system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[LoTR] How exactly was Sauron forging the ring a power boost?

How would the story have gone if he decided not to forge the ring?
gpt
It wasn't really a power boost, he was already an extremely powerful maia, but he wanted to avoid the mistake Melkor made.

Melkor dispersed his power over time, imbuing it into the earth and into his corrupted projects (Dragons).  He became weaker and weaker, to the point where the Children of Eru Illuvatar could physically hurt him with their weapons (Fingolfin and Beren).  He retained his majest as an Vala, but his power was no longer what it once was.

Sauron preserved the bulk of his power in an object, keeping it secure and available so long as the ring was in his possession.  Doing so he also gained the forced loyalty of all other ring wearers as their rings were made with his knowledge and thus his spirit.  This was in a way a power boost, as it assured some amount of deference from men, elves and dwarves.  

If he had not forged the ring, over time his power would disperse into the world, like Melkor.  The end result would probably be the same, he would become a powerless spirit of malice, but the process would probably take much longer as Sauron was fairly prudent about how he used his power.