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As the wait for Hogwarts Legacy continues, players are spending their time wondering what the upcoming RPG will bring with regards to the story it tells, the characters it showcases and the life at Hogwarts it will portray.
Given that the players will be students at the famed school while learning the art and craft of magic, the kind of wand they choose is of paramount importance.
In Harry Potter, wands are instruments used to channel magical powers while casting spells. Considered quasi-sentient in nature, they were formed of a type of wood wrapped around a core of magical substance. Even when made from the same material, no two wands are exactly alike.
This article discusses five kinds of wood and core options that players would like to see in Hogwarts Legacy.
5 different wood and core options that players will love to see while selecting wands in Hogwarts Legacy
Wood
Garrick Ollivander said on Wizarding World:
"Every single wand is unique and will depend for its character on the particular tree and magical creature from which it derives its materials. Moreover, each wand, from the moment it finds its ideal owner, will begin to learn from and teach its human partner."
1) Acacia
An unusual and temperamental wand wood that creates wands which produce magic only for their owners. Thus, Ollivander kept only a few of these.
Acacia is one of the options when starting Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Having this wand will be interesting in Hogwarts Legacy, more so if the notion of using another's wand is involved.
2) Blackthorn
Ollivander states that a Blackthorn wand is meant for warriors, and practitioners of Dark Arts will particularly "enjoy the Blackthorn wand's prodigious power." He further mentions that:
"The wands made from this wood appear to need to pass through danger or hardship with their owners to become truly bonded. Given this condition, the Blackthorn wand will become as loyal and faithful a servant as one could wish."
Again, this is one of the options in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Harry himself used a Blackthorn wand while his was broken and struggled to use it to its full potential.
Will layers be able to use this wand to its full potential in Hogwarts Legacy, given it has a morality system that players can toggle with?
3) Hornbeam
Ollivander's own wand is made of Hornbeam. He states that this wood type quickly adjusts to its user's style of magic and becomes deeply personalized, absorbing:
"Their owner’s code of honour, whatever that might be, and will refuse to perform acts – whether for good or ill – that do not tally with their master’s principles."
Apart from Garrick Ollivander, Viktor Krum was another known user of the Hornbeam wand. Being chosen by a Hornbeam wand could signify the brilliance of a wizard in Hogwarts Legacy.
4) Yew
Yew wands are rare in nature and find notorious owners as matches. If buried with their owner, the wand gives rise to a tree to protect the grave. Yew "never chooses either a mediocre or a timid owner."
Such wands provide their users with "the power of life and death" and as such, are highly respected and feared, especially when dueling.
Both Voldemort and Ginny Weasley, Harry's adversary and partner, owned Yew wands. Including this in Hogwarts Legacy will give players an interesting choice.
5) Holly
A rare kind of wand wood that is generally protective in nature, Ollivander notes that this wood type chooses wizards "who are engaged in some dangerous and often spiritual quest."
Ollivander mentions that Holly's performance as a wand dramatically varies with the wand core used. For example, being paired with phoenix feathers makes using a Holly wand extremely difficult.
Famously, Harry Potter's wand was an eleven inch Holly wand with a phoenix feather core. This wand was the brother of Voldemort's wand.
Since it is set in the late 1800s, Hogwarts Legacy will not have Harry, but having a wand made from the same wood type is an interesting proposition.
Core
Garrick Ollivander mentioned on Wizarding World:
"Early in my career, as I watched my wandmaker father wrestling with substandard wand core materials such as kelpie hair, I conceived the ambition to discover the finest cores and to work only with those when my time came to take over the family business. This I have done."
1) Dragon Heartstring
Taken from a dragon, this core produces wands with "the most magical power" which are able to cast "the most flamboyant spells." Wands with this core learn more quickly than others. Even though they are capable of changing allegiances if their master is defeated, they bond strongly with their owner.
According to Ollivander, it can be easily used in the Dark Arts if influenced by its owner, while being prone to accidents. A number of notable characters use wands with this core - Hermione Granger, Bellatrix Lestrange, Minerva McGonagall, and Lucius Malfoy.
It must be noted that this core and the other two mentioned by Ollivander were figured out by him and may not feature in Hogwarts Legacy, but one can surely hope.
2) Unicorn hair
Ollivander notes that Unicorn hair wands make "the most consistent magic" without much fluctuations and blockages and would rarely turn to the Dark Arts. They are extremely faithful.
Regarding the issues with this core, Ollivander states:
"They are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may ‘die’ and need replacing."
Unicorn hair cores were notably used by Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, Remus Lupin, and Cedric Diggory. It remains to be seen if Avalanche Games will introduce this one in Hogwarts Legacy.
3) Phoenix feather
The rarest core type and one that binds the protagonist and the antagonist of the original saga together, Phoenix feathers make "the greatest range of magic." Ollivander points out that these wands can also act out of their own accord.
According to him:
"These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won."
This is because of the nature of the creature from which the feather is taken.
Harry and Voldemort both had Phoenix feather wand cores, with both feathers being given by Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix. Procuring a wand with this powerful core will be a dream come true for fans of Hogwarts Legacy.
4) Troll whisker
Considered inferior to the three aforementioned cores, Troll whiskers refer to the facial hairs of the creature. Getting one from a troll will always be an excitingly dangerous adventure.
A wand with this core was used by Sir Cadogan, who was a Knight of the Round Table. If the earlier cores are not included in Hogwarts Legacy because of the timeline, players may get to come across lesser-known cores like Troll whisker.
5) Veela hair
Veelas are almost human magical beings who appear as young, beautiful women similar to the mythological sirens. Ollivander notes the power that the core provides but refuses to use it because of its temperemental nature.
The most notable user of a wand with Veela hair core is Fleur Delacour, whose wand was given to her by her grandmother. Will players get to see such a rare core in Hogwarts Legacy?
Since the developers have touted Hogwarts Legacy as an RPG, utilizing the properties of the wood and core in wand customization will allow the players to fully flesh out their build for the playthrough. Different combinations will yield different results and will affect the kind of wizard the player wants to be.
The developers may also add some kind of test or questionnaire at Ollivander's in Hogwarts Legacy, which will determine the kind of wand customizations that the player will be privy to.
Speculations aside, players will hopefully have access to more about the type of wands in the game soon.
