Hogwarts Legacy appears to be a roaring success that has let players throw themselves wholeheartedly into the Wizarding World. While many are excited to fly around on a broom or go to classes in the infamous school of witchcraft and wizardry, other players are more intrigued by how combat works in the game.
Hogwarts Legacy has a much-praised combat system involving the casting of various spells from the Harry Potter films and universe. Some will be more familiar than others, but when it comes to combat the spells are only as important as the player’s capability to dodge roll.
7 Avada Kedavra
Yes, players can simply use the killing curse to just straight-up kill people. Yes, it is a most amusing way to suddenly cause chaos in the game. However, the game makers obviously had to balance this out somehow, and therefore the cooldown time on the killing curse is fairly substantial, by far the largest in the game. Nevertheless, Avada Kedavra can be obtained from Sebastian Sallow during a side mission and is then available for use.
Some players may wish to use a style of combat that doesn’t involve traipsing in and out of the dark arts though, and therefore it is best to leave the killing curse and the other unforgivable curses to one side. It is a late-game spell but does instantly get rid of a lot of pesky bosses if the player manages to find it. Crucio and Imperio would also be great allies in tough fights, but are also found much later in the game.
6 Confringo
One of the most powerful (without being outright evil) spells that players can add to their repertoire, Confringo is a spell that explodes a fireball at the enemy, which causes massive damage. Quite simply a ball of fire, it is unsurprising that this is one of the better big-damage spells to use on bosses throughout the game.
Confringo is another spell given by Sebastian Sallow, and even if players don’t desire its use for bosses throughout the game, they will at least need it for the Merlin Trials which pop up during the game regardless.
5 Expelliarmus
A lot of the best spells for bosses are very dependent on the type of boss the player is facing. A variety exists throughout the game, and many of the best spells to use against them have to be very specifically timed. Expelliarmus is a well-known disarming spell and can be used against fellow wizards when battling them.
When other wizards try to go for a major offensive attack of their own, hitting them with the disarming spell can be a major advantage in the course of the battle. Not a damaging blow, but something perhaps even more useful for boss fights.
4 Descendo
Another violently fun spell to get to grips with in Hogwarts Legacy is Descendo, a spell that slams an enemy into the ground forcefully. Given from Professor Onai’s assignment after the Helm of Urtkot has been recovered, Descendo is particularly useful in boss fights against the spider bosses fought over the course of the game.
If a spider boss goes to rear up as if they are coming in for an attack, Descendo will be particularly damaging as they are slammed even more brutally into the ground. While other spells will be more successful against other bosses, nothing short of an immediate killing will succeed better than Descendo against spiders.
3 Depulso
Many of the force spells in the game are useful, but Depulso can literally push enemies off buildings and cliffs which makes it one of the most satisfying and cheap ways to get quick wins against a variety of enemies, given tall things to fall off are everywhere in Hogwarts Legacy.
Depulso is described by the game as repelling enemies and objects with significant force, and it is acquired early in the game from Professor Sharp’s assignment which comes after discovering the Map Chamber.
2 Bombarda
Another late-game spell that does something similar to Confringo but with a huge explosion on impact of the fireball which does massive AOE damage in addition to the already huge damage from wherever it hits. Better against packs of low-level enemies but not to be underestimated for the use on bosses, Bombarda is a fantastic and necessary spell to gain.
Even if players don’t wish to delve into the dark arts of the unforgivable curses, Bombarda is a spell they can gain later in the game to massively increase their arsenal. This is gained from Professor Howin’s assignment after the first Ancient Magic Trial.
1 Glacius
Of all the spells and combos necessary for boss attacks in Hogwarts Legacy, almost nothing is as much of a vital secret as Glacius. This spell will freeze any opponent for a few seconds and in doing so, causes all follow-up attacks in the combination to do vastly more damage. This is so massively important to key weak moments in boss fights that it cannot be avoided.
Players should use Glacius as their first strike on bosses any time there is a DPS phase, and follow it with their big attacks to do the most major damage possible at all times. The unforgivable curses may be huge, but nothing is as important or as available from early in the game as Glacius.