Isaac's Heart is a secret unlockable passive item.
Effect
- Isaac's body becomes immune to all damage.
- A heart familiar appears and closely follows Isaac. If the heart is hurt, Isaac is hurt.
- Most enemies now target the heart instead of Isaac. Eyes and other similar enemies, however, will still target Isaac.
Notes
- Items that activate on contact with enemies retain their ability, allowing Isaac to use them without suffering collision damage.
During The Guardian challenge, Demon Beggars and Blood Donation Machines deal damage to Isaac.- Picking up a non-orbital familiar will cause either Isaac's Heart or the other familiar to be layered over the other's sprite. This is due to the heart not taking up the spot that the other familiar follows in.
- Enemy Brimstone shots (such as from The Bloat) will not deal any damage to the heart.
- Additional players gain the immunity effect without spawning additional hearts.
- Hush's tracking laser beams cannot damage the heart.
Enemy Brimstone shots (such as from Tips and Strategies
Items / Trinkets
- Speed up items are invaluable when having Isaac's heart since the delay between the player moving away and the heart moving as well gets drastically reduced. Avoid speed down items early in the run.
- Orbital Familiars are invaluable as Isaac can get extremely close to the enemy without fear of contact damage.
- Flight items are invaluable as the heart can be placed over a rock and Isaac can stick out enough to shoot at enemies without needing Spectral Tears.
- Angel Rooms are safer bets for items than Devil Rooms.
- Use Restock boxes in shops as much as possible get as many soul hearts for health but make sure to hold on to at least 5 cents.
- Get 5 cents as soon as possible so an Arcade can show up, Blood Donation Machines and IV Bag are the best and most common ways to win an Isaac's heart run.
- If lucky pennies are unlocked, it may be beneficial to immediately try to gain 10 luck or more via the IV Bag to maximize room drops and enhance tear effects.
- Consider bombing skulls for a chance to get Dry Baby.
Combat and Damage
- Hug obstacles to avoid taking damage. Look out for enemies that fly or can jump over rocks, and make sure enemies don't push Isaac far away from his heart to expose it.
- When dodging, move in semi straight lines as the heart only follows Isaac's movements when he is at a certain distance away, for example, moving in a circle would pull the heart in and make it stay in place in the middle of the arc as Isaac would no longer be moving away from the heart. Moving in a triangle formation would allow the heart to move more.
- Enemies that fly and charge like One Tooth are extremely hard to dodge and should be killed as soon as possible, take caution since they can appear as early as The Caves / The Catacombs.
- Enemies can be pushed away with Isaac's body, while not recommended, it can be used as a last resort.
Synergies
- Aries: Isaac can cause contact damage without taking damage.
- Blank Card + XIV - Temperance: Isaac can reuse the Temperance card to spawn an infinite amount of Blood Donation Machines to get effectively infinite Coins (Pickup).
- Blood Rights: Isaac can use Blood Rights infinitely without taking damage.
- Box of Friends: Box of Friends does not duplicate the heart, making it safe to use.
- Breath of Life: Isaac can be infinitely invulnerable, as invincibility carries out to the heart without hurting the player. Note that the item needs to be activated for longer than one second for the invulnerability to kick in, however.
- Dry Baby: If Isaac's Heart is layered over Dry Baby, Dry Baby will block incoming shots and the heart will not be damaged by projectiles. Enemies touching the heart can still do damage.
- Duct Tape: Makes dodging significantly easier.
- Error: The given collectible ("E Coli") does not exist.: Isaac can turn enemies into poop without taking damage.
- Gnawed Leaf: Invincibility carries over to the heart.
- Holy Mantle: The shield effect carries over to the heart.
- IV Bag: Isaac can use the bag without taking damage, granting infinite money ( and as high luck as desired via lucky pennies).
- Kamikaze!: As long as the heart is away from the blast radius, no damage is taken. Character must be at high enough speed for this.
- Midas' Touch: Isaac can turn enemies into coins on contact without taking damage.
- Razor Blade: Isaac cannot take damage from the Razor Blade, allowing for infinite uses of the item.
- The Nail: Demon Isaac can cause contact damage without taking damage.
- The Virus: Isaac can poison enemies on contact without taking damage.
Interactions
- BFFS!: BFFS! will make the heart bigger, making it easier to get hit.
- King Baby: The Heart will follow King Baby. This makes it much harder to avoid damage, but also makes other synergies like Kamikaze! much easier to use.
- Sharp Plug: Sharp Plug can no longer be used.
- The Soul: Isaac's body repels projectiles, but Isaac's Heart doesn't.
In-game Footage
Trivia
- Isaac's Heart while it's following Isaac fittingly shares the same sprite as Child's Heart.
- The nature of the item is similar to that of a Mask + Heart enemy.
- This item is used in Challenge #30 (The Guardian).
Seeds
PC TPWZ 7CVR (Treasure Room below of spawn)
PC PCJZ 03TG (Adjacent Treasure Room)
PS4 W1TD 0BJN (Treasure room south of spawn)
Gallery
Isaac with his heart.
 The Lost Unlocks
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 The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
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