Liam Blanchfield struck a decisive late goal for the second Sunday running to ease Kilkenny to back to back wins in the Leinster SHC.
Brian Cody's Allianz League champions watched a nine-point lead get whittled down to just three by a determined Offaly outfit with six minutes left to play.
But Blanchfield, who killed off Dublin with an injury-time goal in Round 1, struck again as Kilkenny ultimately reeled off an unanswered 1-03 in the closing stages.
Luke Scanlon and John Donnelly were excellent too for a Kilkenny side that lined up without Walter Walsh and didn't introduce the powerful forward.
But Cody will demand an improvement in front of the posts when they visit Galway next weekend as the 2015 All-Ireland winners fired a whopping 22 wides.
As for Offaly they'll host Wexford on Saturday evening in Tullamore knowing a win is vital to keep their survival hopes alive after two losses.
It was a new look Kilkenny from the side that edged past Dublin last Sunday with a third of the team changed.
Paul Murphy, Conor Fogarty, Scanlon, Lester Ryan and Blanchfield were all drafted in.
The first three of those were named in the official team-sheet though Ryan and Blanchfield were late replacements for James Maher and Walsh.
Scanlon seized his opportunity and was Kilkenny's most influential attacker, just ahead of Donnelly who impressed. A club mate of Cody's, Scanlon helped himself to four first-half points.
Blanchfield broke Dublin hearts a week earlier when he came on as a sub and hit the 71st minute goal that decided that game.
He opened the scoring with a fine point in the seventh minute after a great catch and clearance by full-back Padraig Walsh who struggled against Dublin.
Blanchfield also set up scores for Scanlon and TJ Reid who finished the opening half with 1-03.
Reid's goal came in the 16th minute when he found space on the right of goals and accepted a Donnelly layoff before rifling to the net.
But the experienced attacker was errant on several occasions too and blasted three surprising wides in that opening half.
Kilkenny, who only beat Offaly by two points in the quarter-finals of the league, were 0-06 to 0-05 up when Reid netted.
The Cats pounced on their opportunity to build up some momentum and tagged on points through Scanlon and Reid, two each, to lead 1-10 to 0-07 at half-time.
Kilkenny reopened with points from Reid and Richie Leahy and suddenly it looked ominous for Offaly who trailed by eight points.
In truth, it was a flat encounter containing none of the drama of Parnell Park seven days earlier or of Offaly's seven-goal encounter with Galway.
Colin Fennelly came on after impressing as a sub against Dublin and immediately won a free after a probing run that Reid converted.
He showed his pace in the 52nd minute and outstripped a couple of Offaly defenders for a neat point that put the hosts 1-16 to 0-10 up.
Kilkenny looked to be meandering towards an inevitable second win in the campaign but the game suddenly burst into life in the closing 15 minutes.
Joe Bergin pinched an Offaly goal after a brilliant reverse pass from Shane Dooley and the visitors reduced their arrears to just three points.
But Kilkenny's response was emphatic as they reeled off a string of scores including Blanchfield's well taken goal after a great run by Donnelly to finally put the result beyond doubt.
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy (0-01, 0-01f); Joey Holden, Padraig Walsh, Paddy Deegan; Conor Delaney, Cillian Buckley, Paul Murphy; Conor Fogarty, Lester Ryan; Martin Keoghan (0-02), TJ Reid (1-05, 0-04f) Richie Leahy (0-01); John Donnelly (0-02), Liam Blanchfield (1-02), Luke Scanlon (0-04).
Subs: Colin Fennelly (0-02) for Fogarty (41), Conor Browne for Ryan (52), Ger Aylward for Scanlon (54), Conor O'Shea for Leahy (70).
Offaly: Eoghan Cahill; Tom Spain, Dermot Shortt, Ben Conneely; Damien Egan, Pat Camon (0-01), David O'Toole Greene; David King, Shane Kinsella (0-02); Oisin Kelly (0-01), Colin Egan (0-01), Paddy Murphy; Dan Currams, Joe Bergin (1-03), Shane Dooley (0-05, 0-04f).
Subs: Conor Mahon for Murphy (30), Paddy Delaney for Spain (h/t), Ronan Hughes for Currams (h/t), Sean Ryan for Egan (58), Tommy Geraghty for Kinsella (68).
