Poor Melia
If you’re trying to level up in Octopath Traveler 2, the Brooch of Joy is an essential accessory. When equipped, this will grant additional EXP and JP after every battle. Many players will casually stumble upon the EXP Augmentor and JP Augmentor accessories, but the Brooch of Joy gives both perks while only consuming one accessory slot. Additionally, my testing indicates that the Brooch of Joy gives the same boosts to EXP and JP as the aforementioned Augmentors (more on this later).
It’s natural to want the Brooch of Joy as early as you can possibly get it. That said, if you want to snag this while you progress the early game chapters, you’ll unfortunately be disappointed.
Where to find the Brooch of Joy
The Brooch of Joy can be obtained after finishing Castti’s 5th and final chapter of her story. Like every character’s final chapter, this packs a danger level of 45 and features a dramatic boss battle for you to take down. You do have the option to marathon Castti’s chapter and try to clear her story underleveled, but you’ll want to clear other objectives to level up and discover new areas. The available equipment in the late-game towns give huge stat boosts.
After Castti’s tale resolves, return to Winterbloom and go to Melia’s house in the northwestern part of town. You should have a new sidequest waiting for you, but that isn’t what you’re here for (yet). Melia carries the Brooch of Joy, which you can take with Throné’s Steal Path Action. Now, anyone invested in the story may realize that this is a morally terrible thing to do. That said, taking the Brooch appears to have no impact on the plot. Do whatever helps you sleep at night, as you can see from the screenshot that I, too, have no morals.
Keep in mind that Melia’s location may change depending on your status in the “Melia’s Next Chapter” quest. That said, she’ll always be in her house or greenhouse.
Does the Brooch of Joy stack with other accessories?
I’ve seen a lot of confusion over whether or not the Brooch of Joy will stack its respective increases with equipment like the EXP Augmentor and JP Augmentor. To solve this, I recorded how much EXP and JP one specific enemy configuration in the wild would give me with various equipment loadouts. The results are less complicated than many believe.
First, here is how much EXP and JP I received with only the Brooch of Joy equipped.
Second, here are my gains with the Brooch of Joy used alongside the EXP and JP Augmentors.
Finally, here is the Brooch of Joy used with the Augmentors and the Extra Experience and Hard Worker Support Skills equipped.
In conclusion, it’s safe to say that all these will stack when used together. Whether they’re all worth using together is up to you.
