With a total of 31 spells to learn, there’s plenty of spells competing to be among the Hogwarts Legacy best spells list. We’ll only focus on combat oriented spells, as spells like Reparo are only used in certain situations during exploration and questing, where being the best doesn’t mean much. With that out of the way, from Confringo to Crucio, here are the best spells to use in Hogwarts Legacy combat gameplay.
You’ll no doubt want to know how to unlock all spells in Hogwarts Legacy so you can get your hands on the best spells in Hogwarts Legacy. There are also many other ways of improving at combat, such as Hogwarts Legacy Talents so it’s good to know how to earn Talent points as well so you’re ready to make a build. We’ve had experience with every spell on offer in our playthrough for our Hogwarts Legacy review.
Hogwarts Legacy best spells
These spells excel in combat gameplay, offering high damage and crowd control capabilities to help you keep up with the fast pace of combat.
The Hogwarts Legacy best spells are as follows:
- Arresto Momentum (Control)
- Bombarda (Damage)
- Confringo (Damage)
- Crucio (Unforgivable Curse)
- Descendo (Force)
- Expelliarmus (Damage)
- Glacius (Control)
- Imperio (Unforgivable Curse)
- Incendio (Damage)
- Levioso (Control)
Arresto Momentum (Control)
Slows both objects and enemies, giving you extra time to plan your next move.
Bombarda (Damage)
Deals heavy damage on impact, accompanied by an explosion that can destroy heavy obstacles and hit surrounding enemies.
Confringo (Damage)
A long-range bolt that deals damage on impact. Enemies hit with fire-based attacks will continue to take damage for a few seconds, during which time collisions will result in incendiary bursts.
Crucio (Unforgivable Curse)
Causes most enemies to writhe in pain as they take damage over time. Also curses the victim – and cursed enemies take extra damage.
Descendo (Force)
Deals no direct damage, but objects and enemies that are slammed into the ground will suffer considerable impact damage. Airborne enemies will take even greater damage upon hitting the ground.
Expelliarmus (Damage)
Disarms wands and weapons from most enemies who wield them. Also deals damage to all enemies, even if they do not carry a weapon.
Glacius (Control)
Freezes enemies, increasing the damage they take from follow-up attacks.
Imperio (Unforgivable Curse)
Temporarily forces enemies to fight alongside you. While under your control, they take reduced damage from other enemies. Also curses the victim – and cursed enemies take extra damage.
Incendio (Damage)
A short range attack that requires you to be close to the target, but deals significant damage and sets enemies on fire to deal continuous damage over a few seconds.
Levioso (Control)
Levitates objects and enemies. Useful for solving puzzles and surprising enemies alike.
These spells are great for damage output and crowd control, which can be a great help when you’re up against groups of enemies. Most importantly, for bigger enemies that can’t be effected by Control spells such as Levioso, or Force spells like Accio, you’ll want a full arsenal of Damage spells like Confringo and Bombarda to help take these more challenging foes down.
While these are among the best spells in Hogwarts Legacy, it’s important to remember that combos will help witches and wizards truly excel in combat, as the Crossed Wands training arenas will teach you early on. For instance, casting Levioso on an enemy and then using Descendo will deal significantly more damage than using them in isolation.
Likewise, you can use Control spells such as Levioso and Accio, alongside Basic Cast normal attacks to chain long damage combos while the enemy is stunned in the air. Cast Levioso, then three Basic Casts, followed by Accio to pull the enemy close towards you to follow-up with a final four Basic Cast attacks.
It’s also important to remember that Talents can impact the best spells in Hogwarts Legacy. While Incendio may not be the best spell at base level, the Incendio Mastery Talent will make this spell more versatile and potent, releasing a fiery ring around the caster. Keep these upgrades in mind when choosing which spells to equip for combat.
This is made even more important when thinking about the Hogwarts Legacy best Talents, one of which is Basic Cast Mastery which increases your spell recharge rate. While this is undoubtedly a valuable boon for all spells, this effectively reduces one of the biggest downsides of the Unforgivable Curses, the most powerful spells that are outweighed by their long cooldowns.
The iconic Hogwarts Legacy Unforgivable Curses have the highest damage potential in the game, especially Avada Kedavra (the Killing Curse) and can break enemies’ shields no matter the colour. This makes them an incredibly prized power, despite their twisted Dark Arts background. While this power is typically lessened by the long wait between casts, Basic Cast Mastery can empower you to use these powerful spells more often.
And that’s the best spells to use in Hogwarts Legacy, letting you take down groups of enemies and challenging elite enemies alike with a swift swish of your wand. For plenty more tips, tricks, and guides, use our handy Hogwarts Legacy walkthrough to help you through your first year at Hogwarts.
Hogwarts Legacy has drawn considerable criticism during its development, largely due to the fact that the creator of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, has made a number of transphobic remarks on social media in recent years.
While Avalanche has confirmed that J.K. Rowling is not “directly involved” in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, it is working with “her team” and Portkey Games, a Warner Bros. label dedicated to launching new experiences inspired by J.K. Rowling’s original stories. It is currently unclear whether she will earn any royalties from the game’s sale, but it is likely given it is based on her original body of work.
If you would like to learn more about transgender rights or lend your support, we’d encourage you to check out the National Center for Transgender Equality in the US and Mermaids in the UK.