Control Resonant Enemies Feel Spongy? Build Falter, Not HP Damage
Raw light attacks barely move mid and late-game HP bars. Damage only feels fair once you build Falter, land executions, stack Dominance, keep Build Power at zone level, and match Blunt vs Sharp to the enemy.
The loop: melee fills Power → abilities + Crush fill Falter → execute grants Dominance → Dominance makes the next combo actually hurt. Skip any step and HP bars barely move. And if a zone suddenly turned spongy, check Build Power in Loadout → Stats & Effects first - one enemy level above you hits hard and takes longer.
1First: Fix the Number Quietly Making Everything Spongy
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1
Open Loadout → Stats & Effects and check Build Power.
Unlocking Aberrant forms, form upgrades, and new abilities raises Build Power, which boosts all damage. Enemies even one level above you feel spongy - if a zone just became a slog, you are probably under the number, not bad at melee.
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2
Spend shards/Source on the form you actually use.
Not every tree. Depth on your main kit beats breadth.
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3
Clear local Resonant / side content for abilities before pushing the story beat that got harder.
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4
Still melting? Use Assist Mode surgically.
Raise Outgoing Falter independently of incoming damage. Players who hate sponges but like aggression use that slider instead of dropping difficulty wholesale.
2The Anti-Sponge Melee Loadout
| Slot | Pick and why |
|---|---|
| Primary | Strike - fast, 30% crit, builds Power quickly. Swap to Glaive if packs keep surrounding you. |
| Secondary | Crush - highest Falter of the early secondaries. Charged hammer hits are what open executions. |
| Combo Finisher | Concussive Beatdown - heavy Falter on the last hit of a light string. |
| Problem | Swap |
|---|---|
| Crowds keep winning | Primary → Glaive. Keep Crush. |
| One elite/boss will not die | Keep Strike or go Cleave (bonus from behind) + Crush + Uppercut Surge if you run the Lifted loop. |
| Cannot stand next to the enemy | Secondary → Extend (reach). You lose Falter - compensate with Ignite or Barrage. |
| Mold / fungal enemies | They resist Blunt on soft bodies but want Blunt on calcified plates. Crack armor with Crush first, then switch pressure. Do not hammer one form into a resistance. |
3Fight in This Order Every Encounter
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1
Stay in melee.
Power only refills from Aberrant hits. Standing back and poking is why fights last forever. There is no block or parry - dodge and keep swinging.
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2
Light string → charged Crush on anything with a Falter bar.
Charged Crush is the stagger button, not a "when I feel like it" heavy.
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3
Spend Power on a combat ability as soon as Falter is close.
Barrage (fodder + sustain), Push (space), Ignite (Burn on melee + more Falter). Ignite in particular turns a mid weapon into a posture weapon.
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4
Execute the moment the prompt appears.
Do not save it - Dominance is the damage multiplier. Chain another execute if the pack allows.
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5
While Dominance is up, dump the full combo + finisher into the remaining elite.
That is when HP actually drops.
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6
Kill fodder on purpose - then convert.
Fodder kills refresh Power and Dominance, but convert them into an execute on the real target. Wailing on trash without converting is the other "why is this taking so long" mistake.
Mistakes That Keep Enemies Spongy
- Mashing only Primary and never charging Crush or finishing the combo.
- Treating health as the only bar. Ignoring Falter and executions is the whole problem.
- Crush into Mold soft spots or Drill into armored fronts, then concluding "melee is weak."
- Pushing a zone while Build Power is behind the area level.
- Saving abilities "for the boss" so you never run the Power/Falter loop in the room before it.
- Copying a single-target kit into a three-enemy hallway (or vice versa). Change the one slot that matches the room.
- Never taking Ignite / Burn or Infect when a Resonant offers it. Status is how later HP pools shrink.