Hogwarts Legacy Combat Mechanics
Following the Hogwarts Legacy preview event, we have made a quick guide to combat.
Keep reading to learn about Hogwarts Legacy Combat Mechanics.
This is based on the various playthroughs and taking notes of what the players have said. I have also run the article past Lynette from Wizard PhD for verification.
Shields in Hogwarts Legacy – Using and Defeating Protego
When you or an opponent use the shield charm, it will have a particular colour. In order to defeat this shield, your opponent needs to use a spell with the same coloured icon.
For example: To defeat a yellow shield, use a yellow spell such as Levioso.
When an enemy is casting a spell against you, a coloured sun icon will appear around your head.
If the colour of the icon is yellow, then you can block the spell using Protego. However, if the icon is red, then the spell cannot be blocked with Protego. You will need to dodge it if you don’t want to take the hit.
The icon is animated and the rings will shrink to a point where they overlap. If you cast Protego at this point you will get a counter attack.
Triangle is the default button on the PlayStation for Protego.
How to Target Enemies in Hogwarts Legacy
One of the most useful tips is to lock on to a target so you are free to dodge out of the way of un-blockable spells.
To do this, use R3 to lock on to the target. Moving the joystick to the right or left will cycle through the enemies around you.
Being Levitated
Ever found yourself dangling like a lemon in the air? There is a quick action prompt to press one of the action buttons (Square, Circle etc). This button is chosen at random so pay attention to the prompt. You want to respond quickly and accurately.
Stealth
You can use disillusionment to make yourself hard to see. It’s important to note that you are not invisible, just very hard to see.
You can use this method to sneak past people. Sneak behind an enemy and use Petrificus Totalus to freeze them.
Enemies have an alertness meter which goes from grey to yellow to red. This is affected by your proximity to the enemy and if you have cast disillusionment.
Be careful who is around you, though. If an enemy sees their colleague suddenly freeze and fall over, they will come and take a look. They will see you if they get too close to you.
As well as sneaking and disillusionment you can also cause a distraction you lure the enemy away. To create a distraction, hold the L2 to focus/zoom on a spot (it has a little circle in the middle of the screen for your aim), and then hit R2 for a basic spell attack to land at your aim.
Casting Spells
Hogwarts Legacy has a really unique and fresh approach to attack. It almost looks like dancing when done correctly.
You can cast a spell to levitate an opponent and use a combo of spells against them while they are just hanging there. For example, you can Levitate, use basic attack three times, add an Accio to bring them closer, and then hit them three more times with basic, and then add something like Incendio.
Ancient Magic
There are two aspects to the Ancient Magic.
First the Ancient Magic Throw. When you see R1 you can summon and throw objects at opponents. It’s also very possible to miss, so practice this one.
The second is the devastating Ancient Magic spell. The two bars next to the spells fill up when you complete combos or pick up ancient magic from defeated foes.
When available R1+R2 will appear above the heads of the enemies. Pressing both of these will result in either a strike like lighting or the body slamming effect.
Conclusion
There is a fair amount to learn in regards to combat in Hogwarts Legacy.
Also knowing it is one thing, building up the muscle memory to both defend and attack in the heat of battle is another.
Also special thanks to WizardPhd for fact checking, adding extra info and the footage.
Do you have any questions regarding Hogwarts Legacy Game Mechanics? Ask below.
Mark is a bit of an odd English chap. He used to run The Taskforce Times, a fictional online newspaper for the Wizards Unite mobile game, which was cancelled January 2022.
Mark also runs a YouTube channel dedicated to Magical Games while also enjoying life with his wife and daughter. Also he is an Archer.
