Boards›Gameplay

@RiotRepertoir Ardent Censer

SKOBODO·8/13/2015, 8:20:54 AM·4 votes·1,336 views

Ardent Censer is a fairly unpopular item at the moment. According to LoLKing, it sits around 0.60-0.70% popularity in Summoner's Rift Normals. If we look at Diamond solo queue, the popularity increase to around 0.90-1%. What's interesting though is that the win rate is fairly high, although that doesn't necessarily say much about the item, it could be that the players buying Ardent Censer are more teamwork oriented in general.

So, Ardent Censer. Which state is it in, right now? Is it balanced but slightly underappreciated? Is it underpowered? Is it a good niche item, but not much more than that? What is it, and what's Riot's plan for it?

Let's look at what it does. It grants +100% base mana regen, 40 AP, 10% CDR, and 8% movement speed. Oh, and the passive, of course, which is quite strong and basically the reason for buying it. It costs 2100 gold.

Let's compare Ardent Censer with Morellonomicon, shall we? Morellonomicon grants +100% base mana regen, 80 AP, 20% CDR, and the Griveous Wounds passive, for 2300 gold. 40 AP is what one Blasting Wand gives, which costs 850 gold, and 10% CDR is quite nice as well. In fact, Morellonomicon is technically cost effective even if you don't need the mana, something you can't say about Ardent Censer. Ardent Censer does grant some movement speed, which is pretty nice.

Personally, I think Ardent Censer could use a small buff. The passive is really strong, but the selfish stats are very underwhelming. Something like decreasing the cost by 100 gold, or giving 10 additional AP might make it much more appealing, without making it overpowered. If you do increase the AP, you could even throw in another Amplifying Tome in the build path, smoothening the build path slightly. You've already done so with Morellonomicon and Athene's Unholy Grail, so why not with Ardent Censer?

So, thoughts? I'm curious what Riot thinks about this item (any Rioter with good insight should feel free to answer, and regular forum goers should feel free to civilly discuss the subject as well).

21 Comments

Deep Terror Nami8/13/2015, 8:43:01 AM1 votes

I often pick up less-than-optimal items when I'm really far ahead and can easily afford it without hurting my chance of winning. If many others do the same, that could be the reason it has a high win rate; not because it contributes more to a win, but that the win is already assured when it's picked up. Correlation does not imply causation and all that.

HaIlMonitor8/13/2015, 8:46:07 AM1 votes

Ardent is better for some select champions... looking at Soraka ,Sona, Janna(best one) and maybe Alistar to a lesser extent. It gives whoever you heal/shield a weak version of wits end and when stacked with Janna they would get +60ish ad, 15% Attack speed an, 30 magic damage per hit. I am not saying it is super strong I just think it might be an ignored item.

Leaf of the lake8/13/2015, 8:46:54 AM1 votes

> ADC is fed as hell > "I'll buy ardent censer so they can carry harder!" > Win game because ADC was fed as hell in the first step, even though that 2100 gold could've gone to anything and still been just as useful

Krinu8/13/2015, 9:03:05 AM1 votes

I run it on {{Champion:16}} when I'm paired with ADCs that favor attack speed like Vayne. Otherwise, eh, it's not really strong enough to warrant it over something a little more focused on my current needs.

Leaf of the lake8/13/2015, 9:04:44 AM1 votes

It might be, though it could also be a bit too niche. It does compete with a lot of other items, after all. Would buffing it slightly (100 less gold, or 10 more AP, or something like that) put it in a state of being pretty good without being overpowered?

Raise it to 60 AP and the price to 2300g and I'd call it solid.

50000000000000008/13/2015, 9:06:24 AM1 votes

I think it's more because the meta favors tank supports. When you buy ardent censer, you want to heal/shield someone so that they get the AS steroid.

Thresh, who's the top support right now, has a shield but it has too much utility to throw away just for some AS steroid. Then there's Janna, who can use it well (especially since it also gives AD), but prefers to specialize for disengage. Blitz and Leona has no heals. Alistar prefers tank stats. Morgana shield has too much utility to waste for a AS steroid. Braum and Nautilus, also no heals.

The top 9 supports (who has over 10% pick rates) don't really make use of Ardent Censer very well. Soraka, who's placed 10th for pick rate, does use Ardent Censer, but she's underplayed.

I think it's a good item overall, but to see this item more we need a meta shift.

Posui Gart8/13/2015, 9:33:31 AM1 votes

My idea is replacing item 3114 with item 3108 , removing manaregen and adding some AP to it. Supports already have enough manaregen usually, especially healing supports who usually take item 3069 , and also we have item 3222 with its manaregen, so manaregen from Censer is mostly wasted. Another possible idea is to make the effect stronger but shorter. Maybe add some AP scaling to its effect(support has more AP-censer gives more magic damage for ADC)

Partholonian8/13/2015, 10:37:21 AM1 votes

{quoted}

What's interesting though is that the win rate is fairly high, although that doesn't necessarily say much about the item, it could be that the players buying Ardent Censer are more teamwork oriented in general.

I think it's simpler than that: because it's fairly expensive and doesn't help you survive, people are more likely to buy it if they're already ahead.

Zone of Endless8/13/2015, 3:11:21 PM1 votes

There's just better item than Ardent Censer for 2300 gold. Mikael is a QSS with a heal, can save a a few extra gold to get Aegis, etc.

Krigjer8/13/2015, 3:14:01 PM1 votes

I miss when it was first released and gave global movement speed to your team. many lols had.

Personally I only buy Censor on Nami because the more mana regen the better. I SOMETIMES purchase it on Karma for the empowered aoe shield, but usually I skip it for something else.

I don't know if I consider it underpowered because I buy it infrequently; but it's not a priority item purchase for me.

Hupsis8/13/2015, 3:34:09 PM1 votes

I think the item is very boring. Strong, yes... yet boring.

I think Riot should make the item more exciting and something you should take in consideration when playing instead of it just always improving all of your heals/shields.

Suggestion:

Cost - 2300g +100% mana regen (unchanged) +60 AP +10% cdr (unchanged) +8% movement speed (unchanged)

Unique passive - enhance: your next healing or shielding ability will be 10% more effective and grants the target +50-75% AS for 3 attacks. You generate one charge of enhance every 20-30 seconds, storing up to 3. Aoe abilities consume the charges based on the amont of allies affected and prioritizes low health targets.

Earl Eulrich8/13/2015, 8:16:46 PM1 votes

now that there´s herald which´s effect is so freaking gamechanging broken that even mids, toplaners and junglers get it to support their mighty adc-overlords...there´s probably nothing short of allowing it to change all dmg the champ deals to truedmg while the shield is up in order to get it picked more often. Though with the recent armor changes that doesn´t even seem like Riot wouldn´t want to do it...

SKOBODO8/22/2015, 10:33:15 PM1 votes

I've seen lots of people asking for Sona buffs on the boards. Sona is a great user of Ardent Censer, so buffing this item might make Sona herself a bit stronger, right? And Janna is getting some nerfs on the PBE, so buffing Ardent Censer probably wouldn't make any champion overpowered (unless they overdid it and gave it like +20 AP or something, +10 should be enough, I think).