Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Wiki
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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.

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance) 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 iconLazarus 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 Collectible Mom's Bottle of Pills iconMom's Bottle of Pills, Collectible Placebo iconPlacebo and Collectible PHD iconPHD 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.
  • Character Tainted Cain iconTainted Cain can craft items that count towards the achievement.
  • Obtaining a large number of items, then repeatedly rerolling them such as by using Collectible D4 iconD4 can allow Isaac to get more Tears Up items. Losing a Tears Up item this way will not count against the achievement.
  • (in 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. Collectible The Pact iconThe Pact and Collectible Dark Prince's Crown iconDark Prince's Crown can be found in the Devil Deal and Curse Room Pools, whilst (in Repentance)Collectible Act of Contrition iconAct of Contrition can only be found in the Angel Pool, and Collectible Odd Mushroom (Thin) iconOdd 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)IV - The Emperor?IV - The Emperor? successfully, and Collectible Pandora's Box iconPandora'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) Quality
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) -2 Tear Delay. (in Repentance) +1 Fire Rate. 2
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) Heals 1 additional Red HeartRed Heart. 3
Capricorn 5.100.307 Capricorn All stats up (except in Repentance) Adds 1 Red Heart Container, gives +0.5 Damage, +0.1 Speed, +1.5 Range, and -1.0 Tear Delay, and gives 1 BombBomb, PennyPenny, and KeyKey.
(in Repentance) Adds 1 Red Heart Container, gives +0.5 Damage, +0.1 Speed, +0.75 Range, and +0.5 Fire Rate, and gives 1 BombBomb, PennyPenny, and KeyKey.
3
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) Grants -1 tear delay and reduces range. (in Repentance) Grants +0.5 fire rate and reduces range. 3
Guillotine 5.100.206 Guillotine DMG + tears up. An out-of-body experience! Isaac's head is removed from his body and floats around him as an orbital. (except in Repentance) Gives +1 damage and grants -1 tear delay. (in Repentance) Gives +1 damage and grants +0.5 fire rate. 2
Mom's Perfume 5.100.228 Mom's Perfume Fear shot + tears up Adds a chance to shoot fear tears. (except in Repentance) Decreases tear delay by 1. (in Repentance) +0.5 fire rate. 2
Number One 5.100.6 Number One Tears up + range down Grants +1.5 tears, but severely reduces range. 2
Odd Mushroom 5.100.120 Odd Mushroom Tears + speed up, DMG down +1.7 tears, +0.3 speed, slightly reduces damage. 2
Pisces 5.100.309 Pisces Tears up + knock-back shots (except in Repentance) -1 Tear Delay, adds knock-back shots and increases tear size.
(in Repentance) +0.5 Fire Rate, adds knock-back shots and increases tear size.
2
Screw 5.100.255 Screw Tears + shot speed up +0.5 tears, +0.2 shot speed. 3
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
Squeezy 5.100.196 Squeezy Tears up Increases tears by 0.4, spawns 2 Soul HeartSoul Hearts. 3
The Halo 5.100.101 The Halo All stats up (except in 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) Grants one full Red Heart container, +0.3 damage, +0.2 tears, +1.5 range, and +0.3 speed. Heals 1 additional Red HeartRed Heart.
2
The Pact 5.100.80 The Pact DMG + tears up (except in Repentance) Grants two Soul HeartSoul Hearts, +0.5 damage, and +0.7 tears.
(in Repentance) Grants two Black HeartBlack Hearts, +0.5 damage, and +0.7 tears.
3
The Sad Onion 5.100.1 The Sad Onion Tears up Increases tears by 0.7. 3
The Small Rock 5.100.90 The Small Rock DMG up + speed down +1 damage, +0.2 tears, -0.2 speed. 3
Tooth Picks 5.100.183 Tooth Picks Tears + shot speed up +0.7 tears, +0.16 shot speed. 3
Torn Photo 5.100.341 Torn Photo Tears + shot speed up +0.7 tears, +0.16 shot speed. 3
Wire Coat Hanger 5.100.32 Wire Coat Hanger Tears up Increases tears by 0.7. 3
Binky 5.100.438 Binky Tears up Grants one Soul HeartSoul Heart, +0.75 tears and decreases Isaac's size. 3
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
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. 1
Mr. Dolly 5.100.370 Mr Range + tears up (except in Repentance) +0.7 tears, +5.25 range, +0.5 tear falling speed, Spawns a combination of 3 Red HeartRed Hearts, Soul HeartSoul Hearts or Black HeartBlack Hearts on the floor when picked up.
(in Repentance) +0.7 tears, +2.5 range, spawns 3 random types of Red HeartHearts on the floor when picked up.
3
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
Analog Stick 5.100.465 Analog Stick 360 tears! +0.35 tears up. Allows Isaac to fire tears diagonally. 2
Apple! 5.100.443 Apple! Trick or treat? +0.3 tears. Adds a chance to fire a razor blade that deals 4x Isaac's damage. 3
Dark Prince's Crown 5.100.442 Dark Prince's Crown Loss is power (except in Repentance) When at exactly one Red HeartRed Heart, increases tears, range, tear falling speed, and shot speed.
(in Repentance) When at exactly one Red HeartRed Heart, increases fire rate, range, and shot speed.
1
A Bar of Soap 5.100.564 A Bar of Soap Tears + shot speed up Gives Isaac +0.5 Tears and +0.2 Shot Speed. 3
Act of Contrition 5.100.601 Act of Contrition Tears up, you feel forgiven Increases tears and grants an Eternal HeartEternal 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
Almond Milk 5.100.561 Almond Milk DMG down + tears up + you feel nutty Quadruples fire rate, with x0.3 damage multiplier. Each tear is a given random effect that alters its movement. 1
Consolation Prize 5.100.644 Consolation Prize +1 to lowest stat Increases Isaac's lowest stat and drops either 3 PennyCoins, 1 BombBomb, or 1 KeyKey depending on what Isaac has the least of. 1
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
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
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

Note that no active items count towards unlocking Lachryphagy.

The following items do not count towards unlocking Lachryphagy, despite increasing tears:

Obscure Challenge Achievements[ | ]

These achievements involve performing a specific task without prompting.

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance) 5 Nights at Mom's
Get a 5-win streak, using a different character for each win. (in Repentance) 3-win streak, using a different character for each win.

Win Streaks count all types of ending including Greed mode. Intentionally beating Isaac (Boss) or Satan without the item to continue to chapter 6 counts as a win. Beating Mom's Heart (before unlocking It 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.

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance) ZIP!
Defeat The Lamb in under 20 minutes.

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

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance) It's the Key
Defeat The Lamb without taking hearts, coins, and bombs 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. An alternative source of explosions such as Collectible Bob's Rotten Head iconBob's Rotten Head is valuable in a run where bombs are rare. Character Magdalene iconMagdalene 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 iconThe Lost for more experienced players. (in Repentance) Character Tainted Cain iconTainted Cain is also a good choice, since his (in Repentance)Collectible Bag of Crafting iconBag 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.

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 Boy Dead 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[ | ]

  • Collectible Holy Mantle iconHoly Mantle blocks one hit per room, and it doesn't count as damage for these achievements
  • (except in Rebirth)Collectible Glowing Hourglass iconGlowing Hourglass can rewind time allowing you to exit a room in an emergency
  • Collectible Infamy iconInfamy can block damage occasionally making it good for saving you
    • Collectible Scapular iconScapular works similar to this but it does not negate damage, instead granting you a soul heart
  • Collectible Gnawed Leaf iconGnawed Leaf can be extremely useful in boss fights with hard to dodge attacks like (except in Rebirth) Boss Hush ingameHush and (in Afterbirth † and Repentance) Boss Delirium ingameDelirium
  • Collectible Brimstone iconBrimstone has exteremely high damage, infinite piercing, infinite range and synergizes well with almost all items
  • Any item that increases damage (even temporarily), such as Collectible The Book of Belial iconThe 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 Collectible Book of Shadows iconBook of Shadows or Collectible Unicorn Stump iconUnicorn Stump
  • Collectible The Bible iconThe Bible kills Boss Mom ingameMom and Boss Mom's Heart ingameMom's Heart/ Boss It Lives ingameIt Lives instantly when used during those boss fights.
  • Collectible Pyromaniac iconPyromaniac grants immunity to all explosions.
  • Orbitals that can block enemy shots
    • (in Repentance)Collectible Psy Fly iconPsy Fly being one of the most powerful orbitals as it moves to and blocks projectiles unlock normal orbitals
  • Collectible Flush! iconFlush! can clear annoying rooms instantly
  • Most Cards and Runes can be extremely useful in traversing the map quickly
  • (in 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 dont have any you are given 2 coins)
    • 2 of Spades2 of Spades doubles your keys (If you dont have any you are given 2 keys)
    • 2 of Clubs2 of Clubs doubles your bombs (If you dont 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)Collectible Diplopia iconDiplopia can duplicate all items on screen including pickups, along with a really simple acquisition method
  • Collectible Abaddon iconAbaddon can be good if you dont have a lot of health or need damage
  • Collectible The D6 iconThe D6 can reroll a useless item into a better item (like the ones mentioned above).
  • Collectible Cricket's Head iconCricket's Head grants a 100% damage multiplier and is found in Treasure Room (Item Pool), Collectible Sacred Heart iconSacred Heart gives homing shots alongside this but is rare and found in Angel Room (Item Pool)
    • Collectible Polyphemus iconPolyphemus works the same way but with a severe fire rate penalty
  • Collectible Soy Milk iconSoy Milk can grant a 5x fire rate multiplier at the cost of a 0.2x damage multiplier
  • Collectible Crack the Sky iconCrack the Sky Is relatively common and can kill almost all bosses up until Boss Mom ingameMom in one use
  • Charge items like Collectible Habit iconHabit and (in Repentance)Collectible 4.5 Volt icon4.5 Volt can be extremely useful in charging items with high charge time like Collectible The D6 iconThe D6
  • Collectible Dr. Fetus iconDr. Fetus grants a 10x damage multiplier and effectively can be used as infinte bombs, working similarly to Collectible Ipecac iconIpecac
  • Collectible We Need To Go Deeper! iconWe 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
  • Collectible Magic Mushroom iconMagic Mushroom and Collectible Capricorn iconCapricorn both increase all stats
  • Collectible A Pony iconA Pony and Collectible White Pony iconWhite Pony both grant flight, a 0.5 speed up, and a powerful dash attack
  • (in Afterbirth † and Repentance)Collectible Mama Mega! iconMama Mega! creates a map wide blast, destroying everything on the floor, opening all secret rooms and dealing 200 damage to all enemies
  • (in Afterbirth † and Repentance)Collectible Mystery Gift iconMystery Gift spawns an item from the item pool of the current room your standing in (Ex. if you are standing in a Devil Room it will spawn an item from the Devil Room (Item Pool))
  • (in Repentance)Collectible Fortune Cookie iconFortune Cookie can frequently spawn Cards and Runes and soul hearts
  • Items like Collectible 20 20 icon20/20, Collectible The Inner Eye iconThe Inner Eye and Collectible Mutant Spider iconMutant 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 Collectible Brimstone iconBrimstone
  • Collectible Blue Map iconBlue Map shows you the location of both Secret Rooms
  • Collectible PHD iconPHD makes all of your pills have positive effects
  • Collectible The Parasite iconThe Parasite and Collectible Cricket's Body iconCricket's Body both split your tears upon landing, adding an area of effect
    • This works extremely well with (in Afterbirth † and Repentance)Collectible Jacob's Ladder iconJacob's Ladder as it will chain the electricity even more

Neutral Items[ | ]

  • Collectible Iron Bar iconIron Bar's concussive tears cause enemies to move around unpredictably.
  • Collectible Thunder Thighs iconThunder Thighs and Collectible Leo iconLeo 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.
  • Collectible Fire Mind iconFire Mind's explosions can damage you if you are too close.
  • Collectible Dark Bum iconDark 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.
  • Collectible The Wafer iconThe 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.
    • Collectible Bucket of Lard iconBucket of Lard gives 2 Red Heart containers and heals half a Red Heart but is also a speed down.
  • Collectible Strange Attractor iconStrange Attractor can cause unpredictable enemy movement, especially with enemies like Dips and Boom Flies.
  • Explosive items such as Collectible Anarchist Cookbook iconAnarchist Cookbook should be used with extreme care.

Characters[ | ]

Isaac[ | ]

  • Character Isaac iconIsaac is very advisable once Collectible The D6 iconThe D6 is unlocked; an active item which can be extremely useful to reroll bad items into better items that makes the runs easier.
  • If you have not unlocked Collectible The D6 iconThe D6, Isaac is less advisable than Character ??? (Character) icon???, who has slightly better base stats as Isaac.

Magdalene[ | ]

  • Character Magdalene iconMagdalene is not a very good choice since she starts with 4 health and the Collectible Yum Heart iconYum Heart. She also has a low base speed, which makes it hard to avoid enemies that run into you.
  • (in Afterbirth †) Upon completion of the Aprils fool Aprils fool challenge, Magdalene starts each run holding a Speed Up pill, allowing her speed to be set to 1.0 from the beginning of the run, allowing for easier dodging.

Judas[ | ]

  • Character Judas iconJudas is a very advisable character, since he starts with a higher damage multiplier than most characters, and Collectible The Book of Belial iconThe Book of Belial. Being able to deal more damage means less time dealing with enemies and bosses, and clearing rooms faster. His low health is not a drawback in this case, as long as the player is skilled enough to avoid damage.

Samson[ | ]

  • Character Samson iconSamson is less advisable than Isaac, as Collectible Bloody Lust iconBloody Lust only increases his damage whenever he takes damage. This leads to a dilemma; Samson must either avoid damage for a higher Devil Room or Angel Room chance, or take damage to take advantage of Collectible Bloody Lust iconBloody Lust.

Azazel[ | ]

  • Character Azazel iconAzazel is extremely advisable, as he starts with flight and a short-ranged version of Collectible Brimstone iconBrimstone. Azazel's flight allows Azazel to have increased mobility and hide behind obstacles, which helps counteract his lack of range with Collectible Brimstone iconBrimstone on early floors. Azazel's short-ranged Collectible Brimstone iconBrimstone deals significantly more damage than any other character; allowing Azazel to quickly get through early floors.

??? (or Blue Baby)[ | ]

  • Character ??? (Character) icon??? has slightly better stats than Isaac, making him an advisable character to play.
  • ??? has some advantages over other characters when picking up certain items, since he cannot gain Red Heart containers. For example, Collectible Whore of Babylon iconWhore of Babylon is permanently active for ??? once picked up.

Lazarus[ | ]

  • Character Lazarus iconLazarus is not advisable, as he has low range and starts with a random pill; this makes him slightly worse than non-Collectible The D6 iconThe D6 Isaac.
  • If Lazarus dies, he resurrects as Lazarus Risen - starting with increased stats and the effect of Collectible Anemic iconAnemic, which negates his low range. However, Lazarus cannot get the current chapter's achievement if he takes damage to kill himself.
  • (in Afterbirth † and Repentance) After beating the Backasswards Backasswards challenge, Lazarus now begins with Collectible Anemic iconAnemic, making his stats roughly equal to Isaac's.

Eden[ | ]

  • Character Eden iconEden is inadvisable due to their randomness and the fact that Mom's Heart/It Lives need to be killed several times to play as Eden for several runs; if Eden starts with a poor set of items, then the player will have to waste another Eden Token.

The Lost[ | ]

  • Character The Lost iconThe Lost has no health (although internally he has half a Soul Heart), which can be used to encourage the player to get these achievements, as he can't take damage without dying. He also has flight and can take any Devil deals for free (with the downside of only getting one devil deal). However, strategies such as using Blood Donation Machines won't work with him unless he has extra lives.
  • (except in Rebirth) The Lost begins with Collectible Holy Mantle iconHoly Mantle after donating 879 coins to the Greed Donation Machine, allowing him to take one hit on rooms without dying.

(except in Rebirth) Lilith[ | ]

  • Character Lilith iconLilith is not recommended for these achievements, as she relies on Collectible Incubus iconIncubus to deal damage, and is Blindfolded, which can leave her open to damage if the player isn't careful.

(except in Rebirth) Keeper[ | ]

  • Character Keeper iconKeeper is not recommended for these achievements, (except in Repentance)as he is the slowest character in the game (tied with Character Magdalene iconMagdalene), and has a tear delay of 28, the slowest fire rate besides Character Azazel iconAzazel. The combination of these two factors will have Keeper open to attack much of the time, which is made worse by his slow speed, making it harder to dodge.

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance) Apollyon[ | ]

  • Character Apollyon iconApollyon is recommended for these achievements, as he starts with average stats and Collectible Void iconVoid, an item which absorbs other items. Void gives stat increases to Apollyon when passive items are absorbed, and uses the effects of any absorbed active items every time Void is used.

Strategies[ | ]

  • If possible, maximize the number of times you get to use Collectible The D6 iconThe 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 Collectible The Bible iconThe 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.)


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