You will face a choice after defeating a resonant boss in the West Incursion Zone: Ground Slam or Push. Most guides tell you to grab Push for knocking enemies off buildings. That advice is wrong for players who want to maximize loot and upgrades early.
Ground Slam unlocks hidden doors, grants access to power upgrades, and delivers AoE damage that shreds mobs in tight spaces. Here is exactly how to unlock it — and why your first playthrough should pick it.
Ground Slam unlocks hidden doors, grants access to power upgrades, and delivers AoE damage that shreds mobs in tight spaces.
How to Unlock Ground Slam in Control Resonant
Ground Slam comes from the Dancer resonant boss located in the West Incursion Zone. You can reach this zone after completing the prologue and speaking with Zoe at the watchtower.
Step 1: Travel to the West Incursion Zone, west of Central. Enemies here are level 3–4 if you haven’t killed a resonant yet, or level 4–5 after one cycle. Come prepared with at least matching build power — check your level in the Loadout menu under Stats and Effects.
Step 2: Navigate to the parking garage marked on your map. Climb to the top using jumps and dashes. You will find a large hole in the center of the garage roof. Drop through it.
Step 3: At the bottom, you trigger the Incursion Fault side quest. This leads to a fight against the Dancer — a resonant entity that uses rapid melee combos and spawns smaller Hiss enemies. Focus on building falter (yellow stagger bar) with your secondary weapon, then execute for Dominance buff. Use the environment to avoid its lunges.
Step 4: After defeating the Dancer, you enter the Gap (hold Down on D-pad). The kinetic ability choice appears on the stone slab. Select Ground Slam. You can test it in the arena before leaving — if you change your mind, use the Exchange function to refund and try Push. Once you leave the Gap, the choice locks.
Step 5: Equip Ground Slam in your loadout. It costs power to use but has no additional resource requirement beyond that.
Why Ground Slam Beats Push for Your First Playthrough
The strongest counterargument: Push lets you yeet enemies off ledges for instant kills, which is efficient in an open world with many buildings. That is true. Push costs less power and can remove threats immediately.
Here is why that argument collapses: Ground Slam opens doors and chests that Push cannot. There are dozens of horizontal hatches across Manhattan that only yield to Ground Slam or a charged Crush hammer. If you did not pick Crush as your secondary form, these areas remain locked until you respec or unlock Crush later. Ground Slam also triggers AoE damage that staggers every enemy within a generous radius — perfect for breaking swarms that gang up on you in narrow corridors.
Push loses its edge the moment an enemy has armor or a shield. You cannot knock armored enemies off ledges in one hit. Ground Slam’s blunt damage works against armor, giving it combat utility Push lacks. And when you are fighting indoors — which is frequent in the park and underground zones — there are no ledges to abuse. Ground Slam keeps working.
Where Ground Slam Saves You Time
Specific locations prove its value:
- Central zone parkade roof hatch: Ground Slam opens a chest with a power upgrade point. Without it, you need Crush hammer and precise positioning.
- West Incursion Zone underground bunker: Same mechanic — slam the floor grate to access a health upgrade crate.
- Underpass zone multiple chests: At least three large resource crates sit behind these doors. Each gives upgrade materials and source.
- The Evacuation Zone shortcut: A hidden passage behind a slam door connects the subway to the surface, cutting traversal time in half.
These rewards stack. Every health upgrade (three collected = one bar increase) and power upgrade (three collected = one power segment) makes surviving resonant cycles easier. The earlier you collect them, the less you struggle against level-scaled enemies.
How to Maximize Ground Slam in Combat
Ground Slam is not just a key. It combos with aerial combat. Jump, double jump, then hold the ability button to slam from higher altitude — the damage scales with height. This one-shots weaker grunts and deals serious posture damage to heavies.
Pair it with the Crush secondary form for a devastating loop: launch an enemy with Crush’s third attack, follow them upward, then Ground Slam from above. The impact knocks surrounding enemies down, giving you breathing room to execute the primary target.
One Trap to Avoid
Do not waste Ground Slam on flying enemies. The ability only triggers when Dylan lands on solid ground. Save it for ground-based crowds or hatch doors. Use Strike primary attacks or Extend whip for aerial threats.
The Respec Safety Net
If you later decide Push fits your style better, reset items are plentiful. Kill vending machines and defeat optional resonant bosses for reset items. You can also buy them from vendor trucks for 1,500 source. Respeccing takes one item per character category (abilities, talents, weapon trees). You can swap Ground Slam for Push at any point — the game does not punish experimentation.
But on your first run, unlock Ground Slam first. The exploration rewards it enables will outpace any combat efficiency Push offers, and you can always grab Push later when the extra ledges matter.
- How do I unlock Ground Slam in Control?Defeat the Dancer boss in the West Incursion Zone, then choose Ground Slam from the kinetic ability choice inside the Gap.
- Why is Ground Slam better than Push for the first playthrough?Ground Slam opens hidden doors and chests for loot and power upgrades, while Push only knocks enemies off ledges.
- How do I maximize Ground Slam in combat?Use aerial slams by jumping, double jumping, then holding the ability button; damage scales with height.
- What is a common trap to avoid with Ground Slam?Do not use it on flying enemies—it only triggers on solid ground; use Strike attacks for aerial threats.
- Can I change my ability choice later?Yes, you can respec using items from vending machines, optional bosses, or vendor trucks; each respec requires one item per character category.
