Hogwarts Legacy Spells | How To Unlock, Effects & Upgrades

In Hogwarts Legacy players can learn a huge number of spells, including the Unforgivable Curses. Here is every spell in the game, ordered by type, as well our recommendations for which to equip in combat.

Spells In Hogwarts Legacy
Here's every spell in Hogwarts Legacy, and don't worry, you can do a lot more than just Expelliarmus! | © Portkey Games

Whether you gravitate more towards Charms or Transfiguration, there are tons of spells to learn in Hogwarts Legacy. Hell, even those who plan to specialize in History of Magic or Runes will get access to all these spells (and you'll need to learn quite a few of them if you want to pass your O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts). Oh, and before any Slytherin students ask, yes — Unforgivable Curses can be learned as well.

But all these spells can get overwhelming, and so to help you keep track, we've put them all together in one place and arranged them by type. Think of this page as your very own spellbook, and our Hogwarts Legacy hub as a kind of digital Flourish and Blotts.

You can find every spell in Hogwarts Legacy below. They are unlocked by completing certain quests and assignments in Hogwarts Legacy. We've also included a guide to unlocking each spell, our rating of how good the spells are, and a short description of the effects, in case you've forgotten the difference between Stupefy and Petrificus Totalus...

Spells In Hogwarts Legacy

Control Spells

Control spells can contribute to a fight without directly inflicting damage, perhaps by putting an enemy temporarily out of the fight, or making it harder for them to cast. Think of these spells like you would a control deck in MTG, or the Bardic spell list from DnD. Although unlike those games, Hogwarts Legacy is single-player only at launch.

Spell

Effect

Cooldown (Seconds)How To UnlockAvailable Talent UpgradesRating
LeviosoLifts enemies and objects into the air.8sMain Quest: "Defence Against the Dark Arts Class"Also effects enemies near the target.3.5
GlaciusFreezes enemies, which increases the damage they take from subsequent attacks.10sMadam Kogawa’s Assignment 1Damaging ice shards explode out of frozen targets when they're hit by basic cast attacks.4
Arresto MomentumSlows enemies down.15sMadam Kogawa’s Assignment 2Curses enemies.2
TransformationTransforms enemies into random objects.15sProfessor Weasley's AssignmentTransforms enemies into explosive objects.

3

Force Spells

Force Spells will literally pull and push enemies around (or flip them in the case of Flippendo). A lot of these spells are useful for puzzle-solving, but they're also good against low-level enemies in combat.

Spell

Effect

Cooldown (Seconds)How To UnlockAvailable Talent UpgradeRating
AccioPulls enemies and objects towards you.8sMain Quest: "Charms Class"

Pulls enemies near the target towards you as well.

2.5

DescendoSlams enemies who are in the air to the ground.10sProfessor Onai’s Assignment 1Creates a shockwave around the point where the enemy slams into the ground.2
DepulsoPushes enemies and objects away from you.10sProfessor Sharp’s Assignment 1A shockwave emenates from the player when they cast.3
Flipendo

Lifts enemies up and starts flipping them backward.

5sProfessor Garlick’s Assignment 2Curses enemies.2.5

Damage Spells

This is where the fun begins; these are spells you'll be using to put out damage in combat (or, if you're a natural Slytherin, other students). And the combat is so awesome in Hogwarts Legacy.

Spell

Effect

Cooldown (Seconds)How To UnlockAvailable Talent UpgradesRating
IncendioClose-range, high-damage fireball attack.8sProfessor Hecat’s Assignment 1A shockwave of fire emenates from the player when they cast.3
ExpelliarmusDisarms low-level enemies.10sProfessor Hecat’s Assignment 2Curses enemies.1.5
ConfringoA long-range, low-damage fireball attack.10sMain Quest: "In the Shadow of the Undercroft"Impact creates smaller missilies that seek out opponenents (the Gjallarhorn effect).

4

DiffindoSends damaging blades that slice through enemies.15sProfessor Sharp’s Assignment 2The damaging blades continue travelling through the target and hit enemies behind.

3.5

BombardaA long-range, high-damage fireball attack.15sProfessor Howin's Assignment 2Creates damaging sockwave centered on target.5

Unforgivable Curses

In addition to the standard offensive spells listed above, we will also get access to an illegal set of offensive spells, the infamous Unforgivable Curses. But you'll only be using these if you're doing an evil playthrough, obviously.

Spell

Effect

Cooldown (Seconds)How To UnlockAvailable Talent UpgradesRating
Crucio

Curses enemies and inflicts damage over time.

20sSebastian Sallow Companion Quest: "In the Shadow of the Study"

Hitting cursed enemies forces cursed projectiles to explode out from them.

4
ImperioCurses enemies and forces them to attack other nearby enemies.60sSebastian Sallow Companion Quest: "In the Shadow of Time"When charmed enemies hit other enemies they will also be efected by the charm.3.5
Avada KedavraInstantly kills enemies.90sSebastian Sallow Companion Quest: "In the Shadow of the Relic"All cursed enemies die when you cast Avada Kedavra.5

Utility Spells

These spells are entirely separate from combat. You'll be using these to solve puzzles and such around Hogwarts, and to pass your exams.

Spell

Effect

Cooldown (Seconds)How To UnlockAvailable Talent UpgradesRating
LumosCreate a light at the end of your wand.InstantMain Quest: "The Path to Hogwart"NoneN/A
DisillusionmentEnter stealth mode, and go mostly invisible.InstantMain Quest: "Secrets of the Restricted Section"Can sprint while stealthing.N/A
Wingardium LeviosaLevitate and moves objects.InstantProfessor Garlick’s Assignment 1NoneN/A
ReparoReapirs broken objects and structures.InstantProfessor Ronen’s Assignment 1NoneN/A

Conjuration Spells

These spells are used exclusively in the Room of Requirement to edit objects, add new objects, and delete the ones you no longer want.

Spell

Effect

Cooldown How To UnlockAvailable Talent UpgradesRating
Conjuring SpellAdd new items to the Room of Requirement.Instant

Main Quest: "Room of Requirement".

NoneN/A
Altering SpellEdit objects already placed in the Room of Requirement.InstantMain Quest: "Room of Requirement".NoneN/A
EvanescoDelete objects placed in the Room of Requirement.InstantMain Quest: "Room of Requirement".NoneN/A

Can You Cast A Patronus?

Perhaps the most iconic spell in Harry Potter is the Patronus Charm, which allows users to conjure spirit guardians that protect against dark creatures like Dementors and Lethifolds. The famous "Expecto Patronum" incantation has to be coupled with immensely positive thoughts and memories from the caster, which makes the spell notoriously difficult. But can we cast this spell in Hogwarts Legacy?

Expecto patronum in Hiogwarts Legacy
We can also see "Legilimens" on the chalk board, which makes no sense in a 5th year Charms class... | © Portkey Games

No, we cannot use Expecto Patronum. The only hint that we ever got was from a single still in the State of Play video (pictured above), which shows the letters "Expecto Patronum" written on the chalkboard in the Charms classroom. This can be seen at 2:29, but remember this is in a Charm's classroom and not Defense Against the Dark Arts, so it was probably always just a random cosmetic choice from the devs.

Jon Ramuz

Jon has a BA and an MA in English Literature, and as Content Lead for EarlyGame has written over 1,500 articles. He focuses on shooters, but also writes about entertainment and gaming in general....