All 21 Ability Upgrade Point Locations
Published 2026-09-255 min read
All 21 Ability Upgrade Point chests in Control: Resonant sorted by zone, with the locked-door trick and the two named chests most players walk straight past.
Control: Resonant hides 21 Ability Upgrade Points across the seven zones of Manhattan. Every three chests you open push Dylan's energy up one full tier — usually exactly what a stalled boss fight needs. Most of them can be collected before the campaign ends, which makes this the main way to push energy beyond the story-imposed ceiling.
Zone Breakdown
| Zone | Chests | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown | 5 | First free-roam zone after the prologue — clear it early |
| Central District | 5 | Several sit behind doors that need power routed to them |
| Evacuation Zone | 3 | Tied to the zone itself and the sinkhole beneath it |
| Western Incursion Zone | 2 | Gravity-shattered streets; watch for gaps on the Dancer route |
| The Park | 2 | One in an abandoned checkpoint, one behind a side story |
| The Underpass | 2 | Split between open exploration and a side story |
| The Unknown | 2 | Late-game story zone — last two chests |
The Locked-Door Trick in Central District
Central District's chests are the ones most often written off as unreachable. A door that stays stubbornly shut usually is not locked by a key — it is unpowered. Look outside the room for a nearby energy core or access point, feed power to the door, and it opens. Before you declare any chest missable, step out of the room and check what surrounds it.
Western Incursion Zone
The western zone's streets are literally broken apart by gravity anomalies, and the fractures cut straight across the route you take toward the Dancer. Two chests sit along this broken terrain — crossing the gaps is the whole challenge.
The Park's Two Chests
Both Park chests deserve a callout because they are the easiest to leave behind:
- #16 — The Abandoned Checkpoint: From the boulevard station, head northwest to the derelict checkpoint. Go inside and walk the corridor to its end.
- #17 — Underhill's Lab: After you return from the Underpass, the Fresh Mold side story unlocks this area.
How to Spend the Points
Opening a chest adds to your running total, but the upgrade only lands once you hold three. At that threshold, energy climbs a full tier — so before you slam into a fight you cannot pass, sweep whatever zone you are in. Downtown and Central District are the smart first targets, since most of their ten chests open long before the late-game zones unlock.