Overview
Joy is a high-mobility assassin whose job is clearing the squishy enemies and forcing them to use spells and skills. In good hands, she can become extremely dangerous and unpredictable, making her terrifying for the squishy enemies.
Strengths
Joy's farming speed is exceptional. with her second skill, she can quickly clear the jungle and take positions for fights. she is a good hero to punish enemy mispositioning, too.
Weaknesses
mobile enemies such as irithel and kagura can be quite hard for joy to finish off. another weakness is that she is vulnerable against single target controls like kaja's ulti, franco's ulti, and badang's whole kit.
Squishy-targeting
Arcane boots are crucial for joy as it guarantees an early game damage output. Retribution Encourage (the red one) is a must. you need to use it on the targeting hero (usually enemy marksman). without it, finishing off the enemy becomes harder. Genius wand is the best early game item because it makes sure you will get enough damage against squishy enemies. concentrated energy grants you lifesteal AND stackable extra damage. Holy crystal is a must for every magic damage dealer. it could be bought before concentrated energy, but because it is expensive, it is usually safer to prioritise C. energy first, then holy crystal. Divine Glaive is an optional item, though personally I prefer it because with this item, you can also shred tanks. last slot is completely optional. I usually buy immortality, swap winter crown once immortality is used up, buy blood wings OR wishing lantern for extra damage output.
The most effective emblem set
thrill boosts adaptive attack, which means you will get extra 16 magic damage. Seasoned Hunter is a crucial emblem talent for jungle heroes, as it will boost your damage against objectives (turtle and lord), and 7.5% damage boost against jungle creeps. Temporal Reign is a must for joy, as it will reduce skill cooldown drastically. Every time joy enters a fight with her ulti, her dash skill will be in cooldown, and when her ulti ends, she becomes vulnerable and easy target. temporal reign makes sure you have your dash by the time your ulti ends, giving you an opportunity to escape.
Alternative against tanky
Rupture is your go-to when your enemies are tanky. In some cases, Weapon Master can be chosen too. if the enemy team is tanky and the game is likely to be dragged until late game, Weapon Master can help you deal more damage.
Early to Mid
Start from the opposite side of gold lane and follow the classic jungling path (don't fight for litho unless you're 100% you'll get either litho or a kill or two) once you hit your 4, try to kill the enemy marksman, but never try unless you're 100% you'll kill them. don't hesitate to use your retribution on the enemy as it will increase the chances of success. if you can't kill the enemy marksman or anyone at all, take the crab for extra farm and rush to the opposite side of the map for turtle. by the time turtle arrives, your buff will be arriving, so take it because it lets you reach 5th level, boosting your retri damage. but if enemy team already has a gold advantage, just give up on turtle completely and keep farming. remember: joy is one of the most unforgiving heroes. one mistake costs you death and farm, so always prioritise farming and targeting isolated enemies. with practice, you'll learn how to kill the squishies even when they're with their tanks. a great example is me, in 90% cases, I can dodge the tank's skills, finish off the marksman and leave with my dash skill. overall advice: always go to the enemy with FULL STACK. never try to stack up off the enemies, in most cases it will end with failure, so use jungle creeps or minions to stack up before arriving the battle field. your 1st skill crystal counts as a target for 2nd skill and will not cancel your combo. use it
Best With Franco
franco's ulti is long enough for joy to finish them off, though it needs perfect synergy between teammates, so I'll rate it 4 star
Watch Out For Badang
badang's passive, 1st skill, 2nd skill, ulti, everything is control, so joy struggles to reach enemy marksman.