Do not be intimidated by 9/10 difficulty rating! It is probably a 4/10!!!

[Talkbackxx]

I have put many hours into this game, and I have had many frustrating runs, and many runs that are an absolute joke. The main factor that determines EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of this game is luck. Because of the RNG nature of this game, you can have runs that are completely unwinnable, or you can have runs where you will never take a single hit. The newest update also allows for co-op, which lets the second (or third or fourth, even) character get there marks in, so if you struggle with any character, you could pick the character that you are good with, and just beat the game with that character, while having the second controller idle, while you do the work. Of course, you will have to occasionally move the uncontrolled character sometimes to see the map or threats in the area. While I am writing this, I have not reached 100% completion yet, but I am only missing 13 items, and 3 secrets. 1 secret is letting the plum fly away, the other is killing 10 battery bums. After doing those 2 and finding the rest of the items, the last secret is dead God, which is infinity percent/the final gold trophy. The challenges are not very difficult, and are also item dependent. Hot potato was pretty challenging for me, but then I picked up revelation, and it was a breeze. Red Redemption was the hardest, but you just need a treasure map early, and that will make the run very doable. It is unfortunate that the game is so luck dependent, because there is no "all you do is X and then you win!" You just need to keep playing until get good items. The more you play, the more good items you unlock, and then the easier it gets. The game is, however, a massive time sink. I've been playing it around 10 years and I am looking forward to closing this chapter forever. Good luck to anyone interested. It really isn't hard. It is just luck dependent. You need a basic amount of skill for dodging certain enemies, but with the amount of time you will be putting into this game, you will memorize all the items and the patterns of enemies. Good luck, everyone!!! I plan to be finished with this game within a week or 2 of this post!

[samunrizthym]

there is lots of items for "easy" runs ,but most got a nerf and higher rarity drop chance.

i agree for an overated 9 but 4 is way too low,most of my no damages floor were based on "leaf" and a passive damage item like "poison touch"

i don't know if it is still possible ,because impossible item combination drop or nerfed

[Kittens Are Awesome]

Sentence and paragraph structure are important. 

 

I give this read a 9/10.

[Talkbackxx]

Maybe 5, 6 at best, but you can always cheese with azazel, which I think makes it a 4. Leaf + any damage item that moves. Habit + blank card with the sun. Brimstone + spoon bender. Ipecac + host hat or pyromania. There are a lot of 2 item combinations that make your runs unstoppable, but there are good items that have 3 or 4 item combinations. It is all item dependent, and eventually you will get the winning combinations. Sometimes you get the run with cricket's head, mushroom, and mega tears. It will happen. I have put well over 1000 hours into this game, and almost all the runs I won, I was dealt a perfect hand. I don't consider myself very good at this game, and I was able to earn every achievement the game asked of me. 4 out of 10 could be too low, but only because I would not go higher than a 5. Keep at it, if you want it. It is not as difficult as it feels at times.

[Jerry_Appleby]

I'd give it a 4 only if you're using the upload/download feature to get through the game. Anything is pretty easily doable if you can upload your save every single room! 

 

I would give it around a 6/10 so far. I have all the main game characters done (the equivalent of the base game done) as well as Lilith finished. Out of the starting base game items, I'm only missing 3 currently, but I don't know if Real Platinum God will pop at that point or if I need to 100% all DLC items for that one!

 

I'm purposely saving an easier challenge to make the challenges the final trophy so I can use it for a trophy milestone.

 

Hardest part of the game thus far was the Ultra Hard DLC challenge. I had to resort to uploading my save almost every room in order to beat it! There are no heart drops, every floor is an XL floor, and every curse is around. Every enemy is a champion enemy, and bosses are their hard variant. And you have to beat Mega Satan while doing through the Dark Room route, so basically the hardest route to the end.

[samunrizthym]

i drop it there ,with last dlc and some inept choices for difficultuy scale and patches who remove the fun for some builts (infinite money and store buyings)

i ve already said that ,i know,gaming should be fun ,life is hard enought

even with ps+ or usb saves reload ,the game is not a 4

[Talkbackxx]

I have never save scummed, as the folks call it and I am almost finished with the game. I think back to something I heard a long time ago when I first started trophy hunting: "because a grind is long, it doesn't mean that it is hard." There are games out there where the grind is long and difficult. This game only appears to be that way. If you have 2 controllers and you can not finish the game with all marks as Azazel, then maybe reconsider your skill. I am not good at this game and I was able to do it with time and luck. You sound like you don't have the patience for this game, and I understand that. I have put over 1500 hours into this game. It's not a 4 to you, because you are probably frustrated that you aren't getting those easy runs the game WILL EVENTUALLY grant you, but you don't need to try and dissuade others because of your experience. I say it is a 4, as someone who just needs 4 more items, at the time of typing this. I have done games that are actually hard and require skill, patience and practice. This game requires item drops. It might as well be a game where you roll a 20,000 sided dice and you are required to roll every single number. That will most likely take a very long time, but nobody would call it hard. This game does have a challenge aspect in that enemies try to kill you, but after only a few rooms, you will be able to deal with every enemy. Again, pick Azazel, have the second player pick the character you need marks then you should have no problem. If you have a problem with doing that, then that is your problem, not the games. Azazel is overpowered, and as long as you get a few range ups, you shouldn't have any trouble getting a mark for a character in only a few tries. It's not hard, you just need to keep at it or drop it. It is completely RNG. 

[samunrizthym]

calm down bro ,i got the plat on 2 versions of the game (eu/us),i know what's your trying to explain but you are wrong about the 4 ,most of the players won't see a 4 there, because it is not an easy game ,you have to be lucky ,perseverent ,check every items before grab  and got a few skills to get throught this ,there is a big difference between grinding and roguelike RNG difficulty

lots of players never play "twin sticks shooters" or "roguelike" because they just can't handle or like that kind of game

issac is the best of the them ,but you push a little calling it easy

[Talkbackxx]

Luck and perseverance are the keywords here. You keep making my point for me. Getting lucky and having the mental fortitude to to persevere through this unreasonable grind can be stressful, but relying on luck, which this game is solely about, does not make it difficult. I'll compromise with you: The Binding of Isaac is a 10/10 difficulty with bad items. If you pick up good items, it's a 1/10. This is ultimately what it comes down to. Get out of your stubborn mindset of just wanting to be right, and try and understand what I am saying. I don not need to calm down, because I am perfectly calm. You are letting your emotions and the frustrations that you have had with unfortunate runs cloud your judgment. It is a 4/10 because you need to know the movement patterns of enemies. Other than that, it is 100% ITEM DROP DEPENDANT. ANY GAME THAT IS DEPENDANT ON LUCK IS NOT DEPENDANT ON SKILL. THIS IS THE DEFINING FACTOR IN WHAT MAKES A GAME DIFFICULT. Try and listen to others, then try to understand the entire context before butting in and making your point, because you are ignoring the most important part of what I am saying and, in one case, what you are saying. I'll simplify it for everyone: this game is the equivalent of shuffling 10 decks of cards together, and drawing 2 cards at a time until you get 2 ace of spades. It does not require skill, it requires time. Luck is mostly an illusion. What people think luck is, is actually time. This game is a long grind, and it is dependent on the luck of the draw, aka the time you put in to get the cards the dealer throws you. 4/10 difficulty; 10/10 time to put in. My final word on this and I won't reply anymore: The game is actually as hard as you want it to be. It can be a 10/10 if you try to complete every run with the worst possible items, which could ultimately cut the time to 100% down to around 50-60 hours. This requires the most precise playing and extremely unheard of skill. If you want to make it as easy as possible for you, you can be patient and reroll early on if your item quality is poor, and the difficulty lowers to what I would consider a 4/10. The reason it is a 4/10 and not a 1/10 is because, unlike my gambling analogies I have brought up earlier, the game fights back, but few enemies and bosses are difficult once you fight them a few times and get their patterns down. In this case, the time to 100% goes up drastically. So you can make it extremely hard, and try to earn 100% quickly, or you can make it easy on yourself, but it comes at the cost of your time. That is all I have to say on that. I will not debate this any further because all my points are there. Your retort of "but it is hard because rng" has no effect on me because I do not consider random number generation part of any difficulty. Annoying? Perhaps. Inconvenient? Definitely. Difficult? Not at all.

[Jerry_Appleby]

You claim it's a 4/10 yet you just admitted to cheesing the way through the game by using Azazel and a second controller for all the difficult characters.

 

Why did you do that? Was the game too difficult for you to solo it with the tainted characters? 😉 

[samunrizthym]

it is not a 4 ,even with a massive lucky good built  ,you can fail to some bullet-manic bosses,experience speaking ,you can't sell this game as an easy one

every runs are a seach,for items ,money,secrets to get throught all the floors ,didn't used the 2 controller method because it was not possible before repentence

i am done here to

let's agree about our disagree

oh and try to get some paragraph in your writting ,my eyes are bleeding after trying to read it

 

[VigilantCrow]

Game's a 4 but you do need to put the time in, to learn the boss move sets and the general strategy for every room in the game (the rooms themselves aren't rng).

Impossible to respect anyone who cheeses the game with multiple controllers.

Edited April 29 by VigilantCrow

[Talkbackxx]

2 hours ago, Jerry_Appleby said:

You claim it's a 4/10 yet you just admitted to cheesing the way through the game by using Azazel and a second controller for all the difficult characters.

 

Why did you do that? Was the game too difficult for you to solo it with the tainted characters? 😉 

Where did I admit that? I understand you think it is beneficial for you to try and insult me, but the insult only works if you aren't making up lies and reinterpreting what I am saying. To clarify, I said someone could do that if they are struggling with a certain character. I made a post meant to alleviate stress for players that are interested in the game but see the 9/10 as too intimidating.

Edited April 29 by Beyondthegrave07
Stay on topic

[salty_kambi]

You can technically reset a run until the game hands you a broken ass combo, but a good player will optimize their run with knowledge and good choices to maximize their chances of finding good items. I think it's a 6 or 7 and a 4 or less exploiting resets, co-op, or save scumming, but I would not recommend playing the game like that

[SpaceCoresDad]

Actually this game is a 1/10. It's super easy if you just get someone else who's good at the game to play it for you! 😉