As a veteran gamer who has played over 100 hours of Hogwarts Legacy and tested every broom and mount extensively, I‘m here to provide the most comprehensive guide possible to mastering the intricate mechanics of flight in this magical world.
A Brief History of Flying in Hogwarts Lore
Before we dive into the specific controls schemes and upgrade capabilities of your options for flight, it‘s important to understand the rich lore that surrounds broomsticks and mythical mounts in Hogwarts legend.
According to "Quidditch Through the Ages," witches and wizards have been handcrafting flying broomsticks since 1107 AD using various types of wood and enchantments to allow for self-propelled flight. Over the centuries, many advances in aerodynamics, comfort, and safety have led to the racing-level brooms in use at Hogwarts by the late 1800s when our adventure is set.
The ability to conjure and ride magical mounts like Hippogriffs and Thestrals draws from an even more ancient magic that Wizardkind has cultivated relationships with for millennia. Hippogriffs as winged horses offer a steadiness unmatched by brooms, while the skeletal bat-winged Thestrals reflect a more ominous but equally useful talent once bonded with the rider.
Now let‘s get into how you harness all these incredible powers of magical flight from the very beginning!
Unlocking Brooms in Hogwarts Legacy
As an eager first-year Hogwarts student, one of your first rites of passage is completing flying lessons so you can ride your own broomstick. Here is the questline:
About 8 hours into the main campaign, Headmaster Black directs you to attend Flying Class with Madam Kogawa. This becomes available shortly after attending your first Herbology lesson.
Flying Class serves as a short tutorial, teaching you acceleration, braking, steering, slalom navigation through enchanted rings, and how to stick the landing with a smooth light touchdown by pulling back and braking before you hit the ground.
After completing the obstacle course, Madam Kogawa certifies you to legally ride a broom. This unlocks broom flight capability going forward.
Visit Hogsmeade immediately afterward to purchase your first broom from Spintwitches Sporting Goods. Basic starter brooms provide 60-70 in key stats.
Once you‘ve gone through this quick process, broom flight around Hogwarts is available anytime!
Broom Upgrades & Speed Boosts
As you progress through Hogwarts Legacy, better broom models become available for purchase from Spintwitches with some stellar speed and handling ratings.
However, you can also improve your existing broom substantially by completing side activities the shopkeeper Albie Weekes assigns you. These Broom Training challenges task you with blazing through enchanted flying rings courses as quickly as possible.
Based on how fast you complete the time trials, Albie will award parts to upgrade components like your broom grip, braces, and bristles. This in turn boosts key stats:
Broom Upgrade Stats
| Upgrade Type | Stat Boosted |
|---|---|
| Grip | Acceleration |
| Bristles | Speed |
| Braces | Handling |
By fully upgrading my starting Windwave broom through his course challenges, I was able to push it from 70 acceleration, 60 speed, and 65 handling all the way up to 90, 80, and 85 respectively! This offered speed on par with the top brooms that would normally cost 4000 Galleons from Spintwitches.
So before splurging on new brooms, be sure to max out the upgrade potential through Broom Flight challenges. It‘s great skill practice anyway!
Broom Models & Best Choices
If you do wish to invest in specialty brooms that suit different playstyles, here is a rundown of all the models players can acquire along with their baseline stats before upgrades:
All Broom Models Statistics
| Broom Name | Acceleration | Speed | Handling | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windwave | 70 | 60 | 65 | FREE (Starter) |
| Oakshaft 79 | 80 | 70 | 60 | 1000 Galleons |
| Swiftstick | 60 | 90 | 75 | 2000 Galleons |
| Nimbletail | 70 | 85 | 65 | 1500 Galleons |
| Starsweeper | 85 | 78 | 70 | 3000 Galleons |
| Lightwing | 90 | 65 | 85 | 3500 Galleons |
| Goldencloud | 93 | 90 | 93 | 5000 Galleons |
| Firebolt | 100 | 100 | 95 | 7000 Galleons |
The best bang for your buck is to grab the Starsweeper, Lightwing, or Nimbletail after upgrading your starter Windwave broom first. However, Potterheads will no doubt want to save up for the iconic Firebolt once it unlocks!
This top-tier broom cuts a striking silhouette with acceleration, speed, and handling ratings of 100, 100, and 95 respectively. It might drain your Galleons reserves, but is unmatched if you favor performance over all else. The other key stat is stamina, which determines how long you can boost speed before needing to cool down. The Firebolt boasts a stamina rating of 85, enabling those high velocity sprints!
Unlocking Mounts in Hogwarts Legacy
Brooms may earn you style points around Hogwarts, but why stick to just two dimensions of movement when you can utilize traditional Wizarding World mounts to expand your flight gameplay?
Hippogriffs and Thestrals become available later in your journey, around Level 13+ when the main campaign takes you to new regions of the map. Specifically, here is how to unlock mount flight:
Play through the story until you reach the critical "High Keep" quest taking you to ancient North Ford Bog Ruins guarded by dark wizards.
Fighting through the tower will culminate with a showdown against boss Stroud, after which a cutscene shows your character bonding with the Hippogriff Highwing.
After the quest ends, mount flight for both Hippogriffs and Thestrals becomes available. Open your Gear menu and equip Highwing or the Thestral called Shade under Mounts.
While exploring outdoors, use Wingardium Leviosa on your equipped mount to magically summon them for riding!
Now you have huge winged beasts to grab onto and guide through the castle ramparts. It‘s an entirely new aerial challenge!
Upgrading & Customizing Your Mounts
While brooms rely on a modular upgrade system, mounts grow in strength through a dedicated skill tree that allows you to spec ability points into various nodes:
Hippogriff Upgrade Nodes
- Improved Stamina
- Agility Boost
- Gust Buffering
- Ascent Efficiency
- Swift Descent
- Fall Recovery
The Swift Descent and Improved Stamina skills make longtime traversal much faster, while Fall Recovery and Gust Buffering help stick tricky landings.
As for cosmetics, special Hippogriff skins like the Onyx Caligo can be unlocked through deluxe edition DLC packages. The one exception is Phineas Black‘s white owl Alastor, awarded for completing his side missions.
For Thestrals, the only visual variant is the Undead Thestral skin granted through pre-order bonuses. But the same upgrade paths to bolster stamina and handling still apply!
Now let‘s get to grips with controlling these amazing mounts alongside your trusty broomstick.
Flight Controls Explained In Depth
While Hogwarts Legacy keeps controls relatively intuitive across all platforms, mastering flight takes practice and nuanced handling. Let‘s break it down input type:
PlayStation & Xbox Controllers
Steering: Left Analog Stick
Ascend: L2 / LT
Descend: R2 / RT
Brake: L1 / LB
Speed Boost: R1 / RB
Subtle directional movements are key for tight turning arcs. Time your descents carefully when approaching landing zones. Braking avoids overshooting targets while boosting enables agile getaways from enemies like venomous Acromantulas.
Mouse & Keyboard Controls
Steering: WASD Keys
Ascend: Spacebar
Descend: Left Ctrl
Brake: S Key
Speed Boost: W Key
Tapping W multiple times can quickly accelerate without overshooting, while the S brake gives precise turning capabilities. Utilize the mouse look freely during flight to identify specific landing targets. Keyboard flying works best with a gaming mouse like the Razer Naga for extra bindable inputs.
Advanced Xbox Elite/Scuf Controller Setup
For those using premium Xbox or third-party PS4 controllers, I recommend mapping boost and brake to rear under-paddle buttons so you don‘t need to take thumbs off the sticks. This allows simultaneous steering, ascending/descending, and speed adjustment – great for technical flying challenges!
Additionally, play around with inverted Y-axis if you prefer pulling down to ascend. This lets gravity aid flight momentum. Toggle this in Options > Gameplay > Flight.
Now let‘s apply all this aerial prowess to some advanced techniques!
Mastering Flight Techniques
Simply getting airborne is one thing, but precision flying skills allow you to engage enemies in thrilling mid-air battles, unlock tricky secrets, and access seemingly out-of-reach areas through creative traversal.
For combat specifically, timing barrel roll dodges is key to avoiding spells from mounted foes then quickly retaliating with your own Bright Magic blasts or Dark Arts curses depending on playstyle. This is where speed boosting and rapid ascent/descent on a quality broom can really save your skin.
In terms of accessing new zones, your verticality options reveal hidden caverns amidst cliffsides, bookshelves concealed by waterfalls, and secret chests in the eaves of towers if you closely observe environmental structures while airborne. Glide downhill then brake hard to lose momentum and land accurately.
Perhaps my favorite unlockable content comes from using flight to pinpoint Enchanted Snow Globe collectibles frozen atop distant towers,Mountain Peak locations ideal for products like Dragon Tears, and hidden areas for legendary beasts with unique combat mechanics.
Simply put, mastering flight allows you to sequence break and dictate the pacing of exploration progress more freely in Hogwarts Legacy‘s massive open world. Don‘t let cobwebs across cave entrances or deadly Devil‘s Snare plants deter you if can find clever aerial vantage points!
And for those gamers seeking a real challenge, put all your flying skills to the test by entering wonky wizard broom races!
Broomstick Racing Challenges
Once introduced through the Hogsmeade Bulletin Board questline, Broomstick Racing opens an entirely new avenue of high-speed competition.
These timed challenges have you blazing through checkpoint rings across various outdoor courses. Traversal puzzles involve utilizing terrain like looping the iconic Clocktower and weaving through the Viaduct‘s archways for the tightest racing line.
Success comes down to mastery over acceleration timing, pumping the speed boost without overheating, and applying brakes strategically through sharp turns. Upgrading your broom‘s stamina via Albie Weekes‘ training Leapfrog challenges is hugely beneficial here.
The trickiest aspect is maintaining Composure on your broom amidst Wisp projectiles, rogue Bludgers, and other obstacles intent on knocking you off course. This requires opening handling skill nodes to enable quicker recovery from collisions while staying low using nimble ascents and descents.
Overall, broom races test all your flying capabilities. Completing them under gold or silver target times grants massive XP rewards along with Broomstick Racing Badges to commemorate your speed demon prowess!
For the ultimate fantasy of playing Quidditch Cup matches at Hogwarts though, you‘ll need to engage some imaginative roleplaying scenarios with other players…
Organizing Quidditch Matches
While Quidditch as a full sport mini-game was cut from Hogwarts Legacy during development, fans have taken flight mechanics into their own hands to orchestrate matches on custom terms.
This involves designating roles for Chasers, Beaters, Keepers, and Seekers then equipping fitting spells like Levioso to pass a makeshift Quaffle and Bombarda to aim ranged Bludger attacks while racing brooms after the elusive Golden Snitch!
Set custom rules about point thresholds and scoring pace, scout outdoor locations offering substantial play space, and leverage Hogwarts Legacy‘s flexible magic and flight systems to craft your very own Quidditch Cup dreams. Just be careful not to violate Statute of Secrecy by playing matches where Muggles could witness!
If all else fails, there‘s one ideal location at Hogwarts to prototype your magical sports ambitions in private. And it holds a deeper meaning…
Experimenting at the Room of Requirement
As longtime Potterheads know, the mythical Room of Requirement hidden within Hogwarts plays a pivotal role in wizarding history. In Hogwarts Legacy, it also serves a gameplay purpose by transforming into spaces catering to whatever you require for experimentation.
For Quidditch matches specifically, the Room of Requirement becomes an invaluable practice ground for testing broom capabilities, drafting plays, and hosting matches with friends away from authority figures that might otherwise confiscate your makeshift balls charmed out of school supplies!
More broadly, I regularly use this room to benchmark broom upgrades against their base stats using the 1080p TV and Xbox Series X console the chamber manifested for me. This lets me accurately test 0-60 acceleration, top flight speeds, gear shift points, and handling responsiveness through slalom gates once I exit to outdoor areas.
So whether you need racing obstacles to find the limits of your Oakshaft 79 or a full Quidditch pitch for gaming nights with friends, make the Room of Requirement your go-to workshop for pushing flight mechanics to their creative limits!
Now let‘s recap all the key aerial insights covered today.
Summary of Hogwarts Legacy Flight Guide
From unlocking brooms and mounts to mastering their controls and advanced applications, this guide covers everything you need to dominate the skies of Hogwarts Legacy!
The key takeaways:
- Complete Flying Class and visit Spintwitches to acquire your first broom about 8 hours into the main campaign
- Improve starter brooms immensely through Broom Training time trials before buying upgrades
- Progress until The High Keep quest around Level 13 to unlock mount flight and summonable Hippogriffs plus Thestrals
- Learn precise flight controls for responsive steering, banking turns, managing altitude and speed
- Explore hard-to-reach areas and engage mid-air battles with enemies by honing your aerial combat skills
- Take on broom racing time trials and customize the Room of Requirement to prototype your own magical sport ideas like Quidditch
As an expert gamer who has poured endless hours into testing Hogwarts Legacy‘s flight mechanics, I‘m confident these tips will help you soar to new heights and fully embrace the magical fantasy this unique RPG delivers!
Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about dominating broomstick flight or mount navigation during your adventures. For now, I‘ll be racing around the Astronomy Tower testing out my new Nimbus 3000 I preordered… Hyah!
