No, The Lost Should Not Take Devil Deals
As an Isaac purist who has logged over 500 hours playing The Lost across various patches, I cannot recommend ever trading potential health away for devil deals. However, the question of pursuing devil vs. angel rooms presents one of the most complex risk/reward dilemmas that makes The Lost so iconic yet notoriously difficult. This definitive guide explores the mechanics behind deals with the devil and top strategies to master as the eternally damned Lost.
Why The Lost Breaks Devil Deal Fundamentals
Before explaining why The Lost should avoid deals, let‘s breakdown some key devil chance mechanics in Isaac:
- Base devil/angel room spawn chance starts at 50% after bosses
- Taking red heart damage reduces devil chance by 7% per hit
- Making deals locks in 100% chance for that floor type to appear
This means sacrificing health for damage ups via deals is standard for most characters. However, since The Lost starts with flight and spectral tears already, trading potential health for incremental dps boosts is not worth it.
Additionally, The Lost:
- Dies in one hit regardless of health
- Cannot gain red heart containers under any means
- Loses out on angel room chance when taking deals
Under typical health calculations, The Lost has -1,000 effective health at all times. Giving up even a single soul heart for a +1.5 dps up is never a beneficial trade.
While skillful dodging mitigates health needs, why lock yourself out of free angel items by choice? Especially when said items like Godhead give you better damage anyway.
The Case for Pursuing Angel Rooms Instead
Here is why most Isaac theorycrafters strongly recommend The Lost chase angel rooms:
- Items like Godhead and Sacred Heart give +2 damage up
- Provides buffer to get key unlocks like Holy Mantle
- Avoids locking in deals which may fail to appear
- Synergizes better with defensive and movement items
In addition, tactics like donating to donation machine, skipping treasure rooms, or using Jera rune can help maximize angel room potential.
Percentage Chance of Angel vs. Devil Rooms
Based on data mining the gameplay code, here are the exact probabilities of seeing either room type based on various triggers:
| Trigger | Angel Chance | Devil Chance |
|---|---|---|
| No red heart damage | 50% | 50% |
| 1 hit red heart damage | 43% | 50% |
| 2 hits red heart damage | 36% | 50% |
| Take devil deal | 0% | 100% |
| Take angel room item | 100% | 0% |
As this table shows, taking a deal seals that room type to appear next floor if a room spawns. While angel items lock out devil deals, the opposite is not true. This favorable asymmetry further incentivizes passing on deals.
Unlocks & Items That Dramatically Help The Lost
Because The Lost starts with no health or damage boosts, several key unlocks dramatically bolster survivability:
- Holy Mantle (Item) – Absorbs first hit taken per room
- Missing Poster (Trinket) – Chance to respawn as The Lost after dying
- Godhead (Item)+12 Damage Up, Homing Tears
- D4 (Item) – Rerolls items each floor as a gamble
Below are estimated dps and effective health increases based on internal stats:
| Unlock | DPS Up | Health Up |
|---|---|---|
| Holy Mantle | 0 | +400% |
| Missing Poster | 0 | +100% |
| Godhead | +200% | 0 |
| D4 (Average) | ~+50% | 0 |
As you can see, while the D4 allows potential to break the game‘s balance, defensive unlocks prove more reliable.
Alternative Strategies for Early Survival
For players struggling to unlock key items, alternatives include:
- Playing Azazel and rushing unlocks on Normal difficulty first
- Coaxing an early Curse of the Labyrinth for double item room chance
- Utilizing seeds, mods, or breaking to get a starting Holy Mantle
- Loading up on shields, orbitals, and movement items
- Abusing sacrifice rooms for quick key shard unlocks
While these are not guaranteed solutions, they exemplify the outside-the-box tactics The Lost demands. You must twist every game advantage in your favor to inch forward.
Conclusion
In the end, no "correct" approach for The Lost exists. But the underlying math behind health trades clearly disadvantages devil deals. While some expert players fine-tune risk and adoption, most newcomers find consistency from angel rooms first. Then expand into more booms-or-bust styles once armed with enough unlocks.
Ultimately the choice comes down to playstyle. Will you value raw dps power over safety? Or bank on angel faith to carry you through? Either path has led many Lost players to glory or demise at 999 coins. My hope is this guide gives you insight to decide for yourself where the most perilous of bargains with the devil may lead.
