Each enemy in Hogwarts Legacy poses a unique threat to the player, and the Loyalist Commander is one of the most dangerous of them all. Goblins are different from the other hostile factions in the game, as they rely primarily on physical weapons, such as swords, axes, and crossbows, rather than wands and spells. That said, they do possess some magic that is bestowed by corrupt ancient magic that Ranrok discovered and gave them. Loyal commanders are especially adept at wielding this corrupted ancient magic, and players will need to know how to defeat them if they want to fight Ranrok’s forces.
Loyalist commanders are formidable enemies in their own right, but they are often surrounded by other Loyalist enemies. If the player doesn’t take down the Commander quickly, they will prove deadly as they attack relentlessly with powerful magic and heavy hammer blows. Thankfully, the Loyalist Commander has a major weakness that Hogwarts Legacy players can exploit.
What is a Loyal Commander?
Loyalist Commander Described by the Field Guide as a goblin with “impressive hammer-wielding skill”. The Field Guide also talks about their ability to “shatter targets from afar” using blasts of ancient magic. They are easily identified by the white feathers that protrude from their metal helmets.
From a lore perspective, it is safe to assume that the Loyalist Commander is the leader of Ranrok’s army, although this is never explicitly stated.
Loyal Commander Defense
Loyalist commander protected by a purple shield. In order to break a shield in Hogwarts Legacy, players must cast a spell of a matching color, in this case purple. This means that Force spells like Accio, Depulso, Descendo, and Flipendo are particularly effective against Loyalist commanders.
Due to their small size, Loyalist commanders are also vulnerable to spells like Levioso, although it will not penetrate their shields.
loyal commander attack
Loyalist Commanders have two primary attacks, a physical attack with a hammer and a blaster of ancient magic. The first of these is the combo attack, which sees the commander swing at the player with a blockable blow, then jump into the air and slam it with an unstoppable blow. The player should block the first hit, then dodge the second.
The second attack is a powerful blast of ancient magic that functions similarly to the electrothermal blast of the Ashwinder and Poacher Executioners. The Loyalist Commander will charge the spell by spinning his hammer in the air, causing a red light to appear below the player. This cannot be blocked, so players will need to dodge to escape the area of effect.
Loyal Commander Weaknesses
The Loyal Commander has a purple shield when charging his Ancient Magic Blast, so players cannot use Expelliarmus to interrupt it. Even so, these enemies do have one major weakness. After blocking the initial strike of their jump attack, players can cast a Force spell drop while loyal commanders are in the air, slamming them to the ground and defeating them instantly. This takes an otherwise powerful enemy and makes them insignificant. Players just need to have the Descendo ready whenever the Loyalist Commander starts a jump attack.
Like most enemies in the game, Loyalist Commanders can be easily defeated with a single Petrificus Totalus if the player manages to sneak up on them. Ancient magic is also another great way to tackle these high-priority objectives. Finally, keeping Loyalist commanders alive isn’t a bad idea if there are a lot of enemies, since their ancient magic explosions will also damage other enemies in the area.
Hogwarts Legacy is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S; a Nintendo Switch version will arrive on July 25, 2023.