Familiars are small companions, usually generated by passive items, that follow and assist the character. Effects of familiars include (but are not limited to) pickup generation, shooting familiars that fire their own tears at enemies, and orbitals that act as projectile shields and/or deal contact damage.
Temporary familiars
Blue Flies
Blue Flies are familiars that will orbit around Isaac and rush towards nearby enemies, dealing damage and dying in the process. Blue flies deal double Isaac's current tear damage.
Other sources of Blue Flies
- Red Chests: Has a chance to spawn 3 blue flies.
- Dark Blue Champion: Will create 3 blue flies when defeated.
- Guppy transformation: Isaac will create blue flies whenever his tears or his familiars' tears hit enemies.
- Beelzebub transformation: All enemy flies become blue flies.
- Rune of Berkano: Spawns 3 blue flies and 3 blue spiders upon use.
"Friends Till The End!" Pill: Spawns three blue flies.- As Keeper, all heart pickups turn into blue flies.
Black Rune: Turns pickups into blue flies and blue spiders.
Locusts
Locusts are variants of Blue Flies that are spawned by Locust trinkets. They behave like regular Blue Flies but have additional special effects.
Blue Spiders
Blue Spiders are familiars similar to blue flies that crawl erratically and rush towards nearby enemies, dealing damage and dying in the process. Blue spiders deal 2.5 times Isaac's current tear damage. Unlike blue flies, blue spiders cannot attack over obstacles such as rocks and pits.
 Bug!
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3DS Exiting the game and re-entering will cause all blue spiders to disappear. |
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Other sources of Blue Spiders
- Rune of Berkano: Spawns 3 blue flies and 3 blue spiders upon use.
- Infested? pill: Spawns blue spiders equal to the number of enemies in the room.
- Infested! pill: Spawns a blue spider under Isaac and every pile of poop in the room.
Chasing familiars
Familiars in this category actively chase enemies, dealing contact damage to them.
Note: Only third and fourth stage Cube of Meat and Ball of Bandages chase enemies.
Note: Only fourth stage Bumbo chases enemies.
Orbital familiars
Familiars that orbit Isaac, absorbing enemy projectiles and dealing contact damage.
Pills / Slot Machine
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Pretty Fly | Grants 1 fly orbital that circles the player, blocking projectiles and damaging fly-type enemies on touch. |
Notes
- A maximum of three Pretty Flies can orbit around Isaac.
- It is possible to have more than three orbitals if one has access to co-op mode. If a co-op baby or multiple co-op babies temporarily hold all but two orbitals while Isaac picks up another, and then the co-op baby or co-op babies sign out or die, Isaac will receive their orbitals as well.
- Cube of Meat, Ball of Bandages, and Sacrificial Dagger take up a pretty fly slot.
- For example, If Isaac has three pretty flies and picks up a Cube of Meat, the Cube of Meat will replace one of the flies.
- Only first and second stage Cube of Meat and Ball of Bandages are orbitals. Therefore, upgrading from level 2 to level 3 will free up a pretty fly slot.
- Duplicated orbitals, such as Forever Alone being copied with the Box of Friends or Diplopia, will fly directly opposite the original (having three copies will cause them to fly 120 degrees apart, four will fly at 90 degrees and so on).
Trivia
- Pretty fly is a play on the phrase "pretty fly" as a descriptor.
Pickup generation familiars
Familiars that generate pickups when certain conditions are met.
Spawning familiars
Familiars that spawn friendly Blue Spiders or Blue Flies.
Shooting familiars
Familiars that attack with their own tears as long as Isaac is attacking or charging a shot.
Note: Only second stage Cube of Meat and Ball of Bandages shoot tears.
Note: Demon Baby shoots tears even when Isaac is not attacking.
Others
Familiars that don't fit into any of the above categories or that produce multiple effects.
Unlockable Achievements
Template:Achv Template:Achv
 The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
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