The final DLC expansion Repentance for The Binding of Isaac launched earlier in 2021, bringing with it a sharp spike in the overall difficulty of the game as well as a number of secrets. There are dozens of new bosses and other enemies, hundreds of new items and trinkets, and a number of new areas and characters to explore.
Players have been approaching The Binding of Isaac: Repentance differently than previous expansions. This is in part due to the new locations available, some of which are hidden behind specific steps, but also because the meta is much different than it used to be.
10 Planning To Fight Bosses That Haven't Been Unlocked
When a new expansion comes out, one of the most basic things that every The Binding of Isaac player forgets is to check whether they have actually unlocked the new content or not. New bosses in Repentance are tied to defeating Delirium a set number of times, for example, a task easier said than done.
Many of the new items in Repentance are also tied to achievements or milestones in-game. Be sure to check up on some of these new requirements to jump into the meat of the new DLC faster.
9 Forgetting About The Mirrored World
The Mirrored World is the first step in the multi-part quest to unlock the entrance to the new Corpse layer of the basement. It's found in the Downpour area, which itself is only reachable by using a key on the door that appears after completing the first or second layer of the basement.
The mirrored world is only reachable by stepping onto a white flame, turning oneself into The Lost, and finding a mirror hidden somewhere in the level. If getting to the new endgame area is a priority, don't forget to pick up Knife Piece 1 here or the entire run will be wasted.
8 Forgetting About Esau
Controlling Jacob and Esau, the new character duo in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance, is a challenge in and of itself. While the player theoretically gets more firepower and more control of the room with two characters, encounters tend to end up in the enemy's favor.
While Jacob has three red hearts for health, Esau has one red heart and a soul heart. By default, the player controls both characters at the same time, but Esau can be told to wait with the "drop" button, though this usually ends up worse than if Esau sticks closer to Jacob.
7 Avoiding Treasure Rooms Too Often For The Planetarium
One of the new rooms a player can find in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance is the Planetarium. The Planetarium has a base 1% chance to spawn on a layer of the basement, which increases by 20% each time the player skips an Item Room.
Going inside the room and choosing not to take the item doesn't count towards this increase, though: the player has to completely avoid the room. However, the items in the Planetarium are situationally useful at best, and not worth skipping five other Item Rooms for.
6 Taking Items That Will Ruin A Build...
One of the classic mistakes in The Binding of Isaac that certainly carries over to the Repentance expansion is picking up items that will ruin a run. Cursed Eye, Chocolate Milk, and Ipecac are commonly avoided for this exact reason.
The only way to completely avoid ruining a run is by memorizing each and every item's sprite in the entire game. Alternatively, players can install a mod that identifies items on the ground.
5 ...Like Taking Mom's Knife With A Synergistic Build
Mom's Knife is one of the most game-breaking items in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance, in both good and bad ways. Taking Mom's Knife very early on can lead to some interesting builds around the item's boomerang-like attack.
Taking Mom's Knife with just about any ongoing build, though, is a terrible idea. It overrides just about every other projectile, and while it deals a lot of contact damage, it's not enough to justify removing the player's ability to shoot tears.
4 Standing Still During The Baby Plum Fight
Baby Plum is a new boss in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance who uses blood tears and propulsion to fight. It will slam the ground, project a circle of tears, and spin while shooting too. Its deadliest attack, though, is when it propels itself around the room with blood.
The blood tears come out of Baby Plum rapidly while it bounces from wall to wall, dealing damage by contact and with its tears. It's a good idea to calculate where the boss will travel while it's bouncing around, and get out of the way before it gets anywhere close.
3 Moving Too Much When Attacked By Willos
Willos, a new enemy type in the DLC, look like glowing flies and track the player while moving in a circle around them. Willos shoot at the player every so often, and their movement pattern makes them extraordinarily hard to hit, though they are weak.
The best way to deal with a lot of willos attacking all at once is to freeze and focus on where shots are coming from. Your own shots will be more accurate, and you'll be more able to judge where to move to avoid attacks.
2 Taking Too Many Pills With The False PHD
The new item False PHD is similar to the PHD item, except that instead of turning all pills into good pills, it converts them all into bad ones. However, ingesting a bad pill will permanently increase the player's damage or grant other rewards.
It can be too easy to forget just how lackluster of a trade that is, though. For losing 1 luck, the player will get 0.6 damage up, but the damage increase is barely worth the decrease to other stats.
1 Forgetting To Heal With The Shard of Glass
The Shard of Glass is a broken item when in the right hands. It significantly increases the tears stat when the player is hit with anything, but it also causes the player to bleed out until they use a red heart.
It's an awful item for characters without red hearts like Azazel or The Lost, as the rapid bleeding benefit never occurs, although the massive increase in tears makes it worthwhile for other characters.