If you’ve been playing League of Legends lately you may have noticed an odd occurrence in the support champion pool. For some reason only champions with heals and shields seem to be played as supports, most notably Janna. But that’s not all, these champions also seem to be skipping their Sightstone rush in favor of a different build path entirely. It gets even weirder when you see ADCs in the LCK start with a relic shield in order to funnel gold into their supports.

Ardent Censer

The Ardent Censer is an item that is so cost efficient, ADCs and supports are delaying their builds to complete it. The item gives 50 percent base mana regeneration, 60 ability power, ten percent cooldown reduction and eight percent movement speed. These raw stats provide 2138 gold alone for an item that costs 2300. The item then increases all healing and shielding by ten percent. Its final unique passive reads as follows: “Heals and shields on allied champions (excluding yourself) enhance their basic attacks for 6 seconds. Granting them +20% – 35% (based on level) attack speed and 20 – 35 (based on level) bonus on-hit magic damage healing them for the same amount.” This unique passive can be given a value of 1000 gold at level one, and 1750 gold at level eighteen. With this passive, the Ardent Censer is 136 to 169 percent gold efficient at levels one and eighteen respectively.

Ardent Censer is changing the meta in the bottom lane. For the first time, supports are rushing an item that does not grant vision control in favor of the raw stats and unique passive that the Ardent Censer offers. Supports are also taking summoner heal more often than ever before due to their build path and mastery choices. While this has probably been the better way to go ever since Windspeaker Blessing it has only just become a popular choice in competitive play. So if you are taking a healing and shielding support, take heal.

Who/what to nerf

Currently, Janna, Sona and Soraka seem to be utilizing the Ardent Censer best, but that is not to say that Lulu, Nami and Karma don’t effectively use it as well. Janna seems to be so powerful with Ardent Censer that nerfs have appeared for her on PBE. While these nerfs seemed to be healthy for her kit, they have since been taken down in favor of a nerf to Ardent Censer first.

The nerf to Ardent Censer shows that Riot’s balance team is staying on the safe side. Many times have champions been nerfed because they utilize an especially strong item, only for that item to later be nerfed. Cinderhulk, tank junglers have experienced this many times before.

The passive attack speed buff it gives champions you heal or shield is being lowered from 20-35 percent to 25 percent at all levels, while the health drain it gives is being reduced from 20-35 health to 25 health at all levels. Will this nerf be enough to keep Janna and other shield spammers in line with their support counterparts? Probably not, but it is a definite start.

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Feature image courtesy of leagueoflegends