Protection Ring
| Protection Ring | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Ring |
| Location | Volcano Dungeon |
| Sell Price | 100g |
Taking a hit in Stardew Valley buys a short stretch of invincibility, and the Protection Ring makes that stretch longer. Four tenths of a second sounds like a rounding error, but it lifts the window from one and two tenths of a second to one and six tenths, and two rings lift it to two full seconds. In a corner of the Skull Cavern with three Serpents converging, that extra moment is often the only thing that lets a farmer walk out instead of waking up at the mine entrance. It is one of the two rings found in the common chests of the Volcano Dungeon, which makes it the easiest of the island rings to come by. Players who already have good armour tend to value it more than the raw number suggests.
Location
Common treasure chests in the Volcano Dungeon hold the ring, one of seven possible items and therefore reasonably likely from any chest opened. Common chests appear at random on any floor, which makes the ring a normal part of a few climbs rather than something to grind for. Reaching the volcano at all means building the bridge the first island parrot offers.
Effect
Every hit a farmer takes starts a timer during which further hits do nothing. The ring adds four tenths of a second to that timer, taking the default window up by a third with one ring on and up to two seconds with two.
The value depends entirely on how crowded the fight is. Against one monster the window rarely matters, because the monster needs time to swing again anyway. Against a pack, or against the fast flying enemies of the Volcano Dungeon and the deep Skull Cavern, hits arrive faster than the window lasts and every extra fraction cancels one of them outright.
The longer window also buys room to act. Half a second is enough to eat a Field Snack, drink a Coffee, place a bomb or simply walk out of reach, and those are the actions that usually decide whether a run continues. Defense reduces each hit; this ring reduces how many hits land at all, which is why the two work well together rather than competing.
Notes
Combining is the right answer for this ring, because the second copy only buys another four tenths of a second and the finger is worth more than that. Twenty Cinder Shards at the Forge join it to something that solves a different problem.
A Phoenix Ring is the natural partner: the Protection Ring reduces the number of hits that land and the Phoenix Ring cancels the consequences of the one that finally does. A Vampire Ring works for the same reason, since health comes back between hits rather than only between fights. Farmers who fight in the Volcano Dungeon often pair it with a Soul Sapper Ring, because that dungeon's monsters come in numbers and energy drains as quickly as health.
All Rings
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
| Name | Image | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Amethyst Ring | 
|
100g |
| Aquamarine Ring | 
|
200g |
| Burglar's Ring | 
|
750g |
| Crabshell Ring | 
|
1000g |
| Emerald Ring | 
|
300g |
| Glow Ring | 
|
100g |
| Glowstone Ring | 
|
100g |
| Hot Java Ring | 
|
100g |
| Immunity Band | 
|
250g |
| Iridium Band | 
|
1000g |
| Jade Ring | 
|
200g |
| Jukebox Ring | 
|
100g |
| Lucky Ring | 
|
100g |
| Magnet Ring | 
|
100g |
| Napalm Ring | 
|
1000g |
| Phoenix Ring | 
|
100g |
| Protection Ring | 
|
100g |
| Ring of Yoba | 
|
750g |
| Ruby Ring | 
|
300g |
| Savage Ring | 
|
750g |
| Slime Charmer Ring | 
|
350g |
| Small Glow Ring | 
|
50g |
| Small Magnet Ring | 
|
50g |
| Soul Sapper Ring | 
|
100g |
| Sturdy Ring | 
|
750g |
| Thorns Ring | 
|
100g |
| Topaz Ring | 
|
100g |
| Vampire Ring | 
|
750g |
| Warrior Ring | 
|
750g |