Did you know that you can visit the infamous prison known as Azkaban in Hogwarts Legacy? We teach you how in this Hogwarts Legacy guide.
Hogwarts Legacy's setting takes place before the film series, but since Azkaban is almost as ancient a place could be in the Wizarding World, it's a place that definitely exists already in the game. For the uninitiated, Azkaban is kind of like a magic Alcatraz – a magical prison of the Ministry of Magic, where the wizards that are deemed dangerous to the Magic Society are kept in prison. Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black was once a prisoner here, kept there behind lock and key and closely guarded by the dark creatures known as Dementors, spirit-sucking fiends that make people who come into close contact with them depressed.
In the game, Hogwarts Legacy is a location you can visit, although there are some rules that your character will be breaking on the way. For example, wands are not allowed in Azkaban, but your character will dissaparate themselves into the prison to smuggle their wand inside, allowing them to use the Patronus Charm to drive away the Dementors and protect themselves from their dark influence. Still, traveling to the ghastly prison is a dangerous affair, and players have to be well-prepared before going there.
How to go to Azkaban in Hogwarts Legacy
If you're prepared to face the dementors and make the trip to Azkaban, going there is actually simple and won't take a lot of effort. As soon as your character reaches Level 5, Azkaban becomes accessible through the quest, Prisoner of Love. This quest will have you speaking to a portrait of former Minister of Magic Eldritch Diggory, a far ancestor of Cedric Diggory. After which, you'll meet one of his descendants, Helen Thistlewood, an ex-auror who wants to take the opportunity to revisit an unsolved case that led to a girl named Anne being wrongfully imprisoned for life.
Anne is incarcerated in Azkaban, and so, in your mission to seek answers to the unsolved mystery, you'll have to visit the prison. To do this, Helen apparates the both of you just outside of the cells of Azkaban.
Sadly, this is the only foray to Azkaban in the game, and you won't be able to revisit the infamous site for the rest of Hogwarts Legacy. Still, the short trip there is worth it, and the prison looks as ghastly as advertised. Having little interaction with this place adds to Azkaban's mystique, and allows the place to leave a lasting effect on the player without overstaying its welcome.
Hogwarts Legacy is out on PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store, as well as on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The game was originally released back in February on PC, PS5, and the Xbox Series X, with its previous-gen console ports released months later in May. A Switch port is also expected to come out in July 2023, although many fans have little hopes on the Nintendo console to actually run the game with good performance.