Hogwarts Legacy: How to counter and stun with Protego and Stupefy

Hogwarts Legacy has you battling foes from time to time. Survival is important, as some creatures do pack a punch. Thankfully, you’ve got the right tools for the job. Here’s our Hogwarts Legacy combat guide to help you with blocks, counters, and stuns via Protego and Stupefy.

Note: For more information, check out our Hogwarts Legacy guides and features hub.

Hogwarts Legacy combat guide – How to block, counter, and stun with Protego and Stupefy

Protego and Stupefy are two spells in Hogwarts Legacy that act as the game’s blocking and countering mechanics respectively. Both of these are learned fairly early in the campaign during the introductory chapter. There, as your character and Professor Fig get trapped in the dark vaults of Gringotts, you’ll find yourself surrounded by Living Armors (i.e., knight constructs). Since you’ll face several of these foes at the same time, you’re prompted to use new combat tactics.

Protego is your block, which can be activated by pressing Y/Triangle. It creates a glowing bubble around your character to deflect attacks (as seen in the featured image). Likewise, you’ll notice a yellow icon appear, denoting that an enemy is about to hit you. Here’s the kicker: if you press and slightly hold the the block button at the right time, this will cause your character to follow up with the Stupefy counter.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

Stupefy will hit the opponent that you’re targeting, not necessary the one whose attack got blocked. This causes that hostile to be temporarily stunned. You may then do a Basic Cast or stronger offensive spells, to deal critical damage to a stunned foe. Even better, if you’re fighting wizards and goblins with shields, a Stupefy counter/stun will also break that shield. This is immensely useful especially in Crossed Wands Duels.

One more thing to mention is that you may only block attacks with a yellow icon. If you do see a red flash, that means the ability is unblockable, so you’d have to dodge out of the way. Don’t forget that Protego and Stupefy mechanics are just a particular facet of combat in Hogwarts Legacy. You still need to master your dodge rolls, proper item usage, buffs, spell swapping, shield breaking, air juggling, and Ancient Magic abilities.

Hogwarts Legacy is available via Steam.