Dark Arts

Item Icon
Pickup Quote	"One with the shadows"
Entity ID	5.100.705
Recharge Time	6 seconds
Item Pool	Devil Room Ultra Secret Room Devil Room
Quality	2
Item Tags
Collection Grid	(page 6, column 13, row 5)
Unlock Method	Defeat Delirium as Tainted Judas

Dark Arts is an activated item added in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance. Tainted Judas starts every run with this item.

Effects

• When used, Isaac gains +1.0 speed and can walk through enemies/bullets for 1 second or until he shoots. If Isaac walks through an enemy or bullet during this time, it freezes until the effect ends, then takes damage equal to 2x Isaac's damage plus a flat 3.5. At the end of the effect, an area of effect blast is created, dealing more damage the more enemies or bullets were pierced during the effect.
  • For every enemy/bullet Isaac walked through, he will gain a temporary +1 damage bonus, which wears off at a rate of -0.25 damage every half second.
  • The damage of the blast at the end of Dark Arts is equal to the sum of every damage dealt while dashing between enemies.
    • Bullets walked through will still count for the final blast damage calculation, even though they can't really be damaged.

Notes

• The duration increases with each use in the same room.
• If an enemy Isaac walks through dies before Dark Arts deactivates, they will not give a damage bonus.
• Isaac cannot pick up items or donate to Blood Donation machines or Devil Beggars while Dark Arts is activated, but he can pass through Curse Room doors or over spikes and open Mimic Chests without taking damage.
• Dark Arts will trigger certain tear effects on enemies it damages, such as burning from Fire Mind.
• Dark Arts is extremely effective against enemies with multiple segments such as Larry Jr. because it can affect each segment individually, greatly increasing both the immediate damage and the temporary tear damage bonus.
• Invincible enemies such as Stoneys and Stone Grimaces can still be affected and used to increase the damage bonus gained.
• Hosts can be damaged and killed even while they are lowered and invincible.
  • Similarly, using Dark Arts on Scolex's invulnerable segments will still deal damage, making the fight significantly easier.
• Orbitals that deal contact damage will still deal damage while using Dark Arts

Synergies

• How to Jump: Jumping over an enemy or projectile while Dark Arts is active will tag it.
• Kamikaze!: Kamikaze! can be activated without harm when using Dark Arts.
• Pause: Activating Dark Arts will not cancel the effect, turning Pause into an instant room clear in most situations and an effective tool for damaging bosses, allowing you to get up to 4 uses in before they resume.
  • Pause + 4.5 Volt: Pause becomes an even more effective tool against bosses, as it can now be activated several times in the fight.
• Montezuma's Revenge: The corns created by Montezuma's Revenge can be caught by Dark Arts, and most will naturally, making each cast of Dark Arts give huge boosts of tear damage, and making the final blast deal huge amounts of damage. Not only that, but the Brimstone beam created will still be active while Dark Arts is active.
• Mars: Isaac is able to dash while using Dark Arts, allowing him to reach more enemies in one use of Dark Arts while still dealing damage with Mars' dash.
• 120 Volt: 120 Volt will still activate while using Dark Arts, allowing Isaac to deal more damage to nearby enemies while invulnerable.
• Taurus: Will be activated during the usage of Dark Arts, activating the invincibility in the same instant that Dark Arts is activated.
• Gnawed Leaf: If Isaac is stationary when Dark Arts ends, he will gain invunerability without any downtime. Dark Arts can also be used from invunerability without taking damage.
• Aquarius: Due to the nature of Dark Arts, Isaac can easily damage enemies with the trail left behind.
• Rock Bottom: Rock Bottom will prevent your damage from decreasing, allowing you to keep the highest achieved damage bonus.

Bugs

Bug!	If Tainted Judas or other characters with Schoolbag activate right after the use of Dark Arts, they will keep the invincible state but unable to fire and interact with trapdoors (Bombs are allowed) until using Dark Arts again, which works similarly to a movable Gnawed Leaf.

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