Everyone says the same thing: do every side quest in Control Resonant as soon as you see it. Maximize your upgrades before taking down a Resonant boss. Clear every zone before the world resets.
That advice isn’t wrong — for most players, it works. But it’s incomplete.
Some side quests are better saved until you have specific abilities or higher zone levels.
Some side quests are better saved until you have specific abilities or higher zone levels. A few are outright skippable if your time is limited. And the order you tackle them matters more than the common wisdom suggests. Here are the 10 side quests worth your time — and when to actually do them.
The Trap of “Do Everything First”
The game encourages completionism. Every zone level gives a talent point. Every world feat resets when you kill a Resonant. The natural instinct is to clear everything in sight before triggering that difficulty bump.
The problem? Some side quests lock their best rewards behind traversal abilities you won’t get until mid-game. Grinding them early means fighting higher-level enemies without the mobility tools that make these quests fun — or even feasible.
So here’s the better approach: prioritize the side quests that unlock those abilities first, then circle back for the rest.
1. The Subway Vault (Evacuation Zone)
This isn’t marked as a side quest in your journal at first. It’s a dimensional fault hidden in the railyard station. Complete it, and you unlock the Reach ability — the grapple that lets you zip to those floating spatial anomalies.
The common advice: “Do it as soon as you reach the Evacuation Zone.”
The better advice: Do it as soon as you can survive a level 4 encounter. The enemies guarding it hit hard if you’re still at Aberrant Strength 5. Push your zone levels in Central and West Incursion first, grab a health upgrade from a vendor, then come here. You’ll spend less time dying and more time exploring.
2. The Complete Set (Downtown Auction House)
You start this by grabbing a bouncing speaker in the auction house. Then you track down speakers across the city and set them up.
The common advice: “Just complete it for the artifact reward.”
The better advice: Save this one until after you unlock the Gravity Shift ability from the West Incursion vault. Several speaker locations are on rooftops or behind walls you can’t reach without wall-running. If you try this quest early, you’ll spend thirty minutes searching for a path that doesn’t exist yet. Wait until you can walk up surfaces, and the whole thing takes fifteen minutes.
3. Dog Toy Quest (All Seven Zones)
A dog appears on a rooftop near the Oldest House. Return his toy, and he moves to the next zone. Seven zones, seven toys.
The common advice: “Do it whenever you find the dog.”
The better advice: Don’t finish this one until you have the Reach ability for the later zones. Some of the later toy locations are on high ledges or across gaps that are frustrating without the grapple. The final reward is a unique artifact, but it’s not worth backtracking across four zones because you couldn’t reach a toy the first time.
4. Unsupervised Science (Testing Facilities)
FBC testing sites are marked on the map with a terminal icon. Each one is a short puzzle sequence ending in a power upgrade point.
The common advice: “Clear them all for the stat boosts.”
The better advice: These are worth doing early — but only the ones in zones you’ve already entered. The entrance tunnels are often far from the map marker, and some lead to areas with level 6+ enemies. If you’re still in the first Resonant cycle (world level 1-2), stick to the testing facilities in Central and Downtown. Save the ones in Underpass and Park for later.
5. Taxi Cab Quest (Pattern Recognition)
A taxi honks at you randomly across Manhattan. Get in, and it triggers a pattern-matching side quest.
The common advice: “Hop in every taxi you see.”
The better advice: This quest is entirely optional and rewards mostly cosmetics. It’s fun if you enjoy puzzles, but it doesn’t give combat upgrades. Skip it if you’re struggling with a boss — the time spent hunting photo locations is better spent farming upgrade materials.
6. Secret Storefront Puzzles (Diner, Laundromat, Gallery)
Six storefronts across Manhattan have hidden basements. Each requires solving a puzzle (like activating appliances in order). Every one gives a health or power upgrade.
The common advice: “Find them all as early as possible.”
The better advice: These are actually best done right after you kill your first Resonant boss. The world reset spawns new enemies, but the puzzle rewards are static. You can dash through them quickly now that you have a combat ability, and the extra health upgrades will help against the next boss. Don’t do them before your first boss — you’ll need the breathing room more after.
7. Vending Machine Battles
Throughout the world, red-flashing vending machines spring to life when attacked. Chase them down for source and reset items.
The common advice: “Always destroy them for the loot.”
The better advice: Only go out of your way for these if you need reset items. The source they drop is modest, and they sometimes spawn in zones with high-level enemies that will aggro mid-fight. If you’re swimming in reset items (you can get over a dozen from Resonant bosses), skip the vending machines entirely. They’re a time sink.
8. Arcade Machine High Scores
Every zone has an arcade machine. Beat the high score for zone XP, and first place gives a reset item.
The common advice: “Beat the high score for the rewards.”
The better advice: Don’t stress about first place. The zone XP from second or third is almost as good, and you don’t need the reset item if you’ve been killing Resonants. Focus on just finishing the arcade challenge once per zone for the XP. The marginal gains from a perfect score aren’t worth the retries.
9. FBC Terminal Questions
Found inside field offices. Answer three yes/no questions for source and materials.
The common advice: “Always answer for free rewards.”
The better advice: This one is actually fine to do immediately — it takes thirty seconds and costs nothing. The rewards are modest but free. No reason to delay it.
10. The Camera Quest (Time-Freeze Photos)
A side quest where you find instant photos and track down their real-world locations.
The common advice: “Find all photos for the artifact reward.”
The better advice: This is the one side quest I’d actively recommend skipping unless you love exploration. The photos are scattered across all zones, and the locations can be extremely obscure — one is inside a building that only becomes accessible after a specific story event. The final artifact is decent, but not game-changing. If you’re short on time, prioritize Unsupervised Science and the storefront puzzles instead.
The Real Secret to Side Quests
So what’s the overarching truth most guides miss? Don’t clear every zone completely before killing a Resonant. Instead, do enough world feats in a zone to level it up two or three times (for the talent points and resource crate markers), then move on. After you kill the Resonant and the world resets, you’ll have more feats to do in that zone — and you’ll have new traversal abilities to reach previously locked areas.
That approach gives you a steady power curve without the frustration of grinding low-level mobs. It also means you’re never stuck with a side quest you can’t finish because you’re missing the right ability.
Skip the taxi and camera quests unless you’re a completionist. Prioritize the vaults and storefront puzzles. And for the love of the Board, get the Reach ability before you tackle anything in the park zone.
You’ll thank yourself when you’re not stuck on a rooftop, staring at a grapple point you can’t use.
