Maybe evaluation on the adjusted censer is premature but I still feel the trinket is not worthwhile. Even if I knew exactly when it’s about to fire off, it still seems too inconsistent to pick over others.
While the censer probably won’t fire directly on top of a scroll or potion, they can get caught up in the path of a firestorm/icestorm. Even if the censer doesn’t shoot when you’re in the shop, it could fire right by the door and end with the shopkeeper leaving.
My priority with the trinkets is to improve my win rate. The risk/reward ratio is not good. The reward feels meager and the risk, while I guess manageable, doesn’t compare with other lower risk yet higher reward trinkets.
I think for it to be worth picking, you would need to have warning before it sets off and have a clue as to which gas. It’s a censer that takes a while to shoot out; I think it would make sense that you’d smell it before it’s dealt.
But that’s just me. Anyone really liking the censer? Are there strategies for it? Only thing I’ve got is throwing items at the grass squares adjacent to the point of impact since they can keep spawning grass for a couple of turns, depending on where the gas landed.
A warning would be cool just like with explosive curse.
Falls into the same category as Unstable enchantment for me, something that feels like a curse instead of a benefit. I would never use either, the risk far, FAR outweighs the reward.
Blazing enchantment is almost on the same level, but with careful positioning you can mostly mitigate the risk. Unstable combines that with having to also plan for an unlucky Elastic proc which tips the scale into “too much of a pain to use”.
The censer is on a whole other level. There’s a reason Stench is a curse. Carrying a stench curse on steroids everywhere? Hard pass.
This is a funny reply because blazing is hands down one of the best enchants in the game and usually the best choice out of any you’re provided with a SoEnchantment, and unstable is also amazing. Both top tier enchants on bow and fast weapons.
Anyway I feel like everyone keeps missing the point of trinkets. They’re not just meant to boost winrate. Theyre meant to tweak your game mechanics in a balanced way or give you alternate ways to play the game. Even trinkets which only seem like they have upsides (like exotic crystals etc.) still are just opening up a different gameplay path for the price of energy investment.
Sure you can use them to boost winrate if thats all you want to do. But they open up so many weird builds and gameplay changes.
Blazing is super powerful, but I tend to avoid it (unless I also get brimstone) because (1) my hero always ends up burning at least 2-3 times per game, always at the worst times, and (2) fire reduces dew drop opportunities and burns scrolls that you haven’t picked up. This is also why I tend to about the wand of fireblast. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, though!
Wand of Fireblast is soooo good. It’s hands down the best unupgraded wand because burn damage scales with the dungeon, it has a large AOE, and the burn ticks for a significant time. Just avoid using it in grassy rooms you haven’t trampled yet.
Tips on using it:
- Never zap it if you are standing on something burnable (grass or doorway). You will immediately catch fire.
- If you kite enemies over grass or through doorways, it restarts their burn timer. You can kill enemies with a single zap of a +0 wand this way.
- It’s fun to zap Evil Eye’s as soon as they charge up, before you duck into cover. They’ll already be burning once you’re ready to start fighting them again.
- Flying enemies like bats and flies can’t put out the fire in water. Hit swarms of flies with ranged weapons to split them a couple times before zapping them and the one zap can kill the entire group.
- The wand can burn those piles of debris to save you from needing to use Liquid Flame. Same thing with those bookshelves in that one secret room that hide a Stone of Enchantment.
- It can’t burn Scrolls of Upgrade. Those can’t be destroyed in any way. I’ve definitely burned a scroll or two in my day, but it’s worth the risk.
Good points. I hadn’t realized that going through a door restarts the timer! For removing piles of debris, the disintegration wand is also useful.
I think I’m wrong about zapping from a doorway. I did it last night and didn’t catch on fire.
Except that several trinkets are purely beneficial with no downsides. For the ones like the chaotic censer that have a very high risk with very low reward, the contrast only deepens the distaste.
As the censer stands now, even if it were only a choice between the censer and nothing at all, nothing is clearly the winner. When you have actual beneficial or at least neutral trinkets on the table, the censer is just an additional challenge mode without a reward.
Which trinkets are purely beneficial?
Mossy clump and fully upgraded parchment scrap
Those trinkets cost like 50 energy each
It’s costly but sometimes I’ll prioritize them and get a +3 before Tengu. I might farm to level 10 on floor 4 and get to it before entering floor 7.
What do you sacrifice for it tho?
Cause all items are valuable
I really like it, but I’m a very daring player. I liked salt cube before the buffs as well
The censer also shoots out very beneficial gases in some situations. Shrouding fog just being purely beneficial to the player
The censer shoots the gas far enough that getting caught on it is rarely an occurrence for me
I find I get caught in the gases with some frequency. Sometimes I don’t notice the censer activating and dive right into it. But that’s a me problem. Other times, it fires in inopportune situations.
I haven’t tried the salt cube yet. It seems like a worse vial of blood, but what do I know, I could be wrong. I like the shard of oblivion and didn’t think the recent buff was needed.
Yeah, it’s definitely still dangerous, but I like the gameplay.
This is exactly what trinkets are meant for, to give new gameplay elements
Pausing a few (3-6 maybe) turns before the censer fires, and a game log entry describing what it’s about to do would be great.
The censer is glowing red hot!
The censer drips corrosive essence!
The censer is ice cold!
So on…
Even better, once that warning occurs, throwing the censer could cause it to fire immediately at the location thrown.
Only thing I’ve got is throwing items at the grass squares adjacent to the point of impact since they can keep spawning grass for a couple of turns, depending on where the gas landed.
I’ve never been offered the censer, so I’ve never used it. I have literally no idea what you’re saying here. 😅
What does the censer have to do with grass?
One of the gas clouds the censer spits out spawns grass like the wand of regrowth. From the point of impact, it will expand and the grass area will grow for a couple of turns. The inner tiles will refresh and respawn if they’re trampled, as the area grows outward, so throwing items at those squares can net more dew and seeds. I think using a wand of blast should work as well.
I feel the obvious strategy is to try and find a ring of elements and get it pretty high leveled.
