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Broken Shovel is a name shared by two separate items added in The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth †.

Together they form Collectible Mom's Shovel iconMom's Shovel, which is used in the process to unlock Character The Forgotten iconThe Forgotten.

Activated Collectible[ | ]

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance)

The first piece of the Broken Shovel is an activated item. It is acquired by defeating the first floor boss in under a minute (both bosses if Curse of the LabyrinthCurse of the Labyrinth is in effect), navigating back to the starting room, and bombing the floor. Boss The Lamb ingameThe Lamb must have been defeated at least once with any character for the bomb explosion to reveal Broken Shovel. After having defeated the boss below the 1 minute cutoff, using the Sacrifice RoomSacrifice Room for the first time on that floor while having no BombBombs will always reward Isaac with one rather than its normal payout.

It is the first part required to create Collectible Mom's Shovel iconMom's Shovel.

Effects[ | ]

  • While held, 1–2 Mom's feet will stomp randomly every few seconds, targeting Isaac. They will try to stomp Isaac's current position, so they will always miss if he is constantly moving. Each stomp deals a full Heart of damage.
  • Upon activation, stomps will pause until entering another room.
  • The item's stomps cease while battling Boss Mom ingameMom.
  • While held, removes the twenty-minute time limit on the Boss Rush door; the entrance to the next floor will be sealed until Boss Rush is completed (including those created by Collectible We Need to Go Deeper! iconWe Need to Go Deeper! and other methods).
    • If the Boss Rush is left prematurely through any means after starting it, entering it again will immediately restart Boss Rush, even without picking up another item.
  • Prevents Collectible The Polaroid iconThe Polaroid from appearing after defeating Mom. Only Collectible The Negative iconThe Negative will appear after the boss fight. After completing Boss Rush, Isaac is likewise forced to travel down to SheolSheol.

Notes[ | ]

  • Mom's foot will still target Isaac even if he has the Collectible Punching Bag iconPunching Bag or (in Repentance)Collectible Lost Fly iconLost Fly.
  • It is impossible to obtain Broken Shovel during a RERUN.
  • The Broken Shovel will disappear if left behind in a room. Leaving and re-entering a room with it left on a pedestal will cause it to disappear. If the Shovel has been knocked down but not touched, it will remain in the room.
  • (in Repentance) Though it is possible to obtain the Broken Shovel during a Victory Lap, Character The Forgotten iconThe Forgotten cannot be unlocked during a Victory Lap.
  • (in Repentance) While either of Character Jacob and Esau iconJacob and Esau holds this item, the feet will only target the brother who is holding it. The feet will still damage both of them.
  • (in Repentance) Regardless of which character holds the item, feet will target both Character Tainted Lazarus iconTainted Lazarus' forms.
  • (in Repentance) Collectible Mama Mega! iconMama Mega!'s explosion will knock the Broken Shovel down.
  • (in Repentance)MyosotisMyosotis may spawn Broken Shovel on the next floor when knocked down but not taken.

Synergies[ | ]

  • (in Repentance)Collectible Book of Virtues iconBook of Virtues: Creates a tiny ghost wisp on the middle ring, which resembles Character The Soul (Character) iconThe Soul. These wisps' tears have a 10% chance of invoking II - The High PriestessII - The High Priestess on enemies. This wisp is also created when Mom's Shovel is used, alongside its unique wisp.
  • Collectible Car Battery iconCar Battery: Prevents all stomping from occurring for two waves of a Boss RushBoss Rush or Challenge RoomChallenge Room / Boss Challenge RoomBoss Challenge Room. As each wave of Boss Rush restores 2 charges, this allows Isaac to be free from stomping for its entire duration.
    • If used in a normal room, the effect does not carry over to the next room.
  • Collectible Moving Box iconMoving Box: Can be used to pick up the Broken Shovel without causing Mom's Foot to stomp down at all.

Tips for Obtaining[ | ]

  • Characters with good starting stats such as Character Cain iconCain, Character Judas iconJudas, or Character Azazel iconAzazel are excellent for blazing through the first floor with time to spare.
  • (in Repentance) Character Tainted Magdalene iconTainted Magdalene ability to rapidly regenerate health in almost any circumstance makes this challenge much easier, and due to how Tainted Magdalene is played, the constant i-frames generated through hugging enemies is useful for negating the full heart damage from the stomps, the stomps also acting as extra damage when fighting bosses.
  • Avoid wasting time for pickups, items, or any unnecessary rooms while progressing to the Boss Room. They can be returned to after clearing the rest of the floor and killing the boss.
  • There is no time limit on claiming the shovel, as long as the floor boss was killed within the time limit. Obtaining it can wait until Isaac is ready to move on to the next floor.
  • (except in Repentance) Look for items such as Collectible Host Hat iconHost Hat to negate the stomp damage, or for damage/tear-increasing items to kill enemies quicker; conversely, when running into a mini-boss, getting Curse of the MazeCurse of the Maze or Curse of the LabyrinthCurse of the Labyrinth, or encountering poor floor generation such as multiple large rooms and dead ends, restarting may be a better choice.
    • (in Repentance) Stomp damage can no longer be negated.
  • If the criteria for Broken Shovel to appear are not met and there is ambiguity as to whether it is obtainable, look for a large, faint shadow of the shovel covering the starting room; if it is not there, the Shovel cannot be obtained.
  • A legitimate strategy may be restarting repeatedly until one gets a godlike item, such as Tech X, The Ludovico Technique (as Azazel), or other personally preferred Quality 4s in the first room, since it really isn't very possible to think up a sufficient build on the fly as you have to focus on dodging Mom at all times.

Passive Collectible[ | ]

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance)

The second Broken Shovel piece can be acquired by completing Boss RushBoss Rush while holding the first half of Broken Shovel.

Effects[ | ]

  • Replaces the Broken Shovel active item with Collectible Mom's Shovel iconMom's Shovel, ceasing the stomps from Mom's feet.

Notes[ | ]

  • (in Repentance) If either of Character Jacob and Esau iconJacob and Esau holds the first Broken Shovel piece, that same brother must pick up the second piece in order to obtain Mom's Shovel. If the other brother picks it up, it will simply be added to his passive items.

Tips for Obtaining[ | ]

  • Make sure to keep moving; stopping for even a few seconds will increase the chance a foot hits Isaac.
  • Items that give flight are even more helpful than usual as Isaac will not need to worry about navigating around obstacles to avoid a stomp. Any means of temporary (or even permanent) invulnerability has obvious merit as well.
  • If an active item is offered in Boss Rush, it can be held for the duration of the fight; however, the Broken Shovel must be picked up before the last wave ends for the second half of Broken Shovel appear.
  • If Collectible There's Options iconThere's Options is held and Boss Rush is completed, an additional pedestal item will appear. Be careful not to pick up this other item, as doing so will cause Broken Shovel to disappear.

Unlockable Achievements[ | ]

In-game Footage[ | ]

Gallery[ | ]

Trivia[ | ]

  • The Broken Shovels were added in Booster Pack #5, after the initial release of the DLC.


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