Hogwarts Legacy has many essential abilities, but remembering the Merlin Trial puzzles scattered throughout the open world is certainly one of the most important ones for players who want to get more inventory and gear capacities. One particular area of the world that has three different Merlin Trials for players to tackle is the dark and dangerous Forbidden Forest.
The Forbidden Forest area is located just north of Hogwarts Castle and provides a fully-realized version of the haunting area for players to explore. In both Harry Potter films and books, Hogwarts Legacy allows players to explore the area as much as they desire without any consequences.
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Exploring the Forbidden Forest offers numerous rewards and is necessary for certain gameplay aspects. Players will be tasked with visiting the area for a variety of reasons, including resource gathering, significant quests, and the discovery of magical creatures.
Players will also find three different Merlin Trials throughout the Forbidden Forest region, as well as many other gameplay elements.
The location of each of these trials may be difficult due to how dense the Forbidden Forest is. Thankfully, each one is located by an important landmark, which makes the decision a bit easier.
One Forbidden Forest Merlin Trial near Jackdaw's Tomb, another near the Hippogriff Den, and the last one near the North Ford Bog entrance Floo flame teleportation point.
Trial one of the Forbidden Forest Merlin: near Jackdaw's Tomb
The first Forbidden Forest Merlin Trial is located across the lake from Jackdaw's Tomb. Confringo will be required to complete it.
The braziers appear to be the same height for this Merlin Trial, meaning that players may light them in any order.
Players must learn how to cast Confringo on the braziers as soon as they have been set ablaze. All three braziers must be lit before any of them has fully sunk into the ground, or you will have to start over.
The easiest way to locate all three braziers is to cast Revelio while standing near the Merlin Trial location. All three will be highlighted in a blue glow, which should make it simple for players to locate them. The exact locations of the three braziers are as follows.
- The first brazier is sitting behind a spiderweb right by the fallen tree that is near the Merlin Trial. If you haven’t done so before, you’ll want to burn away the spider web blocking it with Incendio or Confringo.
- If you are standing facing the Merlin Trial in the direction of the lake, the second brazier is to your east. It is situated slightly down a slope but is very close to the trial itself.
- The third brazier is near the lake that players can look across to see Jackdaw’s Tomb.
To be able to light all three braziers in time, you should try and remain as far away from each one as possible when casting Confringo. This is the greatest strategy for those who want to stay close to the Merlin Trial.
Merlin Trial 2 in the Forbidden Forest: Near the Hippogriff Den
The next Merlin Trial will be held in the Forbidden Forest area east of the Hippogriff Den. There are a few animal poachers around that must be exterminated before players may begin this trial.
The only spells players will need to get to the end of this Merlin Trial are Lumos and one of Confringo or Incendio. For this puzzle, players must locate three sets of butterflies around the area and lure them back to the ancient stones by using Lumos.
Three ancient stones and three corresponding butterflies are to find. All three ancient stones are situated near the edges of the Merlin Trial, but if you are unable to see them because they blend in, cast Revelio and they will appear in a blue glow.
The butterflies are a bit more difficult to find, but they are all located near the trial site.
- The first set of butterflies can be found in a cave that is embedded in the wall behind the Merlin Trial. Players can cast Confringo at the rocks found there to reveal the butterflies within. After casting Lumos to attract them, turn back toward the Merlin Trial area and approach any of the ancient stones that have blue rocks in the middle. Once you have gotten close to one, the butterflies will automatically fly onto it and light up the stone within.
- The second set of butterflies is hidden behind some vines growing behind the animal hide near the Merlin Trial. Players will need to cast Confringo or Incendio to clear the vines away before they then cast Lumos to lure the butterflies to a different ancient stone that is situated around the Merlin Trial.
- The final set of butterflies is floating around the wooden structure that is sitting over the edge of the cliff behind the Merlin Trial. Once again, players simply need to approach them and activate Lumos to lead the flying creatures back to the final ancient stone.
The Merlin Trial will be completed when all three stones have been lit by the butterflies.
Merlin Trial three in the Forbidden Forest: near the entrance to the North Ford Bog
The last Merlin Trial that players will encounter in the Forbidden Forest area is near the boundary between the Forbidden Forest and the North Ford Bog region. This Merlin Trial is another one that involves enemies, so players will want to eradicate the poachers around the area so they can complete the puzzle in peace.
This Merlin Trial is a parkour course. After placing the Mallowsweet leaves to begin the trial, knock all of the stacked rock piles off of the ancient pillars located around the area. There are five different piles that players will need to knock over.
Once all of the rock piles have been cleared, find the wooden box you may climb on to reach the top of the pillar right beside it. Now, you will have to jump from pillar to pillar in a parkour course.
To complete this Merlin Trial, players must jump from one pillar to the next without touching the ground. If you do fall and touch the ground at any point, you'll have to restart the trial from the same starting pillar by the box once more.
Vins will grow around the pillars as you go from one to the next, indicating that players have already successfully completed the next level. Many jumps seem impossible, but your character is much more intuitive than you might think and will always grab onto the pillar and climb up without touching the ground if possible.
The Merlin Trial area should therefore be outlined in eight different pillars, including the first one that players will need to climb on in order to complete the trial. This should therefore clearly indicate the mostly linear route players will need to take around the area.
Players will basically be walking in a straight line until they reach the corner, turn left, walk in a straight line for a bit again, turn left again, and walk across the last pillars to officially complete the trial. Because the usual Merlin Trial cutscene of the vines growing on the main platform and the outline of Merlin will appear.