CONTROL Resonant Best Weapons: Which Form to Pick First

Which weapon should you pick first in CONTROL Resonant?

Strike. Your Aberrant asks for three decisions across the opening hours — a primary form in the prologue’s opening cutscene, a secondary right after leaving the Oldest House, and combo finishers once Aberrant Strength hits 15 — and Polygon’s prologue guide is unambiguous about the first one: Strike is “the most useful” pick because it builds the strongest overall kit.

The reason is a hidden passive: Strike’s finisher gauge fills fastest, and an empowered Strike boosts your combo finishers and combat abilities, not just its own damage. In a game whose combat runs on the ability-and-finisher loop we break down in the combat guide, the weapon that feeds that loop wins by default.

Primary forms: Strike, Glaive or Cleave?

All three primaries are light-attack forms; you can equip one at a time, and the others unlock later at the Gap pillar for three Living Shards each (or 4,000 Source from vendors):

• Strike — dual blades, the fastest attacks, crit-focused, best on single targets. IGN: “great for dealing Falter and for focusing on 1v1 battles.” Lowest base damage per hit, but crits and speed close the gap
• Glaive — a scythe with wide arcs that hit whole groups, the highest base damage of the three. Polygon notes it generates Power best early, which means more ability casts; the trade is slower swings and lower crit chance
• Cleave — the balanced axe. Scores bonus damage on hits from behind, and its dodge-attack lifts enemies into the air instead of just adding damage — a setup tool for aerial follow-ups

Secondary forms: Crush, Drill or Extend?

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

• Crush — the hammer, the highest Falter damage of any secondary. Polygon adds two utility notes: it breaks enemy armor, and it opens the metal doors scattered around Manhattan
• Drill — sustained straight-line damage while held; Sharp damage type. 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 verdict for utility: 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?

Finishers unlock at Aberrant Strength 15 and cost one Living Shard each — Concussive Beatdown (stone-glove Falter burst), Uppercut Surge (launches enemies into Lifted), Wide Edge (biggest single hit, wide knockback), Spin Edge (a three-hit Wide Edge variant with power recovery), Split Pivot (applies Weakened and Burning) and Split Orbit (Split Pivot arcing around Dylan).

IGN’s picks: Concussive Beatdown for easy stuns, Uppercut Surge for the guaranteed Lift, and late-game, the choice “will be between Spin Edge and Wide Edge.” One player tip worth banking from the r/controlgame review thread: upgrading forms you don’t use still raises your total BP, so nothing you buy is wasted.

Recommended weapon builds

IGN’s two starter kits, verbatim in spirit:

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

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

Sources

• IGN — Control Resonant: Best Weapon to Choose
• Polygon — Best weapon and combat ability to choose first
• r/controlgame — review tip: unused forms still raise total BP