Following “The Girl from Uagadou” main quest, the “Trials of Merlin” main quest begins. Those men hassling that lady by the shorefront are Ashwinder Scouts under Rockwood’s employment, so let’s save the day and cause from waves. Trials of Merlin kick off with a bang, so be on guard.

Trials Of Merlin¶

As players finish the previous quest, a “Help the stranger” yellow main quest marker appears on the mini-map, just over 70 meters away. Head left, across the wooden docks, and left again towards the light green colored tent to reach the Trials of Merlin quest marker.

Wizard and Witches will come across two cockney villains in Ashwinder Scout garb hassling researcher Nora Treadwell about the whereabouts of a certain someone, claiming they had passed this way. After Nora explains she has no idea who they’re talking about and states she’s been busy conducting research; the Ashwinder Scouts lose their patience.

They then reveal that Victor Rockwood doesn’t give a “Doxy’s Nip,” then spots our protagonist and shows it’s the fifth year they’re looking for. They try to convince our protagonist to go with them, stating that Rockwood would “Like a word” before Nora Treadwell springs to our defense, saying we’re just students.

This is when the Ashwinder Scouts begin their attack, which isn’t much to worry about. A quick use of base attacks, Levioso to immobilize and Protego/Stupefy to protect and stun make quick work of these Dark Wizards. There are small rocks and boulders to pick up and throw with R1/RB respectfully to make short work of the Ashwinder Scouts.

An Ashwinder Duellist then follows them up with another two Ashwinder Scouts. First, pick off the Duelist by using Incendio to break her Protego and use surrounding boulders and rocks to make quick work of them. The above strategy still applies to picking off these low-level enemies. We faced them at level Nine, so providing Witches and Wizards are around this level, there shouldn’t be a problem in defeating them.

Once the magic dust settles, Nora Treadwell is available for a conversation. While shocked at being accosted so close to Hogwarts, she insists on continuing her research. Wizards and Witches can then respond with the following two dialogue choices:

• “ Research. How interesting.“
• “Who is Priya?”

Priya is Nora Treadwell’s wife; they wed after graduating from Hogwarts. She gave Nora the book on Merlin, which has, in turn, sparked her research and is also a fantastic potion brewer. The Research option leads Nora to introduce herself as a Historian and Archaeologist specializing in Merlin’s work and life. This leads to two more dialogue choices:

• “How extraordinary.”
• “I thought Merlin was a myth?”

Either dialogue option leads to Nora explaining that Merlin was a student of Hogwarts under the house of Slytherin. It turns out he’s made fixtures all over the land. She believes he made them a diversion for his fellow Slytherin housemates as he was fond of puzzles and enigmas. Then come two more dialogue options:

• “How fascinating.”
• “Seems a bit tedious.”

Getting the picture that Nora Treadmill likes the sound of her voice yet? There’s not much difference in each dialogue choice, in all fairness. Nora explains that no one has figured out how the Trials of Merlin work, but she thinks she’s unlocked a crucial clue. The herb “Mallowsweet” crops up in Merlin’s writing repeatedly, so she believes it’s the key to starting the Trials of Merlin. When considering his writing, there’s always a symbol in the middle of Merlin’s swirls, which means the Mallowsweet should be placed in the center of the Trials swirls to unlock it.

Nora kindly gives our Wizard or Witch the honor of trying this hypothesis. Head over to Nora’s Treadmills tent to find a trunk full of the vital herb; open it to take five Mallowsweet Leaves to place on the Merlin Trial swirl. Doing this will ignite the Merlin Trial and make the vines disappear.

Next, use any flame spell such as Incendio to light the surrounding Pyres to make the Pyres sink and, in turn, complete the first Merlin Trial. They will need to be descended from left to right to end the trial; otherwise, they will reset, and Witches or Wizards will need to start again.

Go over to Nora Treadmill again to gain more information on Merlin Trials, including her telling us that we should solve any trials. More Mallowsweet Leaves can also be found in Hogsmeade, too, should players need more.

All Merlin Trial Locations¶

Looking to complete all Merlin Trials. We have them all marked off on our interactive and comprehensive Hogwarts Legacy map. For more information on how to solve a specific Merlin Trial, please find the links below for each Merlin Trial sorted by area:

• Clagmar Coast
• Cragcroftshire
• Forbidden Forest
• Hogsmeade Valley
• Marunweem Lake
• North Ford Bog
• North Hogwarts Region
• South Hogwarts Region
• South Sea Bog