Which Weapon Should You Pick First?

Your Aberrant forces three weapon decisions on you in the opening hours: a primary form in the prologue's opening cutscene, a secondary form just after you leave the Oldest House, and combo finishers once your Aberrant Strength reaches 15. Polygon's prologue guide leaves no ambiguity about the first pick: take Strike. It's the pick that assembles the strongest overall kit.

The reason is a hidden passive. Strike's finisher gauge fills faster than anything else, and an empowered Strike amplifies your combo finishers and your combat abilities — not just its own swing damage. Since CONTROL Resonant's combat runs on the ability-and-finisher loop (covered in the combat guide), the weapon that feeds that loop best wins by default. Choose Glaive instead if you're fighting groups constantly, or Cleave if you like positioning for back attacks.

Can you change your mind later? Yes. The other primary forms unlock at the Gap pillar for three Living Shards apiece, or from vendors for 4,000 Source. And Reset Items can undo a weapon choice — but per Polygon, a single Reset Item resets only one category (weapon, combat ability, or talents), so a full respec costs three of them.

Primary Forms: Strike, Glaive, or Cleave?

All three primary forms are light-attack weapons, and you can only have one equipped at a time. The others unlock later at the Gap pillar for three Living Shards each (or 4,000 Source from vendors):

  • Strike — dual blades with the fastest attacks in the game, built around crits, and strongest against single targets. IGN's take: excellent for dealing Falter damage and for one-on-one fights. Individual hits have the lowest base damage of the three, but the attack speed and crits close the gap.
  • Glaive — a scythe whose wide arcs sweep entire groups, and the highest base damage of the three primaries. Polygon notes it generates Power most efficiently early on, which translates into more ability casts; the trade-off is slower swings and a lower crit chance.
  • Cleave — the balanced axe. It deals bonus damage on hits from behind, and its dodge-attack lifts enemies into the air instead of merely adding damage — a setup tool for aerial follow-ups.

Secondary Forms: Crush, Drill, or Extend?

Secondaries are your heavy attacks, chosen right after leaving the Oldest House, and all three can be charged to deal Falter (stun) damage:

  • Crush — the hammer, carrying the highest Falter damage of any secondary. Polygon adds two utility notes: it breaks enemy armor, and it smashes open the metal doors scattered around Manhattan.
  • Drill — sustained straight-line damage for as long as you hold it, dealing Sharp damage. It applies Weaken, which matters against bosses, and its third attack extends the drill's reach.
  • Extend — a sectional staff with wide cone hits and a perfectly-timed charge release for bonus damage; its third attack becomes a 360-degree swing.

Polygon's utility verdict: Crush or Drill. Extra secondaries cost two Living Shards each, and every secondary eventually learns a switch attack as an alternative to a combo finisher.

What Do Combo Finishers Do, and Which Are Best?

Combo finishers unlock once your Aberrant Strength hits 15 and cost one Living Shard each:

  • Concussive Beatdown — a stone-glove Falter burst for easy stuns.
  • Uppercut Surge — launches enemies into the Lifted state.
  • Wide Edge — the biggest single hit, with wide knockback.
  • Spin Edge — a three-hit variant of Wide Edge that recovers power.
  • Split Pivot — applies Weakened and Burning.
  • Split Orbit — Split Pivot arcing around Dylan.

IGN's recommendations: Concussive Beatdown for reliable stuns and Uppercut Surge for the guaranteed Lift early on. In the late game, the choice comes down to Spin Edge versus Wide Edge — Wide Edge for one enormous hit, Spin Edge for three hits plus power recovery. One player tip from the r/controlgame review thread worth banking: upgrading forms you're not even using still raises your total BP, so nothing you buy is wasted.

IGN's two starter kits:

  • Single-target / stick-and-move — Strike light attacks, Drill heavy attacks, and the Concussive Beatdown finisher.
  • Space control — Glaive light attacks, Extend heavy attacks, and either the Wide Edge or Spin Edge finisher.

The prologue also asks you to pick a combat ability — Barrage, Volatile Anomaly, or Shield — where Polygon recommends Volatile Anomaly, since it builds Falter while sustaining Dominance. The next branching ability choice, Push or Ground Slam at the Dancer, follows the same rule (see Push or Ground Slam): match the pick to how you already fight, and spend your points on the best talents so the whole loop hums.