Hogwarts Legacy Makes Cats Invincible Because People Keep Attacking Them

One of the greatest hallmarks of advancement in video game development has to be the ability to pet so many different adorable animals of so many different sizes. From "God of War Ragnarok" to "Fire Emblem Engage," developers have clearly understood the assignment and have given players one opportunity after another to run their hands over soft fur and feathers at the touch of a button. Twitter account Can You Pet The Dog? has made a mission out of answering that very question for every new release game, and the industry has taken notice. Even "Elden Ring" lets you pet one of its terrifying mongrels. But sometimes, as in the case of "Hogwarts Legacy," it's simply not enough for these pets to be cute as a button. They must also be impervious to attack. 

In "Hogwarts Legacy," players are pretty much free to explore the grounds of the titular castle at their leisure. It's easy to while away the hours in the game by flying around the school and checking out the scenery. The game has faithfully recreated the wizarding school that fans know from the "Harry Potter" book series, right down to the fact that others students are allowed to bring pets with them to the dorms. Many Hogwarts students opt to bring cats to school, which in turn affords "Hogwarts Legacy" players with plenty of opportunities to give these furry companions some attention. 

"Hogwarts Legacy" doesn't allow the player character own a pet – unless you count catching a Kneazle, of course — but players can still give some loving to the many NPC cats in the game. But some players have unfairly turned against these precious little guys, which has inspired the developers to come up with ways to protect the cats of Hogwarts at all costs. 

The latest upgrades to the "Hogwarts Legacy" cats were just shared in a video clip posted by Avalanche Studios community manager Christian Wood. According to Wood, the devs found out that some players try to cast nasty spells on the defenseless felines, so they came up with a fun retaliation for the animals to deploy in just such an emergency.

After seeing how some people have treated cats in the game, devs made a fun little internal thing that I couldn't not share: pic.twitter.com/8T17LMlyEZ

— Chandler Wood (@FinchStrife) March 13, 2023

In the clip, a young wizard can be seen casting an offensive spell against a little black cat. The cuddly feline doesn't like this one bit, and after projecting a magical barrier to protect itself from the attack, the cat hits back with the most powerful and deadly of the Unforgivable Curses: Avada Kedavra. Or, as Wood jokingly refers to it in a later tweet, "AVADA CAT-DAVRA!!!" The spell hits the offending player character, killing them instantly and turning the screen a sickly red color as the magic does its wicked work.

The response to the video has been largely positive, with many players saying that they wouldn't mind seeing a feature like this rolled out in a future update. Others have said they'd like to be able to see fellow students perform a similar move to protect themselves from attackers. Unfortunately for those fans, Chandler Wood has confirmed this mechanic was only added as a test to amuse the team behind the game.

"This is an internal thing only, and will not make its way into the retail version of the game," Wood tweeted in a follow-up. "Just wanted to share some of the fun we have here at Avalanche. Also, Don't F*** With Cats."

Petting the cats in "Hogwarts Legacy" doesn't afford any obvious in-game benefits. Your health doesn't get replenished, you don't suddenly start casting more powerful spells, and your character doesn't learn how to cast a purring Patronus that makes biscuits on the faces of your enemies. Players are just rewarded with a cutscene in which the appreciative kitten just snuggle up to the protagonist a bit, PS5 players get to hear purrs coming out of their DualSense controllers, just to make everything even more unbearably sweet. The only real reward you get is the satisfaction of knowing that you just pet a really cute cat — and isn't that enough? 

Considering the response to this clip, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise for Avalanche Studios to add some new bells and whistles to animals in a future game or DLC. Some gamers are already arguing that this cat's protection spell makes canonical sense within the "Harry Potter" universe.

This is basically cannon. It's how Harry become the boy who lived. Makes sense Wizards would apply a charm to their familiars to protect them.

— Connor (@ConnorP_music) March 13, 2023

Fans of the game seem to be all-in on giving the Wizard World cats their own defense mechanisms. Just maybe don't make the Kneazles any more dangerous, Avalanche.