Hogwarts Legacy – All Puzzle Types And Solutions


Hogwarts Legacy fully embraces the mysterious element of Hogwarts Castle and its surrounding areas by filling the world with a variety of puzzles. While not every single repeating puzzle is complicated to complete, a few can be a bit confusing if you aren’t sure which spell to use. Some of them are even locked until you progress further in the story, so you might have found one of these puzzles, but can’t complete it yet. Here is every type of recurring puzzle in Hogwarts Legacy and how to complete them.

Moth Mirrors

After casting Lumos, Moth Mirrors show the location of the missing moth.
After casting Lumos, Moth Mirrors show the location of the missing moth.

Moth Mirrors are blank metallic mirrors with a series of moth ornaments around the edges. To complete these puzzles you must cast Lumos on the mirror. This will reveal a different location in the mirror, usually somewhere nearby. You must navigate to the area shown in the image, where you will find a moth. If Lumos is still active, the moth will follow you. Lead it back to the mirror and cancel Lumos to have the moth return to the mirror, completing the puzzle.

Symbol Doors

Symbol doors require a bit of math.
Symbol doors require a bit of math.

Symbol Doors have a series of images around the door frame and two math puzzles on the door itself, that are revealed when you interact with the door. To unlock the door, you must find two spinning question marks nearby, and turn them to the correct animals in order to solve the math questions, unlocking the door. For a more in-depth explanation, check out our Hogwarts Legacy Door Puzzle Guide.

Statue holding a ball

These statues reward a field guide page.
These statues reward a field guide page.

The statue holding a ball is one of the simpler puzzles found around Hogwarts Castle. You are simply required to cast Leviosa on it to obtain a Field Guide page, after which the statue will disappear.

Trails of Merlin

Completing enough Trails of Merlin increases the amount of gear you can hold.
Completing enough Trails of Merlin increases the amount of gear you can hold.

The Trails of Merlin are a special puzzle, marked by a set of swirling stones on the ground. You must use Mallowsweet Leaves to start each puzzle. Once activated, you are looking around for a set of stone pillars or structures in the nearby area. What you need to do to the pillars and how many there are varies from puzzle to puzzle. The first one you encounter (via a story quest) requires you to cast Incendio on three pillars. The second one I found required me to destroy bowls on top of about ten pillars using a basic attack. The third I found required me to Accio a set of balls from a hidden spot to a stone circle in the ground, so each one will vary. Completing multiple Trails of Merlin will increase the amount of gear you can carry, which is fairly limited at the start of the game.

Unlit Pyre

The unlit pyres can appear on both ground level and attached to walls.
The unlit pyres can appear on both ground level and attached to walls.

Also around the castle you can find standing pyres that are unlit, they look similar to other standing basins found around the castle. If you cast Incendio on them, they will light up, and reward a field guide page. These also occasionally appear on walls, out of the range of Incendio. For these, you will need Confringo, which will lit the pyre and spawn the field guide page, which you will need to Accio to collect.

Eyeball Chest

You must use Disillusionment to approach Eyeball Chests.
You must use Disillusionment to approach Eyeball Chests.

Another quick puzzle found around Hogwarts, the Eyeball Chests require you to use stealth, specifically the Disillusionment in order to approach and open the chest. For the locations of all Eyeball Chests, check out our Hogwarts Castle guide and our Hogsmeade Eyeball Chest guide.

Locks

Unlocking locks requires a quick mini-game.
Unlocking locks requires a quick mini-game.

There are a ton of regular locks found in Hogwarts and the surrounding grounds. In order to open the most basic locks, you will need to have unlocked the spell Alohomora. With that spell, you will enter a lock picking mini-game, where you need to align a red spark with a red arrow, before repeating with a green spark and a green arrow. For more information on when you unlock Alohomora and how to upgrade the spell check out our How To Unlock Doors And Chests guide.

Demiguise Statue

Demiguise statues can only be collected during night.
Demiguise statues can only be collected during night.

These small statues of a bird-like creature holding a moon aren’t exactly a puzzle, but you likely have noticed a few and been confused by what they are, since they are obviously interactable. These can be collected, but only at night and only after starting the quest “The Caretaker’s Lunar Lament,” at which point you can begin to collect them. If you encounter one during the day, open the map and choose to advance time to night, so you can collect it without leaving or waiting for it to naturally become night. Collect enough and you can upgrade Alohomora to pick higher level locks. For help finding these statues, check out our Demiguise Statue locations guide.

Ancient Magic Traces

Ancient Magic can collected after investigating the starting area.
Ancient Magic can collected after investigating the starting area.

Ancient Magic Traces are found in the wilderness surrounding Hogwarts and similar to the Trials of Merlin, these puzzles can vary in solution. The main solution is that after interacting with the Ancient Magic Traces, three silver balls of Ancient Magic will spawn in the nearby area, with vague smoky lines pointing to each one’s location. All you need to do is collect all three balls, which will complete the quest. Most of these are centered around small buildings, where you will need to platform through the building. Collecting enough of these increases your Ancient Magic meter, which should give you an edge in combat.

Hogwarts Legacy is developed by Avalanche Software, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game has been embroiled in controversy due to transphobic remarks from Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Although she is not personally involved with its development, she stands to profit from its success. For more, read our in-depth article on how Rowling’s comments have impacted the trans community. In this article, you will also find links to trans creators you can support, as well as charities you can donate to.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.



Source link

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick says Sony is ‘not returning our calls’

With Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard continuing to run up against regulatory resistance, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is now taking to the airwaves to defend the deal. In a new interview with Fox Business (opens in new tab), Kotick said regulators are reluctant to approve the deal because they’re not familiar with how the videogame industry works, and implied that the real anti-competitive behemoth in the market isn’t Microsoft, but Sony.

“I think what we’re experiencing right now are regulators who have very little experience with our industry,” Kotick said. “There’s probably a lot of consolidation that could happen over time. It’s an extremely fragmented industry, and today the dominant players are Japanese and Chinese companies. And so I think as they’re starting to learn about the industry, they’re realizing that that’s an unfounded concern.

“You start with, ‘What even is Call of Duty?’ It’s a military simulation that’s based on military experiences through the course of history. There is nothing proprietary about that as an idea. If Sony, for example, wanted to make games based on [the] military, they have a film studio and a library of television programs that are all inspired—like they’ve just done with The Last of Us, this fantastic new show that’s on HBO. But they created this program from the ground up based on a videogame. So there’s an enormous amount of competition. I think when regulators start to understand that, they’ll actually think about this transaction differently.”

This isn’t the first time the success of The Last of Us has come up in discussions regarding the Microsoft—Activision deal: In January, chief communications officer Lulu Cheng Meservey said on Twitter (opens in new tab) that the success of the show reflects the depth of Sony’s talent and resources “across gaming, TV, movies, and music,” and proves that “they will be just fine without the FTC’s protection.”

My initial impression was that Meservey’s tweets seemed like a real deviation from Microsoft’s official position—that it will not make Call of Duty a console exclusive (opens in new tab).

(Image credit: Twitter (Lulu Cheng Meservey))

But Kotick drilled down further on the point during the interview, implying that Sony isn’t as worried about the future of CoD as it publicly presents.

“Sony’s not on the phone to us. In fact, they’re not returning our phone calls,” Kotick said. “And so I think one of the things that’s surprising to us is, this is the time where ordinarily we’d be talking about the future and new opportunities together for partnership, and they just haven’t been returning our phone calls. And so I don’t know that we’re as valuable as maybe they’ve represented to the regulators that we are.”

After reiterating that the business model embraced by both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is getting their software “on every microprocessor that has a display,” Kotick looped back around to The Last of Us to imply that Sony is the company regulators should be worried about, and that Microsoft needs to bag Activision Blizzard just to have a chance at keeping up.

“People have tried for years to create adaptations of videogames, and they have not done that successfully,” Kotick said. “It’s one of Sony’s enormous competitive advantages, is that they have a television and film capability, and this rich library of intellectual property. And so they were able to do something that no other company has been able to do. And I think they did it because they have an extraordinarily talented group of people at the developer that made the game, and they were really able to take advantage of the resources of Sony.

“And this is something that we and Microsoft will have to compete against—and Microsoft doesn’t have a film studio, they don’t have a film library, they don’t have a television division, they don’t have a market share division of music that I think must be 35 or 40% market share of the music industry. [Sony] can use all of those assets in unique ways that Microsoft doesn’t have the ability to do.”

Kotick has been awfully quiet on the acquisition front until this week (he also spoke about the deal this week on CNBC), which could reflect growing concern at Microsoft and Activision Blizzard about the fate of the buyout. No final decisions have been made by any major regulator at this point, but the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority recently signalled that it’s ready to oppose the deal unless Activision Blizzard is broken up ahead of the merger—say, by spinning off the Call of Duty business completely, a move that I have to think would scupper the deal entirely. The FTC has also sued to stop the acquisition, and while there was some early expectation that lawsuit was more of an on-the-record registration of opposition than a real effort to end it, the longer this drags on the more it looks like heels could be digging in.

If nothing else, Kotick at least managed to convince Fox Business host Liz Claman of the rightness of his cause: After the interview was over, she said, “You kind of just made the case for why it’s not negative for competition.”


Source link

Hogwarts Legacy Guides Hub



Hogwarts Legacy gives Potterheads the open-world magic school game many of them have been waiting for, but that also means, for better or worse, this is very much a modern sandbox game with many dozens of mechanics to master, secrets to uncover, and a full suite of spells to cast. Here you’ll find all our Hogwarts Legacy guides in one place. Whether you need help with collectibles, Talents, or something else, find it all here.

Starting out: FAQs and Wizarding World quizzes

Here, you’ll find tips just prior to starting out, such as Wizarding World quiz results and Twitch Drops, as well as answers to some common questions.

Wizarding World quiz and choosing a Hogwarts House – You can put your thumb on the scale for a particular House if you so wish, but for the more authentic experience, you can actually take a quiz on the Harry Potter website and let your authentic results determine your sorting.

Account linking and free cosmetics – After seeing your quiz results, you might want to link your account to personalize the experience and earn additional cosmetics.

Twitch Drops and Merlin’s Cloak – You can also obtain rewards via Twitch Drops, including Merlin’s Cloak.

Can you get a Patronus? – You’ve done a quiz for your House and Wand. Surely, you’d get a Patronus, right? Right?

Which House to pick and what their differences are – Once you start the campaign, you do need to choose a House. There are a few key differences among the students in Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw.

Campaign progression

These guides should help you find your footing within the first few hours of the campaign until much later once you’ve progressed enough.

Beginner tips – Before you begin playing, read our Hogwarts Legacy tips for new players to give yourself an advantage over the game’s many troublemakers.

Relationship quests – Relationship quests are what the game calls its many different kinds of optional side missions. These are denoted on the UI and map with white quest markers rather than the critical path stuff which uses a yellow marker. Here’s what to expect with these and why you’ll want to make time for them.

Changing your appearance – Not happy with what you got after character creation? Don’t worry since you can still make changes… for a small price.

Transmog – Like a lot of RPGs you can transmogrify your gear, which is a fancy word for changing its visual style without losing its gameplay bonuses. If you like the look of one gear item but the abilities of another, here’s how to use transmog in Hogwarts Legacy.

Merlin Trials: Increase inventory size –Your inventory size can be expanded after you hit a certain part in the story. Here’s exactly when and how you can do it.

Best Talents to unlock first – Your skill tree, known as Talents, comes a few hours into the game, oddly enough. But your unlockable skills are fewer in number than the full skill tree offers and you can’t respec, so take our advice to ensure you claim the right Talents for your hero.

All spells and the best spells to use – Learn magic spells for combat, puzzle solving, and a bunch of other functions.

The High Keep – Rescue a Hippogriff friend in this old fort.

All flying mounts and ground mounts – That Hippogriff will eventually become your first flying mount, and you might even obtain others, too.

Side missions, spells, and collectibles

Hogwarts and the surrounding village is very much modeled after other sandbox games, which means there’s plenty to do here. From recurring side missions to minor collectibles, find what you need to achieve 100% in-game.

All puzzle types and solutions – There are several recurring puzzle types you’ll see around the open world. Here’s what each one requires.

Symbol Door Puzzles – While exploring Hogwarts Castle, there’s a good chance that you’ll stumble upon these ornate doors with animal symbols.

Hogwarts Castle Eye Chests – Speaking of chests, you can sneak as you approach these “Mimic-esque” things to amass gold.

Hogsmeade Eye Chests – You can obtain more gold by looking for these containers in Hogsmeade Village.

House Chest and Daedalian Keys – Acquire all the tokens to show off your House’s colors.

Alohomora: Locked doors and chests – There are countless treasures all over the game world, but you need to learn a skill just to acquire those that are inside locked chests.

Demiguise Statues and Moons – Alohomora might net you extra loot, but you still need to upgrade it. You can do so by collecting a lot of Demiguise Moons.

The Vivarium: Capturing and taming Beasts – Feel like taking a break from all the questing? The Vivarium acts as a sanctuary where you could pet and feed rescued magical creatures.

Vivarium Biomes – Eventually, you can unlock other thematic locales for your Vivarium.

Hogwarts Legacy is developed by Avalanche Software, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game has been embroiled in controversy due to transphobic remarks from Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Although she is not personally involved with its development, she stands to profit from its success. For more, read our in-depth article on how Rowling’s comments have impacted the trans community. In this article, you will also find links to trans creators you can support, as well as charities you can donate to.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.



Source link

You Can Get 3 Months Of Game Pass Ultimate For Just $28 From eBay



You can grab three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for just $28 at eBay (normally $45). The prepaid cards come from the third-party seller store4dxl, whose deals we’ve covered before. They have a 100% positive feedback rating with over 1,400 reviews–in other words, we’re confident this is a legit deal.

Note that these are physical cards and must be shipped to you; they’re not digital codes. As such, they may take a few days to arrive, but shipping is free.

With Game Pass Ultimate, you get access to the massive Xbox and PC Game Pass libraries, which include day-one releases for Microsoft first-party games like the recent Hi-Fi Rush. Game Pass Ultimate also includes monthly complimentary games through Games With Gold, EA Play’s downloadable games library, exclusive Microsoft Store discounts, and access to Xbox cloud streaming on mobile. While you can sign up for Game Pass Ultimate for just $1, the service bumps up to $15/month after that, at which point three months of service would cost $45. This deal knocks the total down to just $28, making it perfect for existing Game Pass subscribers to extend or upgrade their membership. Head over to eBay to grab the prepaid card while they’re still available.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.



Source link

Hollow Knight: Silksong playtester encourages patience, says it’s a ‘glorious game worth the wait’

After seven months since we’ve last seen the game, a playtester on Hollow Knight: Silksong took to the game’s Discord to assure fans of its progress after a disappointingly Silksong-free Nintendo Direct this week.

(Image credit: Hollow Knight Discord)

Long-anticipated videogames and squirrely fan communities obsessing over every detail or lack thereof go together like adorable bugmen and ill-starred underground kingdoms (remember in 2021 when Elden Ring fans were losing their minds (opens in new tab) because there was no new information about it for more than a year?), and the Hollow Knight community is showing signs of crossing a similar psychic threshold after the sequel did not make an appearance in Nintendo’s showcase. 

Lots of memes about “copium” and “hopium,” a few “Here lies Squidward’s hopes and dreams” type posts, and a prodigious volume of messages were the word of the day⁠—seriously it was more like a top Twitch streamer’s live chat in there than any Discord server I’ve ever been on. Speaking as an outside observer, it looked like Philly after the Superbowl. 

In response to users proverbially climbing up lampposts and chewing on the walls, someone working on the game actually said something definitive about it⁠—Silksong’s first official sign of life since getting shown off in Microsoft and Bethesda’s showcase (opens in new tab) last summer.

“I feel for you all, I really want this game to release ASAP and the testers are working hard to get it out to you, as well as [Team Cherry] of course,” One of the game’s playtesters, Graig, assured fans (credit to Daily Silksong News on Twitter (opens in new tab) for the spot). “It will come and it is a glorious game worth the wait. Love you all.”

In all fairness to the Hollow Knight Discord, the mood was light and Graig was largely playing along, providing playful and clearly ludicrous fake release dates before this assurance. I’d largely characterize the chat as more “lively” than “upset,” but there was one guy in there with a Lando Calrissian profile picture who joked about setting fire to Team Cherry HQ. Kind of a nerf herder thing to say if I’m being honest. There’s nothing particularly illuminating about Graig’s statement, but it’s still a nice proof-of-life for the long-awaited Metroidvania. Silksong is real and there is a small, secret cabal that is playing it right now.

It is interesting how Nintendo Directs have become a default source of hype and speculation for Silksong fans⁠—in mirrors of the livestreams with an open chat, I always notice a ton of people spamming the topic. It has to be a residual excitement from the game’s reveal and 20-minute gameplay demonstration (opens in new tab) as a part of Nintendo’s E3 2019 presence, though the only looks of the game we’ve gotten since have come courtesy of Edge Magazine (opens in new tab) and Microsoft. As PC Gamer senior editor Wes Fenlon put it, “Every big press conference is a new opportunity for disappointment (opens in new tab).”

Silksong still has no official release date, and your best bet remains facing an uncertain wait with grace and dignity⁠—not joking about burning down the studio. Maybe try Tunic (opens in new tab) while you wait, that game’s got some nice Hollow Knight vibes. Otherwise you can check out our guide to everything we know about Hollow Knight: Silksong (opens in new tab).



Source link

7 Cozy Steam Next Fest Game Demos To Snuggle Up With This Weekend


Stream Next Fest is currently underway and if you haven’t gotten around to playing a few of the hundreds of demos now available, I’m here to help you out. However, while I’m as stoked for System Shock as the next person, I think what we all could use right now is a break. And hey, what better way to take a break than to spend a weekend recharging with some cute and cozy games?

For all my fans of Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Studio Ghibli films, and any other piece of media with cute art and good vibes, I’ve compiled a list of seven demos I think you’ll love. All these demos will be available until February 13, so be sure to get to playing if one (or all of them) stand out to you. In addition, wishlisting games on Steam helps developers in numerous ways, so be sure to add any and all that pique your interest. A bonus is you’ll also be the first notified when they’re released and, eventually, go on sale.

Dating in Lakeburg Legacies
Dating in Lakeburg Legacies

Lakeburg Legacies

If you are an avid fan of management sims but have always found yourself thinking they’d be even better with some kissing, boy do I have a recommendation for you. Lakeburg Legacies is a medieval village management sim that allows players to also be their town’s matchmaker. In order to build your village up and farm resources–all things found in your typical town management sim–you have to successfully wed your townsfolk to nearby settlers or other villagers and encourage them to get to baby-makin’. The wooing process requires you pay attention to what the couples’ likes and dislikes are, and ensure they get through three successful dates with their potential partner. After all, it might be hard for someone who loves kittens and is anti-war to hit it off with someone who enjoys public executions. Additionally, a bigger village can lead to bigger drama, including dramatic divorces and interactions where you must carefully decide the fate of your citizens. Lakeburg Legacies is the spiritual successor to The Sims Medieval I have been waiting for, and it’s incredible.

Qui and Tamarack in Our Life: Now and Forever.
Qui and Tamarack in Our Life: Now and Forever.

Our Life: Now and Forever

Prior to finding this game listed on my recommended feed, I had never heard of the Our Life series–turns out, it was recommended to me for good reason. In the short time I played Now and Forever, I fell in love with the visual novel’s characters, charming dialogue, autumnal aura, and sweet illustrations. In short, the demo was phenomenal, and left me longing to play more and experience the tender story I was weaving. This brings me to another thing this game does superbly: It gives the player far more options than I have ever seen another game offer. While some might find the experience a bit wordy and the focus on characters/their relationships slightly overwhelming, I appreciated all the attention that went into making the game inclusive, customizable, and deeply personal. It is a truly special game, the likes of which I’ve never played before, and I can’t wait for its full release.

A zoomed in view of the town in Fabledom.
A zoomed in view of the town in Fabledom.

Fabledom

Similar to Lakeburg Legacies, Fabeldom is a management sim that also injects a bit of romance into its core gameplay. While the town management aspect of it is a bit more grounded, it’s also extremely fleshed out, allowing you to settle down on a procedurally generated map, buy nearby properties that contain useful resources, and play the game similarly to something more strategy-based, like Age of Empires. However, it also has a bit of humor to it, as a narrator presents the game to you through a storybook and interjects cheeky comments every now and then. Where the romance comes in is the portion of the game where you must choose if you are a “prince” or “princess” seeking a “prince,” “princess,” or “either.” And while this didn’t culminate into anything in the demo–I hit the demo’s population limit before any sort of romantic interactions occurred–it would seem there’s more to Fabledom than meets the eye, and I’m very excited to experience it later down the line.

Mika presents a small animal to a neighbor.
Mika presents a small animal to a neighbor.

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is a Ghibli-esque adventure game in that it has adorable, vibrant art and feels a lot like a gamified Kiki’s Delivery Service. In it, you play a young witch named Mika who travels across a lush island on her broomstick, delivering packages to the townspeople below. As you make more deliveries, you will grow closer to the island’s inhabitants, uncover mysteries, and grow from a scrappy novice into a full-fledged witch. Even in the demo, I was impressed by the size and liveliness of the town, as well as the character art. This game has a lot of potential and is definitely one to try out.

Your courier glides away in Mail Time.
Your courier glides away in Mail Time.

Mail Time

If you’re looking for a sweet lil’ platformer with some serious cottagecore vibes, look no further than Mail Time. In Mail Time, you get the chance to create your own cutesy courier who delivers letters to forest critters. While the platforming is a bit rough in the demo–though I suspect it would be better with a controller than my mouse and keyboard–it is still a lot of fun bounding off mushrooms and gliding through the air. As you deliver letters (and finish up various quests the needy critters rope you into) you earn scout badges that your mushroom-hatted mail person can proudly display. Bonus: This game is also one of the most accessible I played, with plenty of options to suit different playstyles as well as zero fall damage.

Mineko explores town in Mineko's Night Market.
Mineko explores town in Mineko’s Night Market.

Mineko’s Night Market

Mineko’s Night Market has major Animal Crossing vibes, yet is extraordinarily different from the hit Nintendo game and thoroughly has its own vision and personality–a remarkable feat. The whimsical game sees your character arrive in a small, Japanese-inspired town at the base of Mount Fugu where she must learn to craft items to sell during the Night Market in order to earn money. However, this is just one small part of the game. You can also accept quests and gift items to villagers–thus improving your relationships with them–partake in various minigames, and explore the land to get down to the bottom of a mystical mystery. Oh, and if that’s not enough, there are a lot of cats in this game. Like, a lot. And you can pet them all.

A view of the pixel-art village in Spirittea.
A view of the pixel-art village in Spirittea.

Spirttea

If Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is Kiki’s Delivery Service, then Spirittea is Spirited Away, and I’m sorry to once again reference a Ghibli movie, but bear with me–it’s applicable! In Spirittea, you play a city-slicking writer who moves to a village in rural Japan. However, once you get there, you discover that some strange and supernatural occurrences are taking place. After fixing yourself a cup of tea, a spirit comes to you and reveals that these are happening because the village’s bathhouse–which was one a lavish paradise spirits would bathe in–is in complete disarray, causing the spirits to become restless. As you are the only one in town who can see the spirits, it becomes your job to fix up and run the bathhouse, managing every aspect of it from cleaning towels to seating spirits in giant vats of water (see? Spirited Away!).

While doing this you also must acclimate yourself to the town and use your “spirit vision” to stop more menacing spirits. It’s an extremely ambitious game that definitely needs more polish and character customization, but what’s there is promising. With a Stardew Valley-meets-Japan aesthetic, I’m both thinking and hoping it will be a hit in the future.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.



Source link

Hogwarts Legacy – All Vivarium Biomes And Upgrades Guide


Hogwarts Legacy allows you to capture and tame dozens of magical creatures. However, you’ll soon find out that the space in your Vivarium, a sanctuary for animals in the Room of Requirement, is quite limited. Thankfully, there’s a way to remedy the issue somewhat, though it’s going to take quite a bit of progression. Here’s our Hogwarts Legacy guide to help you unlock all Vivarium biomes. These are, technically, the only way to upgrade the game’s Vivarium mechanic.

Unlocking Vivarium biomes in the campaign

Just a quick recap: The default Vivarium in Hogwarts Legacy has space for 12 animals, but you’re only allowed a maximum of 4 different species. As such, if a biome already has a Unicorn, Hippogriff, Thestral, and Puffskein, you won’t be able to add something else, like a Giant Toad.

That means the only method to acquire a Vivarium upgrade is to unlock an entirely different biome altogether. This is done by completing Deek’s sidequest arc.

Unlocking new Vivarium biomes in Hogwarts Legacy requires the completion of Deek's quest chain. You'll be battling spiders and poachers while you're at it.
Unlocking new Vivarium biomes in Hogwarts Legacy requires the completion of Deek’s quest chain. You’ll be battling spiders and poachers while you’re at it.

Coastal biome

The second Vivarium biome that becomes available to you is the Coastal biome. The requires the completion of The High Keep, where you’ll also earn your flying mount. You’ll then receive a quest called Plight of the House Elf. The moment you start this quest, a cutscene will play, showing you the new beach location.

As for the Plight of the House Elf objectives, it involves entering a cave and battling a lot of spiders, including an Acromantula.

The Coastal Vivarium is one of the few available biomes in the game.
The Coastal Vivarium is one of the few available biomes in the game.

Swamp biome

After completing the Plight of the House Elf, as well as a main quest called Charles Rookwood’s Trial, Deek will have another task for you. The quest, Foal of the Dead, unlocks the game’s Beast breeding mechanic.

Mountain biome

The fourth and last Hogwarts Legacy Vivarium biome that you can unlock takes you to a quaint area nestled on a mountain. To get it, finish the Niamh Fitzgerald’s Trial quest, which gives you access to the Phoenix Rising sidequest. Upon completion, you’ll be able to enter the biome, and you’ll even have a very unique pet.

At the end of this entire endeavor, you’ll have four Vivarium biomes, which means you can have numerous animals in each in spite of the species limit per location.

Hogwarts Legacy is developed by Avalanche Software, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game has been embroiled in controversy due to transphobic remarks from Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Although she is not personally involved with its development, she stands to profit from its success. For more, read our in-depth article on how Rowling’s comments have impacted the trans community. In this article, you will also find links to trans creators you can support, as well as charities you can donate to.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.



Source link

How To Breed Animals And Beasts In Hogwarts Legacy


If you like catching animals in various games, then you’ll likely do the same in Hogwarts Legacy. The Vivarium, a special location in the Room of Requirement, acts as a sanctuary for captured and tamed Beasts. Still, if you progress further in the campaign, you’ll unlock a method that allows your animals to have their own offspring. Here’s our Hogwarts Legacy guide to help you breed your Beasts and animals in the Vivarium.

Foal of the Dead quest: The breeding mechanic

To start breeding magical creatures in Hogwarts Legacy, you’ll need to complete Plight of a House Elf and Charles Rookwood’s Trial. Once you’re done with these quests, Deek, the house elf in the Room of Requirement, will give you another task: the Foal of the Dead.

Foal of the Dead entails doing the following:

  • Capture a male and female Thestral.
  • Buy the Breeding Pen Spellcraft from the Tomes and Scrolls shop in Hogsmeade.
You'll need to look for a male and female Thestral in their den.
You’ll need to look for a male and female Thestral in their den.

Finding a couple of Thestrals

Buying the spellcraft recipe is fairly self-explanatory. As for the Thestrals, you can find a den in the northeastern corner of the world map near San Bakar’s Tower.

The idea is to approach stealthily by casting Disillusionment, then choosing a target and casting Levioso. This is when you should use the Nab-sack to begin the capture minigame. Also, since you need one male and one female Thestral, take note of their sex when you check their info.

One particular Thestral den can be found in the northeastern part of the map.
One particular Thestral den can be found in the northeastern part of the map.

The Breeding Pen

Return to the Room of Requirement and talk to Deek. A cutscene will play, which will unlock the Swamp biome (just one of four Vivarium biomes in the game). Enter the new world space and release the two Thestrals. Here are some other tidbits:

  • Build the Breeding Pen by spending 18 Moonstones.
  • Choose the Thestral as the species.
  • The Beast breeding process in Hogwarts Legacy takes 30 minutes, so do a quest or grab some food if need be.
  • When that’s done, you’ll see an offspring. Pet and give it treats.
  • Return to Deek to complete the quest.
Construct the Breeding Pen and wait for a baby magical creature to be born. It only takes 30 minutes.
Construct the Breeding Pen and wait for a baby magical creature to be born. It only takes 30 minutes.

This is just one particular example for a specific type of animal. Don’t forget that the same Beast breeding mechanics apply as long as you can find a male and female of the same species.

Hogwarts Legacy is developed by Avalanche Software, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game has been embroiled in controversy due to transphobic remarks from Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Although she is not personally involved with its development, she stands to profit from its success. For more, read our in-depth article on how Rowling’s comments have impacted the trans community. In this article, you will also find links to trans creators you can support, as well as charities you can donate to.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.



Source link

Square Enix developer lets slip that yes, a Final Fantasy Tactics remaster is probably on the way

Diehard Final Fantasy Tactics fans waiting patiently for a remaster (or, you know, just official word that one is going to happen) have a new reason to be cautiously optimistic. In an interview with fan site Finaland (opens in new tab), Theatrhythm Final Bar Line producer Ichiro Hazama let slip that “the Tactics team [at Square Enix] is incredibly busy at the moment.”

Final Fantasy Tactics is 25 years old now, and other than some handheld editions (like a PSP remaster in 2007) it hasn’t received much attention in the last decade—even as other games (opens in new tab) in the franchise are frequently being updated. It’s also never been ported to PC, making it something of a white whale among Square Enix’s library among FF fans who play on PC. “Hey, Square Enix: it’s time to put Final Fantasy Tactics on PC already,” PC Gamer features editor Wes Fenlon wrote (opens in new tab) in 2017.

Fans have sustained their hope through the huge (and surprisingly accurate—six out of nine Square Enix games to appear in the leak have subsequently been confirmed) Nvidia leak (opens in new tab) from 2021, which included a listing for Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster, and the recent releases of similar tactical RPGs including The Diofield Chronicle (opens in new tab), Triangle Strategy (opens in new tab), and Tactics Ogre: Reborn (opens in new tab). If anything, Square Enix is embracing the genre with more gusto than it has in years.

The latest whiff of hope actually comes very indirectly, in a chat about Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, a rhythm action RPG coming to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch next week. When asked whether fans can expect characters from Final Fantasy Tactics to be added to the game, Hazama said they’d first have to get permission “from the [development] team who owns Tactics,” and that’s apparently a problem right now.

“The Tactics team is incredibly busy at the moment, they have other things to do,” Hazama said. “They are heavily involved in another project at the moment so we just don’t have time to talk to them. I think that’s probably why more Tactics characters haven’t been included in [Theatrhythm], we just need time to find out the details. I think that’s what is going on, at the very least with Tactics characters. I’m sure they will put them into the game, Fujiwara-san wants Tactics, I know that.”

The inference is obvious: If there’s a team at Square Enix dedicated to Final Fantasy Tactics, and they’re too busy to answer the phone right now, then they have to be doing something else, right? And what else would it be? Because, you know, they’re literally the Final Fantasy Tactics team.

Again, this is not by any means an official announcement, although it does come from an official Square Enix guy. But it does expand the pile of evidence that someday—someday pretty soon, even—Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster will finally become a real game.


Source link

Hogwarts Legacy arachnophobia mode arrives just in time for launch

In a fantastical world where people get turned into all sorts of animals and objects, the modder behind Hogwarts Legacy’s arachnophobia mode (opens in new tab) chose to turn all the spiders into red cubes. It’s not the most creative solution, but it’s also their first mod and it’s ready to go for the game’s full release today.

The Hogwarts Legacy arachnophobia mode does exactly what you’d think it would do: it removes all the spider enemies in the game and replaces them with much less threatening red boxes. Its creator, Norskpl, says the mod works in the late-game Tomb of Treachery location. The assumption is that all the spiders in the game—including the bosses—use a similar model throughout.

Norskpl asks users to let them know if that’s not the case with a seemingly unintentional joke that made me chuckle: “If there is a spider model that I skipped and has not been swapped, please write about it in the bugs section.”

To install the mod, you need to have a Nexus Mods account and will need to download Norskpl’s zip file. Once you have that, you just need to unzip it in the game folder, which can be found by right-clicking the game in your Steam library, hovering over manage, and selecting browse local files. You can also navigate to the game folder in file explorer. The default location should resemble this: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Hogwarts Legacy. Norskpl provided a video tutorial (opens in new tab), too. 

The people listened and put a few issues with the mod in the bugs section. There are dead spiders inside the Tomb of Treachery that don’t get removed, and if you set the cube spiders on fire they burn as if they were still using their old models. Both bugs are filed under “being looked at,” by Norskpl.

Hogwarts Legacy launched today and came with a small patch. Norskpl says patches shouldn’t alter the mod, so once you have it working, you should be living spider-free for the foreseeable future. 


Source link