Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Wiki
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Challenge Rooms are special rooms that allow Isaac to fight enemies for extra rewards. They will only spawn on a floor if, upon entering the floor, Isaac's total health is greater than or equal to his number of heart containers. There are two kinds of challenge rooms: Normal Challenge Rooms, which appear on the first floor of a chapter or on XL floors, and Boss Challenge Rooms, which appear on the second floor of a chapter.

Normal Challenge Room

Challenge Room

Normal Challenge Rooms can only be entered if Isaac's total health (Red, Black, and Soul Hearts) is greater than or equal to his number of heart containers. Picking up its contents will cause three waves of enemies to spawn. While in chapter 4 (WombWomb/UteroUtero/(except in Rebirth)Scarred WombScarred Womb), 3 waves of bosses will be spawned, typically from Chapters 1 or 2.

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance) Each wave cleared will charge Isaac's active item by 1.

(except in Repentance) Waves

The enemies that spawn depend on the current chapter, and each chapter has two different possible sets of enemies:

Floor Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3
BasementBasement 3 Hoppers 3 Horfs 2 Clotties
5 Attack Flies 5 Pooters 4 Gapers
CellarCellar 3 Fatties 3 Round Worms 5 Dips
3 Gapers 3 Horfs 3 Fatties
CavesCaves 5 Chargers 4 Globins 4 Maws
5 Spitties 3 Hives 3 Hosts
CatacombsCatacombs 2 Bonies 2 Tumors 3 Wall Creeps
4 Round Worms 3 Nightcrawlers 1 Grub
DepthsDepths 3 Vis 4 Leapers 4 Globins
4 Babies 5 Hoppers 4 Knights
NecropolisNecropolis 4 Knights 3 Mom's Hands 3 Fat Sacks
4 Bonies 2 Squirts 3 Nulls
WombWomb
UteroUtero
3 Larry Jrs Chub and 3 Chargers 2 Monstros
Fistula Loki Chub
CathedralCathedral
SheolSheol
3 Larry Jrs Chub and 3 Chargers 2 Monstros
Fistula Loki Chub

(in Repentance) Waves (Sorted By Difficulty; Basement, Cellar, and Burning Basement Unused)

Floor Easy Normal Hard Hardest
BasementBasement 3 Hoppers / 5 Attack Flies / 4 Dips 3 Horfs / 5 Pooters / 2 3-Segment Army Flies 2 Clotties / 4 Frowning Gapers / 1 Squirt and 2 Dips 3 Level 2 Flies and 2 Full Flies / 3 Suckers / 4 Cyclopias / 3 Ministros
CellarCellar 3 Level 2 Spiders / 5 Spiders / 3 Sacks 4 Trites / 3 Small Crazy Long Legs / 3 Wall Creeps 2 Nests / 2 Crazy Long Legs / 3 Small Baby Long Legs 2 Baby Long Legs / 2 Big Spiders and 2 Spiders / 2 Blind Creeps / 2 Migraines
(except in Rebirth)Burning BasementBurning Basement 2 Flaming Hoppers 5 Dart Flies / 2 Pairs of 5 Swarm Flies / 2 Pairs of 4 Swarm Spiders 3 Flaming Fatties / 4 Suckers / 2 Grilled Clotties 4 Flaming Hoppers / 4 Crispies
(in Repentance)DownpourDownpour 2 Blurbs / 5 Small Leeches / 4 Striders 4 Frowning Gapers and 1 Wraith / 2 Preys / 3 Sub Horfs 5 Willos and 2 Striders / 2 Bubbles and 2 Striders / 3 Bloaties 4 Sub Horfs and 2 Blurbs / 2 Mullighouls
(in Repentance)DrossDross 5 Drips / 5 Small Leeches / 2 Dump Heads 3 Cloggies / 2 Fartigans and 4 Gas Clouds / 4 Big Corns 4 Blurbs / 2 Bubbles and 2 Sub Horfs / 3 Dumps 2 Cloggies and 1 Splurt / 2 Fartigans and 2 Poot Mines
CavesCaves 5 Conjoined Spitties / 4 Boils / 6 Maggots 3 Hives / 3 Globins / 4 Chargers 3 Hosts / 3 Maws / 2 Conjoined Fatties 4 Pale Fatties/ 2 Tumors / 4 Red Boom Flies
CatacombsCatacombs 5 Round Worms / 4 Wall Creeps / 4 Splashers 3 Night Crawlers / 2 2-Segment Buttlickers and 1 3-Segment Buttlickers / 3 Boom Flies 1 3-Segment Grub / 3 One Tooths / 3 Psychic Horfs 2 Mobile Hosts / 4 Chubbers / 4 Gurgles
(except in Rebirth)Flooded CavesFlooded Caves 4 Conjoined Spitties / 3 Drowned Boom Flies 2 Drowned Hives / 3 Globins / 3 Night Crawlers 4 Maws / 2 Squirts / 2 Drowned Boom Flies and 2 Dukies 4 Blubbers and 2 Conjoined Fatties / 5 Drowned Chargers / 3 Tube Worms
(in Repentance)MinesMines 4 Soy Creeps / 4 Inks / 3 Fly Bombs 2 Quakeys and 2 Rock Spiders / 2 Inks and 2 Soy Creeps / 2 Hard Hosts 2 Dannies / 2 Gyros / 2 Gyros and 1 Bouncer / 2 Hardies 2 Blasters / 4 Facelesses / 4 Moles
(in Repentance)AshpitAshpit 3 Bonies / 6 Rock Spiders / 3 Clickity Clacks 3 Bone Flies / 3 Flesh Maidens / 2 [[Horf#Necro|Necros 2 Hardies / 3 Big Bonies / 3 Carrion Princesses / 4 Dusts 3 Pasties / 2 Blasters and 2 Fly Bombs / 4 Bonies and 3 Dusty Death's Heads / 3 Crackles
DepthsDepths 3 Vises / 4 Babies / 4 Brains 4 Leapers / 5 Rotties / 3 Lil' Haunts 4 Knights / 3 Fat Sacks / 3 Needles 3 Mr. Maws / 3 Wizoobs / 3 Mom's Hands / 2 Mr. Red Maws
NecropolisNecropolis 3 Bonies / 3 Gurgles / 2 Lil' Haunts 2 Swarmers and 4 Pooters / 3 Double Vises / 3 Rage Creeps 2 Mask + Heart Pairs / 4 Keepers / 3 Psychic Maws / 3 Eggies 3 Fat Sacks / 3 Wizoobs / 3 Hangers / 1 Dingas
(except in Rebirth)Dank DepthsDank Depths 4 Clots / 2 Dank Squirts / 2 Sticky Leapers 6 Dank Death's Heads / 1 Mega Clotty / 4 Slogs / 6 Inks 3 Black Bonies and 2 Death's Heads / 4 Black Bonies / 3 Dank Chargers / 2 Tar Boys and 1 Dank Squirt 1 Mom's Dead Hand and 1 Dank Globin / 4 Dank Globins / 2 3-Segment Butt Slickers / 5 Sticky Leapers
(in Repentance)MausoleumMausoleum 3 Bonies / 2 Psychic Maws / 4 Soul Suckers 2 Loose Knights / 2 Whippers / 4 Candlers / 1 Cursed Globin 2 Snappers / 2 Vis Versas / 2 Vis Fatties

/2 Vis Versas

2 Lil Portals/1 Bony and 2 Cultists / 2 Bishops and 2 Baby Begottens / 2 Revenants
(in Repentance)GehennaGehenna 3 Bonies / 4 Soul Suckers | 2 Begottens / 2 Poofers 2 Whippers / 2 Baby Begottens / 1 Cursed Globin / 2 Snappers 2 Maze Roamers / 2 Vis Versas / 2 Vis Fatties / 2 Black Knights 3 Blood Cultists / 2 Mask II + 1/2 Hearts Pairs / 8 Goats / 3 Black Goats
WombWomb 3 3-Segment Larry Jr.s / 2 MemBrains / 3 Freds 4 Leeches / 3 Swingers / 2 Mega Clotties 1 Chub / 2 Monstros / 1 Fistula 2 Geminis / 2 Pins / 2 Polycephaluses
UteroUtero 3 3-Segment The Hollows / 2 Mama Guts / 4 Hearts 2 Oobs / 3 Gurglings / 4 Para-Bites/ 2 Planetoids 1 C.H.A.D/ 3 Mask + Heart Pairs / 2 Widows / 4 Red Ghosts/2 Floating Hosts 2 Blighted Ovums / 1 Gluttony and 1 Super Gluttony / 1 Blastocyst (Small) and 4 Embryos / 4 Poison Minds/2 Peeping Fatties
(except in Rebirth)Scarred WombScarred Womb 1 Mama Guts and 4 Scarred Guts / 2 Red Hosts and 2 [[[Brain]]s | 3 Fistuloids 4 Scarred Double Vises / 4 Scarred Para-Bites 4 Meatballs / 3 Flesh Mobile Hosts / 2 Monstros / 2 Eyes and 4 Nerve Endings / 2 Lepers (Stage 2) and 2 Lepers (Stage 4)
(in Repentance)CorpseCorpse 20 Small Maggots / 2 Sloths / 2 Level 2 Chargers and 4 Chargers / 4 Pustules 3 Wrinkly Babies / 3 Sick Boom Flies / 2 Level 2 Horfs / 3 Twitchies 3 Cysts/ 1 Cohort / 2 Mama Flies and 4 Pustules / 2 Level 2 Gapers 1 Chub, 2 Chargers, and 5 Small Maggots / 1 Adult Leech and 2 Leeches / 2 Cysts and 1 Dead Meat/4 Level 2 Chargers
CathedralCathedral 3 Holy Leeches / 3 Angelic Babies / 4 Bonies and 2 Death's Heads 5 Wizoobs / 7 Pale Fatties / 4 Hangers / 3 Candlers 2 Wraths / 2 Psy Tumors / 1 Daddy Long Legs / 2 Bishops and 1 Angelic Baby / 2 Holy Mulligans 1 Conquest / 1 Headless Horsemen Heads / 2 Greeds / 2 Holy Bonies
SheolSheol 4 Kamikaze Leeches / 3 Begottens / 3 Black Globins / 3 Imps 3 Selfless Knights / 2 Black Maws / 4 Black Globin's Heads / 3 Whippers 4 Nulls / 2 Bloodshot Eyes / 2 Camilio Jr.s / 2 Snappers / 2 Bloodshot Eyes and 1 Soul Sucker 2 Greeds / 1 Death / 2 Dark Ones / 1 The Pile

Boss Challenge Room

Boss Challenge Room Door

Boss Challenge Rooms can only be entered if Isaac has one or fewer hearts of health. Picking up its contents will cause two waves of bosses to spawn. Starting on Chapter 4, they use the same waves of bosses as Normal Challenge Rooms.

(in Afterbirth † and Repentance) Each wave cleared will charge Isaac's active item by 1.

(except in Repentance) The Boss Challenge Room door only counts Red Hearts in determining whether Isaac is allowed to enter. Soul Hearts are ignored.
(in Repentance) Boss Challenge Rooms require one or fewer hearts total to enter, counting Soul Hearts. Boss Challenge Rooms will always contain an item from the Boss item pool.

The bosses that spawn depend on the current chapter. Alternate floors have two possible sets of bosses that could spawn:

(except in Repentance) Boss Waves

Floor Wave 1 Wave 2
BasementBasement Monstro Larry Jr.
CellarCellar Pin Gurglings
Dingle Gemini
CavesCaves Chub Peep
CatacombsCatacombs Mega Fatty Mega Maw
Fistula The Haunt
DepthsDepths Loki Monstro II
NecropolisNecropolis Mega Maw The Husk
Dark One Loki

(in Repentance) Boss Waves (Sorted By Difficulty)

Floor Easy Normal Hard
BasementBasement Monstro / Gemini 3 3-Segment Larry Jr. / The Duke of Flies Gurglings / Dingle
CellarCellar Pin / The Duke of Flies Widow/Blighted Ovum The Haunt / Little Horn / Baby Plum
(except in Rebirth)Burning BasementBurning Basement Dangle Turdlings / Little Horn Rag Man
(in Repentance)DownpourDownpour The Haunt The Rainmaker Lil Blub / Min-Min
(in Repentance)DrossDross Dingle Lil Blub 5-Segment Turdlet/Clog
CavesCaves Chub / Fistula Peep / Gurdy Jr. / Pin and 2 Needles Polycephalus / Mega Maw
CatacombsCatacombs The Husk / 2 4-Segment The Hollows The Wretched and 2 Trites / Gurdy Jr. / The Stain Dark One / Carrion Queen
(except in Rebirth)Flooded CavesFlooded Caves The Forsaken / Gurdy Jr. The Stain/Rag Mega The Frail / Big Horn
(in Repentance)MinesMines 2 Wraths 4-Segment Larry Jr., 5-Segment Tuff Twin, and 1 Bomb Grimace Reap Creep
(in Repentance)AshpitAshpit Super Wrath The Pile Singe and 4 Singe's Ball / 5-Segment The Shell and 1 Bomb Grimace
DepthsDepths Loki / Gurdy Monstro II / 2 Little Horns The Bloat/The Gate
NecropolisNecropolis Loki The Adversary/The Pile The Cage/Mask of Infamy
(except in Rebirth)Dank DepthsDank Depths Gish / Monstro II 2 Little Horns/2 Rag Men Brownie/Sisters Vis
(in Repentance)MausoleumMausoleum Rag Mega The Heretic The Siren
(in Repentance)GehennaGehenna Sisters Vis The Visage The Horny Boys
WombWomb Blastocyst / Lokii The Stain / 3 Gurglings The Bloat/The Cage
UteroUtero Blastocyst / Lokii Teratoma / Daddy Long Legs The Bloat/2 Gurdy Jr.s
(except in Rebirth)Scarred WombScarred Womb Blastocyst / Polycephalus / Lokii Fistula/ Gurdy Jr. + 1 Gurgling The Matriarch / The Bloat / Mama Gurdy
(in Repentance)CorpseCorpse 2 Super Sloths / 2 Super Gluttonies Chimera / 2 Chubs The Scourge

Layouts

The following room maps were made using Basement Renovator for cleaner viewing; note that both normal and boss challenge rooms use the same layouts.

ID Weight Notes Image preview
0-2 1.0 This room appears three times in the room pool, making it three times more likely to appear than normal. Challenge 0-2
3-4 1.0 This room appears twice in the room pool, making it twice as likely to appear than normal. Challenge 3-4
5 0.5 The item will be from the Treasure Room pool. Challenge 5
6 1.0 Challenge 6
7 0.75 Challenge 7
8 0.5 Challenge 8
9 0.5 Challenge 9
10 0.5 Challenge 10
11 1.0 Challenge 11
12 1.0 Challenge 12

Notes

  • (in Repentance)Temporary TattooTemporary Tattoo will cause an additional chest to spawn after a normal Challenge Room is completed as well as cause an additional item from the Boss item pool to spawn after completing a Boss Challenge Room.
  • (except in Rebirth) The waves appear in random orders rather than the orders listed above.
  • If Isaac has some way to teleport out of the room, the contents of the Challenge Room can be taken without fighting the enemies.
    • If a trigger to start a challenge room is left in the room after teleporting out (such as a chest or active item) or an item is spawned in the room and collected (such as rewards from Beggars or Blood Donation Machines), the challenge room will start over when it is picked up/opened.
  • If a Secret Room is next to a Challenge Room, it can be entered by using a bomb in the Secret Room on the wall separating the two rooms. However, the entrance to the Secret Room from the Challenge Room closes itself, meaning Isaac cannot escape through the Secret Room entrance.
    • (in Repentance) If Isaac bombs into either variation of Challenge Room through a Secret Room and leaves, the bombed entrance will close until and must be bombed open again.
  • If Spiders spawn from a Red Chest before or during a wave, the Spiders have to be killed in order for the waves to start/continue.
    • If Spiders spawn from a Red Chest after the challenge room is cleared, Isaac can leave the room without fighting them.
  • Because of the health requirements, both types of Challenge Room will always be open for Character The Lost iconThe Lost (except in Repentance)and Character ??? (Character) icon???.
    • (in Repentance) As Boss Challenge Rooms now take soul hearts into account, Soul Heart characters are now also forced to be at one heart before being allowed access.
  • Doors to challenge rooms can be opened regardless of health with Collectible Dad's Key iconDad's Key or (in Afterbirth † and Repentance)Collectible Mr. ME! iconMr. ME!

Bugs

Bug Bug! (in Rebirth and Afterbirth) If the game crashes or you close it before you finish the challenge room it will crash every time you try to continue that run.
Bug Bug! If Isaac encounters Greed or Super Greed in a Secret Room next to a boss challenge room, the path to the boss challenge room is boarded up from the mini-boss fight. Defeating Greed or Super Greed does not remove the boards, despite the room no longer being active.


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