There are some fairly difficult side quests and puzzles in Hogwarts Legacy, with players often needing to prove themselves in combat or test their reasoning skills. "The Lost Astrolabe" requires neither of these things from players, nor does it end up being a particularly challenging side quest when all's said and done. One thing that it does do though is to teach players about one of the game's most important mechanics: diving.
Learning how to dive underwater in Hogwarts Legacy can come in very handy, with players able to find some very useful items and Gear down in the murky depths. With this in mind, it's well worth completing "The Lost Astrolabe," particularly as doing so will only take a couple of minutes. That said, players will need to wait until after they've completed the "Find The Secret in the Restricted Section" quest before they can get started.
Updated May 6, 2023, by Tom Bowen: Hogwarts Legacy's Lost Astrolabe side quest is somewhat unique in that it teaches players a brand-new mechanic. Granted, this mechanic ends up going massively under-utilized, but its use during The Lost Astrolabe does at least help the side quest to stand out from the crowd. For Hogwarts Legacy players who are eager to help find the missing Astrolabe for Grace Pinch-Smedley and learn how to dive in the process, this is a side quest that's well worth checking out.
How to Complete The Lost Astrolabe in Hogwarts Legacy
To begin "The Lost Astrolabe" players will need to speak with Grace Pinch-Smedley: a young Slytherin student who can be found on an old wooden dock in the Lower Hogsfield area of the South Hogwarts region. Players will need to be at least Level 7 before they can trigger the quest, so it's best to wait until being summoned to the area by Natty during Hogwarts Legacy's fourth main quest.
Grace will ask for help finding her family's lost Astrolabe, which is in the water to the northeast of the dock. To reach it, Hogwarts Legacy players will simply need to jump into the water and then make their way out toward the area marked on their map. They may encounter a Dugbog or two in the water here, but as players won't be able to use their wands while swimming, it's best to give these enemies a wide berth or take them out from the shallows.
After arriving at the marked location, players should start to notice some white circles in the water. Heading to the center of one of these circles and pressing either the Square (PlayStation) or X (Xbox) button will allow players to dive into the water and will result in them emerging with either items or Gear. After searching enough of these spots, players will eventually find the lost Astrolabe and will then be able to return to shore and claim their reward.
As with a lot of the other side quests in Hogwarts Legacy, players will be given a choice as to whether or not they return the missing item they retrieved. Choosing to keep the Astrolabe or demanding a reward will certainly annoy Grace, but players will ultimately end up with exactly the same rewards regardless of what they choose. They'll get 180 XP and the Mermaid Mask: a cosmetic item that can be used to customize the appearance of a piece of Gear.
How to Dive Underwater in Hogwarts Legacy
As mentioned above, Hogwarts Legacy players can dive underwater while swimming by heading to a white circle and pressing either the Square (PlayStation) or X (Xbox) button. This mechanic is incredibly useful, as, just like with chests, the items and gear that players get while diving is random. As such, it's possible to save and then reload the game to reroll the rewards for each dive spot, allowing players to get some pretty cool items if they have the patience.
The Best Places to Dive in Hogwarts Legacy
After learning the mechanic during the Lost Astrolabe side quest, some players may be wondering whether there are any other good places to dive in Hogwarts Legacy. Sadly, however, other than The Black Lake, there really aren't too many places where players can really utilize the mechanic, nor is there really much incentive to seek such places out. It's a shame, really, as given some of the creatures that dwell beneath the surface of The Black Lake, it would have been cool to have been given more of a chance to explore its depths. Instead, rather than getting to play around with this cool new mechanic, players are instead left to wonder what an astrolabe is and how the one belonging to Grace Pinch-Smedley's family ended up at the bottom of the lake.
Hogwarts Legacy is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and PC. A Switch version is currently in development.