Hogwarts Legacy: Unlock All Unforgivable Curses

Unforgivable Spells are some of the strongest spells in the Harry Potter universe. Capable of twisting one’s actions to even killing them in an instant, they’re so strong that they’re considered taboo in the wizarding world. But in Hogwarts Legacy, you can use the unforgivable spells or curses by unlocking them as you progress further in the game.

There are three Unforgivable spells to be specific and they require you to make significant progress in the game before they can be unlocked. Each spell is unique from the other and if you find and use all three of them, you’d likely set yourself on the path of being an evil yet powerful Wizard or Witch.

What Are All Of The Unforgivable Spells

There are three unforgivable spells in the Harry Potter universe, and in Hogwarts Legacy as well. These are Avada Kedavra, Imperio, and Crucio. They’re capable of causing severe effects to whomever you cast them on and if you don’t care for the ramifications, they can be extremely useful.

Here is what each of the Unforgivable spells do, according to the lore:

• Imperio: Imperio is essentially a mind-control-styled spell where whomever you cast it on becomes enslaved by your demands. This is a spell that even Harry has used in the main series.
• Crucio: You wouldn’t really be considered evil without actually torturing innocent individuals, which is exactly what Crucio does. It is a torture spell, capable of inflicting pain on even the strongest foes, and can get them to reveal almost anything.
• Avada Kedavra: The favorite spell of he-who-must-not-be-named. It is a bright green spell that can instantly kill anyone that it touches. Avada Kedavra, according to lore, is undeflectable and leaves no trace of any form of attack on the target, they simply die on the spot.

Crucio

The first unforgivable curse that you’ll come across is the Crucio spell (Cruciatus Spell), also known as the torture spell. The purpose of the spell is to inflict pain on a foe slowly so that they don’t immediately die but can feel enough pain to reveal any information that you might need for them.

Following that similar philosophy, the Crucio spell in the game damages enemies over time. The first time you get to use the spell or see it in action, you can actually ask to get inflicted by the spell yourself. Once inflicted, your character will feel “excruciating pain” and your life will be half empty.

How To Unlock Crucio

Crucio, and all other spells are actually unlocked as part of a side questline with Sebastian Sallow. You can learn how to get Crucio through our in-depth guide, but we’ll briefly highlight the steps needed to do so here as well.

The main thing that you need to do while trying to unlock each of the spells is to simply initiate the side quest which requires you to be a certain level and to perform certain tasks. After that, you just need to play through the side quest and by the end of it, you’ll unlock the spell.

Crucio is the first spell that you can unlock as it requires the lowest level out of all three unforgivable curses and the side quest for it comes earlier than the other two. You can unlock the side questline after you’ve completed the main quest “Welcome To Hogsmeade.”

After that, you’ll encounter Sebastian Sallow, and he’ll tell you that he’ll remain in touch and will send you an owl post to get to know you better. Once he says that, make sure you keep an eye on your letters in the Owl Post section, as that is the only way to progress further with Sebastian’s questline.

Eventually, you’ll get a letter from him as shown in the image above. If you don’t get the mail from Sebastian after you’ve completed the mentioned main quest, then there is another requirement that you must meet. You need to be level 16 before you can start his quest line. So, level up and then simply wait for the owl post to arrive.

Each of the quests starts with “In the Shadow of…” followed by different things depending on which quest you’re performing with Sebastian Sallow. For the Crucio spell, you need to complete the “In The Shadow Of The Study.”

During the quest, you’ll be taken through Slytherin’s Scriptorium with Sebastian and Ominis Gaunt. As you’re trying to discover what happened to Noctua Gaunt, you’ll eventually come across a door that requires you or someone else to perform Crucio. You can ask to perform it on Sebastian, or he can perform it on you. And as a third option, you can ask to not learn the spell as well. Once you complete the quest, you can fully use the spell however you like.

Imperio

The next unforgivable spell or curse that you can learn in Hogwarts Legacy is the Imperio (Imperius) spell. You can come across it almost immediately after learning Crucio and can be quite useful. According to the lore, it is meant to be used to get others to obey your command and to manipulate them to do your bidding.

In Hogwarts Legacy, it can be a great tool in the middle of battle, especially when going up against multiple enemies. It’ll allow you to control enemies and they’ll start attacking the other enemies for you, aiding you in battle.

How To Unlock Imperio

Imperio is unlocked immediately after you’ve acquired Crucio. As part of Sebastian Sallow’s questline, you’ll unlock another quest that takes you on a long adventure and at the end of it you get access to the spell.

To be more precise, you’ll unlock Imperio as part of the “In The Shadows of Time” quest. You’ll accompany Sebastian as he returns to Feldcroft, his childhood home. There, you’ll uncover an ancient relic in a catacomb.

The side quest should appear after you’ve completed the one for the Crucio. But if it doesn’t then you’re likely not at the required level, level 17. You can perform other side activities and try to get enough XP to reach the level so that you’ll get Sebastian’s post and the quest.

Avada Kedavra

The final spell that you get access to is the Avada Kedavra, also known as the killing spell. Appropriate to its name, Avada Kedavra immediately kills anyone unfortunate enough to get hit by the spell.

The game remains faithful to that concept and actually lets you immediately kill anyone that you use the curse on, making it an extremely powerful spell to have in your arsenal.

How To Unlock Avada Kedavra

Unlocking Avada Kedavra is perhaps the hardest out of all the unforgivable curses and requires a lot of grinding. It is also part of Sebastian Sallow’s questline but requires you to be at a high enough level to actually unlock the quest. You can learn how to unlock Avada Kedavra through our in-depth guide, but we’ll discuss it in this guide as well. 

You’ll need to complete “In The Shadow Of The Relic” to acquire Avada Kedavra. As part of the quest, you’ll need to make your way through a cave filled with Inferi. You’ll undergo a short boss-fight-like battle in the cave after which you’ll get the option to learn the killing curse.

The only issue with trying to unlock the killing curse is that the minimum requirement for unlocking the quest is level 28. That is, in fact, higher than the final quest of the main storyline, which players will likely complete by level 24-25. Therefore, it is likely that many players will actually get the Avada Kedavra after they’ve already beaten the game.

But, it is actually worth unlocking the curse before you complete the game as you can use it in the final boss fight. You’ll need to grind for some levels through different means. The most effective way to level up near the endgame is to collect all field guide pages.

Consequences For Using Unforgivable Spells

As you might know, in the Harry Potter universe, if you use any of the unforgivable curses with the intent of hurting someone rather than for educational purposes (like mad-eye does during Defense Against the Dark Arts Class in the movies), then they earn themselves a ticket straight to Azkaban.

That does not seem to be the case in Hogwarts Legacy. There’s no exact morality system in the game and even the developers have stated that you can be as evil as you want in the game. So, you can freely use the spells without worrying about Dementors coming after you.

However, it’s not like your actions won’t go unnoticed if you use dark spells. You can unlock different cutscenes and induce reactions from the NPCs around you whenever you use one of the unforgivable spells.

It is worth unlocking the spell during your second playthrough and using it on the final boss of the game as it supposedly unlocks a few different cutscenes. Regardless of when you unlock the curses, they’re extremely useful to have and the fact that there are no severe consequences for using them allows you to become an extremely strong Wizard or Witch in the game.

But of course, the unforgivable curses aren’t the only strong spells in Hogwarts Legacy as there are many other you can unlock which can be quite useful against enemies. For example, the Expelliarmus is great for dealing and Arresto Momentum is useful for manipulating speeds. You can even learn different spells in the Room of Requirement and also get around with ease using the flying broom.

With all that said, you know everything about the unforgivable curses in the game. They can be quite powerful and are a must-have for any Wizard or Witch. The only issue is the high requirements for acquiring each of the spell, especially Avada Kedavra! 

Up Next: 

• Hogwarts Legacy Beginner’s Guide
• Hogwarts Legacy: All House Choices
• Hogwarts Legacy: Unlock Glacius