Control Resonant is, in Remedy’s own words, a game that “fully commits” to being an action RPG. It adds character statistics, multiple talent trees and customisable weapons, none of which the first Control had, while deliberately skipping inventory management. The consequence worth planning around: you cannot unlock everything in one playthrough.
Three Layers, All Managed in the Gap
Paranatural Abilities, earned by defeating Resonants, the major bosses. Each one offers a small set of powers, reportedly up to three, and you choose one.
Per-form weapon upgrade trees, one for each Aberrant shape, unlocking alternate specialised forms and modifier effects. Our Aberrant guide covers those forms.
The Talent tree, a broader set of passive modifiers built around status-effect synergies. That focus is not incidental: the Aberrant’s burn and infect effects combine into explosions, so Talents are where you lean into that chemistry.
All three are handled in the Gap, covered in our Gap guide.
Exclusive Choices Are the Point
Remedy states plainly that exclusive choices mean you cannot complete everything in a single run, and reviewers confirm it in practice: by the end, the tree is not full, and builds must specialise.
There is one genuinely thoughtful touch here. The game flags talents tied to powers you are not using, so you are less likely to sink points into a branch supporting an ability you abandoned two bosses ago.
Respeccing
You can respec, and it got cheaper on launch day. Remedy’s launch hotfix permanently reduced the cost of respeccing and increased the stock of Reset Items, the consumable that pays for it, across all vendors in the game. The first Resonant boss, The Artist, now drops two Reset Items instead of one.
Remedy said it made the change “to encourage buildcrafting and experimentation,” which is the clearest signal yet that swapping a previously chosen ability is meant to be routine rather than a last resort. Pre-launch coverage described the same mechanic in terms of Spec Points and cited a fixed price per swap, but that number came mainly from unreliable sites, and Remedy’s own patch notes talk about Reset Items and a lowered cost without publishing a figure. Our launch hotfix guide covers every change in that patch.
Practical upshot: with two Reset Items from the first boss and vendors restocking them, try a different ability pick early if the first one does not suit you. Being wrong about a build is now cheap.
The Optional Boss Warning
This is the most actionable thing on the page, and it comes from reviews rather than marketing.
Some damage-type abilities are locked behind optional Resonant fights, and skill upgrades reportedly thin out in the back half of the game. Pre-launch reviews also complained that enemy health inflated late on, but Remedy’s launch hotfix lowered base health and the Falter threshold for most enemies and raised maximum Aberrant and Ability Strength, so that gap should be narrower than reviewers described.
Put those together and the advice writes itself: do optional Resonants early rather than saving them for after the story. Skipping them does not just cost you a fight, it narrows the abilities available while the difficulty curve is still climbing.
The launch hotfix eases the second half of that warning. Remedy lowered base health for most enemies and raised maximum Aberrant Strength and Ability Strength on a curve, “with progressively larger increases towards the end. The more upgrades you have, the more damage you deal.” So investment pays off more in the back half than it did for reviewers, but the optional-boss advice still stands.
What Carries Over, and What Else Feeds Your Build
None of this is lost when the credits roll. Remedy confirmed that New Game Plus carries over Aberrant upgrades, health and ability resource upgrades, unlocked combat abilities, Talents and Artifacts, and unlocks a fourth Artifact slot. That is where the branches you skipped on a first run become available. Our New Game Plus guide has the full list.
Artifacts are the fourth build layer, sitting alongside the three trees above: passive modifiers you craft in the Gap, three equipped at a time on a first run. Our Artifacts guide covers crafting and the two bonus Artifacts.
We are not publishing a node-by-node best build. Point totals and tree names circulating online mostly come from sites that invent specifics, and the launch hotfix has already shifted the damage curve, so we stick to the structure, which is confirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I unlock everything in one playthrough?
No. Remedy confirms exclusive choices prevent it, and reviewers report the tree is not full by the end.
How do I get new abilities?
By defeating Resonants and choosing one power from the small set that boss offers.
Can I respec?
Yes. Respeccing uses Reset Items, and Remedy’s launch hotfix permanently lowered the cost, added more Reset Items at vendors, and made The Artist drop two.
Should I do optional bosses?
Yes, and early. Some damage-type abilities are locked behind optional Resonant fights, and upgrades reportedly thin out later.