Hogwarts Legacy: 15 Best Side Quests, Ranked

Hogwarts Legacy can boast a beautiful main quest that gives lots of cinematographic vibes, and some of the most beloved characters of the books and movies are paraphrased by the vibrant and well-written cast of the game.

Although populated by fetch quests and dialogue-driven short missions, Hogwarts Legacy features some intriguing self-contained stories and three different relationship questlines that involve three of your friends, the ambitious and motivated Slytherin Sebastian Sollow, the kind-hearted girl and Hufflepuff beast savior Poppy Sweeting, and the altruistic and talented Gryffindor Animagus from Uagadou, Natsai Onai. Be ready to face intriguing puzzles, encounter majestic creatures, and uncover terrible secrets.

Updated by Stefania Ikeda-Stavridi on the 9th of November, 2023: With the release of Hogwarts Legacy on the Switch, even more fans of the franchise can enjoy the game, and its magical quests. We have updated our article to include five more great quests to try out, and added more relevant information to previous entries.

15 Follow The Butterflies

Follow Butterflies To Find Hidden Chests

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Unlock Furniture And Decorations
• Soothing Break From Stressful Quests

Follow The Butterflies is one of the more serene side quests found in Hogwarts Legacy. As the name implies, the quest involves following butterflies scattered throughout the magical world. The simplicity of the task creates a soothing atmosphere, offering players a delightful break from the main storyline.

Follow these enchanting creatures to their final destination, and upon casting Revelio, unlock exquisite decorations for your Room of Requirement and Beast Vivariums. This quest, with its relaxing nature and rewarding outcomes, adds a pleasant break to the intense main quests.

14 Flight Test

Soar To The Skies With Your Broom

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Unlock Better Brooms
• Compete In Timed Races All Around The Map

The Flight Test side quest offers solace to fans yearning for Quidditch to be made available in the game. While direct gameplay of the beloved sport might be absent, this quest brings you as close as possible to the thrill of flying on a broom. You’ll find yourself testing Albie’s latest broom innovations in flight tests scattered throughout the magical realm.

As you progress, the opportunity to upgrade your brooms or even acquire new, more advanced models becomes available. These upgrades not only make your broom faster but also enhance the overall riding experience, ensuring a smoother and more exhilarating journey through the enchanted skies.

13 The Unique Unicorn

Get Your First Unicorn

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Unlock Unicorns
• Continue Your Quest Of Saving Magical Beasts

The Unique Unicorn side quest unveils the elusive and magical world of unicorns. Betty, having faced a wolf attack protected by her unicorn friend Hazel, seeks your assistance in finding the missing companion. A venture into the Forbidden Forest unveils the unicorn’s hiding place, where, with the aid of the Nab-Sack, you can make this ethereal creature your own.

Once acquired, these magical creatures become valuable assets, not just for their captivating beauty but also for the practical benefits they bestow. Beyond being majestic companions, they offer valuable resources crucial for upgrading your equipment.

12 Friend In Deed

Uncover Sirona’s Past

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Learn More About Sirona’s Student Years
• Help A Friend

Friend In Deed is a quest that doesn’t bestow powerful spells or mythical creatures upon completion but offers a unique glimpse into the life of Sirona Ryan, an intriguing side character. The friendly owner of The Three Broomsticks, entrusts you with the task of retrieving her lost letters scattered in a cavern.

While navigating through the challenges, including a confrontation with spiders, the real reward lies in the letters themselves. These forgotten pieces of Sirona’s past unveil her struggles and triumphs as a young student, providing players with a deeper understanding of her character. Friend In Deed may lack the grandiosity of some quests, but its narrative richness makes it a great experience.

11 Minding Your Own Business

Get Your Own Shop In Hogsmeade

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Run Your Own Store In Hogsmeade
• Acquire Your Own House Elf

In the quest Minding Your Own Business, players can fulfill their dreams of being an entrepreneur by purchasing and managing a shop in the charming town of Hogsmeade. The low cost of acquisition and included house elf make it an enticing opportunity for those enchanted by the small city. However, the mischievous poltergeist Fastidio throws a wrench in the plans by trapping players in his game room.

To escape, you must navigate through a series of puzzles and challenges designed to entertain the capricious spirit. Only after successfully completing Fastidio’s games can you negotiate your exit and come to an agreement. A satisfying twist awaits the original shop owner, ensuring justice is served.

10 Harlow’s Last Stand

Defeat Rookwood’s Right Hand

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Mini-Boss Battle Against Theophilus
• Help Out Natty

This list of the best optional stories you can live throughout Hogwarts Legacy opens with the very last step of the relationship questline with your Gryffindor friend Natsai Onai. Theophilus Harlow is the right-hand man of Viktor Rookwood, one of the main villains of the game, and he lorded over Hogsmeade blackmailing several of its inhabitants and menacing magical beasts as well, also thanks to his poacher goons.

In this quest, you will put an end once and for all to its reign of terror, and you will face him in its manor. It is a simple boss fight, but the heart-touching cutscene grants it a spot in this list.

9 Venomous Valor

Giant Venomous Tentacula Hiding Underneath Hogwarts

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Help A Bullied Student
• Explore Rooms Underneath Hogwarts

Venomous Valor is a quest that brings to the table some movie vibes like the Devil Snare moments in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and, above all, speaks about important issues that students live in their school life, namely dealing with bullies and face own fears.

Duncan Hobhouse is a Ravenclaw student that gets mocked for his fear of Puffskeins that emerged during a Defense Against The Dark Arts lesson where he faced a Boggart that shape-shifted into that fluffy magical beast. To show his bravery to his bullies, he asks you to collect a leaf of a giant Venomous Tentacula.

8 The Man Behind the Moons

Unlock And Upgrade Alohomora

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Get The Alohomora Spell And Unlock New Locations And Treasures
• Find Demiguise Scattered All Around The World

Gladwin Moon is the eccentric caretaker that roams within the corridors of Hogwarts, scared of the Demiguise Statues, which are hidden in every corner, ready to haunt him for the rest of his life. After a friendly exchange of words, he will teach you how to unlock the doors scattered all over Hogwarts.

Such dialogue will grant you Alohomora, the only upgradable spell you could learn in your playthrough, and Moon will increase the spell’s level as long as you get rid of the above-mentioned statues during the night. It is the most intriguing series of collectibles you could find in the game.

7 Ghost Of Our Love

A Quick Treasure Hunt

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Spooky Treasure Hunt In The Forbidden Forest
• Get Used To Using Maps

Ghost Of Our Love is a map-driven quest that has a unique starting point accordingly to the house where you belong. You could find the paper that will trigger this journey on a gravestone surrounded by friendly ghosts, on the roof of the owlery of Hogwarts, in a dark cave in the forbidden forest, or even within the walls of Azkaban.

Ghost Of Our Love is a romantic walk under the moonlight where a bunch of floating candles will lead you to a cozy picnic where a candlelit table has been waiting for Richard and Apollonia, two beautiful lovers.

6 Phoenix Rising

Get Your First Phoenix

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Unlock The Phoenix
• Help Deek With Saving More Beasts

At the halfway point of the list, the rarest and most regal creature of the Wizarding World of Hogwarts Legacy will be waiting for you perched on a stone pillar. Phoenix Rising is one of the quests that will grant you the honor to tame unique beasts, and in this case, as Albus Dumbledore will do in the future in Harry Potter books and movies, you will be a happy Phoenix owner.

All you have to do is to fight your way through a mountain to reach the creature’s nest, and once you have witnessed its elegance, you can capture it with your Nab-Sack spell.

5 In The Shadow Of Time

Searching For A Relic Deep Into Catacombs

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Learn Imperio
• Explore Ancient Catacombs

Sebastian Sallow, your tormented Slytherin companion, is by far the best character you will find in Hogwarts Legacy, and considering his relationship quests in their entirety, it can let you live a storyline that can rival the main quest. In this journey, you could also embark on a dark path and learn the three Unforgivable Curses.

In The Shadow Of Time, you will descend into the depths of the catacombs near Feldcroft, solving intricate puzzles, and fighting against various foes. From this point on, you will, also, witness Sebastian set off on a road where there’s no going back. Using the Imperio Curse on the Inferi and creatures is the tipping point.

4 The Plight Of The House-Elf

The Tragic Life Of House Elves

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Uncover The Dark Life Of Unfortunate House Elves
• Do A Favour For Deek

Deek is the Hogwarts Legacy counterpart of Dobby, the beloved elf that helped Harry Potter throughout his journey. Deek is your precious ally in the customization of the Room of Requirement, and after everything he did for you, he asked you to go looking for Tobbs, another elf and dear friend of his, that was last seen inside a cave.

Tobbs has been less fortunate than Deek, and has been working for a rather cruel master. Since the beginning of the quest, things don’t look fine, as you find his tent empty. Moving forward you have to face an Acromantula, one of the deadliest magical creatures of the entire Wizarding World, and, eventually, a poignant ending.

3 In The Shadow Of The Study

Salazar Slytherin’s Secret Study

Why Should You Play This Quest?

In The Shadow Of The Study is the quest that introduces you to the Dark Arts and will let you get in touch with the legacy of one of the founders of the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Salazar Slytherin.

You will delve into a secret area where you will face deadly traps, be made aware of part of Ominis’ sad past, and you will be faced with a painful choice. In The Shadow Of The Study is only the tip of the iceberg of Sebastian’s descent into madness that begins with the finding of Salazar’s Spellbook.

2 The Centaur And The Stone

Magical Mooncalf Dance

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Build Your Relationship With Poppy
• Witness One Of The Rarest Events Of The Game, The Mooncalf Dance

The Centaur And The Stone is the runner-up of this list, and it manages to move with its beautiful naiveness. The entire relationship questline of Poppy Sweeting is based on the keyword kindness. She tried to burn bridges with the past and vanquish the poachers that roam around the Highlands surrounding Hogwarts.

In this quest, you will have to retrieve a Moonstone upon Darren’s indication, and you will have the chance to witness one of the rarest events of the entire Wizarding World, the Mooncalf Dance, under the moonlight in a beautiful meadow in which stands out an imposing monolith.

1 In The Shadow Of The Relic

The Heavy Consequences Of Avada Kedavra

Why Should You Play This Quest?

• Unlock Avada Kedavra
• Shocking Conclusion To Sebastian’s Arc

In The Shadow Of The Relic deserves the title of the best side quest of Hogwarts Legacy, and it seems to have what it takes to be among the most amusing stories of the entire game. This story arc is the climax point of Sebastian Sallow’s relationship questline, and it is an emotional rollercoaster from the beginning to the end.

During the quest you witness Sebastian descending entirely into madness, a shocking twist that stunned players, who were wishing for a happy endings between the siblings. Sebastian goes as far as casting the most tremendous among the Unforgivable Curses, Avada Kedavra. As a consequence, he disappoints not only his best friend, Ominis, but also his beloved sister.