Last updated: September 28, 2026 — covers the retail build with the day-one hotfix (1.3.3). Boss names, zones, and reward choices below are confirmed by launch-week player guides and the official trophy list; light spoilers for boss identities ahead.

Short answer: Control Resonant has six Resonant bosses — The Artist, The Deserter, The Dancer, The Collective, The Physicist, and The Co-Director — plus Hedron, the final story boss. Only The Artist is mandatory for the campaign. Every Resonant you kill drops a choice of new Combat Ability, and killing them also makes the whole map fight back harder.

What Resonants Are (and Why You Want Them Dead)

Resonants are Control Resonant's tent-pole boss fights — colossal, zone-specific encounters that function as the game's build checkpoints. Each one guards a region of altered Manhattan, each has its own quest line separate from the main story, and each death sends Dylan to the Gap to pick a new Combat Ability.

Remedy's Lead Gameplay Designer Sergey Mohov explained the loop in an interview with IGN:

"Every time you kill a Resonant, which is one of these tent-pole fights, you get an ability. But [The Hiss] also fights back, and it fights back by creating more threats for you in the world... New enemies are going to appear that weren't there before."

That second half matters: every boss kill escalates combat encounters across the entire map, not just the zone you fought in. It's the engine behind the game's difficulty curve — and the reason NG+ runs stay interesting with a maxed kit.

Skipping Resonants is possible (all but The Artist are technically optional), but it means facing a late game that keeps scaling up while your build stands still. Don't do it.

Every Boss at a Glance

| Boss | Zone | How to unlock the route | Combat Ability reward | Trophy | |---|---|---|---|---| | The Artist | Downtown | Mandatory — part of the opening | Barrage, Volatile Anomaly, or Shield | Artistic Liberation | | The Deserter | Central | Clear the Patterned Factory (quest from the patterned pipes) | Ignite or Inferno | Thermal Termination | | The Dancer | West Incursion Zone | Reach the theater — needs Shift from The Incursion Fault quest | Push or Ground Slam | Curtain Fall | | The Collective | The Park | Consume all four Mold samples to open the Mold Gateway | Spore Burst or Growth | Insidious Growth | | The Physicist | Underpass | Find 3 Astral Keys in the Astral Plane near The Spire | Spike or Astral Rebuke | Astral Reconfiguration | | The Co-Director | The Unknown | Follow the Ranger distress call quest | Command | Honorable Discharge | | Hedron | The Unknown | Sever every Hedron Link (final story boss) | Extra Combat Ability Point | — (story) |

Notes on that table:

  • The Artist's fight is the only three-option ability pick in the game — every other Resonant offers two.
  • The quest log labels these by region ("The Central Resonant"), while the boss health bar shows the real name.
  • The trophy column is part of the game's 50-trophy list — none are missable, since free roam continues after the story.

Recommended Boss Order

The game opens up after The Artist, and several Resonants can be tackled in different orders. The route most launch-week guides converge on:

  1. The Artist (mandatory, first)
  2. The Deserter or The Dancer (the early pair — player guides report the main quest "Enemy of My Enemy" doesn't open until both the Central and West Incursion Resonants are down; if the story has stalled, check these two)
  3. The Collective (optional, gated behind a side objective — but don't skip it, see below)
  4. The Physicist
  5. The Co-Director
  6. Hedron (the finale)

The tactical reason to fight The Deserter before The Collective: The Deserter's fire abilities (Ignite/Inferno) are particularly effective against Mold — and The Collective is a Mold fight. Same logic applies if you're saving it: the Mold-based abilities from The Collective only get stronger with fire support.

And a warning from the reviews that still holds after the patch: some damage-type abilities sit behind optional Resonants. Leave them for after the credits and you'll walk the late game with a narrow build while enemy scaling keeps climbing.

The Artist (Downtown) — Your First Ability Pick

The opening Resonant, met during the game's Orientation section. It resembles a huge porcelain head fused with artwork, debris, and city garbage, and it fights by throwing everything it telekinetically gathers — rocks, beams, cars — while floating platforms make part of the fight aerial.

How to beat it:

  • Keep moving while it gathers debris; standing still is how you die here.
  • Dodge only when a thrown object has clearly committed to its trajectory — dodging early repeatedly leaves you in recovery frames when the next projectile arrives.
  • During the aerial portion, use the platforms and the debris the Artist itself creates to reach its elevated position.
  • First attempt? Stay at medium range. Aggressive close-range play works, but only after you've learned the projectile timing.
  • Bank enough Power for an emergency ability or reposition.

Reward choice — the only three-way pick in the game:

| Ability | What it does | Pick it if | |---|---|---| | Barrage | Pulls rocks from the environment and launches them at enemies | You want direct ranged damage | | Volatile Anomaly | Summons an autonomous ally that attacks on its own — and can be thrown as an explosive | You want pressure while you focus on movement and melee | | Shield | A barrier of floating objects that absorbs damage; dodge into enemies with it to deal damage | Survivability is your problem |

There's no wrong answer, and since the day-one patch The Artist drops two Reset Items instead of one — a free early respec if your pick doesn't suit you.

The Deserter (Central)

Found by heading north from the Central Field Office toward the Factory after Dylan notices the patterned pipes (that's the quest trigger). Inside the Patterned Factory you'll ferry power cores to open doors, take the elevator down, clear the red growth off the pipes, and the boss path opens.

The fight is fire and arena hazard management: the Deserter gradually makes the ground itself dangerous, and there's no traditional block in Control Resonant, so dodge timing carries the fight.

How to beat it:

  • When parts of the arena turn hazardous, reposition immediately — don't finish your combo from inside the fire.
  • Keep circling and punish the openings after the Deserter's larger attacks, not during.
  • Dodge through attacks rather than retreating — retreating starves your ability recharge.

Reward choice:

| Ability | What it does | |---|---| | Ignite | Adds Fire damage and Burn to your melee attacks and other abilities | | Inferno | Generates escalating Fire waves that stack Burn — the anti-Mold pick, and the reason to fight this boss before The Collective |

Note: the day-one hotfix reduced enemy HP and stagger resistance in the early zones, and The Deserter was one of the two fights explicitly named in the patch notes — the launch version was measurably harder.

The Dancer (West Incursion Zone)

A masked, humanoid Resonant with two mallets that choreographs its attacks — its sequences reportedly follow a Fibonacci-inspired rhythm. The Theater it lives in is visible from the street, but the gravity-wrecked layout blocks every route until you have Shift, the traversal ability from The Incursion Fault quest (the Parking Garage fault, during the Jesse sequence).

How to beat it:

  • Don't dodge every movement. Watch for the actual strike at the end of each dance sequence — the dance itself is a feint-heavy windup.
  • Use short melee combinations instead of full combos, and always save one dodge for the final strike of a long chain.
  • Perfect Dodge slows the action and opens a safe counter window — the dodge timing tools are in Assist Mode if the rhythm is eating you alive.
  • Listen. The music and impact sounds telegraph the rhythm as much as the animations do.

Reward choice:

| Ability | What it does | |---|---| | Push | Telekinetic shove — can send enemies off ledges | | Ground Slam | Midair-only, damage scales with how high you are when you use it |

The Dancer was the second fight named in the day-one hotfix (HP and stagger reductions) — same story as The Deserter.

The Collective (The Park)

Not a one-on-one: a multi-threat encounter with tentacle anchors, Mold enemies, and shifting gravity, hidden behind the most elaborate unlock in the game. Find the Mold Gateway at the bottom of the pit in the middle of The Park, then consume all four Mold samples:

  1. The one beside the gateway
  2. In the Minimart
  3. In the Pizzeria
  4. In the Gym

The gateway opens, and you'll want Shift and Reach for the tentacles inside.

How to beat it:

  • Keep moving and prioritize the most dangerous adds when they spawn — getting surrounded is the real killer, not the boss itself.
  • Area attacks shine when the Mold enemies group up.
  • Bring fire. Ignite or Inferno (The Deserter's rewards) are the strongest tools in this arena — Spore-stacking Mold enemies detonate beautifully under sustained Burn.

Reward choice:

| Ability | What it does | |---|---| | Spore Burst | Fires mold projectiles that build Infected — damage over time that explodes when you hit it with fire | | Growth | Drops a mold turret that fires spores and stacks Infected on its own |

Synergy note: either pick combines with a fire ability for the same detonate-the-spores payoff the boss itself uses against you.

The Physicist (Underpass)

The strangest route: start at The Spire, use Shift to climb the red carpeted wall, and enter the Astral Plane — then find three Astral Keys (placed east, north, and south, on separate floating branches) to unlock three doors in succession. The arena is straight ahead.

How to beat it:

  • This fight punishes players who stay exposed too long — think movement and positioning first, damage second.
  • Use your movement tools to avoid incoming attacks and close distance on your own terms rather than standing in.
  • This is an optional Resonant, but the damage-type abilities reviewers warned about include these — skip it and your late-game options narrow.

Reward choice:

| Ability | What it does | |---|---| | Spike | A direct-damage kinetic attack | | Astral Rebuke | An Astral-Plane-flavored counter option |

The Co-Director (The Unknown)

Triggered after Zoe receives a Ranger distress call in The Unknown. The route in: traverse Gravity Wells, disrupt patterns, and ferry a charge to the Power Core near the Field Office elevator.

By this point you have nearly the full kit, and the fight expects you to use all of it — combining abilities, traversal, and melee rather than leaning on any single tool. Watch the arena, don't commit to attack strings when the boss is winding up a major ability, create distance with movement when needed, and return to melee range when you see the opening.

Reward: Command — the ability that rounds out the endgame build. Every guide agrees this one is worth the trip.

Hedron — The Final Boss

The story finale, at the western edge of The Unknown. The route requires severing every Hedron Link and reviewing the backstory before the drop down into the arena. Successfully navigating the drop itself rewards an Extra Combat Ability Point — the game's last build reward.

No strategy here (spoiler courtesy), but the same rules carry you through: stay aggressive to keep your abilities charged, fill the Falter meter, execute, and keep moving.

Universal Boss Tips

Every Resonant fight runs on the same engine. Master these and every boss above gets easier:

  • Aggression is your resource meter. Landing Aberrant hits recharges Combat Abilities; hanging back starves them. Offense is literally the defense in this game.
  • Falter, then execute. Fill the Falter (stun) meter, then execute with L3 on PS5 (stick click on Xbox, equivalent key on PC). Each execution grants a temporary melee damage buff — chain them.
  • Dodge, don't run. Circle on PS5; pressed twice it triggers a faster dash with an afterimage.
  • Watch the arena, not just the boss. Environmental hazards kill as reliably as any attack pattern.
  • Stuck? Respec or tune. Reset Items got cheaper in the day-one patch, and Assist Mode can widen the Perfect Dodge window or soften incoming damage without touching trophies — all 50 are earnable with Assist settings on.
  • Need more health, not more difficulty? Six secret hideouts hide permanent Health Upgrades behind environmental puzzles — free survivability with zero difficulty change.
  • Remember the escalation. Every Resonant you kill makes the world harder. That's by design — it's why you want the abilities you're earning, and why NG+ (and NG++ in October) is where the maxed-kit power fantasy lives.

FAQ

How many bosses are in Control Resonant? Six Resonant bosses (The Artist, The Deserter, The Dancer, The Collective, The Physicist, The Co-Director) plus Hedron, the final story boss. Elites like the Hiss Transporter and Mold Spore Mother are regular enemies, not bosses.

Are the Resonant bosses mandatory? Only The Artist is required for the story. The rest are optional but strongly recommended — each one drops a Combat Ability, and skipping them means fighting an escalating late game with a narrow build.

What happens when you beat a Resonant? You're taken to the Gap to pick a new Combat Ability (a two- or three-way choice), the associated trophy unlocks — and combat encounters across the entire map escalate with new enemy types, per Remedy's lead gameplay designer.

Can I fight bosses out of order? Mostly yes, after The Artist. The commonly recommended route is Artist → Deserter/Dancer (both gate the main quest "Enemy of My Enemy") → Collective → Physicist → Co-Director → Hedron. The one order rule worth respecting: fight The Deserter before The Collective, because fire abilities shred Mold.

Is any boss missable? No. Free roam continues after the story, and all 50 trophies — including the six boss trophies — remain earnable. Nothing is permanently missable.

Did the day-one patch change any boss fights? Yes — the launch hotfix (1.3.3) reduced enemy HP and stagger resistance in early zones and explicitly named The Dancer and The Deserter as rebalanced, and The Artist now drops two Reset Items instead of one. If you're playing after September 24, you got the softer versions.

Which boss ability should I pick first? There's no wrong answer at The Artist since the patch made respecs cheap, but the common launch-week consensus: Shield if you keep dying, Barrage if you want ranged damage, Volatile Anomaly if you want something that fights while you move.