It was the butterfly, I tell you. The butterfly!
Along with those treasure chests with eyes on them, Hogwarts Legacy is full of another kind of chest to find and open: butterfly chests. These chests have you follow a trail of butterflies to their location and should open for you once you have completed the ‘Follow the Butterflies’ side quest.
You will receive the side quest by talking to Clementine Willardsey inside the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. It becomes available after completing main story mission ‘Jackdaw’s Rest’. The side quest has you following a bunch of butterflies which eventually lead you to a chest to open in the Forbidden Forest.
There are 15 butterfly chests to find and open scattered across the open world map, the total number including the one you find in the side quest. Opening each one will count towards unlocking the Collector’s Edition achievement/trophy, so it’s worth doing for that if you’re after 100 per cent completion.
It’s worth noting, too, that each of these mysterious chests contains a conjuration item that you can use to customise your Room of Requirement with. These are friendly butterflies that will magically reveal chests containing rewards for you. You can’t find these chests without following them.
Read on below to discover all the Hogwarts Legacy butterfly locations and where to find the chests they lead you to.
How to find butterflies in Hogwarts Legacy
Butterfly chests can be found all across the open world of Hogwarts Legacy, but you won’t see them on the in-game map to start with.
You’ll need to head to the general region where butterflies have been spotted by other players, and look around with as much patience as you can muster. Sometimes the butterflies take a while to spot, and we will say that they’re easier to see in the daytime.
When you get near a kaleidoscope of butterflies, an icon of the fluttery insect will appear on your mini-map — sometimes it feels like your character has spotted them from a mile off. We recommend you head toward that icon as soon as you see it. Following each set of butterflies shouldn’t take long once you’ve spotted them, and they will literally lead you to your reward.
Full list of Hogwarts Legacy butterfly chest locations
If you’d rather locate the butterflies and their treasure chests via video, we’ve got you covered. Check out the YouTube video from 100% Guides below to see every location in action so you know precisely where to go. If you’d rather see it as a written list, keep on scrolling down the page!
If you want to spruce up your Room of Requirement with lots of different items, it’s worth knowing where to find the butterflies and where to find the butterfly chests in Hogwarts Legacy.
Note that each chest cannot be found unless you follow the butterflies to it. You can’t skip the butterfly step and rush straight to the chest location.
Here is the complete list of Hogwarts Legacy butterfly locations which will lead you to the chests:
- Find the first set of butterflies and their treasure chest in the ‘Follow the Butterflies’ side quest by talking to Clementine Willardsey in the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade (you can complete this quest after finishing main story mission ‘Jackdaw’s Rest’)
- Clagmar Coast | Head to the northern tip of the region, and the butterflies should be briefly to the south west of the Field Guide map icon and the bandit camp – The butterfly chest is down the path around the corner
- Feldcroft | You should find the butterflies on the top of a cliff in between a treasure vault in large ruins to its north west and enemy lair to its south east – The butterfly chest should be down the cliffs and underneath a tree
- Feldcroft | Head south east from the Feldcroft Catacomb floo flames where the butterflies should be briefly to the west of a cluster of bandit camps and a Field Guide icon (by a cliffside) – The butterfly chest is at the top of that cliff
- Forbidden Forest | Butterflies will be found in the south of the region. Acting as a sort of point between two bandit camps and a lair in a kind of triangle-esque line – The butterfly chest is located outside the dilapidated house over a small wooden bridge
- Hogsmeade Valley | Head south from the East Hogsmeade Valley floo flames until you reach the edge of the area. The butterflies should be on a grassy hill – The butterfly chest is located up that hill near the Merlin Trial
- Hogwarts Valley | Head east from the Central Hogwarts Valley floo flames and the butterflies should be underneath or near the bridge archways – The butterfly chest is briefly up that hill
- Hogwarts Valley | Head west from Keenbridge and just beyond the ruins to find the butterflies – The butterfly chest will be up the hill into the woods
- Hogwarts Valley | The butterflies should be right next to the bandit castle in the south east of the region – The butterfly chest is down by the river nearby
- North Ford Bog | Head briefly east from the Pitt-Upon-Ford floo flames onto the covered bridge to find the butterflies – The butterfly chest is located by the lake with a waterfall
- North Hogwarts Region | Head to the north of the region on a dirt track beside the river/stream to find the butterflies (there should be a treasure vault just below it on the map) – The butterfly chest location is down the path then up the hill into a patch of wildflowers by the mountains
- Poidsear Coast | Head to the north west of the region (east of the Tomb of Treachery floo flames) and the butterflies should be near a lamppost briefly to the west of the Merlin Trial – The butterfly chest will be by a cliffside opposite the large ruins
- Poidsear Coast | The butterflies should be right next to the South Poidsear Coast floo flames, on or around the arch of the wooden bridge – The butterfly chest is over that bridge and next to the building
- South Hogwarts Region | Head briefly west from the bottom-left corner of the Quidditch stadium and the butterflies should be in the cliffs nearby (just south of the Merlin Trial) – The butterfly chest will be in the patch of wildflowers just down the path
- South Hogwarts Region | Head south from Aranshire, just beyond the Merlin Trial, to find the butterflies – The butterfly chest is just to the west of that Merlin Trial
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- Hogwarts Legacy review – our full verdict
- Hogwarts Legacy potions – all recipes to know
- Hogwarts Legacy plants – what do they do?
- Hogwarts Legacy level cap – how to spent talent points
- Hogwarts Legacy trophies – the achievements you need
- Hogwarts Legacy release date – staggered launch explained
- Hogwarts Legacy cast – Simon Pegg and more
- Hogwarts Legacy house sorting quiz – take the test
- Hogwarts Legacy character creator – customisation revealed
- Hogwarts Legacy common rooms – tour all four
- Who is Phineas Nigellus Black? Sirius ancestor explained
- Hogwarts Legacy year – when is it set?
- Hogwarts Legacy multiplayer – is it co-op?
- Hogwarts Legacy Switch – handheld version explained
- Hogwarts Legacy PC requirements – the specs you need
- Hogwarts Legacy Deluxe Edition – all perks
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