Control is an excellent third-person shooter/Metroidvania set within the HQ of a bureau tasked with the uncovering of the fabric of reality itself. This exciting premise is further amplified by the presence of light RPG elements and the growing number of powers gained by the main character. Although it all sounds “trippy”, this game demands a hefty amount of attention to remain, well… in control of it.

Technically, protagonist Jesse Faden gains only one weapon (named “The Service Weapon”) throughout the game, but what a weapon it is – able to morph into many forms and be equipped with numerous impactful mods. In this article, we’ll summarize the capabilities and overall usefulness of each of the five weapon forms available in the base game (note: a sixth form is exclusive to owners of the “AWE” Expansion).

So, here we go!

5. Spin

Ra-ta-ta-ta!

Choosing this form of the Service weapon will morph it into a sub-machine gun type of armament. It sports a very large magazine size, which is unique to the Spin variant. However, pretty soon you’ll notice this weapon’s reckless depletion of bullets.

The Spin provides good offensive capabilities when it comes to mid-range combat, like any other SMG. Yet, it is the innate nature of this game that makes this form the least favorable choice overall. Control simply doesn’t provide enough situations where a “rapid-fire” approach would be preferable.

Enemies move erratically with hard to predict patterns and spawn in large quantities. Therefore, it is unwise to follow a single target while depleting our magazine, and the Spin is mostly good at that. That is not to say that we shouldn’t ever use it - it just so happens that there’ll usually be more effective solutions.

What makes the Spin form awesome:

• Capable of spraying large quantities of bullets in a second
• If we predict where a target will move next, we can down it quite quickly
• Improving the Spin’s accuracy by equipping it with the right combination of Mods will yield excellent results

How to get the Spin form:

Burst-fire mode

Spin form details: https://control.fandom.com/wiki/Service_Weapon

4. Pierce

One shot = more than one kill

A big part of Control’s moment-to-moment gameplay is our awareness of the immediate surroundings – we shouldn’t ever panic and position Jesse into a corner.  That is the rule, but, of course, there are exceptions. Like when we have a properly equipped Peirce form of the Service weapon.

This variant does as the name implies: it fires a piercing ray of destruction that levels everything on its path.  This means that it will create a hole in the wall, or mow down multiple foes if they happen to align in a straight row.

Good things all around, but they come with a large caveat – a very slow fire rate. That alone makes the usage of Pierce more situational than one would hope, given how dynamic and unrelenting gunfights usually are. But, once you spot an opportunity when enemies funnel together (or force them into such maneuvers), be fast to change into this form.

What makes the Pierce form awesome:

• Correct usage can delete half a dozen enemies in a single burst 
• Can force foes out of cover
• DPS oriented mods for this weapon are very easy to find and they’re more than welcome

How to get the Pierce form:

Boom - hammer time

Pierce form details: https://control.fandom.com/wiki/Service_Weapon

3. Grip

What could this object be?

The default form of the Service weapon is also its most reliable one, providing a good balance between a moderate rate of fire, accuracy, and damage. It’s a jack of all trades sort of a deal, with good but not groundbreaking results in basically every combat scenario.

The Grip seems to get better and better as the game progresses though, and that sensation is due to our growing understanding of the nature of Control. Simply put – this revolver-like form becomes more effective as we learn to play better, either by being more precise or by combining the right weapon mods for each different encounter.

What makes the Grip form awesome:

• It’s the form that Jesse wields for the whole duration of the game – it really starts to feel like an extension of her arm after a while
• Good for both mid and long-range combat
• Works as a fitting complementary weapon to any of the other forms unlocked later in the game

How to get the Grip form:

Bang bang !

Grip form details: https://control.fandom.com/wiki/Service_Weapon

2. Shatter

It's time!

One of the things we unlock very early in Control is the “evade” ability and the Shatter form of the Service weapon, which turns it into a “sawed-off” shotgun. Right after that will notice that we can use evade to quickly close the distance between us and a moving enemy, and at that precise moment: we’ll get the idea to feed it a handful of pellets.

Pulling off that combo (zipping from target to target and emptying both barrels of the Shatter from an extremely close range) feels really natural in a game such as this and never seizes being satisfactory. Even more importantly – in Control, enemies always shed healing elements upon being shot, which encourages this type of playstyle. Just keep on blasting them without missing, and you’ll out heal all incoming damage while their numbers dwindle.

The “one-shot-one-kill” performance of this form is boosted by many of the game’s weapon mods, which increase the number of pellets fired, reduce their spread, and of course, increase its damage output. Bring the pain! 

What makes the Shatter form awesome:

• Each individual pellet does its separate amount of damage, which makes this form theoretically the most dangerous one
• An excellent follow up for Jesse’s paranormal abilities
• Depending on the mods we equip it with, it can damage 2-3 enemies in a group, or focus all of the spread on one unlucky target

How to get the Shatter form:

Can't lock me in your cage

Shatter form details: https://control.fandom.com/wiki/Service_Weapon

1.  Charge

Blast' Em

This form becomes available only after we’ve constructed all other forms, and let me tell you – the wait is worth it. With Charge, the Service weapon turns into a grenade launcher with limited homing capabilities. Oh, and did I mention that at full charge it fires 3 mean-looking explosive shells at once?

Taping the fire button prompts the weapon to hurl a black ball that collides with enemies’ bodies, before exploding in a decent radius. But, as we spend 3-4 seconds priming it, this ammo will start to float around Jesse, and when all three bombs are properly heated, they’ll launch in unison. This is done in a manner similar to the “homing soulmass” sorcery in the Dark Souls series, but this time with a much wider area of effect.

Hence, the Charge can easily take care of many enemies positioned closely, or follow a flying enemy through the air before exploding in its face. However, the usage of this form without charging it first will soon prove lackluster, and the time required to arrive at a full charge will always be problematic. This limits the usefulness of this form but also stimulates us to think about which of the other forms we should combine it with. 

What makes the Charge form awesome:

• Without charging, it will push and slightly damage enemies, but at full force, it can level a hefty portion of the game’s geometry
• Very effective against fast-moving enemies with low armor, as it hones in on them and explodes even if they find cover
• Enemies who survive the blast will suffer tremors for a second or two, enough for Jesse to hit them with something else

How to get the Charge form:

Checking it out

Charge form details: https://control.fandom.com/wiki/Service_Weapon

What was your favorite weapon form in your playthrough? Did you felt “in control” during the game’s most heated encounters? Sound off in the comments below!

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