Mountable creatures that players can ride when traversing a game world have long been a staple of RPGs, and Hogwarts Legacy holds fast to the tradition. The Harry Potter series tie-in game allows player characters to explore the famous Hogwarts campus as well as the surrounding Scottish Highlands, and magical mounts make that much easier. Players in Hogwarts Legacy can tame and obtain a variety of mounts, including creatures and magical objects.
There are a total of five available mounts in Hogwarts Legacy, though one is only available to players who preordered the game and another can only be obtained in the Deluxe Edition. Of these five mounts, four are relatively similar and serve as flying mounts that allow players to travel high in the sky above the school and the mountainous terrain nearby. One mount, however, is not only the sole ground mount in the game but also possesses unique in-game abilities.
What is a Graphorn?
Graphorns are magical beasts from the Harry Potter universe that can be found in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the fictional textbook used at Hogwarts in the field of Magizoology. The textbook describes Graphorns as large, four-legged, humpbacked, greyish-purple creatures that reside in the mountainous regions of Europe. Newt Scamander, the author of Fantastic Beasts, explains that Graphorn hide is even tougher than a dragon's and repels most spells. These strong, aggressive creatures have two horns that are highly-prized ingredients in potions but are difficult to obtain due to Graphorns' power and combative nature.
While there is a mountable Graphorn in Hogwarts Legacy, Graphorns also exist as beasts that players can find in the world. There is a Graphorn den in the southeast of Clagmar Coast, and players can find one Graphorn at a time in the den. After fighting and lowering its HP, this beast can be obtained and added to the Hogwarts Legacy Vivarium using a nab-sack. This den, however, is not available until after players complete San Bakar's Trial, the same quest line that introduces the protagonist to Lord of the Shore.
Lord of the Shore
During the Hogwarts Legacy quest line San Bakar's Trial, players are tasked with entering the den of the Lord of the Shore and defeating the boss. Lord of the Shore is a massive Graphorn, and not a beast to be trifled with, becoming supercharged and more aggressive once it is knocked down to 50% health. After the protagonist has used everything in their magical arsenal to nearly defeat the beast, they'll enter a cutscene that gives them the option to kneel before the Lord of the Shore, at which point it will stop attacking and become an ally, allowing players to ride it from that point forward.
Lord of the Shore is the only mount in Hogwarts Legacy that can't fly, which seems like a disadvantage at face value, but the Graphorn makes up for it with other unique in-game abilities. The massive beast is extremely fast on land, giving players a traversal option that is faster than walking but doesn't require flying over the terrain. Lord of the Shore's charge attack shows off just how strong and thick-skinned the Graphorn really is as it charges through obstacles, blockades, and enemies. The Graphorn mount is the only one with combat abilities, providing a satisfying bulldozing option and a nice change from constantly casting spells in Hogwarts Legacy.
While there are only a handful of mounts available in Hogwarts Legacy, the Graphorn mount provides good variety when it comes to traversal options despite only being obtainable fairly late in the game. Other mounts like the broom and hippogriff are available, and since some mounts are only in specific versions of Hogwarts Legacy, it's very possible that new mounts could be added in future DLC. But even if new mounts are added in the future, there is a strong likelihood that they, like Hogwarts Legacy's Dark Arts Battle Arena, will be locked behind a paywall.
Hogwarts Legacy is out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with PS4 and Xbox One versions releasing April 4 and a Switch release dropping July 25.
