The Off the Pilfered Path quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a complex quest with multiple endings and part of Hugo’s quest chain. You may get stuck or get a bad ending if you don’t follow the right approach. The quest starts after you have completed the Mercy Among Thieves quest, as this will put Hugo in jail.
Before completing Off the Pilfered Path in Dragon’s Dogma 2, there are some prerequisite quests I would recommend doing. These will allow you to have more choices regarding Hugo’s fate and unlock the good ending to this quest.
To start off, make sure you have completed Tolled to Rest and Shadowed Prayers. This will ensure another NPC, Brefft, is also in jail with Hugo. Apart from these two, make sure you complete either Short-Sighted Ambition or Every Rose Has Its Thorn. You can complete both of them as well to give you more choices.
Once these quests have been completed, head to Bakbattahl and sleep at an inn or your house for a day. Talk to Brefft and Hugo in the Bakbattahl jail in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Speak with Brefft and Hugo inside the Cell
As you enter the Jail and reach the yellow marker shown on the map, you will first need to go to Brefft’s cell and talk to him to get all the info about the Coral Snakes’ hideout. Speak to him multiple times to exhaust all the dialogue options, and then head to Hugo.
Tell Hugo what Brefft told you and again exhaust all the dialogue options. Once done, you will need to rest for a day again. You can sleep at the Inn or your house in Bakbattahl. Return to the Jail the next day, and you will learn that Hugo killed Brefft and escaped the jail in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
What happens if you don’t tell Hugo the truth?
You can skip talking to Hugo about what Brefft told and talk about his life. Now, to progress in the quest, you must bribe Ekratt multiple times. Sleep for a day at the Inn, and you will again have the option to bribe Ekratt.
Eventually, Ekratt will release Hugo. You can use the Gaol Key to open the cell and release Hugo to speed things up. Hugo will go to Ancient Battleground, whichever you choose.
Find and Kill Lanzo at the Ancient Battleground
This is a timed part of the quest; you must act quickly to reach the Ancient Battleground. If you get late, Lanzo will kill Hugo, and you will get the bad ending to the Off the Pilfered Path quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
You need to follow the same path you followed in the Tolled to Rest, so it should not be hard for you to reach. If you have a Portcrystal nearby, you can also fast-travel to it. Alternatively, you can use the Oxcart to reach the Checkpoint Rest Town and then follow the path to the Ancient Battleground to reach it quickly.
Once you reach the top and the yellow marker on the map, you will have a little cutscene with the Lanzo. After the cutscene, you will only have a few seconds to land good hits, as many other enemies will join the fight.
Focus on Lanzo and defeat him as soon as possible. This will end up defeating all the other enemies automatically, and you can talk to Hugo to finish the quest.
Give Hugo Honest Work
Once you have killed Lanzo, Hugo will appear. This will start a cutscene in which Hugo will tell you he wants to kill Lanzo and provide other details. You must choose the Live the honest life option during the dialogue options.
After this, you should choose the option I Know of a place that might when he asks whether you know of someplace. You will only see the options if you have completed one of the two quests I mentioned earlier.
If you completed Wilhelmina’s romance quest, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, you can send Hugo to work at Wilhelmina’s brothel, Rose Chateau Bordelrie.
On the other hand, if you give Isaac the original book in Short-Sighted Ambition quest, his family will die, and he will need help running his shop. In that case, you can send Hugo to work at the shop in Bakbattahl.
If you don’t have either of those options, you must select the Never mind option, complete one of the two quests mentioned at the start, and then return to him to complete the Off the Pilfered Path quest. Whichever option you choose will result in the quest being completed and you unlocking your rewards.
If you manage to keep Hugo safe and get him a job in Dragon’s Dogma 2, you will get his Frosted Edge daggers and White Leather Kerchielf in addition to the 7,000 Gold and XP.
Choosing not to tell Hugo the truth and suggesting a job will also get you the same reward. If Hugo is already killed when you reach the Ancient Battleground, you will only receive 7000 Gold and 4500 XP.
