Leo Ring | Dark Souls Wiki

Leo Ring
One of the special rings granted to the four knights of Gwyn. The Leo Ring belonged to Ornstein the Dragonslayer. This ring strengthens counters with pierce weapons. His lugged spear is said to have sliced a boulder in two.

Leo Ring is a Ring in Dark Souls and Dark Souls Remastered. Players can equip up to 2 Rings, but equipping two of the same item is not possible.

Effect

• Strengthens counter Damage ONLY with some "thrust" damage weapons, and thrusting attacks in general.
• Counter Damage only works with physical damage, so magic, fire and lightning can not get the counter bonus even without the ring.
• Typically what governs whether the Leo Ring applies is whether the weapon deals "thrust" type damage, not whether its attack is an actual thrust attack (although the two tend to align). If at least one of the damage types listed in a weapon's statistics is "thrust" then one or more of its attack moves likely benefits from the ring if landed as a counter. Similarly, if a weapon deals only "thrust" damage, such as the Lucerne, then all of its attacks typically benefit from the ring if landed as counters, even if they are not all thrust animations.
• Counter Damage usually occurs if you hit an enemy mid-swing, or at the same time he hits you.
• Boosts thrust Counter Damage by 40%. Only boosts phys damage.
• Counter attacks already do a +20% PHYS damage without Leo Ring (only phys damage is increased), with the Leo Ring's boost it reaches 65-68%, depending on the weapon.
• Boosts Crossbows bolts and arrows too. A good way to utilize this is to shoot an enemy when they are in the process of casting a spell.
• Does NOT boost ripostes or backs-stabs.

Acquired from

• During the Ornstein and Smough boss fight, kill Ornstein last and he should drop the ring. You don't get it automatically, you have to pick it up.

Confirmed Weapons

This information is from the 2012 release and its patches. Please update to 2018 remaster when the game is out!

A rough rule of thumb is that if weapons list "thrust" damage as a specific damage type either exclusively or along with other damage types, at least some of its moveset likely benefits from the Leo Ring. This rule appears to have exceptions (possibly due to mis-labeled damage types in the in-game weapon statistics) and players are encouraged to experiment with a given weapon to confirm the ring effect is active on counters. Below is a list of weapons confirmed to be boosted by the ring.

• Halberds: Halberd (1HR1, 2HR1), Lucerne (1HR1, 2HR1), Gargoyle's Halberd (1HR1, 2HR1), Black Knight Halberd (1HR1, 2HR1), Giant's Halberd (1HR1, 2HR1, 1HR2, 2HR2)(physical only), Titanite Catch Pole (1HR1, 2HR1)(physical only).
  • The halberds are a special group when it comes to Counter Damage, since their 1 and 2-handed light attacks are able to score it even though many of them are not thrust attacks, and neither listed as thrust weapons.
• Katanas: Uchigatana, Washing Pole (only the thrust attacks), + All of the Katana's running thrust attack.
• Spears: All spears benefit from the Leo Ring to some degree, although it should be noted that some specific spears also deal "regular" damage depending on the attack utilized (such as a horizontal slash instead of a thrust). Only attack moves that specifically deal "thrust" damage typically benefit from the ring.
• Piercing Swords: All piercing swords benefit from the Leo Ring to some degree, although it should again be noted that some specific swords deal "regular" damage depending on the attack utilized. Only attack moves that specifically deal "thrust" damage will benefit from the ring.
• Straight Swords: Only attack moves that specifically deal "thrust" damage will benefit from the ring, such as the balder side sword's R2 thrust attack. All straight sword's jumping attack deals thrust damage, even the barbed sword.
• Greatswords: Claymore (1HR2, Rolling 2HR1), black knight sword.
• Ultra Greatswords: Only attack moves that specifically deal "thrust" damage will benefit from the ring, notably the greatsword and black knight greatsword thrust attacks.
• Curved Swords: Jagged Ghost Blade 1 and 2-handed special attack.
• Curved Greatswords: Gravelord Sword (1HR2, 2HR2).
• Hammers: Pickaxe, Warpick.
• Axes: None known.
• Daggers: Only attack moves that specifically deal "thrust" damage will benefit from the ring, such as the basic dagger heavy attack. All the dagger's jumping attack deals thrust damage.
• Crossbows: All bolt types that deal "thrust" damage benefit. For example, a Heavy Crossbow +15 combined with heavy bolts deals significant counter damage when combined with the ring.
• Bows: All arrow types that deal physical "thrust" damage benefit.
• Shields: Pierce Shield.
• Catalysts: Tin Banishment Catalyst, Tin Crystallization Catalyst, Demon's Catalyst. (only their mele attacks)

Confirmed as Not Working

This information is from the 2012 release and its patches. Please update to 2018 remaster when the game is out!

• Some weapons are listed with "thrust" as damage type, but are still unable to get the Counter Damage bonus: Barbed Straight Sword (only jumping attack deals thrust), Morning Star (damage type patched to strike)
• The Moonlight Butterfly Horn, even though it's a spear, can not get counter damage at all since it deals pure magical damage.

Notes

This information is from the 2012 release and its patches. Please update to 2018 remaster when the game is out!

• As the ring boosts physical damage as a percentage, it can be particularly devastating if used with a high base physical damage weapon such as a greatsword +15 or black knight greatsword +5. The slower attack speeds of these weapons can make landing a counter more difficult, however, and in such cases the Leo Ring is often paired with higher poise armor to ensure the attacks are not interrupted.
• Before the 1.05 patch, Ornstein would drop the ring if killed first as well.
• This ring is particularly useful if you turtle with a good shield and a spear that does high physical damage. Just raise your shield, and attack when you see they're swinging, and you will get the bonus.
• The window for landing a "counter" attack can vary significantly depending on the opponent, particularly in PvE. Many bosses and larger PvE opponents have long counter windows that make the Leo Ring very helpful. For example, nearly the entire period of time in which Smough or Ornstein recover from one of their electric buttslam attacks counts as a counter window, allowing an aggressive player to chain multiple Leo Ring-boosted counter attacks on them while they try to regain their feet.
• Builds using the Leo Ring can also be optimized by combining multiple weapons that all benefit, such as a balder side sword or claymore paired with an offhand crossbow for ranged combat.
• Some bosses, like the Four Kings, will negate Counter Damage. The counter damage registers on each king, but it is not tallied on the 'boss health bar' at the bottom of the screen. This means you will kill each individual king faster with counter damage, but you might have to fight a fifth king to empty the 'boss health bar'.

Lore

• Ornstein was named after the composer "Leo Ornstein".
• Ornstein reappeared as The Old Dragonslayer in DS2.
• The armor set of Ornstein was later rediscovered at Archdragon Peak (DS3).