The Hornet Ring is spectacularly powerful against any enemies that can be parried or backstabbed. Head to the Valley of Drakes and run past the guardians after the bridge. Try it and you will be hooked! To get it immediately after reaching Lordran, you must have the Master Key. This ring can be paired with other rings and spells for some very interesting outcomes (read on for some recommendations). You will feel exhilaration the first time you are able to easily KO a Black Knight after taking a shot in early game. Expert players equip this ring and just don’t get hit once the buff is triggered. It is also very useful in NG+ or later for extra rewards on boss fights.Īn homage to the true Dark Souls spirit, this ring makes your attacks 50% stronger when your life bar is at 20%. You will likely wear this ring during farming runs in late game of your first playthrough as you complete your build. You will have to take a blind jump into the darkness close to the area with the Giant Skeleton Archer and kill several Bone Towers. Go to the area where you fight the Halberd-wielding Black Knight. It is available later in the game in the Tomb of the Giants. This ring increases the number of enemy souls dropped by 20%. Assuming you opened the door leading to the courtyard right at the beginning of the game, retrace your steps past the rolling boulder and into the room with the locked bar gate. Crouch into an egg-shaped ball to be transported back to Undead Asylum. Fall off the elevator on the open side and roll onto the wall that leads to the ascending stone stairs with the giant crow’s nest. You can get it immediately after tripping the elevator to Undead Parish and collecting the Undead Asylum F2 West Key (on the roof above Petrus of Thorlund). Once you have experienced the joy of running through the swamp, you will never wander Blighttwon without it. But the buff is so useful, that it just makes my top ten list. This item is a perfect example of a ring that provides a specific buff for only a small part of the game.
It is very useful for the Hydra fight in Darkroot Basin and in the swampy Blighttown. This is a “one-trick-pony” of a ring negating slow movements in swamp and water. Eventually you will find the perfect combination that compliments your build and play style. During your Dark Souls playthrough, you will likely try out rings more often than a teenage girl at a mall. These complicating factors add a delicious strategic layer to outfitting your character for a boss fight or area.
Some rings even break if they are ever taken off. While some buffs can be duplicated or stacked with other items, most are unique to a particular ring. What gives? In Dark Souls rings provide powerful buffs. Dark Soul characters have ten fingers but are only allowed to equip 2 rings.