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(in Repentance)

Great Gideon is a boss added in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance that can appear in the MinesMines and the AshpitAshpit.

Behavior[ | ]

Great Gideon is always fought in a vertical double-size room and has no health in a traditional sense. Instead, Isaac must battle 6 waves of monsters to beat him, similar to Greed Mode waves. Each wave begins once all enemies from the previous wave have been defeated.

He uses the following attacks during these waves:

  • Creates a vacuum that affects the whole room, pulling in Isaac and all monsters and monster projectiles. It also pulls in additional rock projectiles. Touching Gideon while he is performing this attack damages Isaac.
  • Spits 5 projectiles in a cone shape towards Isaac. The center projectile is larger and splits into 8 projectiles in a radial burst when it lands or hits something.
  • Charges up then spits large flame projectiles down the center of the arena that can occasionally leave small fires behind.
  • After the beginning of the 4th wave, Great Gideon charges up and releases a rock wave down the center of the room, breaking parts of the floor and leaving gaps.
    • There is always at least 1 gap between the trail of holes created by this attack as to not completely trap Isaac on either end of the room.
  • Gideon does not spawn the next enemy wave during the middle of any of his attacks and only progresses a wave once he has finished.

After Isaac defeats all 6 waves of monsters, Great Gideon will deactivate, similar to a regular Stone GrimaceStone Grimace.

Monsters[ | ]

MinesMines Waves[ | ]

Name ID
Blaster
Blaster
821.0


Bouncer
Bouncer
822.0


Clotty
Clotty
15.0


Coal Boy
Coal Boy
820.1


Coal Spider
Coal Spider
818.2


Danny
Danny
820.0


Dragon Fly
Dragon Fly
25.3.0


Dragon Fly X
Dragon Fly X
25.3.1


Faceless
Faceless
827.0


Fire Worm
Fire Worm
825.0


Fly Bomb
Fly Bomb
819.0


Gurgle
Gurgle
87.0


Gyro
Gyro
824.0


Hardy
Hardy
826.0


Ink
Ink
61.3


Quakey
Quakey
823.0


Rock Spider
Rock Spider
818.0


Soy Creep
Soy Creep
240.1


Sucker
Sucker
61.0


Walking Gut
Walking Gut
88.1

AshpitAshpit Waves[ | ]

Name ID
Big Bony
Big Bony
830.0


Blaster
Blaster
821.0


Bone Fly
Bone Fly
25.4


Bony
Bony
227.0


Carrion Princess
Carrion Princess
23.3


Coal Boy
Coal Boy
820.1


Coal Spider
Coal Spider
818.2


Crackle
Crackle
87.1


Danny
Danny
820.0


Dragon Fly
Dragon Fly
25.3.0


Dragon Fly X
Dragon Fly X
25.3.1


Dust
Dust
882.0


Flesh Maiden
Flesh Maiden
880.0


Fly Bomb
Fly Bomb
819.0


Gurgle
Gurgle
87.0


Hard Host
Hard Host
27.3


Hardy
Hardy
826.0


Migraine
Migraine
869.0


Necro
Necro
828.0


Pasty
Pasty
881.1


Rock Spider
Rock Spider
818.0


Splasher
Splasher
238.0

Gallery[ | ]

Notes[ | ]

  • Great Gideon can be instantly killed with Chaos CardChaos Card. Doing so reveals a unique 1x2 Crawl SpaceCrawl Space beneath him, containing two locked chests, two items and a key.
    • This can be done at any time, even if he has already been defeated, as his deactivated body still remains after returning to the room.
    • Defeating Great Gideon in this way plays a unique animation in which the Chaos Card gets lodged in his forehead before he explodes.
  • Completing waves will not charge active items.
  • Collectible Vanishing Twin iconVanishing Twin will duplicate Great Gideon and increase the number of waves by 2. The waves themselves contain no extra enemies.

Trivia[ | ]

  • He is the boss version of Stone Grimaces, resembling a giant version with his left eye replaced by 7 holes arranged in a hexagonal pattern, and his left backside appears rougher with several protruding rocks.
  • Great Gideon's name likely comes from Gideon, an Old Testament prophet and military leader known for winning a decisive battle against an overwhelming Midianite army with only an army of 300 Israelites — explaining the large amount of enemies the boss spawns.
  • The boss could also be representing and referencing a Bible verse talking about Gideon having a slave, hence the unending waves of enemies he uses at will.
  • The name Gideon is said to mean “hewer” which is an individual who works in a mine breaking stone.
  • Great Gideon is one of the only bosses with a unique health bar, aside from Boss Dogma ingameDogma.
  • The crawl space that opens up when using Chaos Card on Gideon is titled "Gideon's Grave" in the game's code.
    • According to NotYourSagittarius, this is a direct reference to Scott Pilgrim, a series of graphic novels.
  • If Great Gideon is fought outside of the MinesMines or the AshpitAshpit via a IV - The Emperor?IV - The Emperor? card, he has preset waves consisting of Frowning GaperFrowning Gapers, Wall CreepWall Creeps, Round WormRound Worms, GurgleGurgles, and SuckerSuckers.

Bugs[ | ]

Bug Bug! Spawning Great Gideon with the debug console will spawn him with a normal boss healthbar instead of a "waves" mechanic. When Great Gideon attempts to spawn a wave of enemies, the game crashes.
Bug Bug! Dealing enough damage quickly enough (e.g. with Collectible Soy Milk iconSoy Milk) to the monsters Great Gideon creates can cause him to spawn the next wave before all enemies in the current one are dead.


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