The Top 10 Best Rings in Dark Souls 3: Detailed Review and Analysis

As a hardcore Dark Souls enthusiast with over 200 hours across multiple playthroughs, I‘ve tested out countless ring combinations. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll countdown and extensively review the 10 most game-changing rings in Dark Souls 3.

How Rings Work

Before evaluating individual rings, let‘s review the key mechanics:

• Equip up to 4 rings in designated slots for constant passive effects
• Rings don‘t expire – effects remain as long as equipped
• Mix and match rings to match your playstyle and build

Now let‘s analyze the crème de la crème…

#10 Ring of Favor

The Ring of Favor lives up to its name by buffing your HP, stamina, and equip load in one versatile package. It‘s suitable for nearly any build or situation in both PvE and PvP.

Effects

• Raises HP by 3%
• Boosts Stamina by 9%
• Extends Equip Load by 5%

This well-rounded blend boosts both your offense and defense simultaneously. The extra health provides more cushion to absorb hits. Higher stamina enables more frequent attacking and dodging. And the heightened equipment load facilitates wearing heavier armor while maintaining mid-roll speeds.

Location

The Ring of Favor can be looted after defeating the first Sulyvahn‘s Beast in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, as pictured below:

I highly recommend the Ring of Favor as a "set and forget" ring that can benefit any build. Plus, it stacks with many effect boosting rings introduced later for amplification.

YouTube walkthrough:

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#9 Havel‘s Ring

If you want to cosplay as an impenetrable walking boulder, look no further than Havel‘s Ring – the premier equip load booster.

Effects

• Increases maximum equip load by a whopping 15%

By greatly expanding equipment capacity, you can wear incredibly heavy armor sets while maintaining mid-roll speeds for decent mobility. Tank builds in particular can capitalize on near impenetrable defense.

The only downside is that your rolling distance is reduced compared to fast or light rolls. But the trade-off for gigantic defense boosts is well worth it.

Location

To obtain Havel‘s Ring, defeat the Stray Demon optional boss at Farron Keep and then transpose his soul. Watch this guide:

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If going for a strength build, I highly recommend locking down Havel‘s ring for tanking bosses and Invaders without fat rolling.

#8 Ring of Steel Protection

Sometimes the best offense is great defense – that‘s where the Ring of Steel Protection comes in. As the name suggests, it reinforces your damage absorption against physical attacks.

Effects

• Raises physical damage reduction

The exact damage reduction percentage is unclear and seems to scale based on upgrade level.

But what is clear is this ring can easily mitigate 10% or more physical damage, making it invaluable against tough bosses and PvP opponents using standard melee weapons.

Location

The Ring is located in a chest at the end of the Irithyll Dungeon:

If struggling against strength builds in PvP or bosses like Champion Gundyr, the Ring of Steel projection is a lifesaver.

#7 Chloranthy Ring

If you prefer relentlessly attacking and dodging over turtling behind a shield, the Chloranthy Ring is mandatory.

Effects

• Speeds up stamina recovery rate

By passively regenerating your stamina meter faster, you can attack, roll, and sprint more often during fights without worrying about emptying your tank.

This enables more aggressive play and faster attacking combos. It‘s a top pick for strength builds and quick dexterity fighters.

Location

Early on at the Undead Settlement, you can grab the base Chloranthy Ring after the fiery demon encounter with Siegward:

Higher upgraded versions can be found in late game areas as well.

If going for a spartan kick or greatsword wielding build, the Chloranthy Ring empowers hard-hitting combos.

#6 Ring of Favor +3

Veteran players know that finding upgraded versions of rings in Dark Souls 3 cranks their effects even higher. The Ring of Favor becomes a god-tier buffer when boosted to +3.

Effects

• HP raised by a whopping 5%
• Stamina boosted by 11%
• Equip Load elevated by 8%

Available only in The Ringed City DLC, the +3 variant takes an already awesome ring and amplifies it to beast status.

The percentage buffs above can make a very noticeable difference in battling epic bosses and invaders. And being the Ring of Favor, it works great with any build.

I always strive for the +3 version before end game since the buffs are just too good to pass up.

Location

When starting The Ringed City DLC, progress forward to the first tower with an Earthen Peak Ruins bonfire as pictured:

From there you can easily grab the coveted Ring of Favor +3 treasure.

#5 Prisoner‘s Chain

Sometimes voluntarily lowering a stat can enable overpowered benefits. That‘s the trade-off of the Prisoner‘s Chain – reduced absorption for ramped up attributes.

Effects

• Vigor raised by 5
• Vitality boosted by 5
• Endurance elevated by 5
• Damage absorption reduced by 4%

Effectively you are gaining 15 free attribute levels in exchange for minor defense decreases.

On low level builds, I love stacking this ring for the major stat boosts which let me focus points on weapon damage instead. The absorption downside is also offset by the big HP bump.

Just watch out for heavy hitting enemies that can one-shot you.

Location

To obtain the Prisoner Chain, defeat Champion Gundyr in the Untended Graves past Firelink Shrine, then transpose his soul.

#4 Ring of the Sun‘s First Born

For players leaning hard into Miracles and Lightning damage, the Ring of the Sun‘s First Born is a focal point.

Effects

• Boosts miracle damage by a stellar 20%

Not only offensive spells get enhanced, but also weapon buff miracles like Lightning Blade adding huge damage to your melee attacks.

Plus offensive miracles like the infamous Lightning Storm become even more devastating to fry tough PvE enemies and confident PvP opponents.

Location

After defeating Dragonslayer Armour, transposing his soul awards the mighty miracle boosting ring:

Faith builds absolutely need this ring to maximize devastation with their arsenal of offensive and buffing spells alike.

#3 Hornet Ring

Few things feel as satisfying as perfectly parrying an overconfident invader and then brutally one-shot backstabbing them thanks to the Hornet Ring.

Effects

• Amplifies critical hit damage by a mammoth 30%

By leveraging offense as defense, skilled players can turn devastating counter damage into both a playstyle and an artform.

The Hornet Ring empowers lethal critical hits both for teaching PvPers a lesson and punishing even the toughest PvE bosses.

As an avid parry fiend, I never unequip this beauty.

Location

The indispensable Hornet Ring for dishing out visceral critical pain can be grabbed early at the Untended Graves bonus area:

I love pairing this with the Mail Breaker for bullying gank squads. Seriously, if going for parries is your jam, the Hornet Ring brings the heat every time.

#2 Lingering Dragoncrest Ring

While best utilized by casting classes, a few niche rings have valuable applications for other builds as well. A prime example is the Lingering Dragoncrest ring.

Effects

• Extends length of spell effects

Most notably this includes weapon and body buff enhancements. The duration extension enables juicing yourself up once for longer-term benefits.

Even for say strength users, activating the Sacred Oath miracle then swapping rings would grant several additional seconds of major attack buffs.

Plus lingering healing spells allow safer regeneration between fights. It‘s incredibly niche but shines situationally.

Location

The Lingering Dragoncrest Ring drops from the covenant rank reward box from Rosaria or looted in Irithyll Dungeon:

I utilize this when support buff stacking before big fights at times for hugely amplified spell effects over time.

#1 Pontiff‘s Right Eye

My personal favorite Ring in Dark Souls 3 for hyper aggressive builds is Pontiff‘s Right Eye. Who needs Estus with constant health regeneration!

Effects

• Restore HP on successive attacks without pause

By unleashing relentless combos against foes without stopping, Pontiff‘s Eye incrementally recovers more and more HP per hit in sustained assaults.

In my experience while risky, this ring empowers legendary bloodbaths, especially in strength and quality builds.

Against most PvE bosses and crowds where you can maintain attacks, the gradual HP recovery makes you deceptively hard to take down. Approach of caution though, it still requires top tier dodging skills.

Location

After felling Pontiff Sulyvahn, the iconic Pontiff‘s Right Eye ring can be yours:

As a fan of the risk vs. reward aggressive approach, IMO Pontiff‘s Eye enables some of the most satisfaction game experiences through sheer non-stop attacks.

Give it a whirl on bosses like Dancer of the Boreal Valley and the Nameless King then tell me it doesn‘t make for fun times!

Final Thoughts

I hope this guide gives you a comprehensive breakdown of the best rings to utilize in Dark Souls 3 – their unique effects, ideal pairing strategies, lore origins and exact locations. Memorize these 10 game-changing rings, equip your favorites catered to your build, and enjoy greatly amplifying your Ashen One against the hardest bosses Lothric has to offer!

Let me know which rings you rely on the most in the comments section below, and praise that sun! [T]/