Most players stick to one Aberrant form for hours. That’s a mistake. The game never tells you that you can swap your entire loadout — primary weapon, secondary form, even combo finishers — right in the middle of a fight. No need to fast-travel back to the Gap. No need to wait for a lull. You just open the menu and swap.
But there’s a catch: you can’t switch a weapon that’s currently in use. If you’re mid-swing with the Crush hammer, the game locks that form until the animation finishes. So timing matters. Here’s exactly how to do it, and why you should start doing it immediately.
The game never tells you that you can swap your entire loadout — primary weapon, secondary form, even combo finishers — right in the middle of a fight.
How to Swap Weapons Mid-Encounter
- Open the loadout menu. Press the pause button, then navigate to the Loadout screen. The game pauses — this isn’t a real-time wheel, so you have a few seconds to think.
- Select the weapon slot you want to change. Primary, secondary, or combo finisher. Each slot shows the currently equipped form.
- Choose the new form from your unlocked options. Any form you’ve purchased with Living Shards appears here. If you haven’t unlocked alternatives (Strike, Glaive, or Cleave for primary; Crush, Drill, or Extend for secondary), you’ll need to buy them first at a vendor or from the Gap.
- Confirm the swap. The new weapon equips instantly when you close the menu.
One scenario: you’re fighting a Hiss Guard with a shield. Your Glaive (raw damage) barely scratches it. Pause, swap to Drill (sharp damage), and two charged hits break the shield. Then swap back to Glaive for the kill. The whole swap takes under two seconds.
Why You Need More Than One Weapon
Each damage type has a specific role. The game shows a reminder on the stats screen, but most players ignore it until they hit a wall.
| Weapon Form | Damage Type | Best Used Against | Falter Buildup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strike (primary) | Raw | General combat, crit-chance builds | Low |
| Crush (secondary) | Blunt | Armored enemies (Hiss Heavy, Mold) | High |
| Drill (secondary) | Sharp | Shielded enemies (Hiss Elevated, Guard) | Medium |
| Extend (secondary) | Raw | Crowd control, airborne juggles | Medium |
The table makes it obvious: if you only carry raw-damage weapons, you’ll spend twice as long breaking armor or shields. Swapping to the matching damage type cuts that time in half.
When to Switch During Combat
Armored enemies. The Hiss Heavy wears a military vest icon. Strike or Glaive hits deal reduced damage until the armor breaks. Switch to Crush — a single charged hammer blow strips the armor in one hit. Then swap back to your primary for the damage phase.
Shielded enemies. Hiss Elevated float above the battlefield with a white overlay on their health bar. Drill’s sharp damage rips shields apart. Land two quick jabs, the shield shatters, and you’re back to raw damage.
Mold enemies. These appear heavily in the Park zone and later areas. They resist blunt and raw damage. Fire abilities (Ignite or Inferno) are best, but if you haven’t unlocked those yet, Crush’s blunt damage at least breaks their armor. Better than doing nothing.
Advanced Tip: Synergy Through Quick Swaps
The real power comes from chaining weapons mid-combo. Here’s a specific sequence against a Hiss Heavy:
- Open with Crush’s charged attack — breaks armor and builds high falter.
- The enemy is staggered. Swap to Strike while the stagger lasts.
- Use Strike’s fast attacks to build the falter meter to full.
- Execute the enemy with a finisher, triggering Dominance mode (100% damage boost for 8 seconds).
You’ve effectively combined two weapon trees into one attack string. The game never teaches this, but it’s the fastest way to clear tough encounters.
One more scenario: on the rooftop near the West Incursion Zone parking garage, you’ll face a group of three Hiss Elevated and one Hiss Heavy. Open with Crush on the Heavy, swap to Drill for the Elevated, then back to Crush to finish the Heavy. Total swap time: maybe four seconds of menu navigation. The fight ends in half the time it would take with a single weapon.
The Only Rule
You cannot change a weapon while you’re attacking with it. The loadout menu shows a “Weapon in use” message if you try. So dodge first, or finish your current combo, then swap. That quarter-second pause is all it takes.
Once you get used to it, swapping becomes second nature. You’ll stop dragging the wrong weapon into every fight. And you’ll wonder why you ever settled for one.
- How do you swap weapons mid-encounter in Control Resonant?Open the loadout menu, select the weapon slot, choose a new form from unlocked options, and confirm the swap.
- When should you switch weapons during combat?Switch to Crush for armored enemies, Drill for shielded enemies, and Extend for crowd control.
- What is the only rule for weapon swapping?You cannot change a weapon while attacking with it; dodge or finish the combo first.
