The Binding of Isaac is known for its chaotic, randomized gameplay, and few elements represent this better than the various dice items scattered throughout the game. These powerful tools allow players to alter items, enemies, rooms, and even entire runs. While many items in the game follow predictable patterns, the dice introduce an element of unpredictability that can turn a failing run into a god-tier experience or ruin a perfect build. Understanding what each dice item does and when to use it is critical for maximizing your success and creating unique runs every time you play.
Overview of Dice in The Binding of Isaac
Dice items in The Binding of Isaac are active items or consumables that trigger a specific effect related to randomization. Many of them are iconic, such as the D6, while others are more obscure or situational. Dice items are named based on a ‘D’ followed by a number (e.g., D6, D20), with each one offering a different form of reroll mechanic. Some dice are part of the regular item pool, while others are more rare and harder to obtain, appearing only in specific circumstances or through unlocks.
The Main Dice Items
D6 – The Classic Reroll
The D6 is perhaps the most well-known dice item in the game. Unlocked by defeating It Lives with ??? (Blue Baby), this item allows the player to reroll pedestal items in the current room.
- Effect: Rerolls all pedestal items in the room into new items from the current room’s item pool.
- Usage: Best used in Item Rooms, Angel Rooms, or Devil Rooms to maximize item quality.
- Strategy: Save it for high-impact rooms and combine with battery items for multiple rolls.
D20 – Chaos in Every Room
The D20 offers a different form of manipulation, focusing on consumables instead of items. It is ideal for players who love to gamble and farm rooms.
- Effect: Rerolls all pickups in the room (coins, bombs, keys, hearts, chests, etc.).
- Usage: Extremely effective in rooms like the Chest, or when used with the Blank Card.
- Strategy: Combine with The Battery or rooms with many pickups for infinite reroll loops.
D4 – Reforge Your Destiny
For those looking to embrace chaos fully, the D4 rerolls all your current passive items into different ones, excluding quest or key items.
- Effect: Randomly rerolls all passive items.
- Usage: High risk, high reward. Can save bad runs or ruin great ones.
- Strategy: Use when your build is weak or boring and you want to try something new.
D100 – The Ultimate Randomizer
The D100 combines the effects of the D4, D6, and D20 into one item. When used, it rerolls everything you can imagine.
- Effect: Rerolls all pedestal items, passive items, and pickups in the room.
- Usage: The wildest dice item, suitable for experienced players looking to gamble their build.
- Strategy: Wait until you have several strong items or a crowded room before using.
D8 – Stat Scrambler
The D8 is a unique dice that doesn’t affect items, but instead rerolls your character’s stats.
- Effect: Redistributes Isaac’s damage, range, fire rate, and speed among themselves randomly.
- Usage: Best when stats are imbalanced and you want a chance at higher damage.
- Strategy: Risky, but can give a significant boost if used wisely.
D10 – Reroll Enemies
While not the most popular dice, the D10 has its uses in certain challenges or when dealing with specific enemy types.
- Effect: Rerolls all enemies in the current room into other random enemies of the same health level.
- Usage: Great for avoiding troublesome enemy patterns or bosses.
- Strategy: Use when surrounded by enemies that are difficult to deal with.
D12 – Environmental Changes
The D12 lets you interact with the environment in creative ways by rerolling obstacles and rocks.
- Effect: Rerolls all environmental objects (like rocks, TNT, mushrooms) in the room into random other types.
- Usage: Useful for farming tinted rocks or mushrooms for potential rewards.
- Strategy: Combine with rooms full of breakable objects and items like the Bomb Bag.
D7 – Replay the Past
The D7 allows you to redo a cleared room, including re-spawning all enemies and pickups.
- Effect: Restarts the last room you cleared, including drops.
- Usage: Useful for grinding rewards or pickups from a favorable room.
- Strategy: Works well in boss rooms and challenge rooms where rewards are guaranteed.
Dice Synergies and Combos
The power of dice items increases dramatically when combined with other tools and trinkets. Here are a few notable synergies:
- Blank Card + D20: Can create infinite pickup reroll loops in rooms like the Chest.
- The Battery + D6: Allows you to roll items multiple times, improving your chances of getting something great.
- Sharp Plug + D100: Risky, but allows for multiple full rerolls if you’re willing to trade health.
- Habit + Any Dice: Recharging your dice upon taking damage opens up more frequent rerolls.
Unlocking Dice Items
Most dice items in The Binding of Isaac require specific achievements or progression to unlock. Some common methods include:
- D6: Defeat It Lives with ???
- D20: Defeat Greed Mode with Isaac
- D4: Unlocked by default in some versions, otherwise unlocked via achievements
- D100: Defeat Mega Satan with The Lost
Unlocking these dice not only adds them to your item pool but also dramatically increases the number of unique runs and outcomes you can generate.
Tips for Using Dice Effectively
- Always consider the room’s item pool before rerolling rerolling in a Devil Room has different outcomes than in a Treasure Room.
- Save your rerolls for when multiple pedestal items are present to increase value.
- Be cautious using D4 or D100 in strong builds. One bad roll can ruin your entire strategy.
- Synergize your dice with other energy-boosting items to get more uses per floor.
The dice items in The Binding of Isaac represent the core philosophy of the game: risk, reward, and randomization. Whether you’re looking to reroll a bad item, change your entire loadout, or turn a pile of coins into soul hearts and keys, there’s a dice for that. Mastering the use of these tools can lead to some of the most satisfying and unpredictable gameplay moments Isaac has to offer. If you’re ready to embrace chaos, add more dice to your run and see where luck takes you.