In thepunishingly difficult worldofDark Souls, it’s imperative that players utilize as many of the beneficial mechanics to their advantage as possible. Most players will justifiably spend timeensuring that their melee or magic weaponry is optimized, but many will overlook the numerous excellent items that litterthe world ofDark Souls.
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The importance of items like the Estus Flask, the Fire Keeper Souls, and the Master Key is common knowledge. However, there are a plethora of more discrete items that are extremely helpful, but are either tough to find, or difficult to know how to use without the help of a guide.
10Havel’s Ring
Considering how early in the game he appears, Havel the Rock is one ofDark Souls’toughest non-boss enemies. Most new players won’t be able to beat Havel when first coming across him in Undead Burg, and will forget to revisit the area later in the game when they’re at a higher level.
This is a big mistake though, as Havel’s Ring is an excellent item for melee builds as it boosts the player’s maximum equip load by 50%, allowing them to wear far sturdier armor while maintaining a decent dodge roll.
9Rite of Kindling
After defeatingPinwheel,one of the most lackluster bosses in the game, plenty of new players will likely not check what items the weak boss dropped. Many will understandably think thatPinwheeldropped an equally weak item, and begin trying to tackleone of the game’s toughest areas, the Tomb of the Giants.
Pinwheelsurprisingly has one of the most useful item drops in the game though, the Rite of Kindling. Kindling is performed on a bonfire and provides the player with more Estus Flask uses.
8Ring of Favor and Protection
The Ring of Favor and Protection is one of the best rings in the entire game, particularly for melee builds, as it improves the player’s health, stamina, and equipment load by 20% each.
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There are two ways to obtain the ring, either by trading a Xanthous Crown with Snuggly or by killing Knight Lautrec of Carim, which can conveniently be done very early in the game.
7Gold Coin
The Gold coin is obtainable in numerous ways. It’s dropped by Mimics, and Vagrants, both of which appear multiple times throughout the game, and one can befound in the Painted World of Ariamis. Many players will finish the game with multiple Gold Coins in their inventory, having not worked out what they do.
The Gold Coin can be sold to Kingseeker Frampt for a handy 5,000 souls.
6Rubbish
Picking up Rubbish certainly doesn’t sound like the greatest thing in the world, and the item description makes it seem like a cruel joke from FromSoftware:
“Rubbish has no value. Who in their right mind would bother carrying this around? Perhaps you need help.”
However, the item surprisingly has two uses. The first is suitably useless; it can be fed to Kingseeker Frampt for a single soul. But the second earns it a spot on this list as it can be traded with Snuggly for a Titanate Chunk.
5Gold Pine Resin
Similar to Rubbish, most players will come across Gold Pine Resin in a playthrough. New players will likely get excited when reading that the item “applies lighting to right-hand weapon”. This implies that it causes a permanent upgrade to a weapon, rather than just a temporary one.
For this reason, new players will likely apply the resin when first receiving it, realize it’s not permanent, then not bother to use it again. This would be a mistake though, as it is extremely effective against numerous early bosses such as the Iron Golem, Gaping Dragon, and the Taurus Demon. It also works well on the bridge wyvern, helping players cut off its tail and receive the Drake Sword without having to do the tedious arrow technique.
4Ring of Fog
This list’s MVP Snuggly pops up again, as trading the Skull Lantern with it provides the player with the Ring of Fog. The ring is extremely helpful in The Catacombs, as Wisps cannot see the player when wearing it.
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The Ring of Fog can also be earned if the player kills three invaders as a member of the Forest Hunter Covenant.
3Repairbox
When on a long journey between bonfires, new players will often find themselves with a lot of souls but have a weapon that is about to break and don’t know where they are, making their chances of survival slim. Dying and not being able to recover souls isone of the biggest sources of frustrations inDark Souls, so it’s definitely worth inexperienced players investing in the Repairbox to lessen the chances of this happening.
The Repairbox is sold by the Undead Merchant for 3,000 souls, or better yet by Blacksmith Andre for 2,000 souls. Andre is easy to find, he is working on the floor below the Undead Parish bonfire. The Repairbox will help prevent weapons from breaking and can fix broken ones which is extremely useful before the player receives the Lordvessel.
2Soul of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder
Lord Gwyn’s boss soul may seem like an odd choice for this list as consuming it provides players with 20,000 souls, the joint highest amount along with the Soul of a Great Hero. The reason that it features on this list is that most players are using it wrong.
Although it is understandably tempting to use it immediately when beginning NG+, some players may be curious as to what would happen if the soul was brought to Kingseeker Frampt. Players who did this without looking at a guide will justifiably feel like a genius, as giving the soul to Frampt will reward the player with a whopping 40,000 souls.
1Elizabeth’s Mushroom
Elizabeth’s Mushroom is such a great PVP item, that players are often wrongly accused of cheating for using it. The consumable mushroom will continuously regenerate health for 30 seconds at a high rate of 100 HP per second.
The item is scarce though, so it should be consumed with caution. Three are given to the player by Elizabeth if they kill Manus, Father of the Abyss, or are collected from Elizabeth’s corpse if the player kills her instead. One is found on a discrete corpse in the Royal Wood, and one is given to the player if they agree to help Elizabeth.
