Achievement Tips

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Common Achievement Guides

Consult the specific character's page for tips on unlocking a specific character, as well as tips on playing that character. Each completion mark's page has additional tips for the specific encounter.

For completing or unlocking a challenge, refer to the challenge's specific page.

Tips for filling the Donation Machine and Greed Donation Machine are on those pages.

Most other achievements involve doing a basic task repeatedly or having a lucky combination of items, and will be gained with natural play.

Super Meat Boy & Super Bandage Girl

See Unlocking Super Meat Boy & Super Bandage Girl.

(except in Rebirth and Afterbirth) Lachryphagy

Lachryphagy is unlocked by obtaining 10 Tears Up Items/Pills in one run. In normal gameplay this can be extremely rare, and is most often earned accidentally by obtaining this many items by chance. The following are some strategies for obtaining the achievement:

  • Each item collected counts towards the Achievement. Dropping a tears up an item will not count against the total. Progress towards the achievement is only tied to items and pills, and is not directly tied to the actual tears stat. As such, reaching the tear cap or collecting Tears Down pills or items will not count against the achievement.
  • Character Lazarus icon.pngLazarus starts with a pill, so restarting repeatedly until they have a Tears Up pill ensures that the pill type will be available during the run. From there, prioritizing Mom's Bottle of PillsMom's Bottle of Pills, PlaceboPlacebo and PHDPHD will allow them to generate more of these pills. This can be much easier to do in Greed mode, as you can often reroll the shop items until you find these, as well as repeatedly buy pills until another Tears Up one appears.
  • (in Repentance and Repentance+) Character Tainted Cain icon.pngTainted Cain can craft items that count towards the achievement.
  • Obtaining a large number of items, then repeatedly rerolling them such as by using D4D4 can allow Isaac to get more Tears Up items. Losing a Tears Up item this way will not count against the achievement.
  • (in Repentance and Repentance+) A Golden Pill can be used if Tears Up is not a part of the current run's Pill pool, where when used repeatedly can grant many Tears Up bonuses, but this is very luck-based.
  • Many Tears Up items come from the Item Room and Boss Room pools. The PactThe Pact and Dark Prince's CrownDark Prince's Crown can be found in the Devil Deal and Curse Room Pools, whilst (in Repentance and Repentance+) Act of ContritionAct of Contrition can only be found in the Angel Pool, and Odd MushroomOdd Mushroom is the only item in the Secret Room Pool that counts towards the achievement. This means collecting as many boss room drops as possible is preferred, but in general going after all item pools is a good idea. The odds of getting tears up items from boss drops can be increased by using (in Repentance and Repentance+) IV - The Emperor?IV - The Emperor? successfully, and Pandora's BoxPandora's Box on specific floors.

Only items internally tagged tearsup, as well as any Tears Up pills, will count towards unlocking Lachryphagy. This includes the following items.

Name ID Icon Quote Description (in Repentance and Repentance+) Quality
(in Repentance and Repentance+) A Bar of Soap 5.100.564 A Bar of Soap Tears + shot speed up +0.5 Tears, +0.2 Shot Speed.
(except in Repentance+) 3
(in Repentance+) 2
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Act of Contrition 5.100.601 Act of Contrition Tears up, you feel forgiven +0.7 tears, grants an Eternal Heart.pngEternal Heart. Allows Angel RoomAngel Rooms to appear even if a Devil Deal has been taken before. Reduces the Devil/Angel room chance penalty for taking Red heart damage.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Almond Milk 5.100.561 Almond Milk DMG down + tears up + you feel nutty Quadruples fire rate, with ×0.3 damage multiplier. Each tear is given a random effect that alters its movement.
1
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Analog Stick 5.100.465 Analog Stick 360 tears! +0.35 tears up. Allows Isaac to fire tears diagonally.
2
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Anti-Gravity 5.100.222 Anti-Gravity Anti-gravity tears + tears up Tears float in position until firing ceases, after which they will fly off in the direction they were shot in. (except in Repentance and Repentance+) -2 Tear Delay. (in Repentance and Repentance+) +1 Fire Rate.
(except in Repentance+) 2
(in Repentance+) 1
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Apple! 5.100.443 Apple! Trick or treat? +0.3 tears. Adds a chance to fire a razor blade that deals 4× Isaac's damage.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Binky 5.100.438 Binky Tears up Grants one Soul Heart.pngSoul Heart, +0.75 tears and decreases Isaac's size.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Blue Cap 5.100.342 Blue Cap HP + tears up + shot speed down Gives one full Red Heart container, +0.7 tears, and -0.16 shot speed. (in Repentance and Repentance+) Heals 1 additional Red Heart.pngRed Heart.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Capricorn 5.100.307 Capricorn All stats up (except in Repentance and Repentance+) Adds 1 Red Heart container, gives +0.5 Damage, +0.1 Speed, +1.5 Range, and -1.0 Tear Delay, and gives 1 Bomb.pngBomb, Penny.pngPenny, and Key.pngKey.
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Adds 1 Red Heart container, gives +0.5 Damage, +0.1 Speed, +0.75 Range, and +0.5 Fire Rate, and gives 1 Bomb.pngBomb, Penny.pngPenny, and Key.pngKey.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Consolation Prize 5.100.644 Consolation Prize +1 to lowest stat Increases Isaac's lowest stat and drops either 3 Penny.pngCoins, 1 Bomb.pngBomb, or 1 Key.pngKey depending on what Isaac has the least of.
1
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Cricket's Body 5.100.224 Cricket's Body Bursting shots + tears up When tears hit an object or deplete their range, they spawn 4 smaller tears, whose range and damage scale with Isaac's. (except in Repentance and Repentance+) Grants -1 tear delay and reduces range. (in Repentance and Repentance+) Grants +0.5 fire rate and reduces range.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Dark Prince's Crown 5.100.442 Dark Prince's Crown Loss is power (except in Repentance and Repentance+) When at exactly one Red Heart.pngRed Heart, +0.75 tears, +1.5 range, and +0.2 shot speed.
(in Repentance and Repentance+) When at exactly one Red Heart.pngRed Heart, +2 fire rate, +1.5 range, and +0.2 shot speed.
1
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Eden's Blessing 5.100.381 Eden's Blessing Tears up + your future shines brighter +0.7 tears up. Grants a random item at the start of the next run.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Eye Drops 5.100.600 Eye Drops Tears up Increases the fire rate in Isaac's left eye, causing his eyes to fire at different rates.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Guillotine 5.100.206 Guillotine DMG + tears up. An out-of-body experience! Isaac's head becomes an orbital familiar that blocks shots and deals contact damage. Tears are still fired from the rotating head. (except in Repentance and Repentance+) +1 damage, -1 tear delay. (in Repentance and Repentance+) +1 damage, +0.5 fire rate.
(except in Repentance+) 2
(in Repentance+) 0
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Marked 5.100.394 Marked Directed tears Isaac will automatically fire tears directed at a red target on the ground. The target can be moved with tear controls. +0.7 tears, increases range.
(except in Repentance+) 1
(in Repentance+) 0
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Mom's Perfume 5.100.228 Mom's Perfume Fear shot + tears up Adds a chance to shoot fear tears. (except in Repentance and Repentance+) Decreases tear delay by 1. (in Repentance and Repentance+) +0.5 fire rate.
2
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Mr. Dolly 5.100.370 Mr. Dolly Range + tears up (except in Repentance and Repentance+) +0.7 tears, +5.25 range, +0.5 tear falling speed, Spawns a combination of 3 Red Heart.pngRed Hearts, Soul Heart.pngSoul Hearts or Black Heart.pngBlack Hearts on the floor when picked up.
(in Repentance and Repentance+) +0.7 tears, +2.5 range, spawns 3 random types of Red Heart.pngHearts on the floor when picked up.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Number One 5.100.6 Number One Tears up + range down Grants +1.5 tears, but severely reduces range.
2
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Odd Mushroom 5.100.120 Odd Mushroom Tears + speed up, DMG down +1.7 tears, +0.3 speed, slightly reduces damage.
2
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Paschal Candle 5.100.567 Paschal Candle Keep the flame burning Gives Isaac a familiar that grants +0.4 Fire Rate for each consecutive room he's cleared without taking damage. The bonus stacks up to five times.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Pisces 5.100.309 Pisces Tears up + knock-back shots (except in Repentance and Repentance+) -1 Tear Delay, adds knock-back shots and increases tear size.
(in Repentance and Repentance+) +0.5 Fire Rate, adds knock-back shots and increases tear size.
2
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Pluto 5.100.598 Pluto Size down +0.7 tears. Significantly shrinks Isaac, allowing him to squeeze between objects and makes some enemy shots pass over him.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Purity 5.100.407 Purity Aura stat boost Boosts one of Isaac's stats depending on the color of the aura around him. The aura disappears upon taking damage and reappears with a random color upon entering a new room. Red boosts damage, blue boosts tears, yellow boosts speed, and orange boosts range.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Screw 5.100.255 Screw Tears + shot speed up +0.5 tears, +0.2 shot speed.
(except in Repentance+) 3
(in Repentance+) 2
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Soy Milk 5.100.330 Soy Milk DMG down + tears way up Tears are smaller and do much less damage, but fire in very rapid succession.
2
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Squeezy 5.100.196 Squeezy Tears up +0.4 tears, spawns 2 Soul Heart.pngSoul Hearts.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) The Halo 5.100.101 The Halo All stats up (except in Repentance and Repentance+) Grants one full Red Heart container, +0.3 damage, +0.2 tears, +0.25 range, +0.3 speed, and +0.5 tear falling speed.
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Grants one full Red Heart container, +0.3 damage, +0.2 tears, +1.5 range, and +0.3 speed. Heals 1 additional Red Heart.pngRed Heart.
(except in Repentance+) 2
(in Repentance+) 3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) The Pact 5.100.80 The Pact DMG + tears up (except in Repentance and Repentance+) Grants two Soul Heart.pngSoul Hearts, +0.5 damage, and +0.7 tears.
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Grants two Black Heart.pngBlack Hearts, +0.5 damage, and +0.7 tears.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) The Sad Onion 5.100.1 The Sad Onion Tears up +0.7 tears.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) The Small Rock 5.100.90 The Small Rock DMG up + speed down +1 damage, +0.2 tears, -0.2 speed.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Tooth Picks 5.100.183 Tooth Picks Tears + shot speed up +0.7 tears, +0.16 shot speed.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Torn Photo 5.100.341 Torn Photo Tears + shot speed up +0.7 tears, +0.16 shot speed.
3
(in Repentance and Repentance+) Wire Coat Hanger 5.100.32 Wire Coat Hanger Tears up +0.7 tears.
3
(in Repentance+) Bloody Gust 5.100.695 Bloody Gust May your rage bring haste The first 6 times Isaac takes damage on a given floor, he gains Speed and Fire Rate for the rest of the floor, up to a maximum of +1.02 and +3.00, respectively.
2
(in Repentance+) Brittle Bones 5.100.549 Brittle Bones Everything hurts Replaces all Red Heart.pngRed Heart Containers with 6 empty Bone Heart.pngBone Hearts. (except in Repentance and Repentance+) Upon losing a Bone Heart, Isaac fires bones in 8 directions and permanently gains a tears up. (in Repentance and Repentance+) Upon losing a Bone Heart, Isaac fires bones in 8 directions and permanently gains a fire rate up.
3
(in Repentance+) Divorce Papers 5.100.547 Divorce Papers Tears up + you feel empty Grants one Bone Heart.pngBone Heart, +0.7 tears, spawns a Mysterious PaperMysterious Paper.
3
(in Repentance+) Epiphora 5.100.368 Epiphora Intensifying tears Shooting in one direction increases Isaac's rate of fire until the cap is reached. As soon as Isaac changes direction or stops shooting, rate of fire is reset to its normal amount.
1
(in Repentance+) It Hurts 5.100.560 It Hurts No it doesn't... Releases a ring of tears and increases fire rate for the current room when Isaac takes damage. (in Repentance+) Isaac's tears also leave pools of red creep for the rest of the room.
1
(in Repentance+) Milk! 5.100.436 Milk! Don't cry over it... (except in Repentance+) Spawns a glass familiar that follows Isaac. After Isaac takes damage, the milk spills, and he gains -2 tear delay ((in Repentance and Repentance+) +1.0 fire rate) until leaving the room
(in Repentance+) Spawns a glass familiar that follows Isaac. The milk will block projectiles, and upon blocking 10, the milk spills, giving Isaac +1.0 fire rate for the rest of the floor.
1
(in Repentance+) Ouija Board 5.100.115 Ouija Board Spectral tears + tears up Grants spectral tears that travel through obstacles (but not enemies). (in Repentance and Repentance+) +0.5 tears.
2
(in Repentance+) Rosary 5.100.72 Rosary Tears + faith up Grants 3 Soul Heart.pngSoul Hearts. Causes The BibleThe Bible to appear in any item pool. (in Repentance and Repentance+) +0.5 tears.
2
(in Repentance+) Sausage 5.100.669 Sausage All stats up Adds a Red Heart Container, fully heals Isaac, and gives +0.2 Speed, +0.5 Damage, +0.5 Tears, +2.5 Range, +0.2 Shot Speed, and +1.0 Luck. Increases the chance of encountering a Devil RoomDevil Room, Angel RoomAngel Room, and/or PlanetariumPlanetarium each by 6.9%.
3
(in Repentance+) SMB Super Fan 5.100.189 SMB Super Fan All stats up (except in Repentance and Repentance+) +1 Red Heart container, +0.3 damage, +0.2 tears, +0.2 speed, +0.5 range, +1 tear falling speed. Fully restores all red hearts.
(in Repentance and Repentance+) +1 Red Heart container, +0.3 damage, +0.2 tears, +0.2 speed, +2.5 range. Fully restores all red hearts.
3
(in Repentance+) Tractor Beam 5.100.397 Tractor Beam Controlled tears Isaac's tears are bound to a beam emitting in the direction he's firing. (except in Repentance and Repentance+) +0.5 Tears, +5.25 Range, +0.16 Shot Speed. (in Repentance and Repentance+) +1 Fire Rate, +2.5 Range, +0.16 Shot Speed.
3

Note that no active items count towards unlocking Lachryphagy.

Obscure Challenge Achievements

These achievements involve performing a specific task without prompting.

(except in Rebirth and Afterbirth) 5 Nights at Mom's
(in Afterbirth † and Repentance+) Get a 5-win streak, using a different character for each win. (in Repentance) 3 to 5-win streak (depending on characters used), using a different character for each win.

Win Streaks count all types of ending including Greed mode. Intentionally beating Boss Isaac ingame.pngIsaac or Boss Satan ingame.pngSatan without the item to continue to chapter 6 counts as a win. Beating Boss Mom's Heart ingame.pngMom's Heart (before unlocking Boss It Lives! ingame.pngIt Lives!) counts as a win. If enough characters have been unlocked, consider going for this achievement early on in a new save file. Resetting the run in any way will break the streak. An exception to this is if the player exits their current run and starts a challenge, then starts a normal run again. As challenges aren't part of the win streaks, but still replace the currently saved run, this allows to start a new run without the last, now deleted run, counting as a loss. This may be used to select another character or reset for better Items.

(except in Rebirth and Afterbirth) ZIP!
Defeat Boss The Lamb ingame.pngThe Lamb in under 20 minutes.

The Dark Room can be quickly reached by hitting the Sacrifice Room spikes 12 times. Consider using Character Azazel icon.pngAzazel for quickly clearing floors, Isaac with The D6The D6 for maximizing chances of a winning item combination, or Character Magdalene icon.pngMagdalene for a large source of hearts to sacrifice.

(except in Rebirth and Afterbirth) It's the Key
Defeat The Lamb without taking Red Heart.pngHearts, Penny.pngCoins, and Bomb.pngBombs through an entire run.

This challenge is only concerned with picking up hearts, coins, and bombs off the ground. Items that directly increase your inventory such as 2 of Clubs2 of Clubs will not break the run. Be very careful around items that spawn pickups onto the ground, and chests. Items such as Bum FriendBum Friend and (in Repentance and Repentance+) Lil PortalLil Portal, and the (in Repentance and Repentance+) Boss Bumbino ingame.pngBumbino boss will invalidate the run if they collect a "forbidden" pickup.

An alternative source of explosions such as Bob's Rotten HeadBob's Rotten Head is valuable in a run where bombs are rare. Character Magdalene icon.pngMagdalene is the only character with a certain source of healing, and is recommended for attempting this run with minimal difficulty. This can also be played as a slightly more challenging normal run for Character The Lost icon.pngThe Lost for more experienced players. (in Repentance and Repentance+) Character Tainted Cain icon.pngTainted Cain is also a good choice, since his (in Repentance and Repentance+) Bag of CraftingBag of Crafting can be used to grab pickups without any downside. The challenge will only be lost if Cain himself grabs any hearts, coins, or bombs. The special seed G0NES00N can also be entered prior to beginning the run. It will not disable achievements, and has the effect of making pickups disappear after a certain time, avoiding situations where a pickup is blocking the only way forward.

(in Repentance and Repentance+) R KeyR Key trivializes this achievement, as it still triggers so long as no hearts, coins, and bombs are collected in the reset run.

No Damage Achievements

No Damage achievements are some of the most difficult achievements in the game. There are five of these achievements included in Rebirth, with 4 new achievements with similar objectives added in Afterbirth † with Booster Pack 5. The achievements are as follows:

Objective Achievements
Beat chapter 1 without taking damage.
Beat chapter 2 without taking damage.
Beat chapter 3 without taking damage.
Beat chapter 4 without taking damage.
Beat chapter 6 without taking damage.
  • Dead BoyDead Boy

Note that there is no achievement for completing SheolSheol or the CathedralCathedral this way.

What Doesn't Count as Taking Damage

What Counts as Taking Damage

Items

The lists below contain a large majority of items that are valuable and can help a lot in getting these achievements (Most are unlocked by default)

Good Items

  • Holy MantleHoly Mantle blocks one hit per room, and it doesn't count as damage for these achievements
  • (except in Rebirth) Glowing HourglassGlowing Hourglass can rewind time allowing you to exit a room in an emergency
  • InfamyInfamy can block damage occasionally making it good for saving you
    • ScapularScapular works similar to this but it does not negate damage, instead granting you a soul heart
  • Gnawed LeafGnawed Leaf can be extremely useful in boss fights with hard to dodge attacks like (except in Rebirth) Boss Hush ingame.pngHush and (except in Rebirth and Afterbirth) Boss Delirium ingame.pngDelirium
  • BrimstoneBrimstone has extremely high damage, infinite piercing, infinite range and synergizes well with almost all items
  • Any item that increases damage (even temporarily), such as The Book of BelialThe Book of Belial
  • Any item that provides flight as it is extremely valuable
  • Any item that provides spectral tears
  • Items that provide invincibility, such as the Book of ShadowsBook of Shadows or Unicorn StumpUnicorn Stump
  • The BibleThe Bible kills Boss Mom ingame.pngMom and Boss Mom's Heart ingame.pngMom's Heart / Boss It Lives! ingame.pngIt Lives! instantly when used during those boss fights.
  • PyromaniacPyromaniac grants immunity to all explosions.
  • Orbitals that can block enemy shots
    • (in Repentance and Repentance+) Psy FlyPsy Fly is one of the most powerful orbitals as it moves to and blocks projectiles unlike normal orbitals
  • Flush!Flush! can clear annoying rooms instantly
  • Most Cards and Runes can be extremely useful in traversing the map quickly
  • (in Repentance and Repentance+) Flat FileFlat File removes all spikes including curse room door spikes, removing the damage penalty upon entering them
  • All playing cards are extremely useful granting a variety of very useful effects
    • 2 of Diamonds2 of Diamonds doubles your coins (If you don't have any you are given 2 coins)
    • 2 of Spades2 of Spades doubles your keys (If you don't have any you are given 2 keys)
    • 2 of Clubs2 of Clubs doubles your bombs (If you don't have any you are given 2 bombs)
    • JokerJoker can teleport you to an angel or devil deal even if you have 0% chance for one to spawn
  • (except in Rebirth) DiplopiaDiplopia can duplicate all items on screen including pickups, along with a really simple acquisition method
  • AbaddonAbaddon can be good if you don't have a lot of health or need damage
  • The D6The D6 can reroll a useless item into a better item (like the ones mentioned above).
  • Cricket's HeadCricket's Head grants a 100% damage multiplier and is found in Treasure Room (Item Pool), Sacred HeartSacred Heart gives homing shots alongside this but is rare and found in Angel Room (Item Pool)
    • PolyphemusPolyphemus works the same way but with a severe fire rate penalty
  • Soy MilkSoy Milk can grant a 5x fire rate multiplier at the cost of a 0.2x damage multiplier
  • Crack the SkyCrack the Sky Is relatively common and can kill almost all bosses up until Boss Mom ingame.pngMom in one use
  • Charge items like HabitHabit and (in Repentance and Repentance+) 4.5 Volt4.5 Volt can be extremely useful in charging items with high charge time like The D6The D6
  • Dr. FetusDr. Fetus grants a 10x damage multiplier and effectively can be used as infinte bombs, working similarly to IpecacIpecac
  • We Need To Go Deeper!We Need To Go Deeper! Can create trapdoors allowing you to repeatedly skip floors
    • A more effective use of this item is using it while standing on a tile with a cosmetic (Ex. Something with grass or a note on it) will spawn a crawl space, granting you an item, pickups or more rarely spawning a Black Market
  • Magic MushroomMagic Mushroom and CapricornCapricorn both increase all stats
  • A PonyA Pony and White PonyWhite Pony both grant flight, a 0.5 speed up, and a powerful dash attack
  • (except in Rebirth and Afterbirth) Mama Mega!Mama Mega! creates a map wide blast, destroying everything on the floor, opening all secret rooms and dealing 200 damage to all enemies
  • (except in Rebirth and Afterbirth) Mystery GiftMystery Gift spawns an item from the item pool of the current room (e.g. if you are standing in a Devil Room it will spawn an item from the Devil Room (Item Pool))
  • (in Repentance and Repentance+) Fortune CookieFortune Cookie can frequently spawn Cards and Runes and soul hearts
  • Items like 20/2020/20, The Inner EyeThe Inner Eye and Mutant SpiderMutant Spider are major DPS ups as they grant extra shots, effectively multiplying your damage by how many extra shots are granted, which synergizes well with things like BrimstoneBrimstone
  • Blue MapBlue Map shows you the location of both Secret Rooms
  • PHDPHD makes all of your pills have positive effects
  • The ParasiteThe Parasite and Cricket's BodyCricket's Body both split your tears upon landing, adding an area of effect
    • This works extremely well with (except in Rebirth and Afterbirth) Jacob's LadderJacob's Ladder as it will chain the electricity even more

Neutral Items

  • Iron BarIron Bar's concussive tears cause enemies to move around unpredictably.
  • Thunder ThighsThunder Thighs and LeoLeo can be used as an alternative to bombs to break Tinted Rocks (though they mostly drop Soul Hearts) and possibly find a Crawl Space or Black Market but should be used with great care, as stepping on a Bomb Rock or a bad Mushroom will damage the player and disqualify the achievement.
    • Thunder Thighs is also a speed down and a useless health up.
  • Fire MindFire Mind's explosions can damage you if you are too close.
  • Dark BumDark Bum usually drops useless Soul Hearts, but occasionally spawns Blue Spiders or Spiders instead.
  • Mom's ToenailMom's Toenail can hurt you.
  • Teleporting items.
    • Teleporting into the I AM ERROR room can cause the player to miss out on a boss item, or even the achievement itself if it is the floor that they would have got it on.
  • The WaferThe Wafer generally won't help, as the player would be trying not to take any damage in the first place. However, it can be used in conjunction with self-damaging items, even in WombWomb/UteroUtero and beyond.

Bad Items

  • Any items that only give health are useless.
    • Bucket of LardBucket of Lard gives 2 Red Heart containers and heals half a Red Heart but is also a speed down.
  • Strange AttractorStrange Attractor can cause unpredictable enemy movement, especially with enemies like Dips and Boom Flies.
  • Explosive items such as Anarchist CookbookAnarchist Cookbook should be used with extreme care.


Strategies

  • If possible, maximize the number of times you get to use The D6The D6.
  • Use bombs to escape rooms that you don't think you can handle.
  • Do not risk going over spikes, if you don't have flight.
  • A very easy way to achieve the Dark Boy/Mama's Boy is to obtain The BibleThe Bible while holding IV - The EmperorIV - The Emperor. This can be used to skip the final floor of the DepthsDepths/WombWomb entirely.
  • Note that you gain the achievement after you defeat the second boss of a chapter, not after you go down to the next floor. This means, after getting the related achievement, you can go visit the rest of the floor (including the curse room if you have enough health) and obtain pickups that could help you get the later achievements.

Force Quit and File Manipulation

As a last resort, force quitting the game may help net achievements that remain elusive due to lack of skills and/or luck. A save game is generated whenever one exits a game to the menu or at the start of a new level. If one wishes to go back to the last save game, force quit the game (Force Quit on OS X, End Task on Windows, home button and then close the app on consoles) and then restart the game. The continue option will light up and then your last save game will be restored. Aside from helping with Achievements, this is useful if you want to reverse negative pill effects, exploit coin donation, find the quickest way through the level after doing a "test run", etc.

  • The method is also capable of reversing a player's death. After death, the game will erase the save game. However, if you pause the game right after you are killed and before the next menu pops up, you may then force quit and restore your last save game in the run. This was the only way less skilled players were able to finish the game with The Lost.
  • Of course, this method when abused does take away the charm and fun from the game, not to mention significantly extending the real-time it takes to get through a run. A half-hour game may easily extend to several hours if one tries to Force Quit repeatedly.

(except in Rebirth) In Afterbirth, the Force Quit method has been partially patched. It still works as in Rebirth except after a player's death. If you attempt to Force Quit after death, the continue option is not selectable, and you have to start a new game.

  • Having extra lives used to allow the Force Quit method to work after death. There was no need to immediately pause the game after a death in this case. Force quitting after the extra life starts would still restore the last save game. This has since also been patched.

Alternatively on OS X and Windows, one may disable cloud saving and copy / restore certain save files after quitting the game. This is capable of reversing a player death and allow less skilled players to finish The Lost and (except in Rebirth) Keeper runs. However, this is risky and careless copy and pasting may result in permanently lost in-game achievements and secrets. One does not need to force quit either and may close the app normally. BACK UP YOUR SAVE FILES before attempting the following.

  • Go to The Binding of Isaac Afterbirth folder. Find options.ini and open in a text editor. Change the SteamCloud value from 1 to 0. Save the change to options.ini.
  • When SteamCloud is disabled, the local save file will not reflect your latest cloud save file. The game will look like you're starting from scratch. You can use your last local copy of the cloud save file as the new local save file. The cloud save has format [YearMonthDate].ab_persistentgamedata[Slot#].dat. Rename this file (and overwrite) to persistentgamedata[Slot#].dat. For example, if using slot 1, rename 20160331.ab_persistentgamedata1.dat (and overwrite) to persistentgamedata1.dat. Now your local save file will reflect your last cloud save file.
  • Play the game and reach a point where you want to save. Pause and exit to the menu to generate a save file (alternatively, starting a new level will generate one). Look in the Binding of Isaac Afterbirth folder for 2 specific files with the following formats: gamestate[Slot#].dat and persistentgamedata[Slot#].dat. Copy these files to another folder on your hard drive. For example, if using slot 1, copy gamestate1.dat and persistentgamedata1.dat to another folder.
  • Since you are using this method and are going to screw up, you may exit the app normally after your character dies instead of force quitting. You'll notice that gamestate[Slot#].dat has disappeared from the Isaac folder. Restore the gamestate[Slot#].dat and (overwrite) persistentgamedata[Slot#].dat files from your other folder.
  • Restart the app. You'll notice that the continue option is now available. You may resume your failed run.
  • In-game and Steam achievements will still unlock with this method.
  • Once you are done manipulating files and want to go back to Steam cloud saving, go back to options.ini in the Isaac folder and change SteamCloud value back to 1.
  • However, once you do this, your cloud save is the old one. To update your cloud save with your current local save, copy the persistentgamedata[Slot#].dat file from the Isaac folder to the remote folder. Rename (and overwrite) to ab_persistentgamedata[Slot#].dat. For example, if using slot 1, copy persistentgamedata1.dat from the Isaac folder and rename/overwrite to ab_persistentgamedata1.dat in the Remote folder.

This can also work on the 3DS by pausing just as you die and pressing the home button, then closing The Binding of Isaac. Reopening the game and hitting continue will respawn you on the floor you died on. This will reset your progress for that floor. This can be repeated as much as needed; however, there is a bug. If used on the first floor, and the character that dies spawned with any active items - such as Isaac's D6, The Lost's D4, or Judas' Book of Belial - the items will be removed. This can be fixed simply by quitting and continuing whilst still alive. PS4 If you are playing while using an active PlayStation Plus membership (even with the Essential tier) you can upload your system save file (as long as automatic upload for the game is disabled) to the cloud. This means, even if you make a mistake during a run while trying to unlock an achievement, you can download the uploaded save file to overwrite your system save file. This will allow you to resume an optimal run from that specific point you uploaded the save file, granting you the freedom to keep replaying until you achieve your desired result. This is incredibly useful for Challenges, such as ULTRA HARD, where certain drops may require multiple resets to acquire again. This also allows you to manipulate certain items like Crooked Penny, allowing for powerful safe runs. The Crooked Penny can be used outside of a room safely, to avoid the failure outcome, then recharged to duplicate the items. (When a run is backed up like this, the Crooked Penny's outcome will always be the same, rolling a new outcome after it's used.)


SmallIsaac.pngThe Binding of Isaac: RebirthSmallIsaac.png
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