Hogwarts Legacy boasts many fantastical creatures around the school’s grounds. Many of these creatures seem to be enemies such as trolls, Inferi, or Acromantulas, but there have also been sightings of friendly creatures like graphorns, mooncalves, or hippogriffs. There has not been any confirmation about whether a Care of Magical Creatures class will be offered in Hogwarts Legacy’s course curriculum, but if not, players could still learn about the game’s creatures through its Hufflepuff companion character Poppy Sweeting.
Not much else has been shared about Hufflepuff’s Poppy beyond the fact that she has a great adoration for magical creatures. She apparently puts more faith and trust into creatures than she does humans, and hates poachers as a result. In this regard, it would make sense if a lot of Poppy’s companion questline in Hogwarts Legacy revolves around defending magical beasts from said poachers. If so, this could supply a human enemy type for players to duel, but also introduce all the magical creatures that Hogwarts Legacy has to offer.
Poppy Sweeting Could Take Players Around Hogwarts Legacy’s Castle Grounds
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Hogwarts Legacy’s house companions may take players to areas they would not have explored as thoroughly otherwise. There could be many reasons why players may want to explore the grounds around Hogwarts, but with Poppy as a guide, players’ exploration outside the castle walls could be enriched.
It is possible that players could stumble across a hostile graphorn on their travels, and with Poppy these creatures could be tamed or docile. There has already been a glimpse of a graphorn in a docile, comfortable state through marketing, the beast lying on its side, as well as characters such as Natsai Onai gently laying a hand upon their foreheads. It is unknown how integral Poppy will be to players with regard to certain creatures, but it would be excellent if she could help the player become familiar with which creatures are inherently friendly, and which are hostile to the denizens of Hogwarts.
It would seem that trolls and other antagonistic creatures may be out of Poppy’s wheelhouse, and she may not be enticed to teach players offensive spells used against hostile beasts. But there will hopefully be some incentive or reward for following through on Poppy’s Hufflepuff companion questline that players would not receive otherwise.
Hogwarts Legacy’s Hufflepuff Companion Character Could Introduce Hippogriff Riding
It is possible that Poppy Sweeting’s aptitude for magical creatures introduces players to hippogriffs. Flying on hippogriffs was one of the earliest design choices revealed in Hogwarts Legacy’s marketing, letting fans know that they would be able to explore the area around Hogwarts while soaring on a hippogriff’s back.
There are a number of ways that Hogwarts Legacy’s open-world hippogriff flight could be introduced, but it would be satisfying to have that mechanic unlocked by progressing through Poppy’s companion questline. Being able to fly anywhere on a hippogriff seems like a late-game addition, unless WB Games Avalanche truly does not mind how players traverse its open world at an early stage.
Broomsticks will also be available, but perhaps brooms do not give players the amount of open-world freedom that hippogriffs do. If so, hippogriff flight could be a late-game unlock after completing Poppy’s quest, or unlocked in the midst of it. It looks like hippogriff riding may be introduced in Natsai’s companion questline instead, working with the player to free one. But having hippogriff riding be unlocked through Poppy would make the most sense because of how she takes after magical beasts.
If players learn to befriend creatures in their travels with Poppy, it would also make sense for Poppy to introduce the player to hippogriffs. In the meantime, fans will have to wait to hear more details about what each companion’s questline entails in Hogwarts Legacy.
Hogwarts Legacy releases February 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A Switch version is also in development.
