Control Resonant: Abilities, Talents and New Game++ Guide

Control Resonant's Update 1.4.0 didn't just add New Game++. It changed how you read your own build, how you track upgrade materials, and how much friction the back half of the game throws at you. If you're sitting on a finished save and wondering whether to dive into New Game+ or keep tuning your current run, here's what actually changed and how to build Dylan Faden around it.

01What Update 1.4.0 Actually Changed

Remedy shipped Game Update 1.4.0 on October 1, 2026, and the headline feature is New Game++: instead of New Game+ ending after one extra playthrough, you can now start an unlimited number of runs, carrying your build forward each time. The official patch notes also quietly fixed the thing that matters most for planning a build: Build Power is now shown directly on the Loadout screen's bottom-left corner, instead of being buried in the Stats & Effects menu.

Two smaller changes matter just as much day to day. The HUD now shows a notification icon whenever you have something new to buy or upgrade back at The Gap, and when you pin a material you're missing, the map's Vendor icon tells you if a nearby shop stocks it, so you don't have to walk back to check. Remedy also trimmed combat in the Unknown Zone by 10-15% after player feedback, and bumped the main menu's save slot count from five to seven so New Game+ saves don't crowd out your original run.

02Reading Your Loadout: Build Power and Zone Level

Build Power is the single number worth checking before you walk into a new Zone. It rolls up your health, Power, Talents and Aberrant Strength into one figure you can compare against the Zone's own enemy level. Fall meaningfully behind that number and Update 1.4.0's own patch notes are blunt about it: combat gets noticeably harder, so the fix isn't to push through, it's to pull back into side content, clear a Zone's optional objectives, and let your Build Power catch up before you progress the story further.

This matters more in New Game++ than it did on a first run, since you're resetting into a fresh Zone progression every cycle. Get in the habit of opening the Loadout screen before every new area instead of after you've already been staggered by something you weren't ready for.

03The Core Abilities Worth Building Around

Dylan's paranatural kit is built around a handful of core abilities, and the 1.4.0 notes confirm how several of them actually interact with the world around you:

• Push shoves enemies and objects, and it now interacts correctly with enemies caught in Gravity Anomalies after a fix that stopped mini-bosses and heavy enemies from reacting incorrectly to it.
• Shield blocks incoming damage and synergizes with the Wallet Artifact, which affects how the ability behaves economically, not just defensively.
• Rush is worth prioritizing early. It strips status effects off Dylan, and Remedy added an in-game tutorial specifically calling this out, because plenty of players were taking unnecessary Infected or Burn damage instead of just Rushing through it.
• Command lets you turn enemies against each other, and the Thought Leader Talent reduces its charge cost against heavy enemies with low health.
• Ground Slam is a hard-hitting aerial finisher; a 1.4.0 fix means Dylan no longer whiffs it just because there's a low ceiling overhead.

None of these abilities are locked behind a single build path, so the practical advice is to level the ones you actually use in combat rather than spreading points thin across every option you've unlocked. If you're not sure which ability fits your playstyle, pay attention to what you reach for most during a fight before you spend Talent Points — the patch notes make clear Remedy is still actively tuning how these abilities read and feel, which means your favorite tool today is likely to keep getting more reliable, not less, in future updates.

04Talents and Status Effects to Build Around

A few Talents stand out as build-defining once you understand what they do. Crowd Conversion keeps revived Drone enemies alive longer before they fade, which is useful for stalling a fight while you reposition. Status Spread extends how long Infected and Burn linger on enemies you've already afflicted. Executive Order upgrades the Extend Aberrant Form, and after 1.4.0 it finally works as described instead of silently underperforming.

On the status-effect side, Falter is the stagger meter you're building toward on tougher enemies, and Leashing is worth knowing by name: an enemy returning to its patrol area while Leashed now regenerates its Falter resistance instead of staying permanently vulnerable, so don't let a staggered target wander off before you finish it. Ruthless is a status Dylan can pick up from destroying land mines or hitting electrical boxes carelessly, so it's less a build choice than a hazard to watch for mid-fight.

05The Resonants: Manhattan's Boss Fights After the Patch

Every Resonant anchors its own Zone, and Update 1.4.0 touched several of these fights directly, which is as close as Remedy comes to telling you what's changed without publishing a strategy guide. The Artist's special attack no longer tanks your framerate mid-fight, a purely technical fix but one worth knowing if you previously bailed on that attempt over performance. The Deserter's boss music now plays correctly even if you backtrack before committing to the fight, and you can no longer get stuck out of bounds near that encounter. The Collective's fight against its Mold Scrapper adds got a fix for enemies freezing in place inside Gravity Anomalies, and its tentacles no longer linger as a nasty surprise after you've already won. The Co-Director's Perfect Dodge window was adjusted because it was close to unreadable against most of that boss's attacks. The Dancer's approach path runs smoother after a performance pass, and the multi-phase Hedron boss had its first arena resized specifically to make the fight easier to read.

Remedy hasn't published a recommended kill order for the Resonants, so treat that as unconfirmed rather than taking any third-party ranking as gospel. The more reliable approach is to match your current fight to your Build Power and the Zone it belongs to, rather than chasing a specific sequence.

It's also worth remembering that every Resonant you clear expands the amount of The Gap and the surrounding Zone you can freely explore, so a fight that feels like a wall is often a sign you've got optional content left to clean up nearby rather than a build problem on its own. Backing off a losing fight to finish a Zone's side objectives first is a completely normal way to play this, not a failure state.

How to Shore Up Your Build Before Starting New Game++

1. 1Open the Loadout screen before entering a new Zone and compare your Build Power to that Zone's enemy level. If you're meaningfully behind, clear side content first instead of pushing the story.2 min
2. 2Finish any Resonant fights and optional objectives on your current save before starting a new cycle. Your Build Power and Talents carry forward, so a half-finished Zone just repeats the same catch-up grind next run.Varies
3. 3Pin any material you're short on and check the map's Vendor icon to see if a nearby shop stocks it, instead of walking back to The Gap to check manually.1 min
4. 4If your build has drifted since you first spent Talent Points, use the Respeccing option to reassign them before carrying that build into a new run.2 min
5. 5Set Power Core Charge Duration and the air-execution dodge/jump refund to match how aggressively you want to experiment with a new build.2 min

06Getting Ready for New Game++

New Game++ exists specifically so finishing the story isn't a dead end for your build. The 1.4.0 notes call out that zone rewards were retuned to make maxing out every Zone in New Game+ "somewhat easier," which should carry into ++ runs as well. Before you start a new cycle, it's worth clearing remaining Resonants and side content on your current save first, since your Build Power and unlocked Talents are what you're carrying forward, and a half-finished Zone just means repeating the same catch-up grind on your next run.

New Game+ runs and your original run now live in separate save folders thanks to the expanded seven-slot system, so you don't have to overwrite your first clear to try a harder cycle. That also means you can keep a completed, fully-upgraded original save around as a reference point while you experiment with a riskier Talent spread in New Game++, instead of committing your only save file to a build you're not sure about yet.

07Assist Mode Options Worth Knowing

If you'd rather spend your time experimenting with builds than fighting for every inch of ground, Update 1.4.0 expanded Assist Mode in ways that are genuinely useful for build testing rather than just lowering difficulty across the board. The new Power Core Charge Duration slider lets you stretch resource charge time by 100-300%, which gives you more room to try a riskier Talent setup without being punished for running dry mid-fight. There's also a new option that refunds one dodge and one jump after an air execution if you're out of both, which keeps aggressive aerial builds from stalling out the moment you commit to a kill.

Remedy's June 2026 State of Play story trailer, released months before Update 1.4.0 — still the clearest look at Dylan Faden's powers in action.

None of these options lower your Build Power or lock achievements, so there's no real downside to turning on the ones that match how you actually want to play.