Hogwarts Legacy is one of the most exciting and anticipated releases this year, especially for fans Harry Potter and the Wizarding World.
With so much to enjoy in the open world created by Avalanche Software, many fans are curious about some of the things they can expect to find while exploring.
One of the more popular questions that many in the community have been asking for a while now is whether or not players will encounter Whomping Willow in an RPG.
Unfortunately, there is no Willow Tree in the Hogwarts legacy. A sensitive tree that made it famous Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban not part of the game due to the timeline the RPG is set in.
While the Forbidden Forest is something players can explore in the game, the Whomping Willow will unfortunately not be part of the experience.
Hogwarts Legacy is set nearly a hundred years before the events involving the Whomping Willow
The primary reason why Whomping Willow is not part of Hogwarts Legacy has to do with the setting of the game and the time during which the narrative takes place.
The story revolves around the player’s journey as a fifth year student and their time at Hogwarts. The action takes place in 1890. This is a well-known fact from Harry Potter books and movies that the Screaming Willow was planted in 1971 to hide the passage leading to the Screaming Cabin.
It was often mentioned in the books that the Willow Tree was a means of allowing Remus Lupine to withdraw from his fellow students during the new moon, as he would transform into his werewolf state. He would use the Screaming Shack as a means of concealing his distress from the rest of his classmates.
During this period of the narrative, it was Professor Pomona Sprout who taught a generation of Hogwarts students sixth year herbology and how to care for the younger Willows. This included Nymphadora Tonks.
So it makes perfect sense that Avalanche Software decided to leave Whomping Willow out of Hogwarts Legacy. As for lore, it wouldn’t make sense to include a sentient tree in the game.
It’s quite disappointing for many that the famous Willow Tree that broke Harry’s broom won’t be part of the game. However, when it comes to staying true to the lore of the Wizarding World, it’s fortunate that the developers stuck strictly to the timeline.