Returnal: What Reconstructors Do & How to Use Them

One of the many alien machines that can be found on Returnal’s planet of Atropos is the Reconstructor. It looks very imposing, but in actual fact these are incredibly useful and can save you a ton of time on your next run if the alien enemies get the better of you. As such you may be wondering “what Reconstructors do in Returnal?” Well, we’ve got the answer.

The Reconstructor’s in-game description is very vague, reading: “A xeno-tech device for accurate reconstruction of complex entities per environment.” They cost 6 Ether, which is quite a lot, and as such you may have been avoiding using them in case it turns out to be a costly mistake.

What Reconstructors Do in Returnal

A Reconstructor brings you back to life in that location when you die, rather than respawning back at Helios — Selene’s crashed ship. You’ll also keep all of your weapons, parasites and artifacts you had on you at the time of dying when you respawn at a Reconstructor.

This makes them a very useful machine to use, indeed, especially if you’ve pushed through one or two new biomes in your current run. You can take on a boss with the reassurance that you’ve got a bit of a safety net for your progress if you die, rather than having to start an entirely new run altogether.

We’d recommend only really using Reconstructors when you’ve got a really good loadout on your run and can afford to spend the six Ether to use them. If you’re struggling for Ether, you can always use the Obolite Repository located by Fabricators to exchange some Obolites for Ether.

That’s everything you need to know on Returnal Reconstructors. For more tips and tricks, head on over to our wiki, or see more of our coverage on the game below.