Hogwarts Legacy’s main story isn’t a massive one, and if you’re stick to the critical path, you can finish it in about 25 hours- but those who went to invest more time in the game have plenty of scope to do just that. Across its massive open world map, Hogwarts Legacy is brimming with optional activities and side quests, and though the latter in particular never reach the standards of some of the games in this genre that have the best optional content, there’s still plenty of stuff to love. Here, we’re going to talk about a few such side quests in Hogwarts Legacy that, if you’re playing the game, you definitely shouldn’t miss.
NOTE: There are spoilers ahead for several side quests in Hogwarts Legacy.
THE MAN BEHIND THE MOON
Unlocked a few hours into the game, The Man Behind the Moon is a long, multi-hour spanning side quest that tasks you with collecting Demiguise Moons scattered throughout the Hogwarts map, and it goes above and beyond in trying to deliver something that’s more than just a cookie collector collectathon quest. It starts off with a fun stealth section that also first grants you access to Alohamora, following which many previously inaccessibly locations become accessible. Once that section is complete, finding Demiguise Moons at nighttime for the next several hours is an inherently fun activity in and of itself, while making progress in the quest also unlocks more powerful versions of Alohamora, opening up even more previously locked rooms and areas.
THE DAEDALIAN KEYS
Similar to The Man Behind the Moon, The Daedalian Keys is another side quest that tasks players with hunting down a certain number of collectibles. This one is much simpler and more straightforward in nature, seeing as there’s only sixteen of the titular Daedalian Keys to find and collect, all of which are found in Hogwarts Castle itself- which, of course, means you can wrap up the quest pretty quickly if you want to. The reward at the end of the quest – a Relic House Robe that glows every time you cast a spell – might not be particularly special, but the activity of finding the keys, following them to their cabinets, and then getting them into their keyholes never stops being fun.
IN THE SHADOW OF THE STUDY
Hogwarts Legacy may not have a morality system baked into its gameplay, but it does flirt with that idea in its “In the Shadow of…” line of side quests. These quests come in a group of three and revolve around Slytherin student Sebastian Sallow, with whom you dive deeper and deeper into the world of Dark magic, ultimately learning all three of the Unforgivable Curses, one each per quest. The first, In the Shadow of the Study, sees you entering a secret scriptorium built by Salazar Slytherin himself, where you navigate a maze, see Sebastian’s friend Ominis speak Parseltongue, and learn Crucio, the torture curse. At the end of this side quest, you can even find a diary entry written by Salazar Slytherin himself, where he even talks about the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk slumbering within.
IN THE SHADOW OF TIME
The stakes continue to get higher as you progress further in Sebastian’s questline, and in the quest titled In the Shadow of Time, you get to learn Imperio, the mind-control curse. Before that, of course, you have to traverse a catacomb filled with spiders and search for a lost relic, while once you have learned the curse, there’s still plenty more to go. The tensions between Sebastian and Ominis continue to rise to dramatic effect, while the quest caps off with a final fight against a group of Ranrok’s Loyalists in Feldcroft, Sebastian’s hamlet.
IN THE SHADOW OF THE RELIC
Sebastian’s eventful questline comes to a close with In the Shadow of the Relic, a late game quest that sees you finally learning the third and final Unforgivable Curse, Avada Kedavra, which instantly kills whatever target you cast it on. There’s plenty to like about this quest, from the direct the story takes to the choices you’re asked to make (though calling it the illusion of choice would perhaps be more accurate). Of course, the highlight is getting to add the Killing Curse to your arsenal, which, in spite of its long cooldowns, is an excellent spell to have when you’re in a tight spot.
A FRIEND IN DEED
Sirona Ryan, the owner of the Three Broomsticks in in Hogsmaede Village, is introduced pretty early on in Hogwarts Legacy, and she continues to be an important secondary character for much of the game. One of Hogwarts Legacy’s best side quests, in fact, is one that revolves entirely around her. From a design perspective, this side quest doesn’t do anything in particular that stands out, but it certainly delivers from a narrative perspective, as you get to learn more about Sirona, her past, and the friendships she formed when she was still a student at Hogwarts.
FLIGHT TEST
Being able to fly around in your broomsticks is one of the best things that Hogwarts Legacy lets you do, so it makes sense that a collection of side quests that allows you to further upgrade your broom is one of our favourit bits of the game’s optional offerings. The three quests – titled Flight Test, Sweeping the Competition, and The Sky is the Limit – require you to take on timed flying challenges. Yes, the design of the quests sounds pretty ordinary on paper, but thanks to how inherently fun broom flight is in the game, the time trials manage to remain quite enjoyable. The fact that each of the three upgrades you get makes broom flight even better is, of course, an added bonus.
MINDING YOUR OWN BUSINESS
One of the longer side quests in the game, Minding Your Own Business is quite an eventful rollercoaster, and it delivers in more ways than one. From beginning to end, it keeps sprinkling in a variety of objectives, from solving puzzles to engaging in tense combat encounters to exploring new locations, with a particular highlight being when you play with a projectile-throwing poltergeist. Narratively, too, there’s plenty to like here, and the house elf that the quest revolves around in particular is a highlight of the quest, not least thanks to the way her story revolves and the part you play in it.
PHOENIX RISING
Several hours into Hogwarts Legacy, you’ll add a Vivarium facility to the Room of Requirement, which allows you to capture and tame your very own personal collection of magical beasts, allowing them to live much healthier and happier lives away from the grasp of poachers. One quest in particular sees you heading out with Deek in search of a Phoenix, and it serves as one of the game’s highlights. From the design of its combat encounters to the fact that you get to spend more time with Deek – one of the game’s better characters – to, of course, being able to capture a Phoenix, this quest does more than enough to stand out in the memory.
THE UNIQUE UNICORN
The Unique Unicorn is a pretty brief side quest and definitely one of the more straightforward ones that we’ve spoken about in this feature. Even so, it’s one that we can’t help but bring up, purely because, as its name suggests, it lets you capture an elusive and mystical unicorn and bring the glorious beast back to your Vivarium. If you’re hellbent on completing on Hogwarts Legacy’s take on the Pokedex, this quest is pretty much unmissable.
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