‘Off the Pilfered Path’ quest walkthrough in Dragon’s Dogma 2

“Off the Pilfered Path” is a timed quest you can pick up in Dragon’s Dogma 2 after you track down the Coral Snakes during “Mercy Among Thieves.” It involves learning some more about the kid you followed during “Mercy Among Thieves” and helping him start a new life.

Our Dragon’s Dogma 2 guide will show you how to start “Off the Pilfered Path,” the quests you should finish before starting it, the steps to complete it, and how to help Hugo find a job.

Before starting ‘Off the Pilfered Path,’ do these quests

“Off the Pilfered Path” ties into several other quests — some directly and some indirectly. And the outcomes of those other quests influence how “Pilfered Path” ends. The timed part of “Off the Pilfered Path” doesn’t start until about halfway through, so you have as much time as you need to complete everything else.

‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’

While you’re in Vernworth completing Captain Brant’s first set of quests, you’ll complete the quests “The Stolen Throne” and “An Unsettling Encounter,” during which you’ll meet the owner of the Rose Chateau Bordelrie, Wilhelmina. (In our experience, you also have to complete “A Veil of Gossamer Clouds” before this quest will trigger.)

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Talk to her at the bordelrie and give her some gifts (like Courtly clothes and flowers) and she’ll take a liking to you. If you visit on a subsequent day, she won’t be in her room and an employee named Rolf will tell you she’s busy. Use the painting in the southwest of her room to spy — just like you did during “The Stolen Throne” — to start the quest.

Over the course of “Every Rose,” you’ll get the chance to either help or betray Wilhelmina. For the purposes of “Off the Pilfered Path,” you should help her by giving her the Murder Report.

‘Short-Sighted Ambition’

When you reach Bakbattahl, you’ll find an apothecary run by a man named Isaac. He’ll ask for a ripened quince to help his eyesight so he can read a (definitely not cursed) grimoire. The next day, he’ll ask you to find the other volume of the tome — you can buy it from Ibrahim’s Scrap Shop in the Checkpoint Rest Town.

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When you return to Isaac’s Wares with the second volume, you’ll have a choice. Give him the actual grimoire or a forgery you had Ibrahim make. If you give him the real book, things go poorly and Isaac’s Wares will close down. If you give him the fake, life will go back to (mostly) normal for Isaac and his family.

‘Mercy Among Thieves’

Since “Off the Pilfered Path” wraps up the events of “Mercy Among Thieves,” you’ll obviously have to complete that one first. On the Battahl side of the Checkpoint Rest Town, there’s a young boy named Toumi. Give him food twice, and you’ll be able to talk to a couple of people on the other side of the road. In turn, they’ll point you to Lyssandro who asks you to track down the bandit gang named the Coral Snakes.

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There’s only one outcome to “Mercy Among Thieves” — the Coral Snakes Leader Lanzo betrays a boy named Hugo and then Hugo gets arrested.

How to start ‘Off the Pilfered Path’ in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin/Polygon | Sources: Capcom via Polygon

Head to the northeast of Bakbattahl to find the Bakbattahl Gaol. (There is a back way into the goal from the Research Lab, but this quest starts at the front door.) When you approach, you’ll meet a guard named Ekratt who will lead you inside.

Should you offer Hugo guidance?

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Before you do anything with Hugo — who is in the cell directly ahead of you — take a left. A man named Brefft is in the second cell on the left. Talk to him (or, really, just let him talk) a few times to exhaust his dialogue, and he’ll tell you all about Lanzo and Hugo’s past. He’ll also let you know where you can find the Coral Snakes now.

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Speak with Hugo after that, and you’ll have the chance to tell him what you learned. If you don’t tell him anything, he’ll stay in the jail. Tell him what you learned, leave the gaol, and then go rest until the next morning.

Head back to the jail. When you get close to Hugo’s cell, a guard will tell you that Hugo killed Brefft and then escaped.

Graphic: Jeffrey Parkin/Polygon | Sources: Capcom via Polygon

Head straight for the Ancient Battleground north of the Checkpoint Rest Town — this is the timed part of the quest. If you’re quick and it’s still morning, you can catch the oxcart to the checkpoint and travel the rest of the way on foot. If you’ve got a portcrystal at the Sphinx’s Mountain Shrine, you can teleport there and backtrack down.

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When you reach the castle at the north end of the Ancient Battleground, you’ll find Lanzo waiting for you. If you’re quick about getting there, you’ll beat Hugo and you can fight and kill Lanzo yourself. If you’re too slow, Hugo will get there first and he and Lanzo will kill each other.

What job to offer Hugo in Dragon’s Dogma 2

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If you get there first and kill Lanzo, Hugo will arrive immediately after. Your job becomes to set him on a better path and he’ll ask what a person like him could do. You have a couple of choices here:

• Don’t offer a job, and Hugo will wander off to fall back into a life of crime.
• If you completed “Short-Sighted Ambition” and Isaac’s family died, you can offer him a job at Isaac’s Wares in Bakbattahl. If Isaac’s family survived, this won’t be an option.
• If you completed “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and helped Wilhelmina, you can send him to work at the Myrmecoleon. If you didn’t help her, this won’t be an option either.

For your efforts, you’ll receive a White-Leather Kerchief, 4,500 XP, 7,000 gold, and Hugo’s Frosted Edges daggers.

For more Dragon’s Dogma 2 walkthroughs, here’s the best order for Captain Brant’s quests, plus how to rescue the caged magistrate, how to reach the Nameless Village, where to find Rodge, how to confront the Arisen’s shadow, and when to attend the coronation.