A Hogwarts Legacy player accidentally transformed the most valuable beast in the game and got two measly galleons in return - which is the equivalent of pennies in real-life currency.
As the Reddit user below explained, they impulsively decided to use the transfiguration spell - which is used to transform objects from one thing into another - on their phoenix and all they were left with was a couple of galleons, literally two coins. To put that into perspective, it's like trading a rare pedigree pet for loose change.
You can see the exact moment this player realized they had messed up in the video below. After casting the spell on their unsuspecting phoenix, they begin to run over to it before pausing when they realize it had completely disappeared. "Definitely had a brief moment of panic where I thought I traded the most valuable beast in the game for 2 lousy Galleons," the user writes under the Reddit post.
Soooo on a whim I cast the Transfiguration spell on my phoenix....... from r/HarryPotterGame
Don't worry though, it wasn't a completely lost cause. The Reddit user explained that the phoenix did come back, they just had to go back into the Room of Requirement briefly, and "upon re-entering the habitat, I found him reborn. True to Phoenix form." If you didn't know, the phoenix isn't like the other beasts in the game, as players need to complete a special quest in the game to obtain it, and it can't be bred - so you can't create them yourself.
Other players have had a different reaction to this incident. Rather than worry about what the heck happened to that phoenix during the brief time it was away, Hogwarts Legacy players have instead realized the potential this trick has as an infinite gold glitch. Before you start casting spells on your poor phoenixes willy-nilly though, we should remind you that you literally only get two galleons, so you'll be casting spells for a long time before making any real money here.
The release of Hogwarts Legacy has been the subject of criticism and debate due to J.K. Rowling's public stance on gender identity, which continues to challenge the inclusivity at the heart of the Harry Potter community. Here is our explainer on the Hogwarts Legacy controversy.
