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.
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!
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.
I was recently offered Exotic Crystals and some other junk and went with the random trinket because I've used the crystals several times and they have annoying downsides.
Inventory pressure. You simply can't carry so many different potions and scrolls early in the game.
Some basic scrolls are often better than their exotic versions. Specifically Identify, Remove Curse, and Transmutation.
On the other hand, you get a ton of alchemical energy from exotic items, so if you don't need them, alchemize them.
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.
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. 😅
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.