Mask of Joy

Mask of Joy is a relic that increases the magnitude of positive status effects applied to the player. It modifies any self-targeting buff so that each application grants additional stacks or value rather than altering timing or duration. The relic appears in regular relic pools and functions broadly with any source that grants buffs to the player (orbs, spells, relic-triggered effects, etc.).

The mechanical effect is straightforward: when you apply a positive status effect to yourself, the amount applied is increased by a fixed integer value. In the game data this increase is represented by the variable JOY_INC; the common concrete implementation adds +1 to the value applied when a buff is granted. The benefit applies to each distinct application event, so rapid, repeated small buffs scale well with this relic.

Mask of Joy is especially effective in decks and builds that generate many small, frequent buffs rather than occasional large buffs. Examples of strong synergies include orbs and relics that grant one or two stacks repeatedly; pairing with items that refresh or replay buff sources multiplies the relic’s value. A typical combo is Refresher Course with Leaf The Rest For Later (or similar repeat/refresh effects): Mask of Joy turns each small refreshed buff into a larger net gain.

Practical notes and interactions:

• The relic only affects positive status effects applied to yourself; it does not increase buffs applied to allies or enemies.
• It stacks additively with the base buff amount: multiple-sources that grant several stacks at once will have that total increased by the relic’s fixed amount per application event.
• Because the boost is per application event, high-frequency low-value buff sources gain disproportionately large benefit compared to infrequent high-value buffs.
• The relic is generally useful in most runs; it is poor value only if your run has no reliable way to gain self-buffs (for example, certain builds or characters that lack buff generation).
• Combine Mask of Joy with effects that duplicate or replay buff applications (refresh, repeat, or multi-hit mechanics) to maximize total buffed value over a fight.