Every enemy in Hogwarts Legacy poses a unique threat to the player, and Loyalist Commanders are one of the more dangerous of the bunch. Goblins are different from other enemy factions in the game because they rely mostly on physical weaponry like swords, axes, and crossbows as opposed to wands and spells. That said, they do have some magic that is granted to them by the corrupted Ancient Magic that Ranrok has found and given to them. Loyalist Commanders are particularly adept at wielding this corrupted Ancient Magic, and players will need to know how to beat them if they want to combat Ranrok's forces.
Loyalist Commanders are powerful foes by themselves, but they are frequently surrounded by other Loyalist enemies. If players aren't able to take Commanders down quickly, they will prove deadly as they attack relentlessly with powerful magic and weighty hammer blows. Thankfully, Loyalist Commanders have one major weakness that Hogwarts Legacy players can exploit.
What Are Loyalist Commanders?
Loyalist Commanders are described by the Field Guide as Goblins that "wield hammers with impressive skill." The Field Guide also touches on their ability to use Ancient Magic blasts to "smash their targets from afar." They can be easily identified by the white plume coming out of their metal helmets.
From a lore perspective, it's safe to assume that Loyalist Commanders are leaders in Ranrok's army, although this is never explicitly stated.
Loyalist Commander Defenses
Loyalist Commanders are protected by Purple shields. In order to break shields in Hogwarts Legacy, players must cast spells of matching color, in this case, purple. That means that force spells like Accio, Depulso, Descendo, and Flipendo are particularly effective against Loyalist Commanders.
Thanks to their small size, Loyalist Commanders are also susceptible to spells like Levioso, although it won't break through their shields.
Loyalist Commander Attacks
Loyalist Commanders have two primary attacks, a physical strike with their hammer and a blast of Ancient Magic. The first of these is a two-hit attack that sees the Commander swing at the player with a blockable strike and then leap into the air and slam down with an unblockable strike. Players should block the first hit and then dodge the second.
The second attack is a powerful blast of Ancient Magic which is similar in function to the electric and fiery blasts of Ashwinder and Poacher Executioners. The Loyalist Commander will charge up the spell by spinning his hammer in the air, causing a red glow to appear beneath the player. This can't be blocked, so players need to dodge to escape the area of effect.
Loyalist Commander Weaknesses
The Loyalist Commander has a purple shield while charging his Ancient Magic blast, so players aren't able to use Expelliarmus to interrupt it. Even so, these enemies do have one major weakness. After blocking the initial strike from their leap attack, players can cast the Force Spell Descendo while the Loyalist Commander is in the air to slam them down to the ground and instantly defeat them. This takes an otherwise powerful enemy and makes them trivial. Players just need to be ready with Descendo whenever the Loyalist Commander starts their leap attack.
As with most enemies in the game, Loyalist Commanders can also be defeated easily with a single Petrificus Totalus if the player manages to sneak up on them. Ancient Magic is also another good way to take out these high-priority targets. Finally, it isn't a bad idea to leave Loyalist Commanders alive if there are a lot of enemies, as their Ancient Magic blast does also deal damage to other enemies in the area.
Hogwarts Legacy is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S; the Nintendo Switch version is arriving on July 25, 2023.