In all of the Dark Souls games, there’s an equipment slot aside from weapons & armor that you’ll need to fill out: rings!
Due to their large and varied bonuses, a proper set of jeweler can make or break entire builds.
And unlike other pieces of gear, rings have no stat requirements. So they can be used by anyone and everyone!
So if you’re after a great melee character then join me as we take a better look at which bling is most suitable to grace your fingers.
10. Crest of Blood
While there are indeed a lot of rings with many different bonuses, not all of them are exactly created equally.
Some buffs are either too “narrow” or very “build-specific”, which makes them not worth using for the majority of players.
Although a few entries in this list somewhat belong in these categories, I thought they were interesting and good enough that we could spend a bit of time going over them
With that out of the way, this first ring at the bottom of our ranking is the Crest of Blood – which boosts the damage of bleed weapons, and stacks with other similar effects (like the Shadow Gauntlets).
Weapons with an innate effect will get a bigger bonus than their infused counterparts (infusing an already innate bleed weapon makes the boost slightly better too).
It’s worth considering if you’re planning to bleed out your enemies.
How to get: Gifted to you for joining the Brotherhood of Blood covenant.
9. Dexterity Ring
This slot isn’t dedicated just to the Dexterity Ring – but to all four of the “+5” rings that exist.
These little circles come in handy when you need a few extra stats to wield something (like a new weapon), and you either don’t have the souls, or just don’t want to invest those points.
They’re also nice in the early-to-midgame when you don’t have anything better to fill your slots with. Raw stats are always better than nothing!
Although their usefulness drops off later on, since you’ll have most likely reached the soft cap in your preferred stats.
How to get: Found in Brume Tower, down a staircase close to the first bonfire.
8. Old Leo Ring
This is another one that belongs in the “very specific” category.
The Old Leo Ring boosts the counterattack damage of thrust attacks, which basically means attacking your opponent while they’re mid-animation (attacking, jumping, etc.).
Contrary to what the tooltip actually says, the boost works for all thrust-type attacks (such as spears, halberds, and even greatbows) which makes it slightly less narrow than what it actually wants you to believe.
Mostly just a useful tool for any PvPers out there.
How to get: Dropped by the Old Dragonslayer boss in Heide’s Tower.
7. Stone Ring
This is the last ring we’ll talk about before we enter the arena of “all-purpose usefulness”.
The Stone Ring gives a flat 30 poise-damage bonus to all of your attacks (and spells, but this is an article about melee, so we don’t do that here), meaning your enemies are going to get staggered more easily.
Since the bonus is static and doesn’t change, faster weapons that can make multiple quick successive attacks are going to get better mileage from it – rather than the heavy hitters.
Fun fact – not counting starting items, this the first ring you can get in DS2!
How to get: Dropped by the first Ogre you encounter in Things Betwixt (on your left up a hill, before you enter the character-creation house).
6. Life Ring
This one’s very simple.
How do you stay alive? Don’t get hit!
But what if I get hit? Have more than 0 life!
It’s not a secret that armor in this game isn’t the best.
Originally in this spot I had the Ring of Steel Protection, but after I did some digging, I decided that you’re always better off having more 15% extra life, than a measly 100 in physical defenses.
Not to mention there’s enemies out there whose attacks aren’t solely physical – in which case physical defenses do nothing.
Don’t undervalue this one!
How to get (+3 version): Treasure in Brume Tower, up the Foyer bonfire elevator and across the gap left by another elevator.
5. Royal Soldier’s Ring
Equipment load in Dark Souls 2 affects two things:
How fast your stamina regenerates, and how much you can equip before starting to “slow roll”, also known as “fat roll” (it also has an impact on the fall damage you take, but nobody really cares about that).
Both of those things are obviously very important to everyone.
More stamina means more actions, and faster rolls make for better dodges.
The Royal Soldier’s Ring (+2) increases your maximum equipment load by 20%, alleviating your back from a lot of pain, helping you carry even the heaviest of gear.
How to get: Dropped by Velstadt in New Game+.
4. Flynn’s Ring
Here we’ve got a ring that works in complete dissonance with our previous one.
Flynn’s Ring gives a bonus to your physical Attack Rating, based on your maximum equipment load (not how much you’re wearing, but your total possible).
At 60 Equip Load, you get the max of 50 extra AR.
If you go over that, the ring scales negatively, giving you less and less damage the more your equip load increases.
It’s a great ring for lightweight builds that want to dispatch their foes quicker.
How to get: Found in a metal chest in Dragon’s Sanctum.
3. Chloranthy Ring
As I said earlier, stamina is everything.
Without stamina, you can’t run, jump, dodge, or even attack!
At its highest level the Cloranthy Ring provides a 25% increased stamina recovery speed – which directly translates to 25% more actions for you!
It really makes life a whole lot better.
How to get: Dropped by the Executioner’s Chariot boss in New Game+.
2. Ring of Blades
Remember Flynn’s ring?
This is the same thing, but without the silly equipment load math restrictions.
It is widely known that if you don’t want to die, you just have to kill your enemy before they kill you.
The Ring of Blades gives a flat +50 bonus to all your physical damage (a little different on infused/elemental weapons), helping you greatly with all your slaying endeavors.
And yes, it does stack with Flynn’s, opening the way for some very cheesy yet interesting builds!
How to get: Dropped by the Double Pursuer fight in New Game+.
1. Third Dragon Ring
If you’ve had the chance to play the original Dark Souls, then perhaps you might know of the best ring in that game: the Ring of Favor and Protection (also known as FAP).
While not as amazing as the FAP, the Third Dragon Ring in DS2 serves as an excellent replacement.
It provides you with everything you’d ever want out of a ring (which is more life, stamina, and equipment load).
But even though the other Dragon Rings have different names, you can’t wear the others (First and Second) while wearing this one.
How to get: Treasure in Dragon Shrine, behind a Mimic and a Drakekeeper.
