Hogwarts Legacy Unforgivable Curses: how to learn Avada Kedavra, Crucio, and Imperio
Some of the most noteworthy spells in the Wizarding World are the three Unforgivable Curses. Supposedly simply casting one is enough to get you a life sentence in Azkaban, but this is a game where you can transfigure enemies in explosive barrels and throw them at their friends, so why not learn the Dark Arts too?
You’ve got Crucio, the torture curse; Imperio, the mind-control curse; and Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. You can learn all three of these spells as a teenage schoolkid in Hogwarts Legacy and you won’t even get sent to prison for using them. They’re some of Hogwarts Legacy’s best spells, and we’ll explain how to learn each one.
Make sure to read through our other Hogwarts Legacy guides for everything you need to know about the game, including puzzle solutions, item locations, and more.
Hogwarts Legacy: how to learn Crucio
With all three of the Unforgivable Curses, you’ll need to follow Sebastian Sallow’s relationship questline. This Slytherin student is looking for a way to cure his cursed sister and you’ll be exploring the mysteries and puzzles of Salazar Slytherin to do so.
The first of the curses you’ll learn during this questline is Crucio, the torture curse. This spell will do continuous chip damage to enemies and make them vulnerable to attacks for a short while. If you use some of Hogwarts Legacy’s best talents, then you can chain this effect to multiple targets too. The quest is called In the Shadow of the Study, and you’ll have to solve a short maze puzzle involving symbols on gates.
Get to the end and you’ll learn that one of you needs to you Crucio on the other to pass a trap. You can refuse to learn this spell if you wish, or you can learn it there and then. If you do learn it, you can still choose which one of you will take the curse.
Hogwarts Legacy: how to learn Imperio
Second is Imperio, the mind-control curse, which you’ll learn during In the Shadow of Time. This curse will turn an enemy into an ally for a short period of time, as well as inflict the curse status effect.
You’ll be heading to Feldcroft during this quest and have to push through a spider-infested cave. After you’ve navigated the enemies and puzzles therein, you’ll be prompted to talk to Sebastian and he’ll offer to teach you Imperio. Once again, you can refuse if you want, but otherwise, you’ll learn the spell there and then.
Hogwarts Legacy: how to learn Avada Kedavra
Finally you can learn the killing curse, Avada Kedavra. This spell will instantly kill anything you fire it at. It doesn’t matter if they’re a giant boss with a massive health bar, one hit with this spell is all it takes.
As you likely expect, you’ll have to wait until pretty late in the game to unlock such a powerful spell, and it’ll be during the quest In the Shadow of the Relic. We won’t spoil this late-game quest, but you’ll have to wait until the end of the mission to learn the spell. When you talk to Sebastian, he’ll offer to teach it. Like the other curses, you can turn him down if you want to avoid the Dark Arts, but embracing them is much more fun.
For information on the Hogwarts Legacy controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling and the game, read our explainer.
