Should I clean every room on each floor?

[Diamond]

Before repentence, I didn't really care how long the run goes. i could spend more than a hour to get to It Lives because i was clearing everything. And now that i've recently bought that dlc, I've returned and after taking some time to remeber how not to suck, i start thinking that it would be better not to grasp everything on the level. Like: if i already took item in treasure room, already killed the boss, and done other stuff in safe rooms that i've passed, should i go to next floor? Or go to some 3-7 rooms that could have red hearts and sacrifice spare ones or something like that.

The game encourage you to do thing fast (Hush, Boss Rush, the forgotten, achievements, etc.), so i guess i should. But i've like that aspect, that lets you take your time and just chill.
I was searching the advantages of a slow game but i didn't found. The Room Clear Awards are not really worth it (chest are worth it but rare; pills could even be bad) so only you have positive luck.
And skipping some very annoying enemies at the end of of the run is a safe play. Even if you tryhard and don't take no hit you still spend time.
I'm thinking that collecting some kind of a build at the start is more important, but then i'm like: i need to speedrun to Hush and then i don't make it in time. I'm kinda jealous that my friend have made it and he played overall less than me (but he died to him XD).
How do you play? Suggestions? (sorry if there already a thread, didn't find)
P.S. One time i've got "Card Reading" item that spawn at the beginning of each floor could spawn portal to boss, but i have got it only one time in the run (every other was to secret room)

[The Renderer]

I usually clean everything unless I am already pretty powerful. You can find run-changing items everywhere, especially in the beginning when you don't have much. A bomb or key can make a difference, not to mention a golden chest with an item.

Hush and Boss Rush are pointless to run to if you are weak when you get there. They become hard (or at least very tedious) to fight. And you only *have* to get to them once, which will happen naturally when you get a lucky start. No need to try all the time.

That all said, play whichever way you like, there is no right or wrong.

[Pomptime]

Originally posted by The Renderer:

Hush and Boss Rush are pointless to run to if you are weak when you get there. They become hard (or at least very tedious) to fight.

It's worth to mention that you can always get "The Fool" card from the skull with the cross on the Depth 2 lvl, so you can just steal a Boss Rush item and teleport out. So, it might be worth to go fast to get an extra item.

[REALiNSaNgAMingGODPrODIgY]

yes, its more fun duh

(even if you die to a stupid bs room that insta kills you)

[Sentient Entropy]

I usually clear every room on every floor unless I am hunting Boss Rush or Hush marks. More Boss Rush, I find twenty minutes to Mom more difficult on average than thirty minutes to It Lives.

[TamanduaGirl]

Sometimes there's a random item in a random regular room so it can be worth it. I don't full clear womb though unless I feel powerful enough to make it not too risky.

[Klockem]

The way I see it, it depends of what are you gonna do, if you are looking for Mother/The Beast there is not problem in exploring the whole floor, since there is no time limit for those, but when it comes to Boss Rush/Hush it would be better if you just explore only looking for the most important rooms (Treasure room, Shop, Curse Rooms, Maybe even Planetarium if you misssed one Treasure room or got an item that raises its % to appear) and then expect that the Devil deals/Angel Rooms you get are good enough, or maybe be lucky enough to run into interesting rooms like Clean Bedrooms, Secret rooms or Dice rooms as you explore for the important rooms

[Hunu]

Lots of the "best" players and speedrunners (and people like me) will just push the r key and restart their runs until they get a first floor that has a nice start. Some people might feel like that's not in the spirit of the game and I can understand that, but I have played this game for hundreds of hours. Sometimes you just want a run where you kill everything and it's not much of a challenge and that's cool too.

I don't think it's worth worrying too much about clearing every room until you're way more familiar with the mechanics of the game and you understand what benefits you're giving yourself by doing that, or what it's costing you to do that. It's different every run.

Key is to be having fun, and don't measure your progress against other people.

Good luck!

[Sifer2]

I personally try to get all I can out of the first 6 floors always unless trying to do boss rush or hush. After that it's often better to just go straight to the boss because enemies/rooms can be kind of cheaply designed on later floors, and wear down your health. Unless you get the items that add treasure rooms/shop to later floors.

[٧٢١]

Originally posted by Hunu:

Lots of the "best" players and speedrunners (and people like me) will just push the r key and restart their runs until they get a first floor that has a nice start. Some people might feel like that's not in the spirit of the game and I can understand that, but I have played this game for hundreds of hours. Sometimes you just want a run where you kill everything and it's not much of a challenge and that's cool too.

I don't think it's worth worrying too much about clearing every room until you're way more familiar with the mechanics of the game and you understand what benefits you're giving yourself by doing that, or what it's costing you to do that. It's different every run.

Key is to be having fun, and don't measure your progress against other people.

Good luck!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1264802784
this will save your R key