Hogwarts Legacy Lock Picking - how to pick locks

How to Pick Locks in Hogwarts Legacy

As you make your way around the castle in Hogwarts Legacy, you’ll find that many doors are locked with a padlock. Luckily, you don’t need to be an incredibly experienced and talented wizard to pick locks — you must have completed the right missions in Hogwarts Legacy and progressed far enough to earn the ability.

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Hogwarts Legacy allows players to explore the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a student with dark magic abilities. Throughout the story, you and your companions will make decisions and take actions that will shape the future of the Wizarding World. However, the game isn’t linear, and some areas will have to be passed on and accessed later in the game. In addition, as you grow in ability, you’ll be able to go back and pick certain locks, allowing you to access more areas in Hogwarts Legacy.

When and How Can You Pick Locks In Hogwarts Legacy?

First, you’ll need to acquire the Alohomora spell. You will get it once you’re almost 10 hours into the game, so don’t feel like you’ve missed anything when you have to pass a bunch of locked doors early on. Once you get the Alohomora spell, however, picking locks is easy:

  • Interact with the lock on the door.
  • Using both analog sticks, get the two lock dials into the correct position.
  • Make sure you hold the dials until the door unlocks. It’s not instantaneous.

It’s important to remember that there are different levels of locks in Hogwarts Legacy. Earning the Alohomora spell will only allow you to pick Level 1 locks in the game. To pick Level 2 or 3 locks, level up the ability by removing a bunch of statues in and around the Hogwarts grounds, then approaching Moon to learn how to pick more advanced locks.


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Tyler Erickson
Contributor at The Escapist and has been writing about games and entertainment for over 10 years. I love FPS games, action/adventure, and sports games. In entertainment, I write about everything Star Wars, comics, action and horror movies, and fantasy and horror books. I have also written for GameRant, TheXboxHub, and Strangely Awesome Games. Podcaster and streamer, and always happy to talk games or entertainment, so follow me on socials!