CONTROL Resonant Best Talents: Which Upgrades to Pick First

How do you earn Talent Points in CONTROL Resonant?

Talent Points are zone-driven: you earn Zone XP from “battles, and other activities in every location” (per IGN’s talent guide), and each Zone Level unlock pays out one Talent Point. Two consequences worth planning around:

• You cannot unlock everything in one run — the tree is bigger than the point supply, so picks are real choices
• Reset Items are limited — changing talents later is possible but rationed, and per Polygon’s prologue guide one Reset Item resets only one category (weapon, combat ability, or talents); a full respec takes three

Zone Level is also the gate for other progression — the fast travel doors you unlock while scouting raise it — so exploration and talents feed each other.

Which talents should you pick first?

The spine of a strong build is the execution → Dominance loop: stagger an enemy with Falter, execute it, and ride the Dominance state that follows. IGN’s guide notes two cores — Dominance and Perfect Dodge — are effectively mandatory anyway because expanding the talent tree requires them. Around that spine, the standouts:

• Retribution — “Retaliation deals +25% more Falter.” More Falter means faster stuns, faster executions
• Sanctioned Retaliation — “Retaliation recovers +50% more Power,” which is the fuel for every combat ability
• Restorative Dominance — enemies hit during Dominance drop a Health Element: the most reliable healing source in the loop
• Decisive Step-Up — an Execution grants Keen, “+20% Critical Chance to all Melee attacks” for a short window; best with fast multi-hit forms like Strike
• Extended Retaliation — one extra Retaliation charge, boosting the next two attacks after a Perfect Dodge
• Extended Dominance — Dominance lasts 15 seconds instead of its base duration; the longest ride on your power state

Which talents are situational?

• Cleansing Rush — status ailments clear twice as fast. Against Mold enemies, whose ailment drains health, this quietly becomes a survivability talent
• Enduring Ally — summons last +50% longer; skip it entirely if you don’t run Summons
• Command I — +1 Command Charge, which IGN flags as a late-game pickup after the last optional Resonant
• Crowd Conversion — commanded kills convert Drones to allies, diverting enemy aggression in horde fights

How do talents fit the rest of the build?

Talents are the passive layer over your active kit. The best weapons page covers the form picks that decide where your damage comes from; the branching ability choices — the prologue’s Barrage / Volatile Anomaly / Shield pick, then Push or Ground Slam at the Dancer — decide what your Power gets spent on. Talents then make that whole loop faster, safer, or both. For how much time you’re budgeting across the whole tree, see how long to beat.

Sources

• IGN — Control Resonant: Best Talent Upgrades
• Polygon — Best weapon and combat ability to choose first (Reset Item rules)
• Epic Games Store — Control Resonant abilities & skills guide