Pokemon Go: What is Incense used for? Is it worth buying?

ByAdam B Hours
Incense days Pokemon Go

Incense is a useful consumable item available from events and the shop in Pokemon Go, but what precisely does it do, and is it worth it?

What does Incense do in Pokemon Go?

Incense is used to lure Pokemon in Pokemon Go – this is great for times when you can’t leave the house but you want to capture things that are spawning nearby, as Incense will spawn them close enough to you to be captured roughly once every minute or so.

Incense is also useful for limited time events such as Community days or Spotlight hours to make sure you’re capturing as many of the featured Pokemon as possible before the clock runs out.

Some events are even based entirely on Incense, specifically “Incense days” will adjust the spawns around you to match the featured Pokemon during those events – the most recent of which was Swinub in December 2021.

Pokemon Go Beldum's Incense Day Banner, March 2021
Credit: Niantic, Inc.

Is it Incense worth buying?

With the above in mind, is Incense worth buying? Well, as always, it depends.

Pokemon Go will provide you with plenty of it, at first, so you might not find yourself needing to buy any. If you’re using it regularly however, you’ll probably burn your way through the free supply.

Now, excluding bundles you’ll find the shop has either 2 or 3 listings of Incense available at any given time. The first offer is 1 Incense for 40 coins, the second is 8 Incense for 250 coins, and the third offer is a promotional one during Incense days, where 2 Incense is often available for a mere 1 coin.

Of those options, I would recommend skipping buying the individual Incense unless you need it on very short notice – as the 8 pack offers better value for your Coins. The 1 coin promotion meanwhile is of course worthwhile, and should be taken on sight.

READ MORE: Pokemon Go: What to buy with your hard-earned Coins

Is there anything else?

That’s it for Incense. It’s worthwhile if you’re buying in bulk or on offer, but buying one at a time should only be for when you need some on short notice and don’t have the coins for a bulk-buy.

That’s everything as far as Incense is concerned, though if you’d like more guides or articles about Pokemon Go, you can find them right here on The Click, and if you’d instead like to see more by me specifically, a list of my articles is available here.