Control Resonant: How to Reach the Unknown Resonant (Co-Director Boss Guide)

TL;DR:

• The Unknown Resonant is the last regional boss in Control Resonant — the Co-Director (Arish).
• You need Pope’s Research completed to activate the Gravity Wells — without them, the Unknown islands are unreachable.
• You also need Shift (from the Incursion Fault) and Reach (from the Subway Fault) to navigate the route.
• Start in Unknown 7 near the Evac Building. Ride the yellow car vortex Gravity Well south toward the Field Office.
• Answer the Rangers’ distress call, clear Hiss waves, disrupt the out-of-sync security booth with a Telekinesis Launch, and carry an electric charge to open the locked gate.
• Climb through the building, cross the rooftops, and fight through the hot air balloon plaza to reach the Patterned Field Office.
• The Co-Director fight is a timed damage race — a Command meter fills throughout and kills Dylan instantly if it hits 100%. Be aggressive.
• Aim for at least 110 Aberrant Power before attempting this boss.
• Reward: Command ability (mind-control enemies), Untapped 1996 Commemorative Coin artifact, and the Casual Outfit: Resonants if all six Resonants are defeated.

The Unknown Resonant is the hardest boss to reach in Control Resonant — not because the fight itself is especially complex, but because the region around it is the most disorienting zone in the game and has a two-part prerequisite gate before you can even find the right island. This guide covers every step from the prerequisites all the way through the Co-Director boss fight and rewards.

The Unknown Resonant Quest Overview

Main Story Chain: Defeating Resonants

Quest Number: 5th and final regional Resonant

Starting Location: Unknown Zone — Unknown 7, near the Evac Building

Requirement: Complete Pope’s Research (to activate Gravity Wells). Also requires Shift and Reach abilities.

Boss Name: The Co-Director (Arish)

Reward: Command (Combat Ability), Untapped 1996 Commemorative Coin (Artifact Recipe), Reset Item, Source, crafting materials

Quest Description: Zoe reports a Rangers distress call from somewhere in the Unknown near the Field Office. A Resonant may be involved.

Before heading into the Unknown, make sure your build is ready. This is the only Resonant fight in the game with a hard timer — you need enough damage output to finish the boss before the Command meter fills. Our how to respec guide covers reallocating Talent Points, and our all Power Upgrade chest locations guide will help you hit the recommended Aberrant Power before you go in.

Prerequisites — What You Need Before You Can Reach the Unknown Resonant

The Unknown zone opens during the main quest Sever the Hedron Links, but the floating islands inside it are completely unreachable until you meet three specific requirements. If the Unknown feels impossible to navigate, one of these is likely what you are missing.

1. Complete Pope’s Research

Pope’s Research is the side quest that activates the Gravity Wells in the Unknown. These wells are spinning yellow car vortexes that carry Dylan between the floating islands — without them, the zone’s separated platforms have no connection to each other.

To complete Pope’s Research, place eight probe relay antennas across the Unknown zone. Each relay requires you to destroy a research balloon platform and place antennas within the marked circles on the ground. Completing all eight unlocks the Budding Analyst trophy and powers up every Gravity Well in the region.

Do Pope’s Research before anything else in the Unknown. Every guide and route in this zone assumes the wells are active.

2. Shift Ability

Shift lets Dylan walk across walls, ceilings, and gravity-altered surfaces. It is unlocked by completing the Incursion Fault — the first Jesse Sightings quest. You need it to navigate the shifted geometry in the Unknown and inside the Co-Director route.

3. Reach Ability

Reach is the grapple ability that lets Dylan pull himself across gaps using Reach Points. It is unlocked by completing Jesse Sightings: The Subway Fault. You need it to cross several gaps on the way to the boss arena. For the full Subway Fault walkthrough, see our Subway Fault guide, and for the Underpass Fault that also uses Reach extensively, see our Underpass Fault walkthrough.

The Unknown Resonant Objectives

1. Answer the Distress Call in the Unknown
2. Get to the Rangers
3. Regroup with the Rangers
4. Disrupt the Pattern
5. Open the Locked Gate
6. Advance with the Rangers
7. Reach the Field Office
8. Kill the Resonant

Step 1 — How to Find the Unknown Resonant Starting Point

Once Pope’s Research is complete and you are exploring the floating landmarks in the Unknown, Zoe will contact you over radio. She reports that a Rangers squad has sent a distress call and that a Resonant may be active near the Field Office. This adds The Unknown Resonant to your Quest Log under Defeating Resonants.

Track the quest. The objective marker points you to Unknown 7 in the upper area of the zone. Head to the fast travel door near the Evac Building — this is your entry point.

On a nearby rooftop close to the Evac Building, look for a swirling yellow car vortex. This is the Gravity Well. Step into it. It carries Dylan vertically through the ruined skyscrapers toward the south of the zone. You will touch down on a flooded street just as Arish’s distress call comes through. The objective updates to “Get to the Rangers.”

Reach and Regroup with the Rangers

Step 2 — Reach and Regroup with the Rangers

From the street, head into the marked warehouse ahead. Clear the Hiss enemies inside and speak with the trapped FBC Rangers. They regroup with Dylan and the bay doors open to reveal the street beyond. The objective becomes “Regroup with the Rangers.”

Move with the Rangers out through the doors. Stay close — the route ahead involves several enemy waves and the Rangers provide suppressing fire.

Step 3 — Disrupt the Pattern (Security Booth Puzzle)

The Rangers reach a checkpoint where four illuminated security booths are blocking the road. Three of them pulse in a steady rhythm. The fourth pulses out of sync with the others — it is slightly off rhythm from the rest.

The solution: use a Telekinesis Launch on the out-of-sync booth. Pick it up and throw it. This breaks the pattern loop and clears the checkpoint route. The other three booths do not need to be touched — only the outlier that is moving at a different rhythm.

How to spot it: Watch the booths pulse for a few seconds. Three will flash together in unison. The fourth flashes slightly earlier or later than the group. That is the one to hit.

Step 4 — Survive the Shockwave and Open the Locked Gate

After the pattern is disrupted, a resonant shockwave passes over the entire area — affecting both Dylan and the Rangers. An enemy wave appears in the alley immediately after. Clear all of them before moving forward.

The road ahead ends at a locked gate with no obvious switch. This is the power puzzle section. Here is how to solve it:

• Turn toward the gate. Move to the left edge of the street and drop directly down — do not use Shift here.
• Use Reach to drop onto the road below and collect the electric charge from the orange Power Core there.
• The charge drains over time. There is a dead Power Core partway along the return route — slot the charge into it before it expires to refresh it. This is critical. Miss this step and the charge runs out before you reach the gate receiver.
• Use a Reach Point overhead to climb the wall. Shift back to the Rangers’ level, then sprint the charge to the gate’s Power Core receiver and slot it in to open the gate.

For more on how charge transfer works throughout Control Resonant, our Central Checkpoint power puzzle guide and House in Distress power restore guide cover the same mechanics in detail.

Step 5 — Advance with the Rangers to the Field Office

With the gate open, push through with the Rangers. Another shockwave hits. A second enemy wave follows immediately — another ambush in a tight alley. Clear them all.

When you reach a point where the road is blocked by a second locked gate, do not try to force it. Enter the building on your left instead and climb its interior stairwells. Exit onto the roof and work your way across rooftops and fire escapes, jumping between ledges and platforms until you arrive at an elevated plaza.

The plaza is filled with yellow hot air balloons and a staged ambush of Hiss and Patterned enemies. Fight through them alongside the Rangers. This is one of the harder combat sections on the route — take cover, use Telekinesis to throw debris at clustered groups, and clear the plaza fully before moving on.

Go inside the building at the far end of the plaza and activate the Patterned Field Office fast travel door. Do this before touching the elevator. If you die on the boss attempt, this fast travel point lets you skip the entire approach.

Step 6 — Reach the Boss Arena

Ride the elevator upward with the Rangers. At the top, hold the on-screen interaction prompt to trigger the cutscene and begin the Co-Director boss encounter. The elevator opens onto an open-air platform where the boss awaits.

Step 7 — How to Beat the Co-Director Boss Fight

The Unknown Resonant is the Co-Director — revealed to be Arish. He has formed a pattern from FBC Rangers and turned them into instruments of the Resonant. This is the only boss fight in Control Resonant with a hard timed mechanic.

The Command Meter — The One Rule That Changes Everything

From the moment the fight starts, a Command meter fills at the top of your screen. It rises passively over time and spikes sharply if you take damage from the Co-Director. If this meter ever reaches 100%, Dylan is instantly killed regardless of his health. The meter cannot be reduced once it starts climbing.

This makes the Co-Director a damage race above everything else. Patience and conservative play that would work against other bosses will get you killed here — not from the Co-Director’s attacks, but from the meter running out while you wait for a perfect opening. You need to burn the boss down before the timer wins.

Recommended Aberrant Power before attempting this fight: 110 or above. The Co-Director has the largest health pool of any Resonant up to this point. Below 110, the fight drags long enough that the meter fills before the boss goes down.

Phase 1 — Opening and Turned Rangers

As soon as the fight begins, the Co-Director turns two Rangers against Dylan. Kill these converted Rangers immediately — before attacking the boss at all. Do not let turned Rangers accumulate. They do not hit hard individually, but they stack up quickly and eat into your attention and health.

The Co-Director’s opening attack pattern:

• Ranged projectiles: The Co-Director prefers distance and fires projectiles consistently. Most can be avoided by sidestepping or light movement. Do not stand still.
• Purple beam: This is the most dangerous attack in the fight. When the purple beam starts charging, dodge sideways immediately. A clean hit from the beam drains a huge chunk of Dylan’s health and spikes the Command meter. Avoiding it is the highest priority in every phase.

Phase 2 — The Spinning Ranger Ring

After the Co-Director takes enough damage, it draws the surviving Rangers into a spinning ring around itself. When this happens, move away from the boss. The ring will launch outward in a wide sweep that deals heavy damage if you are in melee range.

Once the ring launches, the window opens — rush in, attack, and deal as much damage as possible before the ring reforms. This is one of the main punish windows in the fight. Do not miss it.

At roughly 30 to 40 percent health remaining, the Co-Director tightens the ring and charges directly at Dylan while spinning it rapidly. Keep running — do not try to attack through this. Wait until the charge ends, then immediately counter.

It will also occasionally slam the full ring into the ground for a large impact hit. Roll away from the boss when you see the slam animation start.

Phase 3 — Rocket Rangers and Final Push

At roughly 50 percent health, a fresh group of Rangers arrives in the arena. At the same time, the outer ring Rangers begin firing rockets in groups of three. Watch the outer edges of the arena for these, evade the missiles, and immediately return to attacking the boss. Do not let the rocket salvos break your damage rhythm — that is exactly what the Command meter punishes.

The Co-Director has no new attacks after this point. The patterns repeat: beam, ring, projectiles, rockets. Keep the same loop — dodge the beam sideways, back off during ring spins, punish the recovery windows, kill turned Rangers on sight — and drive the health bar down before the Command meter fills.

When the health bar empties, an execution prompt appears. Use it to finish the Co-Director. The encounter ends and the Graffiti Artist trophy appears shortly after.

Co-Director Boss Fight Tips

• Never play passively. This is the only boss in the game where waiting kills you even without taking damage. Always be dealing damage during safe windows.
• Dodge the purple beam sideways, not backwards. Backward rolls often clip the edge of the beam. A clean lateral dodge clears it every time.
• Kill turned Rangers immediately every time. Even one or two converted Rangers left alive starts stacking pressure. Clear them before re-focusing on the boss.
• Falter damage wins this fight. The Co-Director takes roughly double damage when fully staggered. If you can fill the yellow Falter meter once during the fight, do it.
• Use the Gravity Well approach rooftop as cover. The plaza buildings offer elevated sightlines and partial cover from projectiles. Do not let the arena flatten into a standing duel.
• Save high-cost abilities for Falter windows. Burning your strongest Combat Abilities while the boss is unstaggered wastes their potential. Stack them for the moment the Falter triggers.

The Unknown Resonant Rewards

• Command — Combat Ability that lets Dylan temporarily mind-control enemies and turn them into allies. Bigger enemies require more Command Charges to control. Look for Command Charge pickups in the environment during future fights.
• Untapped 1996 Commemorative Coin — Artifact Recipe, available from the shrine in The Gap after the fight
• Casual Outfit: Resonants — unlocks only if all six regional Resonants have been defeated (The Artist, Deserter, Dancer, Collective, Physicist, and Co-Director)
• 1x Reset Item
• Crafting materials: Source, Corrupted Element, Warped Resonance, Distorted Form

After the fight, Dylan awakens in The Gap. Hold Down on the D-pad to begin leaving. The Graffiti Artist trophy will appear after you exit, confirming the kill and unlocking the ability.

Defeating the Co-Director also advances the Mural in The Gap — each Resonant kill contributes a section to the mural restoration, which is part of full completion.

Other Guides for Late-Game Control Resonant

If you are in the Unknown and working through late-game content alongside this quest, these will help:

• The Underpass Fault quest walkthrough
• The Underpass Resonant — The Physicist boss and all three Astral Keys
• Recursions and Iterations main quest walkthrough
• Panopticon Service Request quest guide
• SR keycard clearance level guide
• Alan Wake Easter egg location

Want to check your skin collection before the final stretch? Our skin codes guide and pre-order and Deluxe Edition bonuses guide cover everything you may have missed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Control Resonant is available on the official Control website, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store.