Which Primary Weapon, Secondary Form and Combat Ability Should You Pick First in Control Resonant

Control Resonant asks players to pick their primary weapon, secondary weapon form, and first combat ability during the prologue. It’s a small menu, but each choice carries weight. The game lets you reset your build later, but only with a reset item, and only your weapon, combat ability, or talents get reset. The source material does not specify exactly how many reset items are needed for each individual element, but it is clear that three items are required to start over entirely. That’s a lot of commitment for a few minutes of picking.

The folks behind the guide break down the options for each slot. They lean on their own experience playing the game, not just numbers on a spreadsheet. Their verdict: Strike is the best primary weapon, Crush or Drill is the best secondary, and Volatile Anomaly is the best combat ability. The reasoning is simple: these picks do the most for your early game build.

Primary Weapon Choices

The primary weapon is your main damage source. You’ll be using it to land combos and trigger finishers. The three options are Cleave, Strike, and Glaive.

• Cleave is an axe that deals extra damage from behind. It lifts enemies into the air, which stuns them and stops them from attacking. As you level it up, you deal more damage to airborne foes, and your hits fill the falter meter faster. It’s for players who don’t want enemies fighting back.
• Strike is a pair of dual swords that specialize in critical hits. They hit the fastest of the three primaries, which means you can get your combo finisher out sooner. Strike also powers combo finishers and combat abilities, so your build gets stronger as you use it. The downsides: it has the lowest base damage, short range, and struggles against groups of enemies.
• Glaive is a scythe with a wide-range attack. It deals the most base damage of the three primaries, making it strong at low levels. Glaive generates power quickly, which lets you spam combat abilities. If you want to throw around projectiles like in the original Control, Glaive is the way to go.

The guide’s verdict is clear: Strike wins. The critical attacks make it a strong primary weapon, and they also boost your combo finishers and combat abilities. That gives you a stronger overall build. The cons are real — it’s not great against swarms and has short range — but you can cover those weaknesses with your other weapons.

Secondary Weapon Forms

The secondary weapon is your side arm. It’s not your main damage source, but it fills gaps in your build. The three options are Crush, Extend, and Drill.

• Crush is a huge hammer that slams enemies into the ground. It does a lot of damage and falter, and it can break armor. It can also open metal doors while you’re exploring. If you like stunning enemies, this is the one.
• Extend is a long-range whip that hits multiple enemies in a cone in front of you. You can charge your attacks for more falter and damage, and a perfect charge deals even more. Extend thrives when there are a lot of enemies nearby. It’s useful if your primary weapon doesn’t handle groups well.
• Drill is a literal drill on a stick that weakens enemies. Weakened enemies take more damage and falter from combat abilities. Early on, you won’t have many combat abilities, but later you can have up to six. Drill isn’t the best right away, but the weakened status is extremely helpful against beefy bosses.

The guide recommends Crush or Drill for utility. The secondary weapon isn’t your main damage source, and the primary attack is the only way to get to the combo finisher. Crush opens doors and breaks armor, which is handy for exploration. Drill’s weakened status helps against bosses, which matters later in the game.

Combat Ability Choices

After you beat the resonant in the prologue, you pick your first combat ability. The three options are Barrage, Volatile Anomaly, and Shield.

• Barrage relives your days as Jesse in Control by launching projectiles at enemies. You can throw all your projectiles at once or one by one. It has a low power cost and deals decent damage, so it’s a great choice if you want to use a lot of abilities.
• Volatile Anomaly summons an orb that shoots projectiles at enemies. You can cast it again to throw the orb itself at enemies. The second cast does a lot of damage, but the orb’s projectiles do very little damage. They’re great at building up falter on small enemies, which lets you execute them and stay in Dominance. Dominance is the first talent you can choose, and it boosts your melee damage. Volatile Anomaly is the only ability that lets you keep fighting at the same time.
• Shield surrounds you with a barrier that absorbs damage.

The guide’s pick is Volatile Anomaly. It’s the only ability that lets you keep fighting while casting, and it builds falter on small enemies, which keeps you in Dominance. That talent boosts your melee damage, so staying in Dominance is valuable. The projectiles themselves don’t do much damage, but they serve a purpose.

Reset Item System

Reset items are the safety valve. You can swap your weapon, combat ability, or talents with one, but you need three to reset your entire build. The day one patch made reset items easier to get, so testing builds is now a viable strategy.

The system is simple: one item for one element, three for everything. That’s a high cost for a fresh start, but it’s better than nothing. The guide encourages players to experiment early and save the reset items for the rebuilds that matter.

Early Game Build

The guide pairs its weapon and ability picks into an early game build. The recommended setup is Strike as the primary weapon, Crush as the secondary weapon form, and Volatile Anomaly as the first combat ability.

The build is designed to get you through the early stages of the game. It’s the path the guide recommends.

Comparison of Primary Weapons

The Verdict on the Picks

The guide’s picks make sense together. Strike as primary gives you fast critical hits and stronger finishers. Crush as secondary adds crushing damage and door-opening utility. Volatile Anomaly as ability keeps you in Dominance and builds falter. The build covers close-range critical hits and heavy damage from behind.

The guide’s own admission that Strike has its cons — short range, poor against swarms — is a fair warning. But the advice to cover those weaknesses with your other weapons is sound. A balanced build is more durable than a single dominant weapon.

The reset item system is the safety net. If Strike proves too weak against groups, you can swap to Glaive. If Crush feels slow, you can try Extend. The flexibility is the point.

The guide’s advice is straightforward: pick what fits your playstyle, test it, and reset if it doesn’t work. That’s a reasonable approach to a game that asks for early commitments.

The only real question is whether the guide’s enthusiasm for Strike, Crush, and Volatile Anomaly holds up beyond the writer’s own experience. The evidence is the game itself. Try the build, see how it plays, and decide for yourself.

Source material: “Best weapon and combat ability to choose first in Control Resonant,” Polygon.

combat abilities · Control Resonant · game guide · reset items · weapon build