The carefully hidden Hogwarts Secrets are not the only puzzles you need to solve in Hogwarts Legacy. You are also going to come across several locked chests and locked doors that can only be opened by completing a mini-game puzzle activity.
However, instead of getting lockpicking gear, you will be getting a lockpicking spell called Alohomora to unlock your way forward.
Alohomora is probably one of the best spells that you can learn in Hogwarts Legacy when it comes to utility. While some doors only need to be opened to progress the storyline, you are often going to find locked chests and restricted areas that contain valuable loot and rewards.
Just keep in mind that Eye Chests cannot be opened by Alohomora. You need to cast a Disillusionment charm to open them.
How to unlock the Alohomora spell in Hogwarts Legacy
Despite being a sort of basic spell, you will not be able to unlock Alohomora until about 8 to 10 hours into the game. The lockpicking spell is part of a story quest, so it is unmissable. You only need to play through the game until you reach the 20th main quest involving Professor Rackham’s trials.
Complete all of Percival Rackham’s Trials, and you will unlock The Caretaker’s Lunar Lament quest. This is where Gladwin Moon, the caretaker, will teach you the Alohomora spell. This is also where you will get to the Hospital Wing to unlock its Floo Flame location.
Help him recover two Moons from two Demiguise Statues in the castle, and you will learn how to cast a level 1 Alohomora spell. Bring all nine Moons to Gladwin to level your spell to level 3.
Take note that locked chests and locked doors have their levels. A level 3 locked chest will require a level 3 Alohomora.
How to upgrade Alohomora to open level 2 and 3 locks
Once you have unlocked the Alohomora Spell in Hogwarts Legacy, Level 1 locks should be nothing for you. But what about those troublesome level 2 and level 3 doors that seem to block every area you want to visit?
You’ll have to upgrade the Alohomora spell to gain access to areas. The Alohomora can be leveled twice to access level 2 and 3 locks.
You’ll need to collect certain items before being able to upgrade the spell. For a level 2 upgrade to the Alohomora spell, you must obtain 9 Demiguise statues.
Collecting the statues can only be started once you complete Percival Rachkham’s Trial quest. You must have collected the 9 Demiguise Statues and upgraded your Alohomora Spell to level 2 before progressing toward The Man Behind the Moons quest.
Since during this quest, you’ll be required to upgrade the Alohomora to level 3, you can begin collecting the 13 Demiguise Statues required to upgrade it to level 3.
How to pick locks in Hogwarts Legacy
As already stated, there are different types of locks that you need to pick in the game. You can consider them as mini puzzles to solve.
You will start a mini-game with two rotating dials when you cast Alohomora on a locked chest or door. These dials work as pins in a normal lock. As the pins move up and down as the key moves in the lock, so to the spell enables you to move the dials in the correct place when you turn them. The inner dial has a red spark, and the outer dial has a green spark.
Now, start with the dial of your choice. You can rotate it with one of the sticks on your controller. If you rotate the outer stick slowly in any direction, you will see that at some point, the green spark in the dial will also start to appear in one of the small disks, and they will start to rotate. This indicates that the outer dial is properly positioned.
After completing the outer gear, you can move on to the inner gear. This gear can be rotated in the same way as the outer gear. Just move the inner gear slowly until the small disks in the center of the dials start to rotate with a red spark in one of them. This will indicate that the inner dial is in its correct position and no longer needs to be altered.
Once both the sparks in the dials start to appear in one of the smaller discs in the bottom right and center of the dials, the lock will start to unlock itself automatically.
In both the controller and the PC, you can rotate both the dials simultaneously, but the small disk only starts to move when the dials are precisely in their proper position, which is not an easy job. So it is advised to rotate both of the dials one at a time and care to avoid wasting time and frustration.
Hogwarts Legacy Alohomora Not Working Solution
Some players have reported that the Alohomora spell does not work for them in Hogwarts Legacy. You may be able to cast the spell but when the mini-game pops up, you won’t be able to complete it and open the door or chest. This is a common error that pops up if you leave a position instead of holding it as you move on to the next ring.
You must find the sweet spot with one ring, hold it, and then move on to the next. The easiest way to do this is with a controller as you can feel some vibration when you reach that spot.
