If you have taken your first steps in the huge Hogwarts castle, and have explored a minimum of the magical corridors of the school of magic, you will surely have come across closed doors with padlocks, doors with strange symbols and doors with magical gratings, which open and they close on time. After all we know, the School of Magic and Witchcraft is full of mysteries. We have therefore decided to offer you a comprehensive guide of how to open all kinds of doors in Hogwarts Legacy, the new Avalanche Software game set in the magical world of Harry Potter. Magical in every sense.
How to open doors with symbols in Hogwarts Legacy
Among the first puzzles you will be asked to solve in the game are the Gates of Artimancy. You will find several scattered in the castle and you will surely come across them from the first hours of exploration. These doors contain a blackboard, but as you approach it pressing the Square key (X on Xbox) will reveal a mathematical puzzle to solve, with numbers and symbols. Don’t worry, it’s very simple: the number in the center of the circle represents the sum of the three numbers (or symbols) outside the circle. You will then have to find the two symbols representing missing numbers (indicated with “?” and “??”).
To do this, you just need to understand that each symbol represents a number (from 0 to 9). If you notice well, all the symbols are also displayed on the arch of the door. They must be read clockwise, from left to right, counting from 0 to 9. The Owl therefore represents the number 0, while the last symbol (the tentacled plant) the 9. If you visit the Artimanzia Room you will also find a cipher, but it will not be absolutely necessary if you are able to count up to 9. The most common mistake, which many make, is to start counting from 1, while, we repeat, the first symbol represents 0.
On the left an Artimanzia door, on the right the cipher that you will find in the Artimanzia Hall
In the case of the example you see in the picture, the solution “?” is the symbol 9 (11 + 2 + 9 = 21). While “??” will be the symbol 3 (9+5+2+3=17). Near the door you will find “buttons” with which you can interact (if you don’t find them, use Revelio): it is there that you will have to insert the symbol corresponding to the solution. There are at least 9 Artimancy Gates around Hogwarts. Once unlocked you will find yourself inside the boxes containing equipment and galleons.
How to padlock doors and how to use Alohomora
To unlock the doors with the padlock it will take a few more hours of play, as you will have to learn (and subsequently enhance) the Alohomora spell. The caretaker will teach you Gladwin Moon, you will then have to wait for an owl from him and complete his tasks. He will ask you to bring him some Demiguise statuettes scattered around Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and in the Highlands.
Demiguises can only be harvested at night, so we advise you to explore using the Wait for the time to pass function (open the map and click on the right analog sticker, R3/R). Furthermore, the same map, if you zoom out and move the cursor over individual areas, will tell you how many statuettes there are to collect in that specific area. Go there, use Revelio like there’s no tomorrow and return the Demiguises to the keeper.
In Hogwarts Legacy locked doors have three levels of lock. Continuing to bring statuettes to the keeper he will unlock upgrades for Alohomora, so that no lock will be able to resist you. However we have noticed that the minigame to use Alohomora, also due to the poor indications of the game, is not clear to everyone. Don’t worry: that’s why we’re here.
How the Alohomora spell works in Hogwarts Legacy
Once the spell is used, the minigame will present you with the inside of a lock with two sparks: one green and one red. The left analog stick moves the green spark, while the right one moves the red one. But what is to be done? It’s very simple: the green spark allows you to rotate the external part of the padlock, which is in fact green. The red one instead the internal one.
The aim is to find the right direction in which to point the sparks. It will be enough for you to do it rotate the green section until the green gears (bottom right, where there is a second green spark) start turning. If you have vibration turned on the controller will start vibrating when this happens. At that point hold that position and repeat the process with the red spark. After the two gears have made a few turns at the same time, the door will unlock.
Hogwarts Legacy: how to open the gates in the clock tower
Among the puzzles that are driving Hogwarts Legacy players crazy are the doors with the magical gratings. You can find them at the clock tower and the first time you see one is when you go to the Crossed Wands Club, early on in the game. These doors seem to open when you are away and close when you approach. Well it doesn’t, so put away your Invisibility Potions: iTheir opening and closing is linked to something else.
First of all you can unlock them only if you have learned the Arresto Momentum spell, the one that allows you to stop moving objects. In fact, the doors they open and close according to the movement of the huge pendulum which swings through all the floors of the tower. On each floor you will find a door and on each floor the movement of the pendulum will be visible. How to fix? Simple: on the door there is a specific symbol and the pendulum, as it swings, passes through a series of visible symbols.
You will notice that when the pendulum swings on the symbol shown on the door, the bars will start to open, however the movement of the pendulum is too fast, and they will immediately close again. To open these doors it will be enough for you use Arresto Momentum on the pendulum at the exact moment it passes over the symbol represented on the door.
Now go and crack them all!