No animals were harmed in the solving of this puzzle.
Hogwarts Legacy offers plenty of quests, puzzles, and just good old-fashioned exploring to keep you busy for hours. If you’re wandering around Hogwarts, you’ve probably noticed a few locked doors with an arch covered in symbols of magical animals. When you get close enough to press “Reveal,” a nightmare scenario unfolds. There’s wizard math?! Hang tight. Solving the animal symbols puzzle is easier than it seems.
The Puzzle
The math that appears on the door looks complicated because of the cryptic geometry and seemingly random animal symbols, but it is simple arithmetic in disguise. The number in the middle of each triangle is the answer to the equation. The numbers, symbols, and question marks in the three points of the triangle are what need to add up to that middle number. So, you got it, the symbols equal numbers.
Somewhere near the door, you will see two objects: one with a single question mark and the other with two question marks. These correspond to the two triangles on the door. This is where you insert your answers. When you press “Roll,” one of the animal symbols appears. Continuing to roll through your options until you reach the question mark again shows you that you need to be clear on your choice. You need two correct numbers/symbols to open the door.
The Key
Each symbol corresponds to one number. Once you know which symbol corresponds to which number, you’re golden. Then you just have to do the math. Technically, there is an answer key in Hogwarts for you to find. Once you stumble upon the Divination classroom high up in the rafters, you will see a door and a chalkboard. Next to the chalkboard is a small blue chest.
Opening the chest reveals a piece of paper with the answer key spelled out for you. Unfortunately, we don’t get the names of the beasts, so it’s hard to say what’s what. Luckily, you don’t have to spell it out. Now you know zero through nine to solve the equations.
In the example of the featured image above:
- 15 + horned beast (2) + ? = 23
We know 15 + 2 is 17, and that 23 – 17 is 6. For the first question mark, we spin the object on the wall until it lands on the salamander/lizard.
The second equation is:
- three-headed snake (3) + many-headed monster (9) + ?? = 19
After doing the math, we know we spin the object until it lands on the weird tentacles symbolizing 7.
Tips
Not that bad! There are a couple of tips though. First of all, now that you know what the animals symbolize, isn’t it fun to go back and realize that they are in numerical order over the doorway? The key was there all along. So fun.
The second, more useful tip is that sometimes the objects where you need to put your answers are not immediately next to the door. In that case, using Revelio shows you the glow of all of the magical items nearby, including the door and the answer ports. They aren’t ever across the building or anything that extreme. However, I did encounter a door that’s answer port was up a flight of stairs. Just remember the number you need to enter before you go running off!
The chests inside are nice treats, usually harboring cool gear. The rooms inside are also just neat to explore. If you are in the mood to solve more puzzles, check out how to solve the courtyard bridge puzzle. The Hogwarts Legacy world is huge and full of things to explore, but now there’s at least one mystery solved.
