The Trials of Merlin are one of the most numerous and important collectibles in Hogwarts Legacy. Finding them is easy, solving them depends on your wits, and you want (even if you don’t know it) their rewards. Below I show you where to find them, how to solve them, and what the rewards are for passing them.
Hogwarts Legacy has a very bad habit: its collectibles are not available from the first moment. Many must be activated through a mission. Merlin’s trials are activated with Nora Treadwell during the mission The girl from Ouagadougou. She will be one of the first NPCs you meet, so don’t worry.
Merlin’s Trials at Hogwarts Legacy
Now that you know how to activate Merlin’s trials get down to the nitty-gritty: why do you need to complete these trials as soon as possible? Because they are the key to increasing your number of inventory slots. You constantly find pieces of equipment and it is very easy to fill said inventory.
There are a total of 95 trials of Merlin and you need to complete them all to get the trophy/achievement “By Merlin’s Beard!” Luckily, you don’t have to complete them all to get all the upgrades:
- Improvement 1: two tests.
- Improvement 2: six tests.
- Improvement 3: ten tests.
- Improve 4: fourteen tests.
- Improve 5: twenty tests.
Hogwarts Legacy Field Guide
Remember that you must use the plant Sweet Mallow to activate Merlin’s Trials. I recommend that you plant a couple of them in your Room of Requirement and that you add fertilizer whenever you can to improve the growth process. If you do this, you will never have problems starting these trials. Also, if you start a trial and leave, it stays active forever.
That said, there are various types of tests that you must overcome. They are not very complicated, but they are not going to make it easy for you either. For starters, you need several spells to overcome some of them, so you are limited until you learn them. The objectives of these tests are usually based on the number three. Use Revelio to locate them. The types are as follows:
- Braziers on pillars: Set three braziers on fire with Incendio or Confringo. When you light them, the pillar will begin to lower until it reaches the ground and extinguishes the brazier. You must light them quickly.
- Balls on pillars: Destroy the balls on the pillars with the basic magic attack. They are usually grouped in three groups of three balls. There is no mystery.
- Ball in the hole: You need to find a rock hole in the ground. Clear it with Indenio, Confringo or Depulso if there are things on it. Find the clearest and closest slope and climb it to find a big ball. Push the ball with Accio or Depulso (you can also use Bombarda, but it’s a bit excessive) and let gravity do the rest.
- Balls in the holes: You must locate three stone platforms with four holes. Once located, find three groups of balls lying on the ground. Use Accio or Wingardium leviosa (or both) to get the balls to the platforms.
- Stonehenge Test: Find a group of stacked stones. This is a test of agility. You must step on them all without falling to the ground. Sometimes it will be a short stretch and other times it will be challenging.
- Three Stones Test: In this test you will find three stones with crystals inside. When you activate the test, three groups of glowing butterflies will appear. You must use Lumos to attract the group to a stone. Sometimes you will have to climb or descend stones. Even if the character puts the wand away, use Lumos again and continue. The butterflies will not go away if you turn it off for a moment.
- Tests of the stones with green dots: This is the easiest test and at the same time the most confusing. You’d think the green dots are important, but no… you have to use Bombarda or Confringo to destroy them all.
- Reconstruction test: Before starting the test, locate the three statues of bearded gentlemen. When you activate the test, the statues will be destroyed and you must repair them with Reparo.
- Cubes and symbols: Activate the challenge and look for three pillars with symbols on them. You must use Flipendo to rotate the top cube and match the symbols with the bottom cube. If you aim straight ahead, the cube spins back and forth. If you aim sideways, the cube spins horizontally. This is the challenge that gives players the most headaches.
Left: north and center. Right: center and south.
Here’s a map with all the locations of the trials. They’ll appear on your in-game map as you explore, so finding them won’t be a problem. However, it never hurts to know the location of all of them without having to open the map. Good luck and good luck!