All Bosses in CONTROL Resonant: How to Beat Resonants and Unlock Abilities

Resonants are some of the most dangerous enemies in CONTROL Resonant. Defeating these bosses unlocks new Combat Abilities, but every encounter is built around its own mechanics and requires a different approach. In this guide, we'll cover strategies for defeating the Resonants, how to prepare for each fight, and the rewards you can earn. We'll continue updating the guide as more information about the remaining bosses becomes available.

The Dancer

The Dancer is the Resonant of the West Incursion Zone. The fight has two phases, and the boss completely restores its health before the second one while becoming considerably more dangerous.

How to Prepare for the Fight

Before the battle, it is best to raise your Aberrant Strength to at least 30. Talents that increase your damage after a Perfect Dodge are also particularly useful here.Your main goal during the first half of the fight is to avoid losing health unnecessarily. The second phase is much harder, so use the opening stage to learn The Dancer's attacks instead of trying to squeeze in extra hits during risky openings.

Phase One

When you enter the theater, The Dancer will be sitting in the middle of the stage and will not attack until you land the first hit.At first, the boss mainly uses a spinning attack with its batons. The Dancer can perform it in place or glide toward Dylan while spinning. Dodge left or right, then counterattack as soon as the move ends. The boss remains stationary for a few seconds afterward.Once The Dancer loses roughly a third of its health, it gains another attack. The boss lunges forward with its batons and can follow the initial strike with two more hits. Do not rush to counter after the first lunge. Wait for the entire combo to end.Keep dodging and attack only during safe recovery windows. Once the first phase is over, The Dancer restores its health and the second part of the fight begins.

Phase Two

At the very beginning of the second phase, The Dancer rises into the air and throws two corpses at Dylan. You can avoid them by running around the edge of the arena or using a dodge just before they hit.At close range, the boss gains a powerful area-of-effect stomp. As soon as you see The Dancer raise a leg, Rush away. The boss remains vulnerable for a short time after the impact, making this one of the best opportunities to deal damage.If you create too much distance, The Dancer can leap into the air and crash down onto the arena. Another attack consists of two consecutive baton strikes. Do not try to counter between them, as there is almost no safe opening.After losing roughly half of its health, The Dancer begins using a four-hit combo that ends with an area attack. If the first hit catches you, it is easy to get trapped by the rest of the sequence. Always Rush away from the boss during the final strike rather than toward it.Once The Dancer has around a third of its health remaining, a large spotlight appears above the arena. From this point on, you must stay inside the illuminated area. If you leave the light, Dylan is forcibly pulled toward the boss's feet and takes damage.The restricted space makes avoiding combos much harder, so do not rush your attacks. Wait for the full sequence to end, land a few hits, and return to defense. Near the end, The Dancer becomes Faltered. Perform an Execution to finish the fight.

Reward for Defeating The Dancer

After defeating The Dancer, you can choose one of two Combat Abilities: Push or Ground Slam.

The Deserter

The Deserter is located in the northern part of Central and primarily uses fire attacks. The biggest threat is the Burn status, which continues damaging Dylan after an attack connects.

How to Prepare for the Fight

Before the battle, it is useful to unlock the Cleansing Rush Talent. It makes Rush clear status ailments twice as fast, allowing you to remove Burn much more quickly.Volatile Anomaly is also useful because it can deal heavy Falter damage and create additional openings against the boss.

How to Beat The Deserter

One of the boss's main attacks is a spinning fire move that sends flames around the arena. You can move in the same direction as the flames and stay ahead of them, or simply create more distance. Do not try to attack during the move itself. Once the fire disappears, you will have a few seconds to counter.The Deserter also occasionally leaps into the air and slams its body into the ground. As the boss comes down, move behind it. The Deserter remains stunned for several seconds after landing, giving you an excellent damage window.Another attack creates several large fireballs that are thrown at Dylan one after another. Dodge sideways after each projectile is launched and do not try to attack the boss at the same time.The basic strategy remains the same throughout most of the fight. Avoid the fire attacks and retaliate during the recovery windows. If Dylan catches fire, use Cleansing Rush to remove Burn, then continue the fight.

What Changes When The Deserter Is Low on Health

When The Deserter has roughly a third of its health remaining, streams of fire and Hiss growths appear throughout the arena.Immediately focus on the growths. Destroying each one disables one line of fire and gives you more room to dodge. Once all of the growths have been destroyed, they will not return.After that, go back to the previous strategy. The best openings still come after the body slam and other area attacks. If you fill the boss's Falter gauge, The Deserter will collapse for several seconds and become vulnerable to a full series of attacks.

Reward for Defeating The Deserter

After defeating The Deserter, you can choose between Ignite and Inferno. Ignite adds Fire damage to your attacks, builds Falter, and is particularly effective against Mold enemies.

The Collective

The Collective is very different from most other Resonants. Instead of fighting the boss directly throughout the encounter, you constantly need to destroy tentacles, deal with Mold enemies, and attack weak points as they become exposed.

How to Prepare for the Fight

An Aberrant Strength of at least 65 is recommended for this battle. It is also useful to defeat The Deserter first and unlock Ignite.

How to Destroy the First Tentacles

At the start of the fight, head toward either the left or right wall. Use Shift to change your orientation and turn the wall into the floor, then approach the large tentacle.The tentacle only has two main attacks: a slow body slam and a barrage of projectiles. Destroy it, then immediately deal with the Mold enemies that spawn afterward.Next, move to the opposite wall and repeat the process with the second tentacle. Use Reach on the grapple points to move quickly between different parts of the arena.

How to Attack the Weak Points

After the second tentacle is destroyed, the walls become covered in toxic Mold. Return to the normal floor and approach the enormous cluster of heads at the far end of the room.Swollen spheres will appear inside the mouths of the lower heads. Pick one and attack it until it bursts. This damages The Collective and causes the remaining weak points to close.Retreat toward the center of the arena. The Collective releases toxic gas and summons another group of enemies. Kill them while avoiding the boss's ranged attacks, then return to the newly exposed sphere and destroy it.If Dylan becomes Infected, activating Ignite instantly clears the effect.

How to Finish the Fight

The Collective will then create three more tentacles: one on each wall and another on the ceiling. Destroy them one at a time while dealing with the additional Mold enemies.Afterward, return to the cluster of heads and destroy the next exposed weak point. Two more tentacles will then appear directly in front of the boss. It is better to destroy them one at a time to reduce the number of projectiles flying toward Dylan.No additional Mold enemies spawn during this stage. Once both tentacles have been destroyed, the final weak point appears. Break it to Falter The Collective, then perform an Execution to finish the fight.

Reward for Defeating The Collective

After defeating The Collective, you can choose between Growth and Spore Burst. Growth summons a Mold ally that attacks enemies on its own and builds up Infected. Spore Burst lets Dylan rapidly fire Mold projectiles in front of him, also building Infected on targets.Defeating the boss also unlocks the Face Mask Artifact, which slows the buildup of Infected from Mold enemies.

The Co-Director

The Co-Director is one of the most dangerous Resonants. The defining mechanic of the fight is a constantly filling mind-control gauge. If it reaches its maximum, Dylan dies instantly.

How to Prepare for the Fight

An Aberrant Strength of at least 110 is recommended. The Co-Director has a large health pool, so you cannot afford to drag the fight out for too long.The mind-control gauge fills automatically over time, and taking damage makes it rise even faster. There is no way to lower it, so the entire encounter is effectively a race against the clock.

First Part of the Fight

At the beginning of the battle, The Co-Director fires a beam at the Rangers accompanying Dylan. Soldiers caught by the beam are turned against you, but you can initially ignore them, as the remaining allied Rangers are capable of dealing with them.The Co-Director itself uses a ranged beam that can be avoided by moving sideways, as well as a close-range area attack. Before the latter, an outer ring begins contracting toward the boss. Rush backward as this happens, then quickly close the distance and attack once the spinning move ends.The Co-Director spends most of the fight in the air. Use the pillars around the arena to reach the boss, land several attacks, and retreat before the ring begins spinning again.If your build relies on summons, keep in mind that the boss can take control of them. A powerful summoned ally can therefore be turned against Dylan.

What Changes After The Co-Director Loses a Third of Its Health

Once The Co-Director loses roughly a third of its health, it takes control of the remaining Rangers. This time, it is better to eliminate them immediately.The boss also begins using small spherical bombs. First dodge the projectiles themselves, then move away from where they land to avoid the delayed explosions.The Co-Director can also slam down onto the ground. If you see the boss raise its arms above its head, immediately create some distance.Its spinning attack changes as well. The boss now spins for much longer, chases Dylan around the arena, and can destroy the pillars. Do not attempt to counter during this move. Keep running until the attack ends, then go back on the offensive.

Final Part of the Fight

At roughly half health, additional Rangers appear in the arena and fight on your side. The Co-Director can take control of them with its beam. If you notice one of the soldiers being affected, eliminate them as quickly as possible.Rangers positioned around the outer ring also begin firing rockets in volleys of three. Keep an eye on them and be ready to dodge.The Co-Director does not gain any major new attacks after this point. Keep dealing as much damage as possible and do not let the mind-control gauge fill completely. The longer this fight lasts, the more the mechanic works against you.

Reward for Defeating The Co-Director

Defeating The Co-Director unlocks the Command Combat Ability, which lets Dylan take control of enemies and force them to fight on his side.