic is the protagonist’s “secret” magic, one that is deeply entrenched into the storyline. This Essential Spell deals a great deal of damage and doesn’t care about which type of shield they have—no one is immune to it. What’s good is that players can build up the meter by extending combos via the Basic Cast and picking up Ancient Magic Bubbles.

Later on, they can invest in Hogwarts Legacy's various Talents to build up the meter even faster. Evasion Absorption and Protego Absorption are particularly helpful here, and can generally give at least one-to-two uses in a group fight. It can be a bit frustrating to have to fill up an Ancient Magic Meter slot to gain one use, but the damage count can help compensate for it. The varied animations also add a bit of a change to fights.

2 Stupefy

Stuns Enemies And Increases Damage Dealt, Easy To Use

Every Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy - Stupefy

Best Talents

Required Level

Effect

Stunning Curse

5

Stupefy has the same effect as a curse on enemies. Cursed enemies take increased damage.

Stupefy Mastery

16

Enemies struck with Stupefy remain stunned for a longer period of time.

Stupefy Expertise

22

Stupefy deals direct damage on impact.

Learning how to use an Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy, at least effectively, can be a bit of a trial and error. Stupefy, on the other hand, is quite easy going in this regard. It’s automatically cast when players use Protego—the most used combat spell aside from the Basic Cast. It can seem a bit underwhelming at first as it only stuns enemies. However, it also increases the damage they receive, which is very handy no matter what stage of the game players are at.

hogwarts legacy how to use protego and stupefy
Hogwarts Legacy: How to Use Protego and Stupefy

Hogwarts Legacy players can use Protego to shield themselves from damage and Stupefy as a counter to stun and weaken enemies.

Later on, players can acquire Talents so this Essential Spell works like a curse. They can then use it to chain-damage multiple enemies. If invested in, it can also deal direct damage and increase the stun duration. Hogwarts Legacy’s combat strongly nudges players to dodge and use Protego in every fight, and tying Stupefy in with the latter greatly increases the protagonist’s prowess.

1 Protego

Sole Protection Spell, Great For Counterattacks

Every Essential Spell in Hogwarts Legacy - Protego

Best Talents

Required Level

Effect

Protego Absorption

5

Successful Protego blocks will contribute to the Ancient Magic Meter. Perfect Protego blocks contribute even more.

Protego Expertise

16

Blocking a spell with Perfect Protego will send two projectiles back at enemies.

Protego Mastery

22

Perfect Protego releases a damaging blast that breaks enemy shields.

All of Hogwarts Legacy’s Essential Spells are just that, essential. However, there are some that are used more often than others—Protego easily makes the cut. This spell is great no matter the stage of the game or the preferred combat approach. It can be a bit difficult to use perfect Protego, yes, but even then it’s much easier than perfect parries in other games. This Essential Spell blocks all attacks, except those marked with a red indicator. Since it also casts Stupefy automatically, it’s fantastic in fights.

Protego can also be improved with multiple Talents in Hogwarts Legacy. While players are free to pick whichever they want, these complement every playstyle out there. Sending out a damage wave that can break shields and two projectiles can make even difficult group fights easier to control.

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Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy Tag Page Cover Art
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Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
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Released
February 10, 2023
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s)
Avalanche Software
Publisher(s)
Warner Bros. Games
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Cross-Platform Play
Hogwarts Legacy doesn't have crossplay or crossplatform support
Cross Save
you can freely use your saved data between each console as long as you are connected to the internet and signed into the same account where the saved data was created
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Franchise
Harry Potter
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty
Genre(s)
Action, RPG
Hogwarts Legacy Protagonist Looking at Hogwarts