One of the trickiest (and bugged) quests in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is Off the Pilfered Path which involves Hugo, the young Coral Snake. You’ll be left with a big decision regarding Hugo and his future, but you might encounter a few issues—some of which won’t be your fault.
To save yourself a headache and a half, here is how to complete the Off the Pilfered Path quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Heads up: Spoilers ahead!
How to beat the Off the Pilfered Path quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2
There are at least two outcomes to the Off the Pilfered Path quest which are nonetheless intertwined. If you haven’t unlocked this quest yet it begins after you complete the Mercy Among Thieves mission available to you not long after you arrive in Batthal.
After beating that quest, the next time you walk into Bakbattahl, a guard will come around to meet you and tell you of Hugo’s imprisonment, which sends you down the rabbit hole of one of Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s most confusing quests.
Option one: Hugo escapes on his own
Once you learn of Hugo’s whereabouts in the Bakbattahl jail, you should head there and speak to him. After exhausting his dialogue move to the cell closest to him and there you should find Brefft, a member of the Coral Snakes. Brefft will explain to you how the gang operates, which is, spoiler alert: Kidnapping children and murdering their parents so they can be raised as loyal members. The same fate befell Hugo’s parents, who unfortunately don’t know this.
Tell Hugo of the Coral Snakes’ secret
You can be the bearer of bad news and reveal the gang’s secret to Hugo, and wait a day or two. Then, once you return to the jail, Hugo will be gone and you will be informed by the guards that he has escaped and killed Brefft. This then points you to the Ancient Battleground where you will fight the leader of the Coral Snakes, Lanzo.
If Hugo makes it there and you don’t save him in time, he will die and you will learn the information upon your return to Bakbattahl. Heading there directly after speaking to Brefft can save Hugo, and so can reviving Brefft who will give you the needed information.
Quest-breaking bug
Do not start and complete the Shadowed Prayers quest before completing this one as it will bug out your game and playthrough. Brefft will be replaced by another character and he will not respawn no matter how long you wait. The two quests cannot overlap and will bug each other out, leaving you only with the next option.
Option two: Break Hugo out of jail
Perhaps the easiest, but the most confusing option, is breaking him out of jail. This can theoretically be done in one of two ways. The first one involves bribing the Warden. However, this option is also entirely bugged. The Warden will be stuck in a loop after you bribe him for the second time and no matter how much you pass the time or rest or doze off, the loop remains locked. There is currently no known cause for the bug and it’s likely a developer oversight which will be fixed in a future update.
Open the jail cell with a Gaol Key
The second method is to grab Hugo and run. You can walk into the jail (the guards are sometimes bugged as well and will attack you for no reason) and open Hugo’s doors with the Makeshift Gaol Key. If you don’t have one, it can sometimes spawn in vendor’s stocks or you can allow yourself to be arrested by provoking the guards and breaking the boxes around you.
After escaping the jail, use the newly acquired key to unlock Hugo’s cell. Keep in mind that if the guards see you unlocking the cell, they will attack, but won’t become hostile if they see you carrying him.
Break Hugo out and find him a job.
Once Hugo is outside, simply put him down and begin the dialogue. After exhausting the dialogue, Hugo will ask you to find him a job, and if you don’t have one, he will walk off. This isn’t an issue since finding him a job is easily done. All you have to do is finish the Short-Sighted Ambition quest chain for Isaac the Apothecary. After an unwanted result of his research, Isaac abandons his post as the Battahl Apothecary and moves out of the town. This leaves a vacuum that Hugo would gladly fill.
If Hugo walks away from you, he can later be found in front of the purchasable house in Battahl, eagerly standing and awaiting your offer. Once you exhaust the dialogue and give him a job at Isaac’s Wares, he will move into the post and replace Isaac as the Battahl Apothecary. This will conclude the Off the Pilfered Path quest chain.
Pro tip: Avoid the quest in its current state
If you aren’t a completionist, there is simply no real reason to pursue completing this quest. It doesn’t tie into the main storyline nor does it offer any significant reward when you complete it. Finding Hugo a job is a necessary step in both options, and that can take upwards of an hour or more since Isaac’s requests are oddly specific and can take a long time to procure.
For example, the Quince he asks for rarely spawns in the wild, and you will have to doze off or rest for several days before it becomes the required Ripened Quince, which isn’t really the most fun thing to do. Until the questline’s most interesting section is fixed, I’d say it’s better to just skip past it.
