diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Tests/Mods/TestSceneOsuModEasy.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Tests/Mods/TestSceneOsuModEasy.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1b5d9da02b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Tests/Mods/TestSceneOsuModEasy.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+// Copyright (c) ppy Pty Ltd <contact@ppy.sh>. Licensed under the MIT Licence.
+// See the LICENCE file in the repository root for full licence text.
+
+using System.Linq;
+using NUnit.Framework;
+using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
+using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Mods;
+using osu.Game.Tests.Beatmaps;
+using osu.Game.Tests.Visual;
+
+namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Tests.Mods
+{
+    public partial class TestSceneOsuModEasy : OsuModTestScene
+    {
+        protected override bool AllowFail => true;
+
+        [Test]
+        public void TestMultipleApplication()
+        {
+            bool reapplied = false;
+            CreateModTest(new ModTestData
+            {
+                Mods = [new OsuModEasy { Retries = { Value = 1 } }],
+                Autoplay = false,
+                CreateBeatmap = () =>
+                {
+                    // do stuff to speed up fails
+                    var b = new TestBeatmap(new OsuRuleset().RulesetInfo)
+                    {
+                        Difficulty = { DrainRate = 10 }
+                    };
+
+                    foreach (var ho in b.HitObjects)
+                        ho.StartTime /= 4;
+
+                    return b;
+                },
+                PassCondition = () =>
+                {
+                    if (((ModEasyTestPlayer)Player).FailuresSuppressed > 0 && !reapplied)
+                    {
+                        try
+                        {
+                            foreach (var mod in Player.GameplayState.Mods.OfType<IApplicableToDifficulty>())
+                                mod.ApplyToDifficulty(new BeatmapDifficulty());
+
+                            foreach (var mod in Player.GameplayState.Mods.OfType<IApplicableToPlayer>())
+                                mod.ApplyToPlayer(Player);
+                        }
+                        catch
+                        {
+                            // don't care if this fails. in fact a failure here is probably better than the alternative.
+                        }
+                        finally
+                        {
+                            reapplied = true;
+                        }
+                    }
+
+                    return Player.GameplayState.HasFailed && ((ModEasyTestPlayer)Player).FailuresSuppressed <= 1;
+                }
+            });
+        }
+
+        protected override TestPlayer CreateModPlayer(Ruleset ruleset) => new ModEasyTestPlayer(CurrentTestData, AllowFail);
+
+        private partial class ModEasyTestPlayer : ModTestPlayer
+        {
+            public int FailuresSuppressed { get; private set; }
+
+            public ModEasyTestPlayer(ModTestData data, bool allowFail)
+                : base(data, allowFail)
+            {
+            }
+
+            protected override bool CheckModsAllowFailure()
+            {
+                bool failureAllowed = GameplayState.Mods.OfType<IApplicableFailOverride>().All(m => m.PerformFail());
+
+                if (!failureAllowed)
+                    FailuresSuppressed++;
+
+                return failureAllowed;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/osu.Game/Rulesets/Mods/ModEasyWithExtraLives.cs b/osu.Game/Rulesets/Mods/ModEasyWithExtraLives.cs
index 1a2cb08a53..09086f4d86 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Rulesets/Mods/ModEasyWithExtraLives.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Rulesets/Mods/ModEasyWithExtraLives.cs
@@ -3,17 +3,18 @@
 
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.Linq;
 using Humanizer;
 using osu.Framework.Bindables;
 using osu.Framework.Localisation;
-using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
 using osu.Game.Configuration;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Scoring;
+using osu.Game.Screens.Play;
 
 namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods
 {
-    public abstract class ModEasyWithExtraLives : ModEasy, IApplicableFailOverride, IApplicableToHealthProcessor
+    public abstract class ModEasyWithExtraLives : ModEasy, IApplicableFailOverride, IApplicableToPlayer, IApplicableToHealthProcessor
     {
         [SettingSource("Extra Lives", "Number of extra lives")]
         public Bindable<int> Retries { get; } = new BindableInt(2)
@@ -33,18 +34,26 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods
 
         public override Type[] IncompatibleMods => base.IncompatibleMods.Append(typeof(ModAccuracyChallenge)).ToArray();
 
-        private int retries;
+        private int? retries;
 
         private readonly BindableNumber<double> health = new BindableDouble();
 
-        public override void ApplyToDifficulty(BeatmapDifficulty difficulty)
+        public void ApplyToPlayer(Player player)
         {
-            base.ApplyToDifficulty(difficulty);
+            // this throw works for two reasons:
+            // - every time `Player` loads, it deep-clones mods into itself, and the deep clone copies *only* `[SettingsSource]` properties
+            // - `Player` is the only consumer of `IApplicableToPlayer` and it calls `ApplyToPlayer()` exactly once per mod instance
+            // if either of the above assumptions no longer holds true for any reason, this will need to be reconsidered
+            if (retries != null)
+                throw new InvalidOperationException(@"Cannot apply this mod instance to a player twice.");
+
             retries = Retries.Value;
         }
 
         public bool PerformFail()
         {
+            Debug.Assert(retries != null);
+
             if (retries == 0) return true;
 
             health.Value = health.MaxValue;