If you're jumping into Hogwarts Legacy for the first time with the last-gen release on PS4 and Xbox One, you may end up needing to learn how to beat the Absconder in Hogwarts Legacy sooner than you think. It's always good to be prepared. If you're no good at flicking between your spell slots, you might struggle to find the best combination to use against the gargantuan spider. But we can help.
The Absconder is a high-level Hogwarts Legacy boss that you can take on long before you're considered strong enough. But you can take it on with the right strategy. It can one-shot you, but that doesn't make it impossible to beat at a lower level. Just learn to dodge its attacks, don't ignore its kids, and use the spell combinations below.
How to beat the Absconder in Hogwarts Legacy
Once you're on the quest to retrieve the locket of a shopkeeper's deceased friend who thought he could take on the fanged creature, just follow your Field Guide deep into the spider tunnels of the Forbidden Forest to eventually come across the biggest arachnid you ever did see.
Best spells to use against the Absconder in Hogwarts Legacy
Before heading in to fight the Absconder, one of the Infamous monsters in the game, we recommend having a few spells within easy reach - Glacius, Confringo, Expelliarmus, and Incendio. There isn't a whole lot of reason behind these picks, but they worked for us to take on the level 30 beast at level 23.
The idea is to use Expelliarmus to increase the damage you deal to the monster, Glacius to slow it down a tad, and the fire spells Confringo and Incendio to deal some solid damage over time and, again, increase your damage output against the thing.
Hogwarts Legacy Absconder strategy
The best way to deal damage to the Absconder, at least at lower levels, is to rely on Ancient Magic attacks. To consistently use them, you'll need a way to keep your combo high.
Thankfully, it's quite easy to do that just by learning how to effectively dodge the Absconder. It has an obvious attack pattern you can roll away from, so keep an eye on that indicator above your head. It'll do three successive lunges, needing three rolls to dodge, and a final, more powerful lunge a second or two later.
Weave through your spells as you reverse around the arena, and you should be able to keep your combo going long enough to get quite a few Ancient Magic casts in throughout the fight.
Of course, the Absconder doesn't just come at you alone. It'll regularly summon other spiders to join the fight. Rather than kill them all as soon as they appear, leaving one or two alive can actually help more than hinder.
That's because you can actually block their attacks with Difendo and fire the Stupify counter back at the Absconder. So long as you watch the Absconder's tell-tale signs of its own attacks, you'll be able to counter its summons and dodge its own, giving you loads of ways to charge Ancient Magic, stunning some of its powerful attacks, and punishing it with potent spells.
It's a long battle when you're under-geared, but it's absolutely possible to fend off the Absconder with patience. Just keep focused, and you won't need to grind levels or wait until you're level 30 to take it on.
For more Hogwarts Legacy guides, click that link to see our whole hub. For specifics, learn how to beat the Pensieve Guardian if you haven't done that yet, and then check out how to open the Clock Tower doors to unlock one of the three Hogwarts secrets found around the castle.
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