Hogwarts Legacy lets wizards and witches rescue magical beasts from dens and keep them in vivariums. There are four vivariums, each with a unique habitat to house specific magical beasts. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Vivariums
Vivariums are unique habitats where magical beasts can be kept. The game has four different vivariums, each unlocking after completing the Room of Requirement quests. The first vivarium is unlocked when the player enters the Room of Requirement, and Deek, the house elf, has a quest for you. In each vivarium, you can keep four species of different beasts and twelve beasts maximum in a single vivarium.
The question arises, what do we do with Beasts after we’ve put them inside the vivarium? Every magical beast gives us valuable raw materials, critical for upgrading our gear on the Enchanted Loom. To collect these valuable resources from beasts, players have to feed and pet them to extract the rare resources. Deek, the house elf, teaches you a feeding spell and a brushing spell which, after every 25 minutes, produces the rare items. Two icons are visible on top of each beast, and after doing the prerequisites, they turn green. This signifies you can collect the specific rare items they offer.
Using Beast’s resources to Upgrade
After collecting the items, players can return to the Room of Requirement and interact with the Enchanted Loom. There are two kinds of upgrades; Gear and Traits. For Gear upgrades, you usually need three different beast resources. For Tier 1 Traits, Puffskein Fur is required. For Tier 2 Traits, it’s Diricrawl Feathers; for Tier 3 Traits, Kneazle fur is required. This showcases the importance of these resources and how they can upgrade your Gear and Traits to make your gameplay more exciting.
Beasts and Catching Them
After opening the first vivarium, you’ll be equipped with the Nab-sack, which helps you catch all magical beasts. If you head to the map, players will notice different icons corresponding to specific animal dens. Each den has a specific species, and heading to icon locations will bring you to the beast’s den. The game gives you a tutorial on catching them but a handy protip: cast the Leviosa spell on a beast you want to capture so the beast can’t escape while casting the Capture spell. There are some considerations for some beasts. For example, Mooncalf can only be captured at night. Keep in mind these considerations for different beasts.
Re-filling Dens
Each den has a maximum of five magical beasts. For players looking to spawn more beasts in the den, move further away from the den. Go to your pause menu and press the Wait button thrice. Fast travel to the den, and Voila! The magical beasts can be found in the den again.
Rare Beasts
Some species of Beasts are rare. If you open the beast inventory, you’ll find a shiny star alongside them. These beasts are a bit shiny and can be female or male. They still yield the same valuable resources their standard counterparts do. They might appear bigger and shine brighter than their counterparts but don’t be misled. They are collectibles and do not affect your gameplay in any significant way.
Farming Gold
Besides using beasts to acquire raw materials, these beasts can be used to earn gold. To do this effectively, choose a species den on the map close to another den of the same species. Puffskeins are recommended as they’re the easiest to catch. Travel to the den, capture the beasts, and then travel to the next den and do the same. After approximately 10 minutes, you’ll see that your beast inventory is full. Players should then head to Hogsmeade and go to Brood & Peck. They can sell the beasts to Ellie there, who offers the same price for every beast regardless of species and gender. 120 Gold per beast is the fixed price, and this method is the quickest way to acquire gold in Hogwarts Legacy.
Breeding Beasts
To breed beasts, you must capture both the female and the male of the species. This is easy as both genders are visually different. Next, you’ll head to Toomes and Scrolls and purchase a Breeding Pen Conjuration. Head over to the vivarium and, using the conjuration spell, conjure a breeding pen inside the vivarium. Once the breeding pen is there, release the male and female in the vivarium. Head to the breeding pen and select the species you want to breed. Each breeding Pen houses one male and one female, and breeding takes 25 minutes. The offspring can be used to collect rare items or sold to Brood & Peck for additional gold. There can be a maximum of 4 breeding pens inside a single vivarium.
Bonus Tips
Try and keep a variety of beasts in the vivarium; it will help you to collect different rare items required for upgrading your gear. Head to Toomes and Scrolls and buy a Feeder and a Toybox. This helps automates the feeding process. You must still pet/brush each beast to get your reward manually, but the feeding boxes save considerable time. Pausing the game won’t help the time go faster as the game is paused. Instead, try and complete additional quests and then check on your beasts to collect the coveted items.
That’s all from this guide. Hopefully, you can be on your way to mastering Vivariums and breeding magical beasts.