Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
How To Find The Ring Of Binding In Dark Souls II: Scholar Of The First Sin
Dark Souls II is a punishing game, and everybody knows it. It's so punishing that the player's maximum HP reduces with each death, bottoming out at 50 percent of your total health when hollow (sort of undead). Thankfully, finding and equipping the Ring of Binding limits this brutal reduction to 75 percent of your total health. Unfortunately, those devious developers at From Software changed the important ring's location for Scholar of the First Sin edition (read my review here). I've made a video guide and text walkthrough to help confused and beaten players find the life-saving accessory.
Watch the video below for a quick tour through Majula and Heide's Tower of Flame, leading up to the chest containing the Ring of Binding. Spoilers, obviously.
If you'd rather read about how to find the Ring of Binding, I've got you covered there. From Majula bonfire, head towards the houses and veer right into a brick gateway and down a set of stone steps. Make your way through these sewers, being sure to pull the chain up and to the left when you hit a closed gate. On the other side of this tunnel you'll arrive in Heide's Tower of Flame. Head towards the first towering knight and then turn right down a set of steps leading to useful bonfire checkpoint. From here, follow the fairly linear path past a few huge knights and smaller, resting Heide knights. You can sprint past these fools if you're feeling lucky, but I recommend killing them to get some souls and also make your trek to the Ring of Binding easier.
After a short trip you'll arrive at an interior area where the path forks. In the original Dark Souls II, you'd take a left here up a spire with a chest that contained the Ring of Binding. That path is now guarded by a vicious dragon and is harder than ever, but your prize isn't actually up there so don't bother yet. Instead, take a right at the fork and head past another dormant Heide knight and down more stairs. You'll see a fog gate nearby, but instead turn right to see a Heide knight resting against a chest. The Ring of Binding is in there. You can slash the knight to wake him up, lure him out, then try to snag the Ring of Binding before a swift death. Or you can fight all these enemies like the hero you are and earn the ring. Either way, if you pick up the ring even seconds before death you'll have it for keeps.
Good luck on your quest to finding the Ring of Binding and making Dark Souls II just a slightly more forgiving. Let me know what you thought of this Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin guide in the comments below.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
