Control: AWE Tips - Survive the Investigations Sector

Control: AWE is the second downloadable expansion for Control, developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games. This guide is for the AWE expansion itself: the Investigations Sector, the Hartman encounters, the new Surge weapon form, and the DLC’s side work. You still need access to the base game and AWE content, whether your copy came from a separate expansion purchase or a bundle that includes it.

Content warning: Control’s product context includes blood, violence, and strong language. This guide stays non-graphic and focuses on progression, combat, and exploration.

AWE is not a fresh-start campaign. The mission line starts after the base-game main mission The Face of the Enemy, and you will be much better prepared if Jesse already has Levitate from My Brother’s Keeper. Treat the advice here as intermediate-friendly, not a promise that the DLC is easy. AWE can hit harder than a normal tips guide sounds, especially when darkness, Hiss waves, and vertical arenas overlap.

Essential Tips

1. Start From Central Executive

AWE begins through the Sector Elevator in Central Executive once A Dark Place becomes available. If you do not see the Investigations Sector option, go back to the base campaign instead of hunting for a hidden doorway. The usual blocker is story progress, not a missed collectible.

Before you ride down, spend a minute at the control point. Check your personal mods, weapon forms, and crafting materials. The first stretch of the DLC teaches light mechanics quickly, but it does not wait long before mixing them with ordinary Control combat.

2. Enter After Jesse Can Levitate

The AWE route assumes late-base-game mobility. Levitate helps you cross broken spaces, reach upper rooms, recover from bad positioning, and handle arenas with enemies above and below you. You can technically reach the DLC after The Face of the Enemy, but arriving underdeveloped makes every Hartman interruption and Hiss wave more punishing.

If Jesse feels fragile, return to the base campaign and strengthen the abilities and weapon forms you already rely on. The guide can keep you oriented, but it cannot replace a Jesse who can survive a few mistakes.

3. Respect Darkness as a Combat Rule

Darkness in AWE is not just atmosphere. If an area is blocked or unsafe, look for a light source, power core, socket, switch, or movable lamp before trying to force your way through. The DLC repeatedly asks you to restore power, move light into position, or burn away darkness before a route becomes safe.

When Hartman appears, your first job is usually survival and light control, not damage. Move deliberately, keep the next bright area in sight, and avoid standing in dark corridors while deciding what to do.

4. Use Power Cores With Launch Discipline

AWE leans on Control’s object-handling puzzles. Power cores often need to be pulled free, carried, aimed, or launched into sockets while enemies or darkness pressure you. Slow down before throwing one across a room. A missed core can cost more time than taking a half-second to line up the socket.

If a room seems solved but a door stays shut, scan for a second socket, a blocked light path, or an object that must be moved by a nearby button. The DLC often connects puzzle state to lighting state.

5. Fight From Control Points and High Ground

Several AWE fights are worse if you stay in the middle of the room. Hiss Charged, Snipers, Elevated enemies, and Clusters can turn open floors into traps. When a control point or balcony gives you a safer angle, use it.

Pierce is useful for controlled shots at distant threats, while Launch remains your emergency answer for pressure targets. Do not chase every enemy into a bad corner. Let them cross sightlines you can defend.

6. Build and Test Surge

AWE adds Surge, a Service Weapon form built around explosive projectiles. Check materials at control points as you progress, then test Surge in fights where enemies cluster or where you can control the detonation timing safely.

Do not replace your whole loadout just because Surge is new. Keep a reliable weapon form for precision or pressure, then use Surge when the arena gives you space. It is a tool, not a requirement for every encounter.

7. Revisit Rooms After Hartman Beats

The Investigations Sector opens in layers. Once you drive Hartman away, activate lights, or clear a major chamber, nearby side missions and loot can become easier to reach. A door, train, holding cell, mail tube, or office object that looked like set dressing may become the start of a side activity.

Use control points as cleanup anchors. Fast travel back to Active Investigations, Shifted Offices, Fra Mauro AWE, or other unlocked points when a mission sends you across the sector instead of walking the entire route again.

8. Treat Side Missions as Mod Routes

AWE’s side missions are worth doing because they are not only flavor. Several reward unique weapon mods, and the side objectives push you through rooms you might otherwise leave half-searched. If you care about making Jesse stronger before the finale, do not rush straight from one main objective marker to the next.

Look carefully after major story rooms. Dead In Its Tracks, Return To Sender, Gerbil Took The Top Head, and other odd jobs can be easy to miss if you sprint past interactable objects.

9. Use Arcade Fights for Practice and Resources

Active Investigations includes arcade machines tied to combat challenges. One focuses on larger enemy waves, and another can open repeat boss fights after the first machine is used. These are useful when you want resources, mods, or a controlled place to relearn timing.

Do not grind them while tilted. Use them to test Surge, refine defensive movement, or build confidence before returning to the main route.

10. Keep Lore Curiosity Separate From Survival

AWE is built around the Alan Wake crossover, but the DLC’s moment-to-moment challenge is still Control: movement, positioning, Launch timing, weapon choice, and reading the room. Stop for documents and recordings when the area is safe. During a Hartman sequence or Hiss wave, prioritize light, cover, and enemy control first.

The story is easier to appreciate when you are not repeatedly reloading because you tried to read a room while enemies were still active.

Readiness Checklist

Check	Why It Matters
The Face of the Enemy completed	Unlocks the AWE mission path
Levitate unlocked	Makes traversal and arena recovery much safer
Preferred weapon forms upgraded	Prevents long fights from becoming resource drains
Health and energy feel comfortable	Gives room for mistakes in dark areas
Mods reviewed at a control point	Avoids entering with outdated bonuses
AWE access confirmed	Keeps base-game and DLC ownership separate

Combat and Exploration Priorities

Situation	Best First Move	Payoff
Darkness blocks a route	Find a lamp, light, power core, or switch	Opens safe passage
Hartman enters the room	Move toward light before attacking	Prevents panic damage
Hiss spawn around a turntable or office	Take a defended angle	Reduces crossfire
A socket is visible	Carry or Launch a power core carefully	Restores doors, lights, or progression
A new control point appears	Claim it before exploring deeper	Secures fast travel and recovery
A strange object becomes interactable	Check for a side mission	Leads to rewards and sector cleanup
Surge becomes craftable	Test it in open fights	Adds explosive crowd control

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Entering AWE before Jesse has Levitate - The DLC expects strong mobility, and underprepared traversal makes fights feel harsher than they need to be.

2. Running through darkness without finding a light source - Darkness areas are usually solved by lamps, switches, power cores, or restored electricity.

3. Standing in open arenas while Hiss attack from multiple levels - Use balconies, control point areas, and cover so Snipers and Elevated enemies cannot freely punish you.

4. Throwing power cores before aiming at the socket - A missed Launch can waste time and expose Jesse during puzzle-combat rooms.

5. Chasing Hartman instead of reaching light - Survival and light positioning matter more than aggressive damage during scripted pressure moments.

6. Ignoring side rooms after major objectives - Several AWE side missions and rewards are tied to revisiting sector spaces after encounters change the area.

7. Replacing a reliable weapon form with Surge in every fight - Surge is useful, but tight rooms and precision targets still reward familiar weapon forms.

8. Skipping control points before deeper exploration - Claiming them gives fast travel, safer restarts, and a chance to adjust mods or build upgrades.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Start requirement	Finish The Face of the Enemy, then use the Central Executive Sector Elevator.
Recommended readiness	Bring Levitate and a survivable mid-to-late-game Jesse.
Main survival rule	Treat light as a mechanic, not decoration.
Best combat habit	Fight from defended angles instead of open floors.
New tool	Build and test Surge without abandoning reliable weapon forms.
Cleanup priority	Revisit rooms for side missions and unique mod rewards.