How does Aberrant Strength work?

Aberrant Strength is a global damage multiplier that increases with every upgrade node unlocked, regardless of weapon form.

Which skill tree nodes should I prioritize?

Start with primary forms to unlock new weapons for the +5 Aberrant Strength, then branch to other weapons for more global stats.

Control Resonant: The Upgrade Trick That Changes Everything

Upgrading a weapon you never use is the fastest way to make your real weapon hit harder. That sounds backward, but in Control Resonant, it’s the engine that drives your entire build. The game hides this mechanic in plain sight under a stat called Aberrant Strength — and most players ignore it for the first ten hours.

Summary

Aberrant Strength is not tied to any single weapon form. It’s a global multiplier that applies to every attack you make, regardless of what you’re holding. Every upgrade node you purchase in any skill tree — primary forms, secondary forms, combo finishers — feeds into this number. One point of Aberrant Strength equals a 1% increase to your damage multiplier. Spread that across a dozen unlocks from forms you never equip, and the damage boost to your main weapon becomes massive.

Upgrading a weapon you never use is the fastest way to make your real weapon hit harder.

The result? The player who buys every cheap early unlock will out-damage the player who only deep-dives one tree — even if they use the exact same weapon in combat. That’s the reframe. Spend your resources on breadth first, depth second.

How Aberrant Strength Works (The Stat That Matters More Than Level)

Your character does not have a traditional experience bar. Instead, your “build power” is a weighted average of several components: Aberrant Strength, ability strength from unlocked combat powers, talent points, and health/power upgrades. Aberrant Strength is the largest driver of raw damage output.

You can view your current Aberrant Strength in the loadout menu under Stats & Effects (press Triangle on PlayStation or Y on Xbox). The number at the top left is your build power; Aberrant Strength is listed separately. Each time you unlock a new weapon node, this number ticks up. The big milestones — unlocking an entirely new weapon form — jump it by a flat +5. Smaller node upgrades grant +1, +2, or +3 depending on their position in the tree.

The trick: these bonuses apply universally. If you unlock the Strike primary form but never equip it, your Glaive still deals higher damage because your Aberrant Strength increased. The same goes for secondary forms and combo finishers.

The Skill Tree Breakdown: Where to Spend First

The Aberrant weapon skill tree splits into three categories. Each has its own materials, its own upgrade path, and its own payoff for Aberrant Strength.

Primary Forms (Strike, Glaive, Cleave)

These govern your light attacks. Each form’s tree has a large top node that unlocks the form itself (cost: 1 Living Shard, grant: +5 Aberrant Strength). Below that are four smaller nodes that improve damage, speed, or special effects like dodge attacks. Each small node costs common materials (source plus whatever zone-drops you’ve gathered) and grants +1 or +2 Aberrant Strength.

Counterintuitive move: Unlock all three primary forms even if you only use one. That’s three Living Shards for a total of +15 Aberrant Strength. Then spend the smaller node upgrades on your main form first — but do not ignore the others entirely. If you have the materials, a +2 node on a form you never touch is still +2% damage on your main weapon.

Secondary Forms (Crush, Drill, Extend)

Same structure. Each form unlocks for 1 Living Shard, granting +5 Aberrant Strength. Smaller nodes give +1 to +3. Crush (the hammer) is especially important because it enables you to smash barriers and open certain locked doors from the very start of the game. Even if you hate the hammer’s slow speed, unlock it anyway — the aberrant strength boost is worth it, and you’ll need it for exploration.

Combo Finishers (Six Total)

This is where the efficiency lies. Each combo finisher tree has a top node that costs exactly 1 Living Shard and grants +5 Aberrant Strength. That’s six finishers, six Living Shards, for a total of +30 Aberrant Strength. The initial unlock also gives you access to the finisher’s basic move, which often deals more damage and falter than your standard combos.

Below each finisher’s top node are three or four smaller upgrades that cost rare materials (like Aberrant Fragments, Edible Globs, or Patterned Thoughts). These grant smaller Aberrant Strength boosts but also unlock powerful effects: applying Burn or Weaken statuses, restoring power on hit, or increasing critical chance.

The play: If you only have a few Living Shards early, spend them on unlocking all six combo finishers’ top nodes before upgrading any primary or secondary form beyond the first unlock. Six shards for +30 is the best return on investment in the entire game.

Living Shards: The Real Bottleneck

Living Shards are the single resource that gates weapon diversity. You get them from main story missions, side quests, and vendors (cost: 4,000 Source each). Most players will complete the game with around 20-25 Living Shards earned naturally. That’s enough to unlock all six combo finishers (6 shards), all three primary forms (3 shards), and all three secondary forms (3 shards) — for a total of 12 shards. The remaining 8-13 can go toward upgrading finisher trees deeper.

But many players waste their first few shards on unlocking a second primary form they never use, then wonder why their damage feels low. Don’t. Unlock the breadth first. The damage multiplier from those top nodes outweighs any single tree’s depth until you’ve got the full suite.

If you run short, vendors in each zone stock one or two Living Shards. They refresh after each Resonant cycle (defeating a zone boss resets the world and restocks vendors). The vendor in Central sells them for 4,000 Source each. Save your Source for these purchases — upgrade materials can be farmed from enemies and chests, but Living Shards are capped.

How to Test Before You Commit (The Exchange Recents Trick)

One feature the game never explains: you can test any unlocked weapon or finisher for free before locking it in. After spending a Living Shard on a new form, stay inside the Gap (Dylan’s mental upgrade space). In the bottom right of the weapon selection screen, you will see an “Exchange Recents” button.

Pressing this immediately refunds the Living Shard you just spent, letting you try a different form in the practice arena. You can loop through every primary, secondary, and finisher option without burning a single shard. The catch is that once you leave the Gap (by holding down on the D-pad), your most recent unlock becomes permanent — you cannot refund it later.

Practical use: Never commit to a weapon form without testing its combo rhythm first. The Strike dual blades feel fast but require you to build power differently than the slow, sweeping Glaive. Use Exchange Recents to find the primary that clicks before you lock in your first purchase.

Materials and Source: What to Farm, What to Buy

Upgrade materials fall into tiers. Low-tier (Aberrant Splinters, Corrupted Elements) drop from basic Hiss grunts. Mid-tier (Aberrant Fragments, Edible Globs) come from Heavy enemies and chests in higher-level zones. High-tier (Aberrant Remnants, Patterned Thoughts) are rare, usually from zone vendors or boss drops.

You will always be short on the mid-tier materials for combo finisher upgrades. The most efficient farm is to complete world feats (white icons on the map) in zones where the enemies are at or below your level. Each feat gives zone XP, Source, and random material drops. Vending machines (the ones that flash red and run away) also drop high-tier materials and reset items.

Do not spend Source on mid-tier materials unless you are exactly one short of an upgrade. Save Source for Living Shards and reset items (needed to respec your build later). Vendor prices scale with zone level — buying from a low-level zone is cheaper, but the stock is smaller.

The Respec Safety Net

You can reset your entire Aberrant weapon tree using a Reset Item (available from defeating Resonant bosses or buying from vendors for 1,500 Source). This refunds all Living Shards and materials spent on the weapon tree, allowing you to reallocate them. You cannot get back items spent on artifacts or combat abilities — only weapon upgrades.

But because the Aberrant Strength increases are permanent even after a reset? That’s the kicker. If you invest in a node and then reset that weapon’s tree, you lose the Aberrant Strength from that node. So if you are planning to respec, think twice before spending Living Shards on forms you genuinely hate. The +5 from unlocking a form is only permanent if you do not reset that form’s tree.

In practice, you will receive around 14-18 Reset Items over a full playthrough. Use them sparingly — one or two respecs to fix early mistakes is fine, but don’t rely on them to constantly re-spec your whole build.

Putting It All Together: An Upgrade Priority List

Immediately on reaching Central: Spend your first 3 Living Shards to unlock all three primary forms. Gain +15 Aberrant Strength. Your main weapon hits harder across the board.

Next, spend 3 more Living Shards on all three secondary forms. Another +15. Now your heavy attack also benefits from the global multiplier.

As you collect more Living Shards (around 6), unlock all six combo finisher top nodes. That’s +30 Aberrant Strength. At this point, your Aberrant Strength will be around 60-70, roughly doubling your base damage compared to a player who only upgraded one tree.

Deepen your main primary tree and your favorite combo finisher. Focus on nodes that apply status effects (Burn, Weaken) or increase power recovery. These have more impact per node than raw damage increases because status effects trigger Dominance mode more frequently.

Circle back to secondary trees only when you have spare materials. The +2 and +3 nodes in secondary forms are cheap and still boost Aberrant Strength. Unlocking them all is a low-priority but worthwhile long-term goal.

The player who follows this path will enter the first Resonant boss fight with a damage multiplier 30-40% higher than a player who tunneled one tree. That margin only grows as the game’s world levels up. By the endgame, you will be hitting for numbers that make the grind feel worth it.

The One Thing the Guide Won’t Tell You

There is a specific artifact — the Barbed Blade — that synergizes with the drill secondary form and the “sustained assault” talent. It causes successive hits on the same enemy to restore 2% of your power per hit. Combine this with the drill’s multi-hit charge attack, and you can keep your power bar nearly full during extended fights. The artifact is obtained from the “Party Won’t Stop” side quest in the West Incursion Zone. Most players skip this quest because it starts from a seemingly unremarkable dog on a rooftop. Do not skip it. The power economy from Barbed Blade + drill makes the entire weapon upgrade process feel like climbing a ladder you were never meant to fall off of.

Questions answered

How does Aberrant Strength work?Aberrant Strength is a global damage multiplier that increases with every upgrade node unlocked, regardless of weapon form.
Which skill tree nodes should I prioritize?Start with primary forms to unlock new weapons for the +5 Aberrant Strength, then branch to other weapons for more global stats.
Where can I find the Barbed Blade artifact?The Barbed Blade is obtained from the 'Party Won't Stop' side quest in the West Incursion Zone.