10 Missable Video Game Items That Are Secretly Crucial
5. Old Witch Ring - Dark Souls
The Dark Souls series isn’t known for telling you what the items you pick up do. The best example of this is one of the starting gifts in Dark Souls 1, which, despite its barren description, is secretly tied to a major gameplay mechanic.
Unlike most of the other starting items that tell you what they do in their description, the Old Witch Ring tells you nothing but a vague line about its appearance that literally states the ring has “no obvious effect.”
Of course, the fact the game calls it useless might only pick your interest, but when you play the game, the other items find their functionality relatively fast, whereas the ring appears to do nothing pretty much the entire way through.
In reality, the ring’s purpose is to allow you to communicate with Quelaag’s sister once you join her secret covenant.
Conversing with her gives you insight into the past of the Daughters of Chaos, unveiling secret bits of lore that you wouldn’t be able to attain otherwise.
The ring is a crucial item for those who like to learn more about the Dark Souls lore, but this said, you don’t have to pick it up at the start, as it’s also obtainable via trading with Snuggly.