Replicators now free to use in Apex season 20 as part of major overhaul to crafting system

In season 20 of Apex Legends, several massive changes are coming to fundamental systems like legends and Evo shields. The impact of these overhauls has rippled outward, and Respawn Entertainment is taking Breakout, which launches on Feb. 13, as a chance to improve the crafting system in unison.

Lead designer Josh Mohan walked us through the Replicator changes at a recent press event. “We’ve been looking at ways to streamline crafting for a while and felt the release of legend upgrades would be a good time to pair that,” he explained. With each new thing Apex adds, players have more systems to juggle, something Mohan said “becomes overwhelming” once too many currencies, points, and item rotations get involved.

To that end, crafting materials are being removed entirely in season 20. The Replicators scattered around the map will instead be free to use, but to balance things out, players will only be able to use each Replicator once per match, a big shift away from the current ability to stock up on a wealth of supplies as long as you have the materials to do so. 

“You get an item, it’s exhausted,” Mohan said. The items you can make have also been reduced, now pared down to just healing items, ammo, and respawn banners. “This makes the Replicator a reliable source of consumables anytime you need them, never having to worry about if you have enough materials.”

The crafting process is also faster. The Replicator’s build times are “almost instantaneous now” according to Mohan, making the system less risky to use to better match its new limited place. That will come in handy for players using the Replicator to craft banners especially. You’re already vulnerable enough to enemy squads when you’re a legend or two down, and this will decrease the window of time you need to hang around a replicator if you need to do so.

While it isn’t the most impactful change in its own right, especially against the backdrop of Evo shields being removed from the loot pool and legend upgrades being introduced, it speaks to a wider effort on Respawn’s part to redefine what Apex looks like in 2024. The new crafting system is simple, streamlined, and less likely to interfere with the overall pacing of a game, now encouraging players to rotate faster after acquiring their items.

The crafting overhaul is coming to Apex \on Tuesday, Feb. 13 with the launch of season 20, Breakout, where the battle royale will also be celebrating its fifth anniversary.