Hogwarts Legacy has been one of the most exciting and highly anticipated releases this year, especially for fans of Harry Potter and the Magical World.
With so much to enjoy in the open world that Avalanche Software has created, many fans are curious about some of the things they can expect to find as they explore.
One of the most popular questions that many in the community have been asking for quite some time is whether or not players will encounter Whomping Willow in the RPG.
Unfortunately, there is no Whomping Willow at Hogwarts Legacy. The sentient tree that became famous for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban it is not part of the game due to the timeline the RPG is set in.
While the Forbidden Forest is something that players can explore in the game, the Whomping Willow will sadly not be a part of the experience.
Hogwarts Legacy is set almost a hundred years before the events involving Whomping Willow.
The main reason Whomping Willow isn’t part of Hogwarts Legacy has to do with the game’s setting and the time over which the narrative takes place.
The story revolves around the player’s journey as a fifth-year student and his time at Hogwarts. The tradition takes place in 1890. It is a known fact of the Harry Potter books and movies that the Whomping Willow was planted in 1971 to hide the passage leading to the Shrieking Shack.
It is often mentioned in the books how the Whomping Willow was a means to allow Remus Lupine to withdraw from his fellow students during the new moon, as he would transform into his werewolf state. He would use the Shrieking Shack as a means to hide his grief from the rest of his classmates.
During this time in the narrative, it was Professor Pomona Sprout who taught sixth-year Herbology and how to care for younger willows to a generation of Hogwarts students. This included Nymphadora Tonks.
So it’s quite logical that Avalanche Software decided to leave the Whomping Willow out of Hogwarts Legacy. Lore wise, it wouldn’t have made sense to include the smart tree in the game.
It’s quite disappointing to many that the famous Whomping Willow that broke Harry’s broomstick isn’t part of the game. However, when it comes to staying true to Wizarding World lore, it’s fortunate that the developers have stuck strictly to the timeline.