Best First Weapons and Combat Ability in Control Resonant

During the prologue of Control Resonant, you must select a primary weapon, a secondary weapon form and one combat ability. Each category presents three choices, with every option supporting a different approach to combat.

Your selections remain fixed until the prologue ends, although they are not permanent for the full game. In the Gap, reset items let you change weapons, combat abilities or talents individually. Rebuilding everything therefore requires at least three reset items. A day-one patch has made these items easier to obtain, so experimenting with different builds is practical.

The recommendations below are a strong starting point, but there is no universally correct loadout. Choose the tools that match how you prefer to fight, much as you would choose the right controls when comparing an arcade machine buying guide.

Best primary weapon: Strike

The first decision concerns your primary weapon. The three options are designed around distinct strengths:

• Cleave: This axe-like weapon deals extra damage from behind and focuses on lifting enemies. Airborne targets are temporarily stunned, while later upgrades increase damage against them and fill the falter meter more quickly. Cleave suits players who want to interrupt enemies before they can retaliate.
• Strike: These dual swords have the lowest base damage but the fastest attacks. They reward close-range dodging and critical hits, helping you reach combo finishers sooner. Strike also improves combo finishers and combat abilities, making it a natural choice for a build centred on both.
• Glaive: The scythe delivers the highest base damage and covers a wide area, making it effective against groups and particularly useful early on. It generates power better than the other primary weapons, allowing more frequent combat abilities.

Strike is the strongest all-round recommendation. Its critical-hit potential and bonuses to finishers and abilities create a powerful overall build. The trade-offs are short range, lower base damage and difficulty when enemies surround you, so use your other weapon and abilities to cover those weaknesses.

Best secondary weapon form: Crush or Drill

Your secondary form is less often the main source of damage. The primary weapon leads into combo finishers, so the secondary is most valuable for the extra effects it brings:

• Crush: This heavy hammer slams foes into the ground, inflicts substantial damage and falter, breaks armour and opens metal doors found during exploration. It is an excellent choice for players who value disruption and reliable utility.
• Extend: The long-range whip strikes several enemies in a cone. Charged attacks deal more damage and falter, with a perfectly timed charge producing an additional boost. Extend is useful against groups and can supply area coverage when your primary weapon or finishers lack it.
• Drill: This drill weapon applies Weakened, causing enemies to take more damage and falter from combat abilities. It is less immediately impressive when you have few abilities, but becomes particularly valuable against durable bosses later, when your build can include up to six abilities.

Choose Crush for armour breaking, doors and dependable crowd control, or select Drill if you want a status effect that improves ability damage against tougher targets. Extend remains the best fit for players who need an additional group attack.

Best first combat ability: Volatile Anomaly

After defeating the resonant in the prologue, you can select your first combat ability:

• Barrage: Launch projectiles one at a time or release them together. It has a relatively low power cost and respectable damage, making it suitable for frequent ability use.
• Volatile Anomaly: Summon an orb that fires projectiles, then cast the ability again to throw the orb itself. The second cast deals heavy damage, while the projectiles are especially useful for building falter on weaker enemies. It is also the only one of these three abilities that lets you continue fighting while it is active.
• Shield: Create a barrier that absorbs damage up to the amount in your power meter. Dodging into enemies with the Shield active also causes damage, although that damage is modest. Shield is most helpful for players who find dodging difficult.

Volatile Anomaly is the recommended first ability. Its projectiles help falter smaller enemies so they can be executed, restoring some health and keeping you in Dominance. Dominance boosts melee damage and is especially useful against several heavy enemies at once. Volatile Anomaly therefore contributes to damage, survivability and the early-game Dominance loop.

A practical early-game build

For a balanced opening setup, pair Strike with Crush and Volatile Anomaly. Strike strengthens critical attacks, finishers and abilities; Crush adds armour breaking, falter and exploration utility; and Volatile Anomaly helps control smaller enemies while supporting Dominance.

If you prefer area damage, Glaive and Extend are a sensible combination. Players who prioritise interruption can instead use Cleave and Crush, while Drill is a strong alternative when weakening bosses matters more than immediate damage. Reset items in the Gap make it possible to test these approaches rather than committing permanently to the first decision.

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