You pick up Lilith, you load into the Basement, and you immediately feel like you’re playing the game with your hands tied behind your back. Literally. She’s blindfolded. She can’t shoot. Instead, this tiny demonic shadow called Incubus trails behind her, firing tears with a slight, annoying delay that makes you miss every fly on the screen for the first three minutes.
It feels clunky. Honestly, it feels like a chore.
But here is the thing: if you think Lilith is weak, you’re basically looking at the character upside down. She isn't a "gimp" character. She is a snowball machine. While Isaac is busy rerolling for a slightly better stat up, Lilith is quietly building an army that can, quite literally, fill an entire room with projectiles until the Boss Health bar disappears in four seconds flat.
Lilith Binding of Isaac: The Mechanics of a Summoner
Lilith isn't just "another character." She’s the only true summoner in the game. To unlock her, you have to beat Greed Mode with Azazel, which is fitting because they both share that demonic DNA.
She starts with a single red heart and two black hearts. That’s a fragile start, but her inventory is where the real power hides. She carries the Box of Friends and Cambion Conception.
The Box of Friends is her bread and butter. It’s an active item with a 4-room charge (though it recharges per wave in Greed Mode, which is why she’s the undisputed queen of that mode). When you use it, every familiar you have is duplicated for the current room.
If you have one Incubus, now you have two. Use a battery? Now you have three.
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Why People Struggle With the Incubus
The biggest complaint about the Lilith Binding of Isaac experience is the aiming. Since the Incubus follows you, it’s always one step behind. If you move right, the Incubus is to your left. You have to learn to "lead" your shots by moving past enemies rather than pointing directly at them.
It takes a minute to click. But once it does, you realize the Incubus is actually better than regular tears. It deals 100% of your damage, whereas most other characters who find the Incubus as an item only get 75% damage from it.
The "Secret" Power of Cambion Conception
Most players ignore Cambion Conception because it feels passive. You take damage, and eventually, a demon pops out.
"Oh, great, I have to get hit to get a familiar?"
Yes. But you should be doing that on purpose.
In The Binding of Isaac: Repentance, Cambion Conception is a top-tier item. After taking damage a certain number of times (15, 30, 60, and 100 times respectively), Lilith births a permanent demonic familiar. This isn't just random junk, either. You can get:
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- Incubus (Yes, a second permanent one)
- Succubus (Massive damage aura)
- Lil' Brimstone (The GOAT of familiars)
- Dark Bum (Free soul hearts)
If you find a Blood Bank or a Demon Beggar, you should be milking them for every drop of health. You aren't "taking damage"; you are "farming your army." If you play Lilith and reach the Chest without at least three permanent demonic babies, you’re playing too safe.
Synergies That Break the Game
If you see BFFS! in a shop, buy it. Don't think. Don't check your money. Just take it. It doubles the damage of your familiars. Since 100% of Lilith’s damage comes from familiars, this is a flat 2x multiplier on everything you do.
Then there are the battery items.
The Battery, 9 Volt, and Car Battery turn the Box of Friends from a "boss killer" into a "room clearer." With Car Battery, one tap of your spacebar gives you two extra Incubi instead of one.
The Cursed Eye Trick
Usually, Cursed Eye is a run-ruiner. It teleports you out of the room if you get hit while charging.
On Lilith? The teleport effect doesn't trigger because you aren't the one firing. The Incubus just gets a massive fire-rate buff with zero downside. It’s one of the few times that cursed item actually feels like a blessing.
Tainted Lilith: A Completely Different Beast
We can't talk about Lilith without mentioning her Tainted version. Unlocked by reaching the Home floor as Lilith, Tainted Lilith (The Harlot) is widely considered one of the strongest characters in the entire game.
She doesn't use the Incubus. Instead, she has a demonic foetus inside her stomach that she "whips" out at enemies.
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- The Whip: Deals 3x your damage stat.
- Auto-fire: The baby shoots tears while it’s out.
Early game Tainted Lilith is a joke. You can one-shot almost every boss in the Basement just by swinging the baby like a flail. You don't even need items; you just need to get close enough to smack them.
How to Actually Win Your Lilith Runs
Stop trying to play her like Isaac. You are a commander, not a soldier.
- Prioritize the Shop: Lilith needs batteries more than she needs Treasure Room items. A 4.5 Volt (which recharges your item based on damage dealt) makes her invincible against bosses like Hush or Delirium because you can spam the Box of Friends infinitely during the fight.
- Sacrifice Your Health: Use Sacrifice Rooms and Blood Banks to trigger Cambion Conception early. Those permanent familiars are your scaling.
- Don't Over-Crowd: Be careful with "bad" familiars like Brother Bobby or Sister Maggy. They sit in the familiar chain and can push your Incubus further away from you, making it even harder to aim. Sometimes, skipping a familiar is the right move.
- Angle Your Shots: Use walls. You can stand behind a rock and let your Incubus peek around the corner to shoot enemies safely.
Lilith is a character that rewards knowledge of the game's systems rather than just raw dodging skills. She’s the ultimate "work smarter, not harder" pick.
If you’re looking to finish your completion marks, head straight for Greedier Mode. Lilith is the easiest character to clear that mode with, and the unlock you get—Duality—is a must-have for any serious run. After that, go for The Beast to unlock C-Section, which is arguably the best item in the entire game.
Go hit a Blood Bank and get those demons spawning.
Next Steps for Your Run:
Check your completion marks for Lilith. If you haven't beaten Hush yet, do that next; it unlocks the Incubus item for all other characters, which is a massive upgrade for your future runs with Isaac or Cain. Once that's done, focus on reaching the Home floor to unlock her Tainted version, as she is significantly more powerful for clearing the harder end-game bosses like Mother.