CONTROL Resonant Builds Guide

A CONTROL Resonant build combines a primary Aberrant form, secondary form, combo ender, Resonant-earned Combat Abilities, Talents, and up to three Artifacts on the first run. New Game Plus expands the build with additional Talent nodes, alternate boss ability rewards, and a fourth Artifact slot. For early fights, the most useful decision is which role your current setup lacks. The suggestions below follow documented ability and form effects; they are not a measured damage ranking.

Start with one combat goal, then make every slot support it. A build may prioritize frequent abilities, reliable stuns and executions, crowd coverage, safe gap-closing, or heavy melee pressure. If two upgrades do not improve the same loop or cover a clear weakness, they may be strong individually but inefficient together.

The four build layers

These layers interact through the core combat economy. Aberrant hits generate ability resource, abilities can help create stuns, and executions temporarily increase melee damage. A coherent build makes each step improve the next one.

Choose a combat goal first

Do not begin by equipping every item with the largest visible number. Decide what the build is supposed to do when an encounter becomes difficult: reach a distant target, control a crowd, trigger executions, survive close pressure, or generate abilities more often. That goal gives every later comparison a useful context.

A secondary goal can cover the first one's weakness. For example, an aggressive single-target setup may reserve its secondary form or one ability for group control. Trying to solve every possible problem equally can make the loadout feel less effective than a specialized build with one deliberate fallback.

Select primary and secondary Aberrant forms

The primary form should support the action Dylan performs most often. The secondary form should add a different range, tempo, or impact profile rather than duplicating the primary without benefit. The separately selected combo ender lets the build change its finish without replacing the full attack string.

The Epic Games Store ability guide identifies Strike, Glaive, and Cleave as primary forms and Extend, Drill, and Crush as secondary forms. Strike favors quick critical hits; Glaive covers a wide arc; Cleave rewards attacks from behind. Extend adds reach, Drill lands repeated hits, and Crush provides hammer-like impact. Set the primary, secondary, and combo ender in the Loadout menu. See the Aberrant guide for the distinction between these menu names and older visual descriptions.

Pick a Combat Ability that completes the loop

Combat Abilities come from defeating Resonants, and at least some bosses present multiple choices. The chosen power should help the equipped forms maintain contact, control dangerous enemies, or produce a reliable stun opportunity. Its value depends on cost, effect, and follow-up—not only its first damage number.

The Epic Games Store ability guide lists Barrage, Volatile Anomaly, and Shield among the Artist's reward choices in Orientation. If you are interrupted while approaching, inspect Shield; if you need to pressure a target from farther away, inspect Barrage's multiple projectiles; if you want an alternative you can summon and throw, inspect Volatile Anomaly. These are recommendations inferred from described effects. Read the in-game costs and effects before committing, and do not plan an early build around a later boss reward.

Spend Talents with first-run limits in mind

Not every Talent is unlockable during the first playthrough. That means early choices should reinforce the build's actual loop instead of spreading points across possibilities the player rarely uses. New Game Plus later exposes further nodes, so the first tree is a specialization rather than the final ceiling.

Before spending, ask whether the node improves access, resource generation, stun conversion, execution payoff, defense, or the selected forms. Abilities and Weapon Upgrades can be revised in The Gap, but review coverage says a later reset may consume an expensive shop material. Follow the respec workflow, test before leaving, and reinvest the available progression instead of returning to a scaled Zone with an unfinished tree.

Use Artifacts as conditional multipliers

Artifacts are passive items, and Remedy says their effects can involve conditions or tradeoffs. Dylan equips three during the first playthrough, and Makkonen says Artifacts can be switched at any time, so every slot should have a condition the build can activate consistently. An impressive bonus that rarely triggers can be weaker than a smaller effect aligned with normal play.

Remedy confirms that The Gap can be entered at will to test builds, unlock Dylan and Aberrant upgrades, and craft Artifacts, including the previously described Untapped Artifacts. The Deluxe Edition includes an Untapped Artifact called a Wallet, and pre-orders list the Pickpocket's Tool Artifact, but their final performance is not documented here. Paid or pre-order items will never be treated as mandatory when a base-game alternative can solve the role.

Build around stuns and executions

Abilities can create or contribute to stuns, and executing a vulnerable enemy temporarily raises melee damage. An execution-focused build should make stun access predictable and leave Dylan in position to use the damage window. It also needs an answer for bosses or targets whose execution rules differ.

In group encounters, target order becomes part of the build. A weaker enemy may provide a safe execution that powers the next Aberrant sequence against a stronger target. Exact buff duration, scaling, and stacking require controlled release testing.

Three first-fight experiments

These are starting experiments, not proven best-in-slot pairings. If a form is still locked in your save, use the same role with your available equipment.

How boss choices change a build

Resonant rewards make ability selection partly mutually exclusive during the first run. The best choice is the one that solves the current build's missing role, not automatically the rarest-looking effect. Players can return in New Game Plus for a different ability linked to the same boss.

Record the choice and reason before moving on. That makes later comparison useful and helps determine whether an alternative would have changed the encounter loop. The Resonants guide lists attributed reward choices; exact menu prompts and numerical comparisons remain untested here.

New Game Plus build expansion

Aberrant upgrades, Combat Abilities, Talents, Artifacts, health improvements, and resource improvements carry over. New Game Plus adds further Talent nodes, alternate boss rewards, and a fourth Artifact slot, while traversal abilities reset. The returning build can therefore broaden without losing its combat identity.

The fourth passive should either complete an existing interaction or cover a weakness revealed by harder encounters. More slots do not remove tradeoffs if Artifact conditions conflict. See the New Game Plus guide for all confirmed transfer details.

Wallet Artifact: sudden Burn damage at zero Power

Update to 1.4.2 before rebuilding a Wallet loadout that dies when Burn is active and Power runs out. Remedy fixed excessive damage to Dylan in that exact combination. Check the equipped Artifact, the status icon and Power state first; a patch-related failure can otherwise look like a bad Talent allocation.

After updating and fully relaunching, keep the other equipment and gameplay settings unchanged while comparing a similar encounter. If the problem persists, record the loadout and installed version for support. This comparison is our troubleshooting suggestion, not a measured damage benchmark. The 1.4.2 guide also explains a missing quest Artifact that you should check before starting NG+. Verified October 10, 2026 against Remedy's notes.

When your build feels weak

Remedy's launch hotfix 1.3.3 reduced the health and Falter requirement of most enemies and the Dancer and Deserter bosses. It also increased maximum Aberrant and Ability Strength. Check that you are on 1.3.3 or a later released build before comparing advice from an older preview build.

Change one loadout part at a time, then repeat a comparable encounter. If the problem is survival, Options → Gameplay → Assist Mode lets you adjust enemy aggression, incoming damage, and ability recovery. If the allocation itself is wrong, Remedy permanently lowered respec cost, increased Reset Item stock at vendors, and made the Artist drop two Reset Items. Follow the respec guide and inspect your inventory before restarting.

Limits of this guide

A universal best build would require version-specific comparisons across the full form, Talent, Artifact, and enemy pool. This page does not claim firsthand testing or measured DPS. Use the encounter-based choices above, then adapt to the items available in your save.

Build Power and shopping in 1.4.0

Build Power is now shown at the bottom left of Loadout. Compare it with the enemies you are fighting; if you are under their level, pursue side quests and Zone progression before changing the entire setup. The HUD signals new purchases or upgrades in The Gap. Pin a required upgrade material and check map Vendor icons for availability before making the trip. These interface changes do not establish a best build or a new damage formula.

Sources and verification

October 2, 2026 update: Remedy's released 1.4.0 notes confirm the Loadout Build Power display, upgrade notifications and pinned-material Vendor indicators. The earlier combat/build rules are based on Remedy's explanation, the Epic ability guide and NG+ details. No measured 1.4.0 DPS ranking is claimed.