Hogwarts Legacy: How Gear Works

This guide will run you through the different types of Gear in Hogwarts Legacy; how to sell, destroy, or upgrade them; and how to increase your character’s total Gear slots - everything you need to know to become the most powerful witch or wizard in the country. Gear is as important in Hogwarts Legacy as it is in any other RPG-style game, so make sure you know what to do with it.

Hogwarts Legacy: How Gear WorksThe opening couple of hours of Hogwarts Legacy are a truly magical blur of action, spells, and adventure that really throw players into the deep end of the Wizarding World. But once they arrive at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, start making new friends, attending classes, and exploring the ground, the game really starts to open up and show off just how truly massive it is. And it is during this exploration that players may find themselves unlocking all manner of mysterious and mystical Gear, either as rewards from completing quests or as random loot obtained from the various chests hidden around the castle.

Players will start their journeys with only a traditional school uniform and robe to their name. While they do change colour to match your chosen house and help you fit right in with the other students, they can come across as rather bland when compared to the other outfits that can be found later in the game, and they offer next to no protection from enemy attacks. The Gear players pick up on their adventures, then, works similarly to Gear found in other action-RPGs, with different equipment granting different bonuses. Players will, however, need to keep an eye on each piece’s rarity and level requirement, as well as ensure they don’t run out of Gear slots in their inventory.

For more Hogwarts Legacy Guides, don’t forget to check out:

Gear Rarities

Equipping the right Gear can mean the difference between life and death in Hogwarts Legacy, especially on higher difficulties. With that in mind, it is important to consider a piece’s rarity, stats, and traits before deciding whether or not to keep it.

Starting with the rarities, there are four in total, with the higher the rarity, the greater the boost to the payer’s overall Offence and Defence.

  • Well-Appointed (Green) – Consider green items to be “common”, meaning they are the type of Gear players will find most often and come with the lowest stats. They also cannot be upgraded or given any Traits.
  • Superb (Blue) – Slightly more uncommon but still found fairly frequently, these pieces have decent stats, especially for the early game. They can be upgraded, but only level I Traits can be equipped.
  • Extraordinary (Purple) – This rare Gear boasts great stats that should be able to carry players through most of the game. They can be upgraded and can be equipped with either level I or level II Traits.
  • Legendary (Gold) – The rarest of the rare, these pieces provide the greatest stat buffs in the game and will elevate any witch or wizard to legendary status. They cost the most to upgrade but the results are well worth the investment, and they can be equipped with level I, II and III Traits.

There is also a “Standard” (Grey) rarity, however, these normal, non-magical pieces offer no offensive or defensive value (or even any monetary value), and should be destroyed immediately to make space for better Gear.

Gear can be obtained either by purchasing pieces from a shop (such as Gladrags Wizardwear in Hogsmede) or by finding them in chests scattered around Hogwarts and its grounds. The gear found in chests is completely randomised, meaning opening a chest then reloading a save and trying again will result in two different rewards. Although, more difficult-to-find chests are more likely to gift rarer, higher-quality pieces. Also keep in mind that Gear of a higher level will almost always have higher stats, regardless of rarity.

As in other action-RPGs, Gear is sorted by Rarity, with Legendary being the best of the best.

As in other action-RPGs, Gear is sorted by Rarity, with Legendary being the best of the best.

How to Apply Gear Traits

Once a player has picked their favourite Gear, it’s time to start adding Traits. So long as the Gear in question is Superb (Blue) or higher, they can be enhanced with a myriad of Traits to improve everything from sneak attacks to the deadliness of Unforgivable curses.

Traits are locked off until the player has found their feet and familiarised themselves with the school and their classes. But once they have unlocked the Room of Requirement and have completed “The Elf, the Nab-Sack, and the Loom” main quest, they will unlock the ability to improve their Gear via the use of an Enchanted Loom. Once this item has been unlocked, players need simply place the Loom wherever they please in the Room of Requirement, interact with it, and select their desired piece of Gear to start enhancing. The player will be granted two options: Upgrade or Add Traits.

 

Traits require magical materials to craft, specifically Puffskein fur. Luckily, these can be picked up while exploring the open world or by interacting with beasts in the Vivarium. Always make sure to have the necessary resources on hand when crafting. And don’t forget, the level of Traits that can be equipped to a piece of Gear depends on the Gear’s rarity.

To acquire new Traits, players will have to find their recipes. These can be unlocked through completing Challenges or easily found in Bandit Camps. Simply fight your way to the end of the Camp and a chest containing a new Trait recipe will be your reward. Like chests containing Gear, these are randomised.

The right Trait can drastically change the flow of combat.

The right Trait can drastically change the flow of combat.

How to Upgrade Gear

To start with, upgrading Gear is as simple as swapping your robes and spectacles for pieces of a higher rarity or greater stats. But once players unlock the Room of Requirement and complete “The Elf, the Nab-Sack, and the Loom” main quest, the ability to upgrade and improve their favourite pieces becomes available via the use of the Enchanted Loom.

Once unlocked, players simply need to interact with the Loom in the Room of Requirement, select the Gear in question and get to work. As with Traits, Upgrades require specific magical materials in order to craft. Unlike Traits, players won’t need to find any additional recipes first. The rarity of a piece of Gear determines how many times it can be upgraded, the cost, and the Offensive and Defensive stats of the end result, with Legendary Gear capable of being Upgraded into the best in the entire game, only at a high cost.

Magical materials can be obtained by purchasing them from shops in Hogsmede and surrounding Hamlets, or by exploring. But the fastest and most reliable way to gather them is by feeding and brushing the rescued beasts players have brought back to their Vivarium. To find more beasts, simply look for the pawprint icon on the map and complete the Beast Habitat nearby.

Increase Gear Offense and Defense with this handy Loom.

Increase Gear Offense and Defense with this handy Loom.

How to Change Gear Appearance

One thing players will notice quickly as they explore the enchanting and charming halls and classrooms of Hogwarts is that their Gear slot inventory fills up entirely too quickly. And once full, no new Gear pieces can be picked up. This even applies to Gear found in chests, whose contents may be lost if the player tries to open them with full inventory slots. Because of this, players may be inclined to keep only the best Gear and throw out all the rest, regardless of how silly the hodgepodge of styles may end up looking.

And it can look very silly. Gear in Hogwarts Legacy comes in many different shapes and styles, from the traditional to the old-fashioned, to the flamboyant or the downright bizarre (I’m looking at you, Dragon-Eyed Spectacles). Wearing only those pieces with the highest stats can make a player’s character into a fashion nightmare, and certainly doesn’t fit in with the dream of really living in the Wizarding World and embodying and customising the witch or wizard you always wanted to be.

Luckily, the developers at Avalanche Software created a workaround. Hogwarts Legacy gives players the ability to change the appearance of the Gear they are wearing. To do this, simply equip the desired Gear (i.e. the one with the best stats, most useful Traits, etc.), then while hovering over the newly equipped slot, press square on PlayStation, X on Xbox, or R on PC. This will open up the Appearance tab.

From this new tab, players are able to select their preferred Gear appearance from two different sections, Collections or Other. Collections are looks exclusive to this menu, unique styles that can be unlocked either for completing in-game challenges (such as attending classes or completing side quests) or through DLC (such as rewards for linking your account to Wizardingworld.com or purchasing the Dark Arts pack). Other is where players will find the looks and styles of every previously obtained piece of Gear. Picking up a new Gear item automatically adds its look to the Other tab, and this look will remain unlocked even if the player chooses to destroy or sell the original piece.

In practice, this means that players can discard any unwanted or low-level Gear without ever actually losing its appearance, and allows players to dress however they please while still retaining the highest possible stats.

Hogwarts Legacy allows players to change their look in seconds, while still retaining the highest stats.

Hogwarts Legacy allows players to change their look in seconds, while still retaining the highest stats.

How to Sell Gear

As previously mentioned, players who love exploring will quickly see their Gear slot inventory fill up. And, if they want to be able to pick up any more Gear, they will have to start making some tough choices, namely regarding what should stay and what should go. The ability to change Gear’s appearance alleviates this choice to a degree, but invariably some Gear will have to go. And this opens up a new choice, whether to Destroy or Sell.

Gear can be destroyed at any time by hovering over the item in question and holding down the required button. This is great for freeing up space if you spot a new chest but don’t have the space for the loot. However, players should only destroy Standard or Well-Appointed (Green) rarity items, as they aren’t really worth the hassle of selling.

Selling Gear can be very lucrative, and is one of the easiest ways of making money in Hogwarts Legacy. The best part is, every vendor in the game will be happy to buy your excess Gear, regardless of they themselves may sell. To dispose of unwanted Gear and make some extra coin, simply talk to any vendor, ask to see their wares, and swap to the Sell Items tab.

All vendors will purchase your unwanted loot for the same amount, so there’s no need to shop around. The prices they pay vary only by rarity, and can be seen by hovering over each piece of Gear in your inventory.

Selling your Gear is the perfect way to make an extra Galleon or two.

Selling your Gear is the perfect way to make an extra Galleon or two.

How to Increase Gear Slot Inventory

Players can find a lot of Gear around Hogwarts and its grounds, and, as previously stated, they quickly find their inventories filling up in no time. While selling or destroying unwanted Gear may not be that time-consuming, it can become an unnecessary hassle when all players want to do it explore.

Every witch and wizard who starts their journey in Hogwarts Legacy begins with only 20 Gear slots in their inventory. That’s 20 slots total, not per Gear type. Luckily it is possible for players to expand their inventories, once they progress far enough into the game. All players need to do is complete a set number of Merlin Trials, which unlock after the player has finished the “Trials of Merlin” main quest.

These Merlin Trials will then pop up all across the map outside of the castle (marked with a leaf icon) and can be accessed through the use of Mallowsweet Leaves. The Leaves can either be purchased from The Magic Neep shop in Hogsmede or grown by the player in the Room of Requirement. The Trials themselves are simple tasks that vary by location, but should be easy to solve in just a few minutes each, typically involving casting specific spells on nearby ruins. Completing two Trials will unlock the first reward to redeem in the Challenges menu of the pause screen: four additional Gear slots. Once the player has completed enough Trials, they can eventually double their inventory slots to 40, making the reward well worth the time investment.

Keep completing the Merlin Trials to keep expanding your inventory.

Keep completing the Merlin Trials to keep expanding your inventory.

Follow this guide carefully and your stay at Hogwarts will be both stylish and profitable. And for everything else Hogwarts Legacy, keep your eyes on KeenGamer.

2 Comments

  1. Avatar photo

    Thank you for providing all this information <3 thought i would mention something.. just to be kind. I found a minor error in the text 😛 seems you hit R on your keyboard instead of F.. you wrote: Room or Requirement.. I am positively certain it should be Room "of" not "or" 😛

    Anyway this guide helped me so I'm happy. Thanks again <3

    Reply
    • Avatar photo

      Thank you very much! I’m glad you found the guide so useful.
      And I’ve made those edits, too – thanks for spotting them!

      Reply

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