Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

The best ability upgrades to spend your points on in Control

Gabe Gurwin
By

Control first came out in 2019 but is back again with the Ultimate Edition including all the DLC and performance boosts for the new consoles. What hasn’t changed is the fact that this paranormal third-person shooter is far from an easy game. You need to use your morphing Service Weapon and telekinetic abilities in tandem to be successful, and doing that is only possible if you make the most of your ability upgrades. Separate from the mods you can apply to Jesse and her weapon, ability upgrades allow you to enhance several attributes using points you acquire through normal play. But where should you spend these points? We’ll show you with our Control ability upgrades guide.

Further reading

Ability upgrades explained

Control Telekenisis

Ability upgrades are essentially the “skill tree” of Control. As you progress through the story and complete key missions, you’ll be awarded upgrade points that can then be spent on enhancements for your statistics. These are not the same as mods, and they are tiered, meaning the fifth upgrade you get in a category can only be unlocked after unlocking the first four. You cannot unlock new ability upgrades everywhere. Instead, you will need to be visiting a control point, which acts as the fast travel destinations in Control.

Recommended Videos

Unlike mods, you won’t require any additional resources to craft skill upgrades. This will make the ability enhancement process for Jessie much simpler and quicker if you are experiencing issues in a specific area. Still, upgrade points aren’t especially abundant. This indicates that you’ll need to prioritize which upgrades you desire, and identifying the most suitable ones to concentrate on will make that a whole lot easier.

There is one other advantage to opening capability upgrades, and it includes your mods. As you proceed with spending points, a progress bar will fill up at the bottom of the upgrades screen. The first level of unlocks will provide you with an extra weapon form slot. Then, the second two will supplement another individual mod spot. We suggest you make sure that you have some excellent mods prepared for when you can equip them.

Which ability upgrades should you focus on?

Control Abilities

If you operate using a distinct play-style that you’ll probably want to use in Control, you can easily customize your ability upgrades to accommodate it. We centered around a mobile and aggressive build for our play-through that seldom remained in the same place for more than a few seconds. Because of this, some upgrades to skills like the Shield weren’t beneficial. Below, we’ve listed some ability upgrades that we think you should unlock first in order to improve your chances of survival.

  • Health: Each unlocked tier gives you additional total health. Health upgrades are vital in Control and you can remove a health-focused mod if you have enough unlocked here.
  • Energy: Not quite as vital as health, but you use energy for everything from evading to throwing objects. Every little bit helps you beat enemies in fights.
  • Launch: Increases the amount of damage your Launch ability does. It is crucial to focus on this early, as it will allow you to kill weaker enemies without needing your gun as a follow-up attack. An optional unlock will also let you throw missiles back at enemies.
  • Seize: Increases the amount of time an enemy will be under your control and can take the pressure off of Jesse in a hectic fight.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
The best Operators in Rainbow Six Extraction
The heroes of Rainbow Six Siege pose for the camera.

Based on the very popular Outbreak mode that appeared for a limited time in Rainbow Six Siege, Rainbow Six Extraction expands on the co-op-focused gameplay as opposed to the pure round-based PvP style of the main game. However, this title retains nearly every element from Siege, including the high tension gameplay, dynamic destruction, emphasis on snap reflexes, and teamwork. This game is so targeted at fans of the long-supported tactical shooter that they even carried over the same Operators from that game, although with some small changes, into Rainbow Six Extraction. However, facing the Archaean monsters is very different than human opponents.

Just like in Rainbow Six Siege, the Operators that made it into Rainbow Six Extraction are very well balanced for the most part. Most will have the same general kits, including weapons, gadgets, and gear, while others have had tweaks to fit the new style of game better. At launch, we have a roster of 18 Operators to pick for every mission, though only nine available right from the start. Even if your favorite made the cut, you'll want to have at least a backup or two ready for when they get injured or captured and you're forced to swap. To help you form the best team, here are the best Operators in Rainbow Six Extraction.

Read more
The best controller settings for Halo Infinite
A player fired a gun in Halo Infinite.

It's been about six years between Halo 5 and Halo Infinite, but the king of Xbox first-person shooters has finally returned with a brand new multiplayer suite. Released as a stand-alone, free-to-play experience, players on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and even PC can all jump into some classic Halo fun online. There are all-new maps, new weapons, and new gadgets called equipment to spice up the sandbox. It's still early days, but so far this feels like the old days of Halo being the go-to multiplayer experience for years to come.

Having been so long between releases, and even longer since Halo felt like the classic arena shooter it began as, it can take a little bit to adjust to how it plays compared to other shooters on the market. Whether you're playing on console or PC, Halo Infinite was designed with controllers in mind, and is one of the shining examples of how controls, and controller options, should be for a multiplayer game. Whether you've been nailing headshots since the days of Halo: Combat Evolved or are experiencing the series for the first time, a good control scheme can help make your transition go much smoother. Here are the best controller settings for Halo Infinite to get you started.

Read more
Battlefield 2042: Best controller settings
Battlefield 2042 player hacking electronics.

With any cross-platform game, players want the ability to remap their controllers in more competitive circles. Thankfully, Battlefield 2042 allows you to do just that. Players can completely remap their controls to their liking, along with their desired sensitivity and FOV. Here are the best controller settings to use in Battlefield 2042. We'll also go over the best helicopter settings in Battlefield 2042 and how to make them more like the Call of Duty: Warzone helicopters. This article is from the perspective of a PlayStation 5 player. However, the configurations mentioned still work relative to their Xbox counterparts.

Battlefield 2042 makes a huge change to its progression system
Battlefield 2042 gets some key changes following beta feedback
The best Xbox Series X games for 2021

Read more