Hogwarts Legacy has a cool combat trick that many players seemingly didn't know about that revolves around Petrificus Totalus. Hogwarts Legacy gives players many different ways to fight back against the enemies they encounter in the game. An effective way of eliminating a large group of enemies in any given area is by sneaking around with the Disillusionment charm and then picking off nearby foes one by one with Petrificus Totalus.
Petrificus Totalus in Hogwarts Legacy is the game's equivalent to one-hit stealth kills in other games. It functions exactly like those moves do in other games as well, with players able to activate the spell by sneaking up behind unsuspecting enemies and pushing a single button. However, Petrificus Totalus is far more versatile than many fans may have realized, with uses in combat outside of Hogwarts Legacy's stealth scenarios.
As pointed out by Reddit user Wooryn, Hogwarts Legacy players can use Petrificus Totalus even when they're in open combat. To do this, players need to compromise their remaining opponents in some way, like by freezing them with the Glacius spell, for instance. This also works with Arresto Momentum and Imperio. As long as all the enemies in the area are inflicted with one of these ailments, players can move in close and will be given the option to cast Petrificus Totalus for an instant knockout. Needless to say, this should significantly speed up some combat encounters in the game.
Hogwarts Legacy enemies have a lot of health in the late game, and so shortcuts to speeding up combat encounters can become crucial. Using this Petrificus Totalus trick is one way of doing it, but another method is by utilizing Avada Kedavra, one of the three Unforgivable Curses in Hogwarts Legacy. Avada Kedavra is an instant one-hit kill with most enemies, making it one of the most useful, if morally questionable, spells in the game.
In the meantime, fans that start using Petrificus Totalus in this way may notice one interesting detail pointed out by Wooryn in their Reddit post. Whenever the Hogwarts Legacy player character casts Petrificus Totalus in battle like this, they actually shout the spell instead of whispering it like they do when it's cast in stealth sections. This is another neat attention to detail that shows the developers thought through all kinds of different scenarios when it comes to how Hogwarts Legacy players may utilize their arsenal of spells in the game.
Hogwarts Legacy is out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X with PS4 and Xbox One versions coming April 4 and a Nintendo Switch port dropping July 25.