Hogwarts Legacy combat can be tough especially when you find yourself overwhelmed by enemies like Dark Wizards and frustrating spiders. This is why it’s important to have a good understanding of how the game works. These combat tips will help you even if you’re still early on and don’t have many spells unlocked.
As you get further into the main story, you’ll have access to all sorts of cool spells for defeating enemies. By following these combat tips and tricks, you may have a better time staying alive and avoiding losing progress. Even though checkpoints usually aren’t too far back. And if you’re working through the Dark Arts Battle Arenas, you may need some of these combat tips.
Tip 1 – Spell Combos to Use in Hogwarts Legacy
These are a few examples of fun spell combos I like to use even though you may want to change them up a bit.
Deciding what four spells should be on your bar for spell combos can be tough when you have a lot to pick from. However, the basic answer is to have one of every spell type on your bar. This is so you can break enemy shields to make them vulnerable. With that said, there are a bunch of fun spell combos to use such as the examples below.
- Accio, Levioso, Flipendo, Arresto Momentum
- This combo works well for juggling enemies even though you won’t deal much damage with these spells. But, it can help keep an enemy in the air for a Dueling Feat.
- Levioso, Descendo, Glacius, Diffindo
- Levioso and Descendo work well for a quick two-spell combo, the same way Glacius and Diffindo do. While also using Levioso and Diffindo against Dugbogs.
- Confringo, Bombardo, Transformation, Depulso
- I like this combination for dealing damage to enemies far away since Confringo and Bombardo aren’t short-range like Incendio.
- Imperio, Disillusionment, Petrificus Totalus
- If you’re a fan of Petrificus Totalus for defeating enemies quietly, Imperio is a great spell to take. If an enemy spots you, you can use Imperio and still sneak behind them. Also, don’t forget to use Revelio to see where enemies are. Combine this with your minimap to see where enemies are looking.
- Glacius, Diffindo, Confringo, Flipendo
- This is my go-to spell combination for trolls if you don’t have Dark Magic unlocked yet. If you do, you can toss any of the three in there as well.
Tip 2 – Read the Enemies Collection Page
Some of the best combat tips and tricks you’ll find are on the Enemies page under Collections.
The constant notifications Hogwarts Legacy throws at you can make it offputting to check your Collections. However, the Enemies page is extremely useful for learning enemy weaknesses. Unfortunately, if you don’t visit this page, you’ll likely never learn major ways to deal a lot of damage. Here are a few examples.
- You can use Flipendo to make a troll hit itself in the face with its’ club after it slams it down. This will deal a good chunk of damage while also stunning them for a moment.
- Levioso will lift a Dugbog’s tongue out making for a nice Diffindo combo to slice it. You have to use Levioso when they’re preparing for their tongue attack.
- Levioso or Flipendo can pull a Scurriour spider out of the ground when they try to burrow. This will deal significant damage, potentially defeating them.
Tip 3 – Plants and Potions Can Be a Gamechanger
Make sure to visit Hogsmeade for seeds so you can grow your own plants and ingredients.
The many different potions and plants can make combat much easier if you have them. This is why it’s worth taking advantage of your Room of Requirement for planting ingredients and producing potions. So you’re always prepared before running into action.
Especially since Wiggenweld Potions for healing can keep you going through tough fights. But, you can also use potions like Maxima to strengthen your spells. This makes a huge impact when you’re dealing with tough enemies and bosses. While using plants like the Mandrake can stun a large group of enemies as well.
Tip 4 – How to Unlock More Spell Slots in Hogwarts Legacy
Having four sets of spells is a lot better than being limited to just four spells.
Having 26 different spells to cast with only four spell slots can be a pain. Even if you haven’t unlocked all 26 yet, you probably have more than four that you want to use. While you can’t expand your spell set, you can unlock three more spell sets to quickly cycle through.
Once you make enough progress in the main quest line, you’ll unlock talent points for major upgrades. We’ll dive more into this in the next combat tip. However, you can unlock spell sets via the Core section for one talent point each. The first two Spell Knowledge talents require reaching level 5, while the third requires level 16.
Tip 5 – Upgrade Your Spells With Talents
If you want to reach your full potential as a wizard or witch, you’ll need to use those talent points.
Unlocking talents gives you the opportunity to improve your character significantly. From level 5 to the max level of 40, you’ll get one talent point per level, providing 36 in total. For those of you doing the math, this unfortunately means you can only pick 36 of the 48 talents available.
With that said, there are plenty of great talents worth grabbing so this can make it a tough decision. Especially since there isn’t currently a way to respec in Hogwarts Legacy either. Regardless, I recommend checking the Spells and Core tab immediately for some strong upgrades. Even though the Stealth tab can be tempting too since Petrificus Totalus is a bit overpowered.
Tip 6 – Take Advantage of Critical Hits
While fighting enemies with a lot of health, one of our best combat tips is to prioritize using critical hits.
Enemies become vulnerable to critical hits when they’re staggered or stunned, regardless of how. Such as using Levioso to lift an enemy up or Glacius to freeze them. These are neat tricks for getting those beefy yellow numbers for extra damage.
With that said, your window for dealing critical damage is usually limited since the enemy will recover. This will vary depending on how they’re stunned. So sometimes it’s better to react with a quick basic cast attack. While other times, it’s a great opportunity to deal massive critical hits with powerful spells.
Tip 7 – Sometimes It’s Easier to Dodge Attacks
When a group of Dark Wizards and enemies surrounds you, it’s easier to switch between casting and dodging frequently.
Early on in the Hogwarts Legacy story, you’ll unlock Protego for blocking enemy attacks. Even though you can’t use Protego to block every attack, you can use your dodge to evade most types. This is why it’s often easier to dodge instead when enemies surround you.
The main disadvantage to dodging every attack instead of using Protego is that you won’t get an opportunity for Stupefy. This helps with getting those critical hits we just went over. However, a lot of Hogwarts Legacy is spent staring at your spell cooldowns to know when to cast. So you can’t always stare at your character’s head to know whether to dodge or use Protego.
Tip 8 – Don’t Forget to Equip Better Gear
Aside from equipping better gear for higher stats, you can also upgrade your clothes for traits too. Even with the best combat tips, you’ll still need good gear.
Leveling up gives access to better gear for increasing your defense and offense stats. This will supposedly help block incoming attacks better while also dealing more damage to enemies. So make sure you equip better gear to stay ahead. You’ll want to throw on that new hat, pair of gloves, cloak, etc. And if you’re worried about how you’ll look, you can still change your appearance.
You can also sell old gear so you can afford the best gear and upgrades in Hogsmeade. Otherwise, you’ll find even if you match the level of an enemy, you may not be strong enough to fight them. This is a common hint the game loves to throw at you.
Tip 9 – Save Your Ancient Magic For Tough Enemies
Make sure you collect all those blue little orbs to charge your Ancient Magic meter so you can vaporize enemies like this screenshot.
Ancient Magic is a great way to deal massive damage to enemies with some fun animations as well. However, you’ll need to charge it up by getting large combos against enemies or via certain talents. This is why it’s often better to save it for tough enemies that have a lot of health.
While I wouldn’t save it forever and be afraid to use it, I do recommend targeting the toughest enemy in each fight. Especially if you’re in a boss fight with a bunch of small enemies nearby. Even though you can use Ancient Magic on the easier enemies, you’ll get more out of it by hitting the boss. Or at least taking out an annoying enemy poking at you.
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Our guide coverage of Hogwarts Legacy is for work. Some of the proceeds from our coverage will be donated to trans charities. Information regarding Rowling’s transphobic acts can be found via the GLAAD Accountability Project. Those interested in supporting trans game developers can visit this Twitter thread.
That’s all there is to this long guide on the best Hogwarts Legacy combat tips and tricks. If you’ve made it this far, I didn’t realize I was going to write so much about it! While I didn’t say too much about Dark Magic spells, obviously they’re powerful and can be thrown into any combo. Check some of our guide recommendations below or visit the guide hub.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.