How to get a broomstick in Hogwarts Legacy and fly

Hogwarts Legacy broomsticks and flying class
(Image credit: Avalanche Software)

To get a get a broom in Hogwarts Legacy you'll need to complete two missions: Flying Class and Flight Test. Once you've completed those you can start flying all over the map.

Unsurprisingly, flying is an great way to get around given the size and scale of Hogwarts Legacy. But before you can take to the air you'll have to complete certain parts of the main story and master specific Hogwarts Legacy spells. Only then can you take your pick of the brooms at the Sprintwitches shop that services all your 'stick needs. 

You'll need to reach and start a mission called Imelda's first Flight Challenge to get your broom. And later you'll be able to fly on magical beasts as well if you were wondering when you unlock mounts in Hogwarts Legacy so we can cover that info as well, there. For now, though, let's get you a Hogwarts Legacy broomstick and have you soaring high.

How do you unlock broomsticks in Hogwarts Legacy?

You unlock broomsticks in Hogwarts Legacy when complete the Flying Class mission with Madame Kogawa. Once that's done you can head to Hogsmeade and buy a broom from Sprintwitches Sporting Needs, but you'll need to ace the Flight Test objective before you're free to fly anywhere.

How to unlock the Flying Class mission

Hogwarts Legacy flying lessons

(Image credit: Avalanche Games)
Make a choice

Hogwarts Legacy feather steal weasley

(Image credit: Warner Bros)

Whether or not you should steal the Hogwarts Legacy Fwooper feather for Garreth Weasley is one of the first choices you have to make. So should you? 

After you've unlocked the spell Expelliarmus taught to you after completing Professor Hecat's Assignment 2, you'll receive a quest for a Flying class with Madame Kogawa. You can check our Hogwarts Legacy tips for more on this, but probably everything you actually want is locked behind story progress. So always check the mission rewards to see what you can get. 

During this first class, you'll be using a school-issued broomstick to learn, and one of your classmates will take you for an aerial tour of Hogwarts' grounds. When you get back to class, Kogawa will be disappointed in you both for straying from the assigned task but she will commend your flying skills all the same. 

Where to buy a broom in Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy Hogsmeade sprintwitches location

(Image credit: Avalanche Games)

With your flying lesson completed you'll be able to head into Hogsmeade and find Sprintwitches Sporting Needs to buy your first broomstick. When you arrive and meet the shopkeeper, Albie Weekes, he explains the shop had been shut until recently. Which is why you couldn't access it before, but he is now ready to sell you a broomstick.

Hogwarts Legacy broomsticks aren't too costly and you can expect to pay about 600 coins for your first broom. However, there are more expensive options to be found from vendors outside Hogsmeade if you want something fancier. If you're short on cash, be sure to loot chests, pots, and bags as you explore the world, and don't forget to sell any unwanted gear to vendors.

What's the best broom in Hogwarts Legacy?

All brooms in Hogwarts Legacy are the same and the only real difference is how they look. You can upgrade your broom by completing missions like Flight Test and Sweeping The Competition, which will result in Sprintwitches' vendor Albie upgrading your broomsticks to improve their speed, no matter which one you have.

How to use your broomstick outside 

Sitting on a broom during flying class in Hogwarts Legacy

(Image credit: Avalanche Games)

Before you can actually fly with your broom, you'll have to complete a mission called Flight Test. Travel back to Hogwarts after purchasing your broomstick, and then head to the Quidditch pitch to talk to Imelda Reyes. After a conversation, she challenges you to beat her high score in a race around the castle.

This agility trial requires you to fly through yellow speed bubbles, which will make you go faster as you collect all the hoops as quickly as possible. If you miss a hoop you will get a few seconds added to your time as a penalty so it's actually better to avoid top speeds in favor of getting them all. The first Flight Test mission shouldn't be too difficult, but each subsequent attempt will up the challenge a little. 

Hogwarts Legacy how to use a broom

(Image credit: Avalanche Software)

After you complete Flight Test you should be able to fly whenever you're in open space by using L1 to bring your gear menu up and pressing Circle or B to jump on and take off. 

If you are in an area where you can't fly (usually towns), you will see an icon of a flying creature with a red strike through it on your HUD. Just head further outdoors, and when the icon vanishes, you'll be able to fly.

The release of Hogwarts Legacy has been the subject of criticism and debate due to J.K. Rowling's public stance on gender identity, which continues to challenge the inclusivity at the heart of the Harry Potter community. Here is our explainer on the Hogwarts Legacy controversy.

Jasmine Gould-Wilson
Staff Writer, GamesRadar+

Jasmine is a staff writer at GamesRadar+. Raised in Hong Kong and having graduated with an English Literature degree from Queen Mary, University of London in 2017, her passion for entertainment writing has taken her from reviewing underground concerts to blogging about the intersection between horror movies and browser games. Having made the career jump from TV broadcast operations to video games journalism during the pandemic, she cut her teeth as a freelance writer with TheGamer, Gamezo, and Tech Radar Gaming before accepting a full-time role here at GamesRadar. Whether Jasmine is researching the latest in gaming litigation for a news piece, writing how-to guides for The Sims 4, or extolling the necessity of a Resident Evil: CODE Veronica remake, you'll probably find her listening to metalcore at the same time.

With contributions from
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