Tears

This article is about the attribute. For Isaac's primary weapon, see effects.

The Tears attribute affects the rate of fire of the character and is represented by 3 arrows. This attribute is related to tear delay (the delay between successive shots, as opposed to the inverse 'tears per second'); a higher tears stat means a shorter delay and a higher fire rate. The tear stat is a measurement of tear frequency, as opposed to Shot Speed, which measures how fast those shots move.

Tear Delay Calculation[]

The formula for tear delay is:

${\text{Tear Delay}}={\begin{cases}16-6\times {\sqrt {T\times 1.3{+}1}}&{\text{if }}T\geq 0\\16-6\times {\sqrt {T\times 1.3{+}1}}-6\times T&{\text{if }}T<0{\text{ and }}T>-0.77\\16-6\times T&{\text{if }}T\leq -0.77\end{cases}}$

"T" in the above formula is equal to the normal tears stat, with all adjustments added together. For example, picking up The Sad Onion would grant 0.7 tears, making Isaac's tear delay 7.7, which is rounded down to 7.

The minimum tear delay that can be reached with regular tears up items is 5, giving Isaac a soft cap of 5 tears fired per second. With items that directly reduce tear delay, tear delay can be reduced further, down to a hard minimum of 1 tear delay (15 tears fired per second).

The number of tears per second that Isaac fires is found by the formula: ${\frac {30}{{\text{Tear Delay}}+1}}$ .

Conversely, Tear Delay can be calculated from the fire rate given ingame with the formula ${\frac {30}{\text{Fire Rate}}}-1$ . Note that the fire rate given by the ingame HUD is rounded.

Tear delay as a mechanic is no longer as significant in Repentance, and instead items that used to affect the tear delay now instead affect the fire rate directly. Effectively, this means tear delay can be less than 1.

The absolute maximum fire rate achievable is 120, corresponding to -0.75 tear delay.

Characters[]

Different characters start with different initial tears:

Eden/ Tainted Eden: ±0.75
- Tainted Eden's base tears rerolls every time they take damage unless they have Birthright.
Azazel: +0.5, x1/3
Tainted Jacob: +0.277
Jacob and Esau: +0.277 for Jacob, -0.1 for Esau
Samson: -0.05
Samson: -0.1
- Tainted Samson: -0.1
  - Tears fired per second is halved and then increased by 2 while berserking.
Dead Tainted Lazarus: -0.1
Tainted ???: -0.4
Tainted Apollyon: -0.5
Tainted Eve: -0.5, then x0.66 (Has a 3.3 TPS softcap)
Keeper: -2
- Keeper: -1.9
Tainted Keeper: -2.2
- All other characters ( Isaac, Magdalene, Cain, Judas, Dark Judas, ???, Eve, Lazarus, The Lost, Lilith, Apollyon, The Soul, Bethany, Tainted Isaac, Tainted Magdalene, Tainted Cain, Tainted Judas, Tainted Lazarus, Tainted Lost, Tainted Lilith, and Tainted Bethany) have the base +0 (2.73) tears.
Some characters have tears multipliers that decrease or increase all tear changes
Azazel: x0.33
Tainted Azazel: x0.33
The Forgotten/ Tainted Forgotten: x0.5
Tainted Eve: x0.66 (Has a 3.3 TPS softcap)

Direct modifiers to Tear Delay/Tears Fired per Second[]

Several items directly modify tear delay after the main calculation:

Many items that used to modify tear delay now modify tears fired per second instead. They still allow the soft cap of 5 tears per second to be broken, but now have a greater impact on runs that have a lower fire rate compared to those with a higher one; this is in contrast to Afterbirth+, where the opposite was true. Generally, for these items, each unit of tear delay in Afterbirth+ and before converts to +0.5 tears per second in Repentance.

Item	Tear delay adjustment	Fire rate adjustment
Anti-Gravity	-2	+1
Brimstone	x3	x1/3
Cancer	-2	+1
Capricorn	-1	+0.5
Chocolate Milk	x2.5 (for maximum charge)	No change, displayed value = maximum charge time
Cracked Crown	x0.8	Fire rate over base value x1.2
Cricket's Body	-1	+0.5
Dr. Fetus	x2.5	x0.4
Epiphora	x0.5 (while at maximum "charge")	x2 (while at maximum "charge")
Eve's Mascara	x2	x0.66
Guillotine	-1	+0.5
Haemolacria	x2, then +10 x2, then +11	Tear delay adjustment, not fire rate
Hallowed Ground	x0.5	x2.5
Ipecac	x2, then +10	x1/3
Milk!	-2	+1
Mom's Perfume	-1	+0.5
Monstro's Lung	x4.3	x1/4.3
Mutant Spider	x2.1, then +3	x0.42
Pisces	-1	+0.5
Polyphemus	x2.1, then +3	x0.42
Purity	-4	+2
Soy Milk	x0.25, then -2	x5.5
Technology 2	N/A	x1.5
The Inner Eye	x2.1, then +3	x0.51
Brittle Bones	N/A	+0.4 per bone heart lost
Dark Prince's Crown	N/A	+2
Death's List/ Void/ Black Rune	N/A	+0.5
Almond Milk	N/A	x4
Berserk!	N/A	x0.5, then +2
Consolation Prize	N/A	+0.5
Bloody Gust	N/A	Up to +3 after taking damage 6 times
Tainted ???/ IBS/ Soul of ???	N/A	+1.5 while on unique creep Additional x3 if the creep is in contact with white poop
It Hurts	N/A	+1.2 on the first hit, then +0.4 on subsequent hits
Luna	N/A	+1 for the first beam of light, then +0.5 for subsequent beams
Paschal Candle	N/A	+0.4 for every room cleared without taking non-self damage, up to +2 total
Wavy Cap	N/A	+0.75 (halved if Isaac leaves the room, and wears off at the rate of one room clear per use)

Notes[]

Assuming no other modifications to the tears stat, +1.4 tears up is enough to bring you to the normal delay cap. In this case, it would reduce the delay to 5.92, which rounds down to 5.
With a tear delay of 1, the maximum achievable rate of fire is 15 tears per second (every 4 frames).
Polyphemus, Mutant Spider, and Inner Eye's tear delay formulas do not stack with each other, meaning that there is no downside to taking another after you have already taken one.
Charge-bar items like Monstro's Lung or Brimstone stop working at 30 tears per second. Spirit Sword instead constantly activates the spin attack.

Items that affect tears[]

Activated Items[]

Name	ID	Quote	Description	Quality
D8	5.100.406	Reroll stats	Re-rolls Isaac's damage, tears, range, and speed.	2
Dataminer	5.100.481	109	Displaces enemy sprites for the current room, randomly increases one stat and decreases another.	0
Wavy Cap	5.100.582	Tears up. A mind changing experience!	Increases tears, decreases speed, and distorts the screen. All effects become more pronounced with repeated use, and wear off by clearing rooms.	1

Passive Items[]

Name	ID	Quote	Description	Quality
Anti-Gravity	5.100.222	Anti-gravity tears + tears up	-2 Tear Delay. Tears float in position until firing ceases, after which they will fly off in the direction they were shot in.	3
Blue Cap	5.100.342	HP + tears up + shot speed down	Gives one full Red Heart container, +0.7 tears, and -0.16 shot speed. Heals 2 additional hearts of health.	3
Capricorn	5.100.307	All stats up	Increases health, damage, speed, and range, lowers tear delay, and gives one coin, bomb, and key.	3
Chocolate Milk	5.100.69	Charge shots	Grants charged tears that deal greater damage when fully charged.	3
Cricket's Body	5.100.224	Bursting shots + tears up	Grants -1 tear delay and reduces range. When tears hit an object or deplete their range, they spawn 4 smaller tears, whose range and damage scale with Isaac's.	3
Death's Touch	5.100.237	Piercing shots + DMG up	+1.5 damage, -0.3 tears. Tears are replaced with large piercing scythes.	3
Dr. Fetus	5.100.52	???	Tears are replaced by bombs that benefit from bomb-enhancing effects and slide for a fixed time after being fired.	4
Eve's Mascara	5.100.310	DMG up, tears + shot speed down	Doubles damage, halves tears stat, and greatly reduces shot speed.	1
Experimental Treatment	5.100.240	Some stats up, some stats down	Randomly increases and decreases some of Isaac's stats. Increases four random stats and decreases the other two.	1
Godhead	5.100.331	God tears	Grants homing tears with a damaging halo. +0.5 damage, -0.3 tears, +1.2 range, -0.3 shot speed, +0.8 tear height.	4
Guillotine	5.100.206	DMG + tears up. An out-of-body experience!	Isaac's head is removed from his body and floats around him as an orbital. Gives +1 damage and grants -1 tear delay.	3
Ipecac	5.100.149	Explosive shots	Replaces tears with explosive and poisoning projectiles fired in an arc from the mouth.	4
Libra	5.100.304	You feel balanced	Gives 6 coins, 6 bombs, and 6 keys and balances out all attributes.	1
Missing No.	5.100.258	Syntax error	Randomizes all passive items and stats upon pickup and at the start of each succeeding floor.	2
Mom's Perfume	5.100.228	Fear shot + tears up	Adds a chance to shoot fear tears and decreases tear delay by 1.	2
Monstro's Lung	5.100.229	Charged burst attack	Replaces normal tears with a charged shot that fires 14 tears in the same fashion as Monstro.	2
Mutant Spider	5.100.153	Quad shot	Grants quadruple shot but decreases tears.	3
Number One	5.100.6	Tears up + range down	Grants +1.5 tears, but severely reduces range.	2
Odd Mushroom	5.100.120	Tears + speed up, DMG down	+1.7 tears, +0.3 speed, slightly reduces damage.	3
Pisces	5.100.309	Tears up + knock-back shots	-1 Tear Delay, adds knock-back shots and increases tear size.	2
Polyphemus	5.100.169	Mega tears	Isaac fires huge tears that deal massive damage, but fire rate is greatly decreased. If a tear kills an enemy, it travels on with any leftover damage.	4
Rosary	5.100.72	Tears + faith up	Adds 3 Soul Hearts. The Bible will appear in any item pool. Also a +0.5 tears up.	1
Sacred Heart	5.100.182	Homing shots + DMG up	Grants homing tears, x2.3 damage multiplier, +1 flat damage, +4.125 range, +0.75 tear height, -0.4 tears, -0.25 shot speed, a red Heart Container and replenishes all Red Hearts.	4
Screw	5.100.255	Tears + shot speed up	+0.5 tears, +0.2 shot speed.	3
SMB Super Fan	5.100.189	All stats up	+1 Red Heart container, +0.3 damage, +0.2 tears, +0.2 speed, +0.5 range, +1 tear height. Fully restores all red hearts.	3
Soy Milk	5.100.330	DMG down + tears way up	Tears are smaller and do much less damage, but fire in very rapid succession.	2
Squeezy	5.100.196	Tears up	Increases tears by 0.4, spawns 2 Soul Hearts.	3
The Halo	5.100.101	All stats up	Grants one full Red Heart container, +0.3 damage, +0.2 tears, +0.25 range, +0.3 speed, and +0.5 tear height.	2
The Inner Eye	5.100.2	Triple shot	Grants triple shot but decreases tears.	2
The Pact	5.100.80	DMG + tears up	Grants two Soul Hearts, +0.5 damage, and +0.7 tears. Grants two Black Hearts, +0.5 damage, and +0.7 tears.	3
The Sad Onion	5.100.1	Tears up	Increases tears by 0.7.	3
The Small Rock	5.100.90	DMG up	Increases damage by 1, increases tears by 0.2, and decreases speed by 0.2.	3
Toothpicks	5.100.183	Tears + shot speed up	+0.7 tears, +0.16 shot speed.	3
Torn Photo	5.100.341	Tears + shot speed up	+0.7 tears, +0.16 shot speed.	3
Wire Coat Hanger	5.100.32	Tears up	Increases tears by 0.7.	3
Binky	5.100.438	Tears up	Grants one Soul Heart, +0.75 tears and decreases Isaac's size.	3
Eden's Blessing	5.100.381	Tears up + your future shines brighter	+0.7 tears up. Grants a random item at the start of the next run.	3
Epiphora	5.100.368	Intensifying tears	Shooting in one direction increases Isaac's rate of fire until the cap is reached. As soon as Isaac changes direction or stops shooting, rate of fire is reset to its normal amount.	1
Marked	5.100.394	Directed tears	Isaac will automatically fire tears directed at a red target on the ground. The target can be moved with tear controls. +0.7 tears, +3.15 range.	0
Milk!	5.100.436	Don't cry over it...	Spawns a glass familiar that spills on the floor upon taking damage. After the milk spills, Isaac's tear delay is decreased by 2 for the current room.	1
Mr. Dolly	5.100.370	Range + tears up	+0.7 tears, +5.25 range, +0.5 tear height, spawns 3 random types of Hearts on the floor when picked up.	3
Purity	5.100.407	Aura stat boost	Boosts one of Isaac's stats depending on the color of the aura around him. The aura disappears upon taking damage and reappears with a random color upon entering a new room. Red boosts damage, blue boosts tears, yellow boosts speed, and orange boosts range.	2
Tractor Beam	5.100.397	Controlled tears	Increases tears, range, and shot speed. Isaac emits a beam from his face that his tears follow along.	2
Zodiac	5.100.392	The heavens will change you	Gives Isaac a random zodiac item effect that changes every floor.	1
Analog Stick	5.100.465	360 tears!	+0.35 tears up. Allows Isaac to fire tears diagonally.	2
Apple!	5.100.443	Trick or treat?	Increases tears. Adds a chance to fire a high-damage razor blade.	3
Brittle Bones	5.100.549	Everything hurts	Replaces all Red Hearts with 6 empty Bone Hearts. Upon losing a Bone Heart, Isaac fires bones in 8 directions and permanently gains a tears up.	3
Dark Prince's Crown	5.100.442	Loss is power	When at exactly one Red Heart, increases tears, range, tear height, and shot speed.	1
Divorce Papers	5.100.547	Tears up + you feel empty	Grants one Bone Heart, +0.7 tears, spawns a Mysterious Paper.	2
Haemolacria	5.100.531	I'm seeing red...	Tears are now fired in an arc. Upon hitting the floor, an obstacle, or an enemy, they burst into many smaller tears in all directions. Increases tear delay.	2
Hallowed Ground	5.100.543	Portable sanctuary	Spawns a white poop familiar, which turns into a white poop when Isaac is hurt. White poop has an aura that increases tear fire rate and can block enemy shots.	1
A Bar of Soap	5.100.564	Tears + shot speed up	Gives Isaac +0.5 Tears and +0.2 Shot Speed.	3
Act of Contrition	5.100.601	Tears up, you feel forgiven	Increases tears and grants an Eternal Heart. Allows Angel Rooms to appear even if a Devil deal has been taken before. Greatly boosts Devil/Angel Deal chance if Isaac has taken Red Heart damage.	3
Almond Milk	5.100.561	DMG down + tears up + you feel nutty	Quadruples fire rate, with x0.3 damage multiplier. Tears are given random worm trinket effects.	1
Bloody Gust	5.100.695	May your rage bring haste	When Isaac takes damage, he gains speed and tears for the rest of the floor.	3
Consolation Prize	5.100.644	+1 to lowest stat	Increases Isaac's lowest stat and drops either 3 coins, 1 bomb, or 1 key depending on what Isaac has the least of.	1
Eye Drops	5.100.600	Tears up	Lowers the tear delay in Isaac's left eye, causing his eyes to fire at different rates.	3
It Hurts	5.100.560	No it doesn't...	Releases a ring of tears and increases tears for the current room when Isaac takes damage.	1
Luna	5.100.589	The moon's blessing shines upon you	Adds an extra Secret Room and Super Secret Room to each floor. Secret Rooms contain a beam of light that increases tears for the current floor and gives half a soul heart.	2
Neptunus	5.100.597	Open the floodgates	Isaac's mouth fills with tears over time while not firing, up to a cap. Holding the fire button will release all stored tears in rapid succession.	3
Paschal Candle	5.100.567	Keep the flame burning	Gives Isaac a tears bonus based on how many consecutive rooms he's cleared without taking damage.	3
Pluto	5.100.598	Size down	Significantly shrinks Isaac, allowing him to squeeze between objects and makes some enemy shots pass over him. Also gives +0.7 tears.	3
Sausage	5.100.669	All stats up	Adds a Red Heart container, and increases speed, damage, tears, range, shot speed, and luck.	3
Soul Locket	5.100.686	Power of faith	Gives Isaac a permanent stat boost whenever he picks up a soul heart.	2

Trinkets[]

Name	ID	Quote	Description
Cancer	5.350.39	Yay, cancer!	-2 tear delay (effectively increases fire rate of tears).
Wiggle Worm	5.350.10	Wiggle waggle!	Gives Isaac's shots a wave-like trajectory. +0.4 tears. Also grants spectral tears.
Cracked Crown	5.350.92	Stat booster	Decreases Isaac's tear delay by 20%, and improves the effectiveness of his other stat upgrades by ~33%. Improves the effectiveness of other stat upgrades by ~20%.

Other[]

Tears up pills increase tears by 0.35 and tears down pills decrease tears by 0.28.
In co-op, Cry Baby will occasionally briefly increase tears. Dark Baby will occasionally briefly increase all stats, including tears. Buddy Baby will occasionally briefly grant the Guillotine effect, which increases tears.