Rings in Solo Hunters function as pure stat boosters. Unlike armor pieces, they don't belong to sets and provide no bonus beyond the numbers printed on the item itself. You can equip two rings at once, and their effects stack—meaning you can double up on the same ring if you want to maximize a single stat.
Quick answer: For weapon builds, equip two Black Iron Rings or Wanwood Rings for a combined 40% melee damage bonus. For power builds, two Dark Heart Rings grant 44% ability damage. Tank players should grab two Serpent Rings for 40% bonus HP.
S-tier rings for melee and ability damage
Three rings sit at the top of the current meta, and all of them focus on raw damage output rather than survivability.
Black Iron Ring drops in the Desert and provides a flat 20% melee damage increase. Weapon builds dominate Solo Hunters right now because M1 attacks offer consistent DPS without cooldown management. Stacking two of these rings pushes your physical output to 40% above baseline.
Wanwood Ring drops in the Jungle and offers the exact same 20% melee damage bonus. The two rings are interchangeable, so grab whichever you find first and pair it with another melee ring for maximum effect.
Dark Heart Ring drops in the Snow Forest and grants 22% ability damage—the highest single-ring boost to magic in the game. Power builds rely on abilities like Sword of Destiny or Blackhole Crash, and slotting two Dark Heart Rings into your loadout delivers 44% bonus magic damage. No other ring comes close for ability-focused players.
A-tier rings for survivability and secondary magic options
These rings fall just short of S-tier but remain strong choices depending on your playstyle or what you have available.
Serpent Ring drops in the Desert and adds 20% bonus HP. Tank builds, or players who struggle to stay alive during boss fights, benefit from doubling up here. Two Serpent Rings push your total health pool 40% higher, which can mean the difference between surviving a boss telegraph and getting one-shot.
Ring of Fire V2 drops in the Jungle and provides 21% ability damage. It's only 1% weaker than the Dark Heart Ring, making it a solid alternative while you farm for the best-in-slot option.
Ring of Fire drops in the Snow Forest and offers 20% ability damage. Functionally identical to V2 for most purposes, though the small gap adds up over longer fights. Use whichever version you find until you can replace both with Dark Heart Rings.
B-tier rings for early progression
These rings exist primarily to fill slots during your first few dungeon runs. Replace them as soon as you acquire anything from the tiers above.
Earth Ring V2 drops from any Gate and grants 15% bonus health. Interestingly, no V1 version of this ring appears to exist in the game. For early runs, this is the strongest health option you'll find before reaching higher-level dungeons.
Vine Ring also drops from any Gate and provides 14% bonus HP. Given its rarity, this will likely be your first ring worth equipping in pairs. It keeps you alive through the initial grind, but falls off quickly once you start farming Desert or Jungle.
Healthy Ring drops from any Gate and offers only 12% bonus health. This is the weakest ring in Solo Hunters by a significant margin. Equip it only if you have nothing else, and swap it out the moment you find literally any other ring on this list.
Shiny variants and enhanced stats
Each ring has a Shiny version with improved numbers. Shiny variants typically boost the base stat by roughly 50%. A Shiny Dark Heart Ring, for example, jumps from 22% to approximately 33% ability damage. Shiny drops are rare, but they represent the true ceiling for ring optimization in late-game builds.
Best ring combinations by build type
| Build | Recommended rings | Combined bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon / M1 | 2× Black Iron or 2× Wanwood (or one of each) | 40% melee damage |
| Power / Ability | 2× Dark Heart | 44% ability damage |
| Tank / Survivability | 2× Serpent | 40% bonus HP |
| Hybrid (early game) | 1× melee ring + 1× Serpent | 20% melee + 20% HP |
Ring drop locations summary
| Ring | Drop location | Stat bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Black Iron Ring | Desert | 20% melee damage |
| Wanwood Ring | Jungle | 20% melee damage |
| Dark Heart Ring | Snow Forest | 22% ability damage |
| Serpent Ring | Desert | 20% bonus HP |
| Ring of Fire V2 | Jungle | 21% ability damage |
| Ring of Fire | Snow Forest | 20% ability damage |
| Earth Ring V2 | Any Gate | 15% bonus HP |
| Vine Ring | Any Gate | 14% bonus HP |
| Healthy Ring | Any Gate | 12% bonus HP |
Rings and armor set bonuses
Rings do not contribute to armor set bonuses. You only need the three armor pieces from a set (Helmet, Chestplate, and Leggings) to activate its two-piece and three-piece effects. This means you can freely mix and match rings without worrying about breaking your armor synergy.
The ring system in Solo Hunters is straightforward but impactful. Prioritize farming Desert for Black Iron and Serpent Rings if you're running a weapon build, or push into Snow Forest for Dark Heart Rings if you prefer abilities. Early-game players should double up on Vine or Earth Ring V2 until they can access higher-tier dungeons. Once you have two S-tier rings equipped, your damage or survivability jumps noticeably—making the grind for these drops one of the most efficient ways to power up your character.
