Hogwarts Legacy drops you straight into your fifth year at Hogwarts and asks you to pick a house within the first few minutes. This guide covers what to focus on in your first hours, how to choose a house, what unlocks later, which mistakes to avoid and how long the game takes. The tips apply to every platform, contain no story spoilers and reflect the game as of 20 October 2026.
What Hogwarts Legacy is
Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action RPG set in the wizarding world of Harry Potter during the 1800s. It was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games under the Portkey Games label. You play a student who doesn’t start as a first-year but joins Hogwarts directly in the fifth year.
The game is strictly single-player, with no online mode and no co-op, so you play it alone and at your own pace. You attend classes such as Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and Potions, where professors teach you spells, plant growing and potion brewing.
Choosing a house: quick and stress-free
You choose your house at the start of the game. The Sorting Hat asks you a question with four answers and suggests a house based on your pick:
- Daring points to Gryffindor.
- Curiosity points to Ravenclaw.
- Loyalty points to Hufflepuff.
- Ambition points to Slytherin.
The hat only makes a suggestion. You can accept it or choose a different house. The main story is the same for every house; the differences are mostly your common room and one quest that only your house gets. If you want to experience another house, start a new game. What a house actually changes, and why your wand barely matters, is covered in our guide to houses and wands.
Your first hours: what to focus on
Push the main story
Most of what makes Hogwarts Legacy fun unlocks as you progress through the main story: your broom, the Room of Requirement, talents and many of the spells. Early on, it pays to follow the main quests and save open-world exploration for when you have more tools. Plenty of treasure and Merlin Trials need spells you only get later anyway.
Use Revelio all the time
During the prologue with Professor Fig you learn your Basic Cast, the Protego shield, the Stupefy counter, Lumos for light and Revelio. Revelio highlights items, enemies and interactive objects nearby, even through walls. Use it constantly, especially when hunting for Field Guide pages that are otherwise easy to miss.
Complete professor assignments
Throughout the year, professors hand out assignments and reward you with new spells. That is how you get Flipendo, Glacius or Incendio, for example, and without them part of the treasure and Merlin Trials stays out of reach. Do assignments as soon as they appear. Where each spell is learned is listed in our spells guide.
Eye chests and gear slots
You will soon find eye chests that snap shut when you approach. You can only open them with Disillusionment, which you learn in the story quest Secrets of the Restricted Section. Each of these chests is worth 500 Galleons, so remember where they are and come back.
Gear slots are limited. Merlin Trials unlock extra slots, so don’t skip them once you have the spells they require.
What comes later
- Brooms and flying. Flying is one of the ways to travel, and the game has a flying class and broom races. Your broom unlocks as the story progresses.
- Magical beasts. Some creatures can be tamed and ridden.
- Room of Requirement. It is where you upgrade and customise your character, grow plants and brew potions.
- Talents. They unlock during the main story, not right at the start. Points for any levels you already have above level 5 are awarded retroactively all at once. Our talents guide explains the system.
- Photo Mode. It was added on 5 June 2024 and becomes available after the quest that unlocks the Field Guide.
What to avoid
- Don’t stress over wand stats. You design your wand at Ollivanders on your first visit to Hogsmeade. Wood, core, length and flexibility are purely cosmetic and have no effect on spell power or damage. Pick what you like.
- Don’t trust old talent advice. Guides from 2023 claim talents can’t be reset. Since the 5 June 2024 update they can, so you can’t ruin your character.
- Don’t expect Quidditch. You can fly and race on a broom, but Quidditch isn’t playable.
- Don’t expect multiplayer. There is no online play or co-op, so you can’t play it together with a friend.
- Don’t chase everything at once. Without story spells and assignment rewards you’ll get stuck at a lot of treasure and have to come back anyway.
How long Hogwarts Legacy takes
According to PCGamesN and PC Gamer, the main story takes roughly 30 hours. If you want to finish everything, expect 50 hours or more. The difference comes mostly from side quests and exploring the open world, which you can pace however you like.
Physical copies and what’s next
If you own the game on disc or cartridge, you need an internet connection for the day-one patch. The digital version already includes it. Which editions exist, what the game costs and which subscriptions include it is covered in our editions and price guide. Warner Bros. Discovery referred to a second instalment in its August 2026 shareholder letter, more in our Hogwarts Legacy 2 news story.
Join our Discord to ask other players which house they picked or where they got stuck: GamersTogether Discord.
Wondering whether the game is worth it? Our Hogwarts Legacy review covers what players and critics praise, where it stumbles and the score we gave it.
FAQ
The one you like. The main story is the same for every house; what changes is your common room and one house quest. The Sorting Hat only suggests a house and the final choice is yours.
Your broom unlocks as you progress through the main story, not right at the start. The game has a flying class and broom races, but you can’t play Quidditch.
Yes. The 5 June 2024 update added talent point resets, so you can rebuild your character without starting over. Older guides saying it’s impossible are out of date.
The main story takes roughly 30 hours according to the outlets above. Finishing everything takes 50 hours or more.
No. It is a single-player game with no online mode and no co-op.
Information verified on 20 October 2026. More guides are waiting in the Hogwarts Legacy hub.