Merlin Trials are the environmental puzzles scattered across Hogwarts Legacy's open world, and they serve a very practical purpose: completing them expands your gear inventory capacity. With around a hundred of them across the Highlands, they are a major collectible, and knowing how to spot and solve the common puzzle types makes clearing them quick. This guide covers how Merlin Trials work, how to activate and solve them, the main puzzle varieties, and why they are worth doing.
How Merlin Trials work
Merlin Trials are puzzle challenges marked on your map, activated by using a Mallowsweet leaf at the trial's starting stones. Once activated, you solve an environmental puzzle in the surrounding area using your spells, and completing it rewards you - most importantly, with increased gear inventory capacity once you turn in enough completions. You will need Mallowsweet leaves to start each trial, which you grow from seeds or buy, so keeping a supply lets you clear trials as you find them. There are around ninety-five trials in total, making them one of the game's biggest collectibles. Because they are spread across every region, you naturally encounter them while exploring, and clearing them as you go is the efficient approach.
Common puzzle types
Merlin Trials come in a set of recurring puzzle types, so once you learn the patterns they become quick to solve. Common varieties include lighting stone braziers in sequence, using Depulso to roll large stone balls into matching sockets, destroying floating stone cubes with Depulso, hitting all the stone pillars within a time limit, and matching or completing patterns using force spells. Because the same types repeat, recognising which puzzle you are facing tells you immediately which spell to use - Depulso and Accio feature heavily, along with Incendio for braziers and Confringo for breakables. Learning the handful of puzzle templates turns Merlin Trials from head-scratchers into a satisfying, fast routine you can clear on sight as you cross the map.
Solving them efficiently
The key to clearing trials quickly is having the right spells unlocked and a stock of Mallowsweet leaves. Most trials rely on Depulso, Accio, Incendio, Confringo and similar spells, so progressing your spell toolkit through the story unlocks the ability to solve all types. Grow Mallowsweet in your Room of Requirement potting tables or buy it so you are never caught without a leaf. Then, as you explore each region, activate and solve trials on the spot rather than backtracking later. Using Revelio and your map to spot nearby trials helps you sweep a region efficiently. Clearing them region by region as you naturally explore is far less tedious than hunting them all down at the end.
| Puzzle | Spell to use |
|---|---|
| Light the braziers in sequence | Incendio / Confringo |
| Roll stone balls into sockets | Depulso |
| Destroy floating stone cubes | Depulso |
| Hit all stone pillars in time | Any quick spell, moving fast |
Why they are worth doing
The main reward for Merlin Trials is expanded gear inventory capacity, which is genuinely valuable - a bigger inventory means you can hold more gear before selling, carry high-value drops longer, and spend less time managing a full bag. Since inventory space is a real early-game constraint, doing trials to raise your capacity directly improves your quality of life and your Galleon income by letting you hoard more to sell. On top of that, they contribute to 100% completion and the platinum trophy. The combination of a practical gameplay reward and completion progress makes Merlin Trials one of the more worthwhile collectibles to pursue rather than ignore.
Completing collectibles faster
Clearing all the Merlin Trials, along with the game's other collectibles, is a significant time investment on the road to 100%. If you would rather skip the collectathon, the Hogwarts Legacy Modded Save delivers a completed, maxed save, and for the platinum specifically, the Hogwarts Legacy Platinum Trophy service handles the full trophy list including the collectible requirements. Both are on the Hogwarts Legacy services hub - see also our platinum trophy guide for what 100% involves.
Keeping Mallowsweet stocked
The one thing that will stop you clearing a Merlin Trial on the spot is running out of Mallowsweet leaves, so keeping a supply is the key to smooth trial-clearing. You can grow Mallowsweet from seeds using the potting tables in your Room of Requirement, which is the cheapest way to keep a steady stock, or simply buy leaves from the relevant shop when you are passing through. Because you need one leaf per trial and there are around ninety-five trials, growing them in batches pays off over the course of the game. Getting into the habit of topping up your Mallowsweet whenever you visit your Room of Requirement means you will always have a leaf ready when you stumble on a trial out in the world, letting you clear it immediately rather than noting it to return later. This small bit of preparation is what makes the explore-and-clear approach work, turning the trials from a backlog you dread into quick detours you knock out as you roam each region.
Clearing trials as you explore
The most efficient way to handle the roughly ninety-five Merlin Trials is to clear them naturally as you explore each region, rather than ignoring them and facing a mountain of puzzles at the end. Keep a stock of Mallowsweet leaves on hand - grow them in your Room of Requirement or buy them in bulk - so you are never caught without one when you stumble on a trial. As you reveal a new area, the trials appear on your map, and sweeping them up alongside the region's other collectibles is far less tedious than a dedicated trial-hunting session later. Because the puzzle types repeat, by the time you have done a handful you can solve any trial on sight, making each one a quick detour rather than a chore. This explore-and-clear approach also means your gear inventory capacity grows steadily throughout the game, right when you need the extra space for all the gear you are picking up, rather than arriving all at once near the end.
The bottom line on Merlin Trials
Merlin Trials are worth doing for one practical reason above all: they expand your gear inventory capacity, easing a real early-game constraint and boosting your Galleon income by letting you hold more to sell. With around ninety-five of them, clearing them naturally as you explore each region - Mallowsweet leaves in hand, recognising the repeating puzzle types - is far easier than hunting them all at the end. They also count toward 100% completion and the platinum. Treat them as quick detours while exploring, and you steadily grow your inventory and completion progress together, turning what could be a chore into a satisfying part of sweeping each region.
Related Hogwarts Legacy guides
- Hogwarts Legacy Modded Save
- Hogwarts Legacy Platinum Trophy service
- Hogwarts Legacy how to get Galleons
- Hogwarts Legacy best spells
- Hogwarts Legacy best gear
- Hogwarts Legacy platinum trophy guide
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Merlin Trials work in Hogwarts Legacy?
They are environmental puzzles marked on your map, activated with a Mallowsweet leaf at their starting stones. You solve the surrounding puzzle with your spells, and completing enough of them expands your gear inventory capacity. There are around 95 across the Highlands.
What do you need to start a Merlin Trial?
A Mallowsweet leaf, used at the trial's stones to activate it. You grow Mallowsweet from seeds in the Room of Requirement or buy it, so keeping a supply lets you clear trials as you find them while exploring.
What are the common Merlin Trial puzzle types?
Lighting stone braziers in sequence (Incendio), rolling stone balls into sockets or destroying floating cubes (Depulso), and hitting all stone pillars within a time limit. The same types repeat, so recognising the puzzle tells you which spell to use.
Why should you do Merlin Trials?
They expand your gear inventory capacity, letting you hold more gear to sell and carry high-value drops longer - a real quality-of-life and income boost. They also count toward 100% completion and the platinum trophy.
Can I skip the collectibles in Hogwarts Legacy?
A modded save delivers a completed, maxed save, and a platinum trophy service handles the full trophy list including collectible requirements, if you would rather skip the lengthy collectathon on the road to 100%.