How to pick the right Profession in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

Don't worry if you are unsure. Nothing is set in stone.

There are a lot of new mechanics in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite that make it far more detailed and complex than Niantic's other big hit, Pokémon Go. One of the more interesting additions is Professions, which allow you to choose a job in the game. Each job does something a little different and helps you in different ways.

While the game is still in beta we have only seen three Professions, though the full game may bring in more at a later date. The App Teardown we saw does suggest that three is all we will get, though we can't be sure.

What are the Professions?

There are currently three Professions in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The Auror, the Magizoologist and the Professor. Each is themed to help you defeat specific types of enemies out in the Wizarding world, while also being weak against one of the other types. The three types of enemies are Dark Forces, Beasts, and Curiosities.

Auror

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is set roughly in the current time so Harry Potter himself is the head of the Aurors. This is awesome — they have the real Daniel Radcliffe voicing Harry in the game! — as it adds a level of immersion for those of us who love the movies and books.

The Auror profession is all about the Dark Arts. If you choose the Auror path, you will receive bonus damage for fighting Death Eaters, and if you decide to put your skill points into it, the damage bonus you get — especially the critical hit damage — can achieve a huge spec bump. You can also get bonus damage to other enemies in the form of critical first strikes and the like, but most of your power is reserved for the Dark Forces.

To offset your abilities against Death Eaters, you are vulnerable to attack by all the magical Beasts of the world. Again, by using your skill tree you can offset this issue by increasing your magical defenses but it is important to know that, when you go into a Fortress, you will need a bit of help with Beasts from your friend the Magizoologist.

Magizoologist

Good old Hagrid got a promotion! He is now in charge of the Magizoologists around the world, and if you choose this profession you'll get to hear him chat to you all the time.

As you can probably guess from the name, the Magizoologists are very strong against Magical Beasts, but they are also the healing class. While they get a damage stat bump similar to the Auror — though not as powerful — they have an extra set of spells that make them perfect as the party tank. For those unfamiliar with the term: a Tank is a player that has the ability to heal and take a lot of damage — Clerics are often the tank class in other games.

Being a healer has a lot of advantages, especially when you are working as a group in Fortresses. Potions require a lot of different ingredients and potion-making skills to get right. Spells, on the other hand, only require magic stamina and focus.

Because all things must have a positive and a negative, Magizoologists are weak against Curiosities, which kind of makes sense — Curiosities are non-living magical things after all — but the use of healing spells helps mitigate the decrease in defense. Of course, if you are lucky enough to be playing with a team, then you will likely have a Professor with you, and you can guess what they are strong against right?

Professor

Of course, Professor McGonagall is your contact for the Professors. I would have been mad if she wasn't. She is one of the very best characters in all the books and movies. Dame Maggie Smith is a treasure, too.

Professors are your all-rounders, your jack-of-all-trades. Not only are they fairly good against most things, but they also have a lot of buff spells. Buffs are specifically designed to boost you and your party members' stats. They will normally make you able to attack or defend a little better for a short period of time. This is especially useful when you are in Fortresses with teams, but can help you survive when you are trying to solo them too.

Your attacks are strong against Curiosities but weak against the Dark Forces, so teamwork is the best route for you when fighting high-level enemies, especially Death Eaters. You do have one particularly awesome attack as well called Deterioration. When cast, Deterioration damages your enemy every time they attack or defend, so you can whittle their health away, even on their turn. This is extremely helpful when you are on a solo mission.

So which do you choose?

The answer to this will depend completely on your play style and the team you can play with. If you are likely to be running the game solo then you should probably choose the Professor. They have a great skill set that can be used in different ways. Although they don't have the most powerful attacks, they can buff their stats and use the Deterioration spell we mentioned earlier.

If you are working together in a team then look to fill in the blank spaces. Decide as a group what Profession is needed and work together to fulfill that need. If you already have a Professor and an Auror, then maybe a healer is what you need to be, so go for the Magizoologist.

Nothing is set in stone.

Remember, you don't have to be the same thing all the time. Each Profession has a skill tree and you will need to spend spellbooks and scrolls on advancing that tree. Happily, if you decide to change Profession, you don't lose your advancements, though you can't advance any further until you change back.

This means that if you play the game enough you can maximize all three Professions and then choose whichever one you need based on circumstance. By maxing your stats you can play with players you have only just met by changing your Profession to match the needs of the group. This opens up a lot of opportunities for you to have fun and adds a goal for you to aim for. Strive to max all three Professions and become a magical destruction machine!

Be ready for the game

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