Hogwarts Legacy: A Guide to Solving Hogwarts' Puzzles

By: Alexis Askew

If you remember anything about Hogwarts, it’s that the castle is full of magic and mystery, and that’s no different in Avalanche Software’s adaptation of the wizarding world’s magical school. In Hogwarts Legacy, players get to explore the castle that inspired so many dreams.

Within the castle are secret rooms, puzzles, and more. From the Arithmancy Door puzzles to secret rooms, we’ll be taking a look at the best way to uncover all the secrets inside of Hogwarts.

Arithmancy Door Puzzles

Scattered around the castle are unique looking doors surrounded by ten symbols and, nearby, are two dice-like wall pieces that you can spin. Solving this puzzle requires simple math and you are rewarded for your struggle.

There is an Arithmancy Door cipher in a chest close to the Divination Classroom Floo Powder Flame, but with this guide, it isn’t necessary.

The first step to solving this puzzle is to approach the door and press the button corresponding with your console to reveal what is written on the chalkboard. Two triangles with circles on each point are revealed with a mix of numbers and symbols. Each symbol represents a number and, if you count around the door starting from zero all the way to nine, you’ll easily find the corresponding number.

There will always be a question mark in one of the circles or in the center of the triangle. The larger number inside the triangle represents the total of all the numbers added up. Adding the two known numbers together from the circles and then subtracting it from the number in the triangle will give you the number you are looking for. Now, all you have to do is find the symbol that corresponds with your new number and you’re good to go.

The process should look like this:

2 + Cerberus(3) = 5

9 - 5 = 4.

Therefore, the symbol you need is the fifth one starting from the bottom left, since you start at zero and count to four.

Once you’re done with the first triangle and have spun the dice with one question mark to the correct symbol, do it for the bottom triangle and the dice with two question marks and then the door will open for you.

Moth Mirror Puzzle

Hanging up around the castle, and blending in with the hundreds of portraits in Hogwarts, are the Moth Mirrors. These mirrors are pretty simple to solve and luckily, you’ve already learned the spell you need to solve them before arriving at Hogwarts. Lumos!

You don’t need to speak to Lenora Everleigh in the Central Hall to begin, but in case you didn’t notice them yet, she tells you about their mysterious presence. To begin, you approach the mirror and cast Lumos. Doing so will reveal an image of a location within Hogwarts that is usually close by.

Keep Lumos activated as you explore the area and once you find the correct location, a moth will hover above your wand. Even if you are not dead on the exact location, the moth will be attracted to your light either way. Now, bring the moth back to the mirror with the corresponding location and stop casting Lumos. The moth will land on the mirror and you will be rewarded with a Field Guide page.

Depulso Room Puzzles

There are technically three Depulso Rooms hiding within Hogwarts Castle. These rooms require the use of the spell Depulso in order to enter and move the boxes inside around the room. They can be a bit tricky, but the ultimate goal is to create a path to get to the other side.

The quest to enter the Hall of Herodiana, the very first Depulso Room, doesn’t become available until after The Helm of Urkot main quest. You must speak to Sophronia Franklin in the Astronomy Wing and she will tell you all about Herodiana. Upon activating this quest, the map will direct you to a corridor that has a protruding shape on the wall. Casting Depulso on it will allow you to enter.

After completing the quest and getting an outfit as a reward, the player can then explore two other Depulso Rooms in the castle. They are labeled “Depulso Room 1” and “Depulso Room 2” with little doors as markers on the map. The first one is in the Library Annex and the second one is in the Bell Tower. Once you find them, you follow the same steps that you did to complete the Hall of Herodiana.

The Clock Tower Pendulum Puzzle

Within the Clock Tower are barred doors with symbols on them that will slightly open for you and then slam shut. You may have cast some spells on these doors, like Glacius or Arresto Momentum, but to no avail. However, you’re on the right track.

In order to open these doors, you must go up to the first level of the Clock Tower where you will see these symbols etched horizontally across part of the clock. They are also on the ground at the very bottom of the clock tower.

The clock is a pendulum. If you cast Arresto Momentum on the pendulum when it crosses in front of the symbol corresponding with the door you are trying to open, it will freeze both the pendulum and the moving door, allowing you to enter. But the spell only lasts for so long, so act fast!

This can also be done from the ground level for the door down there. Whenever the pendulum is over the symbol on the ground corresponding with the door you are trying to enter, cast the spell up at it and it works the same way.

The Viaduct Bridge Puzzle

On what is known as the Viaduct Bridge in the Great Hall section of the map, lies a mysterious circle on the ground and braziers with matching symbols. In order to complete this puzzle, you will need to have completed Professor Hecat’s first assignment and acquired Incendio, the fire spell.

On the circle at the end of the bridge are four symbols and Roman Numerals ranging from one to four. Cast Incendio to light each brazier and then you can turn the base with the Roman Numerals carved into them. Your goal is to match the Roman Numeral to the symbol based on the circle on the ground.

Once all braziers are lit, with the numbers matching the symbol, the circle will open and reveal a ladder that takes you to some pretty good loot.

The Key of Admittance

Locked in a tower since the founding of Hogwarts is a spelled ancient book and quill that documents every child selected to attend Hogwarts. Just as the wand chooses the wizard, this book and quill are responsible for choosing the wizards and witches that will attend Hogwarts as soon as they are born.

In order to find this secret, you need to be pretty far into the game. First, you have to have completed the main quest The Polyjuice Plot and unlocked Alohomora III by completing The Caretakers Lunar Lament. Once that is done, you can head on over to the Headmaster's Office.

With access to his office, you can now proceed to the balcony and up a set of stairs to a locked door. Using Alohomora, you can enter the room and the Key of Admittance will be in there.

From there, return to the corridor right outside the headmaster’s office. If you follow the hallway to the very end, you will find a barred door with a keyhole. Insert the key and the door will open, taking you up a winding staircase where you will find the Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance.

Daedalian Keys Puzzle

You may have noticed these cabinets placed around Hogwarts with a keyhole. In order to learn more about them, talk to Nellie Oggspire, a Gryffindor girl lingering in the Transfiguration Courtyard. She will tell you all about the Daedalian Keys and a side quest to find all sixteen keys.

These keys are definitely worth finding, as they give you tokens specific to your house that goes to a chest in the common room. In that chest is a beautiful and unique article of clothing that is totally worth your time.

So, in order to begin, you must explore the castle to find all of these tokens. A telltale sign of their nearness is the buzzing and high pitch noise that is the key itself flying around. Once you find the key, it will lead you to the cabinet and then you can interact with it. You must slap the key as soon as it crosses in front of the lock in order to open it.

If you come across the cabinet first, the key is always somewhere nearby. Just keep an ear out for it.

These are the best and most common mysteries within Hogwarts, but there are plenty more to keep an eye out for. Hogwarts Legacy does a great job at taking the lore from the books and movies and bringing it in as part of the game. The secrets and puzzles scattered around the castle bring life to the magical world every potterhead wants to be a part of.