T. Cain

[Plaguelight]

What is the strat for this character? I've tried time and time again, and outside of Greedier, he makes about as much sense as trying to survive in the wilderness naked and alone. No set recipes, no real boons aside from the decent starting damage...

And before anyone points to Plat God's calculator, that doesn't really help me any. It's just as confusing as just grabbing random pickups, if not more so.

[Kontagious]

Okay so the strat I use is 8 coins to make the portable slot then make another one but have it explode in the secret room for a higher chance of special drops like bone hearts. From then on make a tier 4 item build around it.

[Plaguelight]

Originally posted by Kontagious:

Okay so the strat I use is 8 coins to make the portable slot then make another one but have it explode in the secret room for a higher chance of special drops like bone hearts. From then on make a tier 4 item build around it.

Okay, the first part makes enough sense to give a try, but you lost me at the end, as I've still no idea on how to make any items aside from tossing in random collectibles into the bag and...hoping Edmund doesn't screw me too hard or not.

[Kontagious]

Originally posted by Plaguelight:

Originally posted by Kontagious:

Okay so the strat I use is 8 coins to make the portable slot then make another one but have it explode in the secret room for a higher chance of special drops like bone hearts. From then on make a tier 4 item build around it.

Okay, the first part makes enough sense to give a try, but you lost me at the end, as I've still no idea on how to make any items aside from tossing in random collectibles into the bag and...hoping Edmund doesn't screw me too hard or not.

There is a mod called External Item Descriptions made by Wofsauge that helps show what it takes to create a certain item. It lists all the consumables on the floor and will only show you what you can create based on what you have on the current floor. Add me on steam and I could help you out if needed.

[Masshiron]

EID is necessary to really make it work, I think. With it, you can easily get a rare drop when it shows up (eternal heart, black heart, bone heart, golden bombs and keys, charged key, etc) and use it to make a rarer item, usually a good one. You only need a couple good items to get a run going. Getting Birthright as T. Cain is more useful than as other characters, too.

There are certain items that are cheap to make with the bag which will drop collectibles wherever you make it. Latch Key for keys, Matchbook for bombs, Dad's Lost Coin gives you a lucky penny, Battery Pack drops batteries. If there are lots of excess pennies around, you can pick up eight of them and make the Portable Slot which will destroy your current active item and create drops based on whatever room you're in. You can force rare eternal hearts and bone hearts to appear this way.

You can also very easily break the game with the bag. For instance, get Car Battery + Clear Rune + Jera. Then make a Battery Pack to spawn batteries, use Clear Rune, and you can now effectively use Jera infinitely, meaning you can get infinite amounts of whatever is on the current floor. Get to this point and you're on your way to making whatever kind of run you want to have.

[Plaguelight]

I must be missing something significant between the lines here, as EID makes for a very crowded screen, but I suppose it's better than nothing... Making those slots didn't provide me with *anything* of note, so either I'm extremely unlucky in my attempts, or I don't have the proper information on just HOW to acquire these so-called "better drops" from the method described.

And as nice as the Jera loop sounds, I'm more concerned about even getting a SINGLE item in a run, with purpose instead of just randomly grabbing things until something "maybe useful" pops up in the bag. I'll keep that in mind, though, if I ever make it that far!

[Demi-Fiend from Shin]

Originally posted by Kontagious:

Okay so the strat I use is 8 coins to make the portable slot then make another one but have it explode in the secret room for a higher chance of special drops like bone hearts. From then on make a tier 4 item build around it.

Didn't they patch that like a year ago or somethin-

[Stormer]

So some general tips to help you

1: Make sure to do all your crafting after you complete a floor, so you can maximize your pick ups
2: Each pool has a type of pickup corresponding to it. Bone Hearts typically make Secret Room items. Black Hearts go with Devil Room Items. Eternal Hearts go with Angel Room Items. Obviously the other pick ups matter but this is generally where the pools lie. So prioritize these kinds of pick ups if possible
3: The higher tier pick ups, the better. Soul/Black Hearts, Eternal Hearts, Keys, Bombs, Special coins like Nickels, Dimes, Lucky Pennies, etc. Avoid basic pennies if possible.
4: Don't be afraid to settle with what you got. If you got a decent stat up like an Odd Fat Mushroom or Synthoil, take it. You still gotta have an ok build to go through the run in order to get the rig items like Car Battery, Birthright, and your typical god tier items like Sacred Heart and Brimstone

TL:DR: Craft Late, Craft Smart, Craft Often

[Dwarvin' Marvin]

You can make him unbelievably broken if you're willing to use EID and learn how to use his ungodly shopping list. He's the easiest character to break with if you learn how to use him that way.
The most boring, too. I avoid playing him so much, that I forget that he's even in the game half of the time. I've never had any luck with any of the calculators.

The spamming portable slot machines in secret rooms was heavily nerfed at some point, but is still one of the better ways to generate higher quality pickups (I believe. I haven't touched him since i got his marks.) Generic coins are basically worthless, so it's better to exchange them where you can, unless you need them for specific recipes.

[steven]

Originally posted by Demi-Fiend from Shin:

Originally posted by Kontagious:

Okay so the strat I use is 8 coins to make the portable slot then make another one but have it explode in the secret room for a higher chance of special drops like bone hearts. From then on make a tier 4 item build around it.

Didn't they patch that like a year ago or somethin-

Each seed randomize the recipe of items, but there is a list of set recipes that never change.
Portable slot is one, like Fake PHD, Brimstone and so on.
For the loot it still works in secret room