Gateway

The gateway is a protoss structure used to transport infantry.

Overview
Gateways create a swirling rift that warps in protoss warriors from their home territories to the location of the military colony housing the gateway. A phenomenal amount of energy is required for this operation and, as with most protoss structures, a gateway can only function if it is powered by the psionic matrix formed by a network of pylons. Gateways can summon protoss warriors from light-years away, and the travel time is measured in mere seconds.

Gateways are an inferior form of the xel'naga warp gate technology which was lost during the Aeon of Strife (the protoss maintained the ability to use warp gates, however). The technology was upgraded, based on the ancient warp gate technology, following the, giving the protoss access to warp gates of their own. The protoss barely understand the technology behind it however, as it has been reverse engineered from ancient xel'naga structures found on both Aiur and Shakuras.

Deactivating a gate traps objects in mid-transport within the gate's energy matrix. Trapped travelers may be aware of what has happened. The suspended transport is completed upon gate reactivation.

StarCraft
Gateways warp-in protoss infantry such as the.

StarCraft II
The gateway is much the same in StarCraft II, though can now transform into a warp gate.

Warp Gate
Any gateway can be transformed into a warp gate, any warp gate can be transformed back into a gateway.

Warp-In
A warp gate can warp-in protoss forces to any part of the battlefield that lies within the psionic matrix, created by pylons and by the very mobile warp prism. This enables protoss forces to be transported directly to the front lines, to beleaguered outposts, or even to launch ambushes. Units can be warped-in on a cliff if the player can see the top of the cliff. Warp-in does not function on allied or enemy psionic matrices.

In Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm, forces warp-in over 5 seconds, gaining hit points over time. If the units fall outside the psionic matrix during this process (for instance, if the supporting pylon or warp prism is destroyed) then they are destroyed. In Legacy of the Void, the warp-in time is increased to 16 seconds, unless the pylon is in range of a nexus or gateway/warp gate, in which case the time is 2 seconds.

If a warp prism is supporting the warp-in and it is destroyed, the warp-in is canceled and the player gets back the resources.

The warp gate enters a cooldown before another unit may be warped in. The interval is equivalent to ten seconds less than the last unit's gateway build time.

The warp gate does not have the ability to queue units regularly, but can be quickly transformed back into a gateway. All warp gates can be selected by pushing the "W" key.

Putting a pylon in the central map area, known as "proxy pylon", in order to warp-in units nearer the enemy base is a commonly used strategy.

To use warp-in, the player would first:


 * 1) Select one or more warp gates.
 * 2) Press the hotkey to create a unit.
 * 3) Select an area in the psionic matrix (either generated by a pylon or warp prism) and select that point.
 * 4) The unit begins to warp-in. This causes the closest warp gate to enter cooldown, during which it cannot begin to warp-in another unit.
 * 5) Repeat steps 3-4 for each warp gate and unit (this can be done very quickly, before any unit has completed warping in).
 * 6) Once all warp gates have begun warping in units, the player must wait for at least one warp gate to emerge from cooldown before they can use one again.

If the player has any idle warp gates, an icon will display showing how many are idle.

In Legacy of the Void, units become more vulnerable during the warp-in phase taking 200% extra damage. The goal of this change was to strengthen harassing tactics versus protoss, while also making a protoss player’s army and warp-in positioning a more tactical decision.

Legacy of the Void Campaign
When playing the single-player campaign in Legacy of the Void on Normal or Casual difficulty, warp gates have the passive ability Superior Warp Gates, allowing them to generate up to three charges over time. Warping in a unit consumes a charge, at which point the warp gate will generate a new charge, the time needed differing based on the unit warped in.

Co-op Missions
Artanis, Vorazun, Karax, Alarak and Fenix are able to build gateways in Co-op Missions. Artanis' gateways appear already transformed into warp gates, while Vorazun, Karax, Alarak and Fenix must research warp gate technology. At Level 3 Artanis gains the talent Superior Warp Gates, causing his warp gates to store charges that let him warp in multiple units from a single warp gate.

Development
The gateway underwent a makeover during development, but the final result was "too mighty." It was thus reverted to the form currently seen.

When Wings of Liberty was first released, a tactic in protoss vs. protoss games was the 4-gate rush. Alterations were made and the technique became less viable.

Heroes of the Storm
Visually modified warp gates appeared in early builds of Heroes of the Storm.

Overwatch
A gateway (or similar structure) appears in the Blizzard World map in Overwatch. It forms part of a rollercoaster ride.