Hogwarts Legacy allows players to take control of a young fifth-year student during their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After they have attended a few classes, they will be given the chance to explore the world outside the castle's walls, where they can offer assistance to a variety of different witches and wizards.
Players will need to explore most locations in Hogwarts Legacy if they wish to experience all the side quests available in the game, but those who wish to begin the Tangled Web side quest need only venture a short distance away from Hogwarts.
How to Begin The Tangled Web Side Quest In Hogwarts Legacy
To begin the Tangled Web side quest, players will need to travel to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade and speak to Crispin Dunne beside the fireplace. The fastest way to reach this location is to fast-travel to the South Hogsmeade Floo Flame and travel north.
Upon interacting with Crispin, he will explain to the protagonist that he is worried about his friend from Aranshire, Mary. Apparently, Aranshire has been overrun with spiders, but Crispin is too frightened to investigate himself. Though he doesn't outright ask the young Hogwarts student to venture to Aranshire, the only way to complete the Tangled Web side quest is to go there.
Where To Find Aranshire
Players won't need to travel too far to find Aranshire as it's located quite close to Hogsmeade. For those who wish to travel via a broom, they need only head south passed Hogsmeade Station. On the other side of the bridge, they will find the Aranshire hamlet, and will then be forced to vanquish the spiders roaming the area.
Players who have already visited Aranshire can fast-travel to the Aranshire Floo Flame if they wish to speed the quest up.
Where To Find Mary
Players will face a large number of arachnids during this quest, so they should ensure to equip Confingo or Incendio to their spell diamond before traveling to Aranshire, as spiders are especially vulnerable to fire-based magic. Once all the spiders have been dealt with, the player should then enter the house on the northwestern side of the hamlet.
Inside, they will find Mary's body wrapped in spiderwebs. Interacting with her body will reveal a note Mary left behind, informing the protagonist of her spider-filled basement. To end Aranshire's spider infestation problem, the player must locate the entrance to Mary Portman's Cellar behind her house and destroy all the spiders nesting inside.
Once inside the cellar, the player will need to walk around the wall ahead of them to the ladder leading into the cave below. Proceeding down the passageway into the more open area, the protagonist will comment on the Egg Sacs he sees, suggesting to the player that they all need to be destroyed. A cluster of spiders will then descend from the ceiling, so the player will need to deal with them before they can return to their search. To destroy an Egg Sac, all the player needs to do is hit one with a basic cast.
All Egg Sac Locations
A total of twelve Egg Sacs need to be destroyed in order to progress the Tangled Web side quest, but not all of them are easy to find. Upon destroying the three hanging above the back of the first large room, the player should head southwest and hug the wall on their right. At the next intersection, they will find some more Egg Sacs while facing east, along with another cluster of spiders.
Once the spiders have been disposed of, the player should destroy the three visible Egg Sacs before proceeding to the back of this room and destroying another. There's a note on the table in this area from Mary that details how she has been breeding spiders in her cellar in order to profit off the silk they produce.
After returning to the area where the player fought the first cluster of spiders, heading north by destroying the barricade with a basic cast and proceeding east will lead to the remaining Egg Sacs. Another cluster of spiders will attack in the next area, but once they have been dealt with, the player can proceed into the dead end to the east, where they will find another Egg Sac. Before returning to the previous area, they should then proceed southwest, where the remaining Egg Sacs can be seen hanging from both sides of the cave's walls.
Where To Find The Source Of The Egg Sacs
Once all twelve Egg Sacs have been destroyed, the player should backtrack to the area where they fought the first cluster of spiders. A Thornback Matriarch will bulldoze its way through the eastern barricade, and once it has been dealt with, the player will be permitted to delve deeper into the cave.
After progressing through the next corridor, the player will encounter the Insatiable Spider, a miniboss version of the Thornback Matriarch.
How To Defeat The Insatiable Spider
Though the Insatiable Spider's moveset isn't overly complex, dodging its attacks can be quite difficult to do, mainly because of the other spiders in the area. The best way to begin this battle is for the player to focus on vanquishing the smaller spiders first. Once they have all been defeated, defeating the Insatiable Spider can be done with relative ease.
Like most spiders in Hogwarts Legacy, the Insatiable Spider will attack the protagonist by lunging at them. To avoid getting struck, the player should dodge whenever the Insatiable Spider raises its front legs.
To deplete the Insatiable Spider's health quickly, the player should make use of the throwable debris scattered around the area, while also casting Confringo and Incendio as often as they can. Those who wish to end the battle as quickly as possible should cast Ancient Magic, as doing so can immediately kill the Insatiable Spider.
How To Complete The Tangled Web Side Quest
Once the Insatiable Spider has been defeated, the player should investigate the southern corner of the room they fought it in to find a chest. Inside the chest lies the Tower Spire, a decorative item that can be placed in the Room of Requirement.
Next, they should backtrack to the entrance of the cellar, leave, fast-travel back to Hogsmeade, and speak with Crispin at the Three Broomsticks. Players will then be given the option to either claim Mary was an innocent victim, or insult her for her actions. Both options lead to the same outcome, so the player can choose whatever they wish.
Once the cutscene ends, the player will obtain the Sinister Oddities Shelf, an item that can be used to decorate the Room of Requirement.
Hogwarts Legacy is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. PS4 and Xbox One versions will release on April 4 and a Switch version will release on July 25.