Ardent Censer

Ardent Censer is a 2,200 gold enchanter item in League of Legends that buffs the ally you heal or shield: 45 Ability Power, 10% Heal and Shield Power, 125% Base Mana Regen and 4% Move Speed in patch 26.21. Its Sanctify passive gives you and that ally 25% Attack Speed and 20 magic damage on hit for 6 seconds.

What does Ardent Censer do?

Simple idea. Every heal or shield you cast on a teammate becomes a damage buff for both of you. Shield your marksman, and for the next 6 seconds they attack 25% faster and each hit deals 20 extra magic damage. You get the same buff yourself.

That’s why the item lives in bot lane. A marksman attacks constantly, so extra Attack Speed and an on-hit bonus multiply quickly over a fight. Pair it with a hyper-carry who scales on attacks and the buff is worth far more than raw stats would be (on a mage teammate, much less so).

Uptime is the skill. Can you keep Sanctify running through a whole team fight? Enchanters with short-cooldown heals or shields can, if they keep casting on the right target and don’t waste spells on a tank who isn’t even attacking (an easy habit to fall into when a fight gets messy and everyone is low). Riot’s data text doesn’t say whether the buff scales with level; check the tooltip in the client.

Is it gold efficient?

The priced stats give 77%, or 1,700 gold of value against a 2,200 gold price.

Counted: 45 Ability Power worth 900 gold, 125% Base Mana Regen worth 500 gold and 4% Move Speed worth 300 gold. Heal and Shield Power has no basic item price, so it’s missing from the figure, and Sanctify can’t be priced at all. Honestly, nobody buys it for the stat sheet.

What does it build from?

Aether Wisp (900 gold) and Forbidden Idol (600 gold), plus a 700 gold combine. Forbidden Idol also goes into Mikael’s Blessing, the anti-crowd-control option, so it’s a flexible early buy for an enchanter. The finished Censer doesn’t upgrade.

How has Ardent Censer changed since 4.10?

It first appears in Riot’s data in patch 4.10. Since then it has swung between an Ability Power item and a Mana item more than once. The recent entries:

• Patch 13.10: cost 2,300 → 2,100 gold, Ability Power 60 → 35, Base Mana Regen 100% → 75%, Move Speed 5% added.
• Patch 14.1: cost 2,100 → 2,300 gold, Ability Power 35 → 50, Base Mana Regen 75% → 125%, Move Speed 5% → 8%.
• 14.19 brought cost 2,300 → 2,200 gold, Ability Power 50 → 45, Heal and Shield Power 8% → 10%, Move Speed 8% → 4%.

Patch 14.19 traded Move Speed for more Heal and Shield Power, a nudge back toward pure support. The table above lists everything back to 4.10, and our LoL items database has records for every enchanter item.

Who should buy Ardent Censer?

Enchanter supports paired with an auto-attacking carry. Marksmen who attack fast benefit most, and so do fighters or on-hit champions in other lanes if you can reach them. The enchanter needs frequent heals or shields to keep Sanctify up. Got a support with one long-cooldown shield? Less ideal.

When your carry is a mage or a burst champion who rarely auto attacks, the buff does little, to be fair, because Sanctify only pays out through attacks and a mage might throw two autos in an entire fight (put simply, wrong partner). Then a different support item fits better. Our guide to LoL roles covers the support role and its usual partners. Next to a marksman, though, Ardent Censer is one of the strongest first items an enchanter can buy.

FAQ

How much does the Censer cost?

2,200 gold, of which 700 is the combine, and it sells for 1,540 gold.

What does Sanctify give?

When you heal or shield an ally, you both get 25% Attack Speed and 20 magic damage on hit for 6 seconds.

Does it work on yourself?

The passive triggers from healing or shielding an ally, and then enhances both of you.

Which stats does it give?

45 Ability Power, 10% Heal and Shield Power, 125% Base Mana Regen and 4% Move Speed.

What does it build from?

Aether Wisp and Forbidden Idol.