Our Hogwarts Legacy Guide will show you how to complete Merlin’s trials, which run as a side quest, and what types of trials there are, as well as how many there are in the different areas.
How you unlock Merlin’s trials: together with your schoolmate Natty, you’ll meet in Lower Hogsfield as part of the main quest. Near the small village, you can see side quests already marked on the map. At the water’s edge, you’ll meet Nora Treadwell, who will point out Merlin’s first quest. This consists of lighting the heads of three columns with Incendio. After the first quest, Merlin’s trials will unlock, and from then on, they will be found or occur throughout the map.
Merlin’s Trial in Hogwarts Legacy: You’ll Need Mallowsweet Leaves to Start
You learn that you need mallow herb to start Merlin’s trials in the first place, from Nora Treadwell. A trial from Merlin costs you 1x mallowsweet leave, which runs out quickly after the first exams and is also only available for purchase in limited quantities, which means that you have to grow it yourself.
Mauve seeds are sold in Hogsmeade at “The Magic Turnip” and planted on planting tables with small pots. The best place to grow mallosweet leaves is in the room of requirement. Here you can set up as many planting tables as you like. You can also increase the yield of your plants with fertilizer.
How to Find and Solve Merlin’s Puzzles in Hogwarts Legacy
Merlin’s trials are not displayed on the map from the beginning. They only show up if you are near them, whether on foot or by flying over. You can recognize the trials by their feather symbol and the ground plate with a spiral pattern. Stand on the ground plate and press the corresponding button to start.
| For more tips and tricks on the main quest, as well as the side quests and other exciting content in Hogwarts Legacy, check out our guide overview. |
Merlin’s Trial Variants:
There are a total of nine different trial tasks that happen to be repeated over and over again. We have summarized them for you:
Set Column Heads on Fire: In the area around the ground plate, you’ll find three column heads that you have to set on fire, just like in the very first Merlin exam. However, once a column head is lit, it sinks into the ground and extinguishes itself. Since the columns are quite far apart, it’s easier to light them with Confringo, since it’s usable over a greater distance compared to Incendio.
Destroy orbs: If there are orbs on the columns around the ground plate, you have to destroy them. It doesn’t matter which spell you will use, as long as the orbs are broken.
Destroy stones: Just like the previously mentioned orbs, you have to destroy the large stones of this Merlin trial. However, you can only use Confringo here.
Standing rocks: If there are big rocks standing near the baseplate, you have to run over them. Climb on the smallest one and then jump to the next one until you have touched them all. Touching them will cause the rocks to be surrounded by plants.
Collect moths: If there are square stones near the baseplate, through whose holes you can see crystals, the moth swarms are not far away. Run up to the moth swarm and bring them to the corresponding stone with the help of Lumos. In total, there are three stones and three moth swarms that must be brought together in this trial.
Small stone balls: If there is another plate with four holes around the baseplate, your task is to bring five small stone balls there. This was easiest with Wingardium Leviosa or Accio. The balls hang together, which means if you grab one ball, the others automatically follow, and if that ball touches the base with the holes, all the balls are too. Again, there are three bottom plates that you must bring the balls to in order to complete the test.
Stone Ball: Shoot or carry the stone ball, with one of your spells, into the hollow embedded in the ground.
Build statues: Directly after starting Merlins Trial, three statues, that were built near the ground plate, broke down. Rebuild them by using Reparo.
Match the pattern: Rotate the stone pattern cube on the rectangular column with Flipendo until the patterns from both of them match. Walk around the column, using Flipendo from all sides, if necessary.
All Merlin’s Trials in Each Area in Hogwarts Legacy
| Area | Number of Merlin’s Trials |
| South Hogwarts Region | 15 |
| Forbidden Forest | 3 |
| Hogsmeade Valley | 5 |
| North Ford Bog | 4 |
| North Hogwarts Region | 5 |
| Hogwarts Valley | 16 |
| Feldcroft Region | 16 |
| South Sea Bog | 2 |
| Poidsear Coast | 10 |
| Marunweem Lake | 4 |
| Cragcroftshire | 5 |
| Manor Cape | 5 |
| Clagmar Coast | 5 |
Merlin’s Trials: This is Your Rewards
To collect the promised rewards, as the upgrades regarding your equipment, and also be able to see how many trials you have to complete before you can collect the next reward, go to the “Challenges” tab in the menu. After that, select the “Exploration” category and scroll down to “Complete Merlin Trials”.
Tip: To get the rewards, it doesn’t matter in which region and in which order you complete Merlin’s trials.
We hope we could help you with the door puzzles in Hogwarts. If you have any questions or comments about the guide, feel free to leave a comment or send us a message on the social media channels and Discord (via Linktr.ee).
