Hogwarts Legacy isn't just about the magical school; it's also about the surrounding area. The game includes a number of villages and hamlets that are all hidden magical secrets. However, the most fully featured secondary location is Hogsmeade, in the nearby town.
Hogsmeade is the only all-wizarding village in the United Kingdom that allows Hogwarts students to unwind outside the school. In Hogwarts Legacy, it does the same thing, though it's packed with useful shops, interesting NPCs, and hidden secrets.
You'll be sent to Hogsmeade to collect some supplies very early in the game, so here's your guide to making the most of your visit.
Let's get started by spending a few galleons.
Ollivander's wand shop should be your first stop when it comes to Harry Potter and the Sorceror's stone scene. Here's how to personalize your wand, though it's important to note that your choices on your first visit are locked in for your character. Nonetheless, you shouldn't be concerned that you're missing anything out on this.
Tomes and Scrolls is a great place to pick up plants, brew potions, and wrangle your collection of magical beasties. Each station includes upgrades, for example, allowing you to pot more plants, brew multiple potions simultaneously, or provide your pets with educational toys to keep them entertained.
You'll soon need as many healing Wiggenweld potions as you can, so be sure to stock up on Dittany Leaves. Fertilizer is also recommended here for increased yields.
J. Pippin's Potions will enable you to complete Professor Sharp's assignments and give you the recipes for the Eduras, Focus, Invisibility, Maxima, and Thunderbrew potions. These affect your offense and defense in battle, as well as your spell cooldowns ('Invisibility' does what you'd expect). Many ingredients can also be purchased elsewhere if you want to save money.
Although the game is still open, Spintwitches Sporting Needs still offers all you need to know about flying brooms, including some costly upgrades. To max out your broom, you'll need a whopping 12,500 galleons.
Gladrags Wizardwear will sell gear for you to wear, with their collection changing as you progress through the game. However, in our experience, you'll discover many new items of clothing throughout your adventure, so maybe avoid this until you've completed most of the rest.
Brood and Peck has all of your needs covered. You purchase items to upgrade your gear and sell off any magical creatures you no longer need (we're certain they'll be returned after the quest 'The Elf, the Nab-sack, and the Loom.'
Dogweed and Deathcap sell the more aggressive Wizarding World plant life, such as Chinese Chomping Cabbage, Mandrake Seed, and Venomous Tentacula. In combat, we haven't needed to rely on these items much, although throwing a furious cabbage at your foes is unquestionably fun.
Madam Snelling's Tress Emporium is a place where you can change your character's appearance for a small fee. Snelling can change your hairstyle and color, add freckles and moles, alter your appearance, and remove fresh facial scars (uh, thanks Madam Snelling).
Other interesting places to see
The main quest will take you to The Three Broomsticks, where you'll meet Sirona Ryan, who is incredibly helpful. Other locations you should definitely see include Zonko's Joke Shop, the Hog's Head, Flutes & Lutes, Steepley & Sons, and Honeydukes. These aren't shops, though, as most will contain a collectable item or Field Guide Page to add to your collection.
Setting up a shop
There's a lot of hogsmeade that's currently exclusive to PlayStation 5 (and perhaps PlayStation 4 when the next version comes) and starts with Penny and House Elf on the east side of town. She'll send you over to Cassandra Moon to purchase it (though this doesn't require you to spend any gold).
To get the shop back in working order, you must clear a fairly lengthy but cool dungeon filled with deadly mannequins. This dungeon is quite lengthy and closes with a fun boss battle.
Once this is done, you may name your shop and get the advantage of being able to sell unwanted equipment for 10% more than anywhere else — which is probably the most efficient way to pay off those expensive brushes.
The game 'Haunted Hogsmeade' will be available on Xbox and PC in a year's time on February 10, 2024. Although, locking off such a cool section of the village for a whole year is unsettling.
More to come
Although you'll return to the town many times and notice it change as the seasons pass, revealing much more about the Hogsmeade story would tarnish the story. Just about every obscure corner has something to offer, so you won't walk away empty-handed.
Hogwarts Legacy is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC, with PS4 and Xbox One versions on April 4, and the Nintendo Switch on July 25.