The Binding Of Isaac: Repentance brings a lot of new content to the game – the creator of the game Edmund McMillen even called it a sequel-sized expansion. Among the hundreds of new collectibles added are a variety of trinkets, items that provide a minor passive effect.
While most trinkets' effects are hardly noticeable, there are some that can completely change a run. The Binding of Isaac: Repentance adds trinkets that many fans consider much more powerful than the ones found in previous expansions – some, like the Jawbreaker, are powerful enough to be alternatives for passive items with similar effects.
8 Jawbreaker
The Jawbreaker trinket gives Isaac a small chance to fire teeth instead of tears, and each tooth shot deals three times Isaac's normal tear damage. This item is functionally very similar to the pedestal item Tough Love, which also gives Isaac a chance to shoot teeth instead of tears.
If presented with both options, Tough Love will always be the better choice as it's not a trinket and won't be replaced with other collectibles. However, both items are affected by the Luck stat, with a 100% chance to fire teeth at 9 luck, making it a fantastic alternative when Tough Love isn't available.
7 Teardrop Charm
The Teardrop Charm is a trinket that gives Isaac a very useful effect if he has special tears that only fire based on the luck stat. The Teardrop Charm drastically increases the chance for Isaac to shoot one of these special tears – for example, tooth tears, poison tears, and fear tears.
According to the Binding of Isaac wiki, equipping this trinket is about equivalent to adding 3 to your luck stat. The item does not actually increase your luck stat, though; chests, items, and random events won't be better, only Isaac's tears are affected.
6 Perfection
Perfection is a new trinket in Repentance that can only be acquired one way. It isn't found on the ground, in chests, and can't be spawned with other items. To get Perfection, Isaac must defeat three bosses in a row without taking any damage.
The reward for finishing three floors in a row perfectly is fantastic: +10 luck while the trinket is held. However, Perfection will disappear from Isaac's inventory if he takes even a single hit of damage, and the process must be started over.
5 Telescope Lens
Normally, only a single Planetarium can be found in any playthrough, but this item changes that. The Telescope Lens increases the spawn chance of the new, rare room called the Planetarium. It is unlocked by collecting three items related to astrology in one run.
The Telescope Lens also makes it possible to spawn a Planetarium room in the Womb, a layer where treasure rooms don't normally spawn, and allows a second Planetarium to spawn in the run. The Planetarium spawns one of 11 possible items related to the solar system, and each one is worth picking up.
4 Gilded Key
The Gilded Key is a simple but effective trinket that can change the rest of your run, for better or worse. Instead of finding any other type of chest in the run, once Isaac picks up the Gilded Key every chest he finds turns into a Locked Chest.
This includes Red Chests, Devil Room Chests, and other special chests in addition to Normal Chests. The only chest it doesn't work on is the Mega Chest, which requires more than one key to open. It's powerful if you have a lot of keys to spare, but dreadful if you're running low.
3 Your Soul
Your Soul is one of the few trinkets that the player always plans to get rid of from the start. With this trinket equipped, the next Devil Room deal Isaac takes won't sacrifice any of his red hearts – instead, it takes Your Soul.
The item also works with other deals that would take away Isaac's maximum health. Despite the name, players don't start out with Your Soul unlocked and must defeat Isaac, ???, Satan, and The Lamb as Tainted Judas to unlock it.
2 Cricket Leg
The Cricket Leg is a functional upgrade to the Rebirth item Infestation, which spawns a blue spider whenever Isaac kills an enemy. Instead, The Cricket Leg spawns one of five locusts when he kills an enemy and each one has a different effect.
The Yellow and the Green locusts both double Isaac's damage, but the Yellow slows enemies while the Green poisons enemies. The Black locust actually gives Isaac a x4 damage multiplier instead of x2, the Red Locust blows up upon touching a foe, and the White locust deals double Isaac's damage in a small cluster of locusts. Beat Boss Rush as Apollyon to unlock this trinket.
1 Sigil of Baphomet
The Sigil of Baphomet is another very simple but very powerful trinket. It does nothing more than grant Isaac a fully invulnerable shield for just one second after he kills an enemy. This trinket, when paired with close combat or melee-centric builds, is immensely powerful.
It's especially useful in rooms with hordes of enemies. Isaac can charge into the fight without worrying as much about taking rapid damage, especially if the hordes of enemies have only a little bit of health individually (for example, fly rooms).