Merlin Trials – Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy has many hidden collectibles and mysteries that you can discover — among these are the many trials left by the legendary wizard Merlin, each of which will test your wits and spellcasting abilities across a variety of different challenges.

In this article, we will explain to you what the Merlin Trials are, where they can be found, and how to solve every type you encounter. Note that completing these trials will increase your inventory capacity!

What Are the Merlin Trials?

The Merlin Trials are one of the Field Guide Challenges — they are puzzle collectibles that can be completed to unlock additional Gear Inventory Space. Merlin Trials will become available once you finish the quest The Trials of Merlin in the South Hogwarts Region, early in your Hogwarts journey.

Once you’ve completed the quest, Merlin Trials can be activated by using Mallowsweet Leaves on any of the stone circles throughout the World. These will be marked with a Mallowsweet Leaf symbol to help you locate them, and can only be found in the world, not in Hogwarts or Hogsmeade.

The Merlin Trials are relatively simple puzzles, but each puzzle will offer a different type of challenge to the player: some may involve spellcasting, general problem solving, or even platforming. In total, there are 9 different types of Merlin Trials. Some of these require specific Spells, while others allow for use of alternatives to complete the objective (for example, a Trial that is meant to be completed using Wingardium Leviosa can instead be completed with a clever use of Depulso.)

While some Merlin Trials can only be solved in a specific way, others allow you to find inventive ways to complete them, depending on the challenge associated. When you complete a Merlin Trial, a short cutscene will play, featuring a glowing figure in a veranda. After, the stone circle you used to start the trial will be covered in vines, indicating its completion.

How Do I Upgrade Inventory Space After Completing Merlin Trials?

Once you complete a certain number of the Merlin Trials (you will need 2 for the first reward), you can increase your Storage Capacity by entering the Field Guide and selecting the Challenges tab, then going over to the Exploration tab and selecting Complete Merlin Trials.

• Keep in mind that you can only unlock up to 4 additional storage spaces per set of Merlin Trials.
• Each set will increase the number of Merlin Trials required in order to unlock 4 additional storage spaces – second unlock will require 6 Merlin Trials.
• The total number you can unlock is 20, which will put your final inventory space at 40.

Merlin Trials Locations

Below, we have listed Merlin Trials in each major region of the game, along with their locations on the map of the area. However, if you want to find a specific Merlin Trial, make sure to check out our Hogwarts Legacy Map, which shows, in detail, the location of every landmark, event, collectible, and quest in the game!

Merlin Trials by Region

• North Ford Bog: 4 Merlin Trials
• Forbidden Forest: 3 Merlin Trials
• Hogsmeade Valley: 5 Merlin Trials
• North Hogwarts Region: 5 Merlin Trials
• South Hogwarts Region: 15 Merlin Trials
• Hogwarts Valley: 15 Merlin Trials
• Feldcroft Region: 16 Merlin Trials
• South Sea Bog: 2 Merlin Trials
• Poidsear Coast: 10 Merlin Trials
• Marunweem Lake: 4 Merlin Trials
• Manor Cape: 5 Merlin Trials
• Cragcroftshire: 5 Merlin Trials
• Clagmar Coast: 5 Merlin Trials

Click on each image to view it in full size!

How to Complete the Merlin Trials

Below is a guide for how to complete each of the different types of Merlin Trials.

Light Braziers

The first Merlin Trial type that you will encounter will be the Light Braziers Puzzle. In this type of Merlin Trial, you will have to use either Confringo or Incendio to ignite 3-5 different Braziers within a short period of time. Once you’ve ignited one, it will start to descend, giving you a time limit to ignite the remainder of them. If you fail to light them before the first Brazier descends completely, it will reset to its initial position, requiring you to start again.

While some versions of this Trial allow you to light the Braziers in whichever order you choose, others will uncover more Braziers as you ignite them, requiring you to ignite them in a specific order.

Guide Butterflies

This Merlin Trial trial requires you to Guide Butterflies to hollow stone pillars. This type of Merlin Trial has no time limit, meaning you can take your time to complete it. In order to do so, you will need to use Lumos to attract Butterflies to your wand and then return them to the hollow stone pillars near the stone circle.

This trial always contains 3 stone pillars and 3 sets of Butterflies, requiring you to guide each set of Butterflies back to a different pillar. Once you bring the Butterflies back to the pillars, they will automatically enter the stone pillar and light it up. You’ll know you did it correctly if the pillar begins emanating a bright blue light as the Butterflies surround it. You do not have to recast Lumos to release the Butterflies; all you have to do is get close to the pillar.

If you accidentally de-cast Lumos before reaching one of the pillars, the Butterflies will remain in the same spot where the spell stopped.

Break Spheres

This type of Merlin Trial is one of the simplest: all you have to do is break the Spheres on top of some nearby stone pillars. This Merlin Trial has no time limit either, so you can take your time finding and destroying all of the Spheres. There are always at least 5 Spheres perched on nearby stone pillars, and usually more.

To destroy the Spheres, you can use Basic Cast, Depulso, Accio, Confringo, or Bombarda. Typically, it is most efficient to use Basic Cast on each, though sometimes Bombarda can destroy entire clusters of them. As you destroy each Sphere, vines will grow on the stone pillars they sat on, indicating success.

Break Structures

This Merlin Trial type requires you to Break Stone Structures! Like the Spheres Type above, all you have to do to complete this type of Merlin Trial is to destroy the object in question — in this case, 3-5 large stone Structures. You will need to use powerful spells, specifically either Confringo or Bombarda, to accomplish this. This type of Merlin Trial is not timed, so take your time to complete it.

Roll Boulder

This type of Merlin Trial requires you to Roll a Boulder into a nearby Circular Hole. The Boulder/Ball will be found in the vicinity of the stone circle, usually on top of a nearby hill or a ledge. Sometimes the Circular Hole can be clearly seen in the vicinity or near the Boulder, while other times you will need to explore the surroundings.

In either case, you can solve this puzzle in several ways. The simplest way to solve these is to use Wingardium Leviosa to lift the Boulder and manually place it in the Circular Hole. In most cases, however, you can also use Depulso casts to cause the Boulder to roll down a hill and into the Hole, or at least very near it.

Platform Challenge

This Merlin Trial type is, simply, a Platform Challenge in which you have to make your way across different Platforms without touching the ground. While this challenge may be simple, you will need to be careful to mind the varying distances between the Platforms. This type of Merlin Trial doesn’t have a time limit, though, which lets you take your time in between each Stone Platform.

Depending on the specific Trial, you may find Debris atop the Stone Platforms, which you will need to clear before attempting the challenge. This can be done by aiming toward the debris and either attacking it with a powerful spell, or with a Basic Attack.

A useful tip for this challenge is to maintain your momentum for the Stones which are clustered together, and stop right before you reach the Stones with large gaps in between them. This will allow you to make a well-positioned jump to get across trickier jumps, while speeding through easier ones.

If you are still struggling, you can also use your Broom to “cheese” these challenges, by riding it and simply tapping the tops of each rock without touching the ground between.

Repair Statues

This type of Merlin Trial simply makes you Repair Broken Statues. Once you activate the rune, 3 nearby Statues will burst into pieces, making you use Reparo to fix them. This type of Merlin Trial has no time limit, so feel free to take your time (given how long Reparo takes, you’ll need it).

Keep in mind that some Statues are likely to be hidden behind environmental objects, so you may need to check around corners or at different elevations nearby. Or, just use Revelio to find them instantly.

Place Spheres

This Merlin Trial type requires you to Place Spheres into designated Slots. This Merlin Trial type can be a bit more tricky, as both the Spheres and their intended Slots will often be hidden. However, this is easily solved by using Revelio to find both of them. In each of these Trials there will be 3 groups of Spheres, and consequently 3 Slots to place them into.

Once you find them, you can use either Accio or Wingardium Leviosa to manually carry the Spheres to their nearby Slots, where they will form a basic structure. There is no specific order in which you will have to place the Spheres, nor is there any time limit, allowing you to take your time to complete it.

Align Cubes

The hardest Merlin Trial type requires you to Align Cubes in order to match a designated pattern. The correct pattern will be indicated by the arrows shown on the faces of the Obelisk below. To successfully complete it, you will have to twist and turn the cube atop the Obelisk using Flipendo until you manage to match Cube’s symbol and direction to the Obelisk below.

This Trial does require the Flipendo spell in particular, since any other spell will only jiggle the Cubes.

To match the symbols, all you have to do is rotate Cube until a symbol aligns on one side, and then use Flipendo on the relative side of the Cube to spin it until that first symbol is facing the right direction, which will also ensure the symbols match on each of the other sides.

Now that you know everything you need about the Merlin Trials, we hope that you uncover as many as possible in your journey! If you get stuck on any specific Merlin Trial, let us know so that we can guide you through it.