Notes from author
A level 120 mid-roll 61 poise build featuring gameplay with Dragonslayer Greatbow, a wooden shield, an Estoc, and pyromancy flame. Ideally the Estoc would be +15 normal but it can go lightning or fire or any you want based on your preference. Keep all 4 rings close to one another in inventory, and swap depending on what you want for the situation. Hawk ring is great to start with for sniping, but only works well in more open areas like outer Anor Londo or the Forest. Hornet ring is a mainstay just because of how backstab centric things can get, and obviously works well with an Estoc. Wolf ring if you really want to go 101 poise for whatever reason (tanking a certain hit at times can be useful), and Leo ring obviously because arrows + estoc = good thrust damage, and +40% to those counters can be quite strong. Normally I run mostly with Hawk/Hornet in mind, as the Greatbow action really causes players to rush you and be aggressive, allowing you to get parries off pretty easily with good prediction. And of course, a +5 Ascended Flame with Great Combustion and Great Fireball, Black Flame and a surprise Fire Tempest in case you get swarmed and need to start spamming or to create space.
