Best Items Ranked
Every useful item sorted into tiers by how often it saves a run, with the best moment to use each one.
Items
Items are the difference between a lost life and a clean escape in Baldi’s Basics Plus. Every one of them solves a specific problem, from pushing Baldi down a hallway to cutting Playtime’s jump rope. This section explains what each item does, when to use it and which ones are worth a slot in your inventory.
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How the inventory works
You carry up to five items. Pick the one you want with the mouse wheel or the number keys 1–5 and use it with the right mouse button. If your inventory is full and you pick up something new, it swaps places with the selected item instead of destroying it, so you can always trade an item for a better one on the spot.
Three things can take items away from you without your consent:
- It’s a Bully blocks a hallway and takes a random item before he lets you pass.
- Losing a life resets your inventory and storage locker to how they were when the level started.
- The shrinking inventory challenge, if you turn it on in the Hide & Seek menu, removes slots as you play.
Pro tip
The Backpack sticker adds an extra inventory slot, and copies of the same sticker stack. It is one of the best ways to carry more on the harder levels.
Where items come from
| Source | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Classrooms, faculty rooms, the library | Items lying around the level. Since version 0.10, items and their locations change every time a level loads |
| Vending machines | Take a Quarter and give a BSODA, a Diet BSODA or another item. Machines run out of stock after use |
| Locked rooms | Rooms with a shaped lock that usually hold valuable items. On level 2 the locked room always holds the Bus Pass |
| Johnny’s Store | Items, a map of the next level and sticker packs, paid for with YTPs |
| Field trips | Winning a minigame spawns eight items, and you can take up to three |
| Storage locker | Holds up to three items between levels, so a good item found early can wait for the level where you need it |
Items by job
Most items fall into a few groups. Knowing the group helps you decide what to keep when your inventory is full.
| Job | Items |
|---|---|
| Keep Baldi away | BSODA, Diet BSODA, An Apple for Baldi, Baldi’s Least Favorite Tape, Alarm Clock |
| Stay unseen or unheard | Dirty Chalk Eraser, Invisibility Elixir, WD-NoSquee, Faculty Nametag |
| Get somewhere fast | Grappling Hook, Portal Poster, Dangerous Teleporter, Super Stretchy Glove |
| Deal with other characters | Safety Scissors, Techno Boots, Swinging Door Lock, Nana Peel, Principal Whistle |
| Detention and doors | Principal’s Keys, Quarter, keys for locked rooms |
| Stamina | Zesty Bar, Energy Flavored Zesty Bar |
Reading an item
You don’t have to guess what an item does. In Johnny’s Store, hovering over an item shows its description in a tooltip before you buy it. On the level, items with a timed effect, such as Techno Boots and the Faculty Nametag, show a status gauge in the HUD, so you can see exactly how long the effect has left. Watch that gauge: walking past It’s a Bully with a Nametag that runs out a second too early costs you an item.
The school rules still apply
Some items break a rule the moment you use them. Drinking a BSODA or a Diet BSODA in the halls counts as drinking, and the Principal of the Thing sends you to detention if he sees it. Opening a storage locker counts as looking in other people’s lockers until the door is shut. Before you use an item in a hallway, look around.
Spend items, don’t hoard them
A common mistake is saving every good item for a perfect moment that never comes. If a level goes wrong, losing a life resets your inventory anyway, so the item you were saving is simply gone with the attempt. Use what you need to survive, keep two or three strong items in the storage locker for levels 4 and 5, and buy replacements in Johnny’s Store with the YTPs you earn.
Good to know
Items can’t be used in the Pitstop. Use them on the level, and plan your purchases so you leave the store with a full inventory.
New to the game? The Beginner Guide explains the basics of a run, and our Baldi guide shows which items work best against him.