Hogwarts Legacy gets massive patch that's especially useful if you're afraid of spiders

A huge, fiery spell being cast against giant spiders in Hogwarts Legacy.

(Image credit: Avalanche Software)

Hogwarts Legacy has received a huge patch which points its wand at spiders and says "expelliarmus!" A new Arachnophobia mode has been added which, when toggled, changes the appearance of all the game's spiders, removes their skitters and screeches, and removes certain spider-centric effects from the game. Interestingly enough, this seems to have been prompted by a popular mod that appeared shortly after launch which did the same thing.

After which, the bug jokes pretty much write themselves. Developer Avalanche has been on a squishing mission and the patch notes are voluminous with multiple save game fixes, various fixes to issues that could cause the player to fall out of the world, multiple potential crash fixes, fixes to problems with the collections and Field Guide pages, and fixes to certain quests that could be left impossible to complete if the player did certain things.

The full list is mind-numbingly extensive, but I sifted through it for the vaguely funny bits so you don't have to.

Resolved Poacher Ranger treadmilling onto a wall when the Avatar casts Disillusionment and hides after a cutscene
Resolved bumping the elf causing the NPC to multiply and stack on the pumpkin
Resolved NPCs using certain stations being misplaced, noticeably floating in the air during Halloween
Resolved NPC Alfred Lawley walking against the wall indefinitely when getting alert from the other side of the wall
Resolved Dugbogs not being harmed when lifted by the tongue
Resolved Adelaide Oakes intense robe clipping issues during cinematics
Resolved Professor Hecat sliding to her spot before setting up the dueling table
Resolved Natsai and Sebastian's necks briefly stretching up during the Three Broomsticks conversation
Resolved avatar bouncing on the water while swimming

As well as this there are accessibility and UI changes, and a bunch of PC specific tweaks, most of which relate to fixing visual effects and frame drops.

Despite the controversy around the game's release, Hogwarts Legacy has gone on to be very successful indeed: The last figures provided were that it sold over 12 million copies in the first two weeks of release. The director says there are currently "no plans" for DLC, but if you buy that then I've got an invisible cloak to sell you. Oh and, since launch, Warner Bros. has addressed one of the biggest issues players had with the game, though maybe not in the way everyone wanted: A new multiplayer Harry Potter game promises all the online Quidditch you don't get in Hogwarts Legacy.

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."