CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought is a late-game material used for expensive Aberrant upgrades and Artifact crafting, and the best repeatable farm is in the Unknown around Twisted Rooftops. Tough Hedron enemies there can drop Patterned Thought or Ordered Image, so this is not a material worth grinding in the early Manhattan zones.
There are several guaranteed pieces before you settle into a farm. Hedron story bosses award Patterned Thought, Pulse Fitness hides a fixed pickup, and the Unknown Vendor sells the material later in progression. The quickest route depends on whether you need one piece for a node or a large stack for several endgame upgrades.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: every reliable source
| Source | Reward | Repeatable? |
|---|---|---|
| Tough Hedron enemies in the Unknown | Chance to drop Patterned Thought | Yes |
| Twisted Rooftops Hedron elites | Chance for Patterned Thought or Ordered Image | Yes |
| Hedron Parallel | 3 Patterned Thought | No |
| Hedron Factor | 2 Patterned Thought | No |
| Hedron Proxy | Patterned Thought reward | No |
| Pulse Fitness hidden basement | 1 Patterned Thought | No |
| Unknown Vendor | Patterned Thought sold as a late-game material | Yes |
Use the guaranteed rewards first if you are only a few pieces short. The Twisted Rooftops loop becomes the better answer when several late upgrades are competing for the same material.
Image credit: Remedy Entertainment
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: best farm in Twisted Rooftops
Start from the Twisted Rooftops door in the Unknown and look toward the mapping tower. Move to the rooftop directly behind it while keeping the same gravitational orientation as the door. A tougher Hedron elite can appear there and can drop Patterned Thought or Ordered Image.
After the kill, travel into The Gap and return to the same rooftop. That refresh gives you another chance at the elite without wandering across the whole Unknown looking for random encounters.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: repeatable farm route
- Start at the Twisted Rooftops door.
- Face the mapping tower.
- Move to the rooftop behind it.
- Defeat the Hedron elite.
- Collect the material drop.
- Travel to The Gap.
- Return to Twisted Rooftops and repeat.
If the normal enemies around Twisted Rooftops stop appearing, move back toward the large flashes in the middle of the area and then return. The goal is to keep the loop short, not turn every reset into a full map clear.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: when it starts dropping
Patterned Thought becomes a normal drop target late in the campaign, particularly once you are past the Underpass and fighting Hedron enemies in the Unknown.
If you are still progressing through earlier regions, continuing the story is more productive than trying to force a farm that has not really opened yet.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: guaranteed boss rewards
Hedron Parallel gives three Patterned Thought during the late story chain. Hedron Factor gives another two during Sever the Hedron Links, and Hedron Proxy also awards Patterned Thought when the second link is cut.
Those encounters give you enough of a starting stock to cover several four-cost upgrades before repeat farming becomes necessary.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: Pulse Fitness hidden pickup
Pulse Fitness contains one guaranteed Patterned Thought in its hidden basement. Solve the gym puzzle to open the secret area and you will also find one Health Upgrade Point and 46 Source.
It is a particularly efficient pickup because the permanent Health reward makes the room worth opening even if Patterned Thought is not your only priority.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: Unknown Vendor location
The Unknown Vendor sells Patterned Thought and Ordered Image alongside the zone’s other late materials. The vendor is on the island to the right of Field Office Island and becomes useful once that part of the Unknown is properly accessible.
After Update 1.4.0, you can pin a missing upgrade material and check whether a Vendor has it from the world map. That saves a trip when the current stock cannot solve the problem.
Our CONTROL Resonant Material Tracking guide explains how the new Vendor indicator works.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: upgrade costs
| Upgrade or craft | Patterned Thought |
|---|---|
| Hard Stop | 4 |
| Plain Retort | 4 |
| Drill Down | 4 |
| Lift Shock | 6 |
| Gain Control | 6 |
| Astral Ascendant | 6 |
| Imminent Knockout | 10 |
| Deathly Trajectory | 10 |
| Limitless Intensity | 10 |
| Golden Earrings | 10 |
The ten-piece nodes are why the material becomes a late-game bottleneck so quickly. One build can spend the entire guaranteed supply on only a couple of high-level choices.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: Golden Earrings recipe
Golden Earrings requires the Untapped Golden Earrings, 10 Patterned Thought, 1,000 Source and 7 Odd Echo.
The Artifact gives 20% more Filter but reduces Raw Damage by 30%. That trade-off is significant, so check whether the Artifact actually suits your build before spending ten pieces that could finish a late Aberrant node instead.
For the crafting system itself, see CONTROL Resonant Artifacts and Crafting and CONTROL Resonant The Gap.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: why random Hiss farming does not work
Patterned Thought is associated with tougher Hedron enemies. Corrupted Element and Distorted Form come from tougher Hiss enemies, so killing random Hiss around Manhattan is not an equivalent farm.
If you keep getting the wrong material family, change the enemy family rather than assuming the drop rate is broken.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: fastest route by amount needed
| How many you need | Best approach |
|---|---|
| 1 | Take the Pulse Fitness pickup if it is still available |
| 2 to 7 | Finish the guaranteed Hedron story rewards first |
| Several for one expensive node | Farm Twisted Rooftops Hedron elites |
| A large endgame stack | Repeat Twisted Rooftops and supplement with the Unknown Vendor |
| Post-story shortfall | Pin the material, check Vendor availability, then farm only what remains |
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: do not farm more than your build needs
Before starting a long loop, check the upgrade that is actually blocking your build. Several nodes ask for Patterned Thought, but there is no benefit to collecting enough for every branch if you only use a fraction of them.
The same logic applies to CONTROL Resonant Build Power. Finish the upgrades that materially improve the build you play instead of treating every available node as mandatory.
CONTROL Resonant Patterned Thought: fastest overall method
Take the guaranteed boss rewards and Pulse Fitness piece while progressing normally. Once several late upgrades are asking for the material, move to Twisted Rooftops, kill the Hedron elite, reset through The Gap and repeat.
After the story, add the Unknown Vendor and the Update 1.4.0 map tracking feature to the routine. That combination keeps you from doing another full farm loop when a Vendor can cover the final shortfall.
For related late-game progression, see CONTROL Resonant Update 1.4.0, CONTROL Resonant New Game Plus Explained and CONTROL Resonant Boss Locations.
Related Guides
Official source: CONTROL Resonant at Remedy Entertainment
