Dragon's Dogma 2: How To Help Hugo | Off The Pilfered Path Quest Guide

Off The Pilfered Path is one of the more complicated quests in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Like most quests, the game really doesn’t explain what you need to do — and you can fail this quest spectacularly if you’re not playing carefully. This quest is only unlocked after completing a different quest to clear out the Coral Snakes Camp on the road to Bakbattahl. In that quest, you’ll meet the character Hugo who’s captured at the end and locked in jail. While exploring Bakbattahl, you’ll be contacted to try and locate the hidden location of the Coral Snakes boss — and the rest of the quest gets complicated. Getting Hugo to talk is a real challenge that requires patience. Here’s what you need to do. And even if you do something wrong, it is possible to complete this quest anyway.

And don’t miss our list of 10 ridiculous things you didn’t know you could do in Dragon’s Dogma 2.

Off The Pilfered Path | Quest Guide

To begin Off The Pilfered Path quest, you’ll need to first complete Mercy Among Thieves — this quest is located on the Battahl side of the Checkpoint Rest Town. When on the Battahl side, follow the main road and a guard will inform you of the Coral Snakes gang.

Go to the site of the Coral Snakes ambush and follow the NPC to raid their hideout. After this quest is over, the guards will apprehend one of the bandits named Hugo. The quest will begin when you approach the Bakbattahl Palace — guards will ask for your help in locating the leader of the Coral Snakes.

Where To Find Hugo: Go through the dye fields in Bakbattahl and find the back entrance to the Forbidden Magick Research Lab. To the left of the bridge, there’s a path leading down to the jail. Hugo is in the first cell straight ahead from the entrance.

Talk to guard outside and you’ll be allowed inside the jail. Inside you can talk to other guards and prisoners. Hugo won’t tell you anything. To get Hugo to talk, we’ll need to complete several different steps.

How To Progress The Quest: Hugo won’t talk to you when you first arrive. There are multiple steps here — and not all may be required, but I recommend doing everything you can to progress the quest.
Talk to Hugo until you exhaust all dialogue options.
Talk to Dietrich the guard watching Hugo’s cell multiple times.
Talk to Hugo and Dietrich again. Eventually, Dietrich will tell you of a way to release Hugo sooner. Hugo will have more to say now. Talk to him again.
Talk to Ekratt the Head Gaoler. He’ll agree to help release Hugo early for 1,000 gold. Agree and pay him.

After paying the gaoler, return after 24 hours. Hugo won’t be released yet, but he will have no dialogue and a new NPC to talk to.

Learn The Truth About Hugo: Return to the jail after a day has passed and talk to Hugo. He hasn’t been released yet.
In another cell, talk to Brefft and he’ll laugh about Hugo. Talk to him until you exhaust all of his dialogue. Keep talking (you may have to wait a few minutes for new dialogue) until Brefft tells the story of Hugo’s parents.

Once you hear that Lanzo killed Hugo’s parents, return to Hugo and talk to him. This time he’ll react very differently. The next day, Hugo will be gone.

Hugo is gone, but if you’ve been listening to the captured Coral Snakes, you’ll have a clue where to find Lanzo and how to complete this quest.

Where To Find Lanzo: Hugo has left to get revenge. Go to the Ancient Battleground to the east of Checkpoint Rest Town. The castle that’s normally filled with skeletons is now populated by bandits.

The Coral Snakes are everywhere in the castle. Fight your way to the upper floor, to the large courtyard where a cyclops normally spawns. That’s where you’ll encounter Lanzo and his party.

Kill Lanzo after the confrontation to scatter the remaining Coral Snakes and defeat the gang for good. Hugo will appear right after defeating Lanzo — arriving just too late to get his revenge.

How To Help Hugo: To get the best ending for this quest, you’ll need to complete the quest Every Rose Has Its Thorns for Wilhelmina in the Rose Chateau. Help her find the evidence — check out the complete guide here.
If you’ve done this quest, you can send Hugo to the Rose Chateau to acquire an honest job. Wilhelmina owes you.

For completing this quest, you’ll earn the White Leather Kerchief. the Frosted Edges Daggers and 7,000 gold.

The Frosted Edges are one of the best weapons in the game for Thieves and can be used for the rest of the game, dealing high damage and ice damage to enemies — and able to freeze even endgame creatures. Incredibly useful if you missed the pair in the Coral Snakes hideout.