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.[1] Gateways can summon protoss warriors from light-years away, and the travel time is measured in mere seconds.[2]
A gateway and warp gate
Gateways are an inferior form of the xel'nagawarp gate, the technology was upgraded, based on the ancient warp gate technology, following the Brood War, 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.[1]
A pair of gateways
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.[3]
Tal'darim gateways can warp warriors from much further away than their Khalai counterparts. However, they are occasionally torn apart en route. The Ihan-rii utilize gateways that emit high amounts of dangerous void energy.[4]
Game Structure[]
StarCraft[]
Gateways warp-in protoss infantry such as the Zealot.
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.[1] Units can be warped-in on a cliff if the player can see the top of the cliff.[5] Warp-in does not function on allied or enemy psionic matrices.[6]
In Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm and Co-op Missions, 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
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.
Repeat steps 3-4 for each warp gate and unit (this can be done very quickly, before any unit has completed warping in).
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[11] taking 200% extra damage.[12] 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.[11]
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.
Zeratul has access to a variant of the gateway named the xel'naga passageway, which lacks the ability to transform into a warp gate.
Artanis Upgrades[]
Superior Warp Gates
Enables for Artanis warp gates the ability to hold up to 3 charges.
The following section contains information from a previous version of StarCraft II which is no longer valid.
Early image of the gateway in StarCraft II
The gateway underwent a makeover during development, but the final result was "too mighty." It was thus reverted to the form currently seen.[13]
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.[14]
Achievements[]
Warp In Madness
Points
10
Criteria
Warp in 100 units with Warp Gates in a single Unranked or Ranked game.
āYes, with vision you'll be able to warp in on the cliff. Sight is a hugely important factor in timed strategies where players rush to a unit that can traverse cliffs. Karune. 2009-03-16. Warp in / pylon. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forums. Accessed 2009-03-16.
When you play as Protoss you can use to warp gate to warp stuff anywhere on the battlefield, provided that it is into pylon power. Ok cool. But what if you are playing another Protoss player? Can you then warp in on his/her pylons as well? And what about allied Protoss players?
In other words:
A: Can you warp in on an allied Protoss player's pylon power?
B: Can you warp in on an enemy Protoss player's pylon power?
Personally I think the answers should be:
A: Yes
B: No
But can anyone confirm this or set the record straight?
A: No
B: No Cydra, Warlord1981nl. 2009-02-25. (QUESTION) Warp Gate. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-03-02.
Lets say you use the phase prism to start warping in some units in an enemies base. the enemy focus fires and kills the prism before the units are warped in. what happens to those units? do they finish warping in, pause, or just simply die?
if anyone but cydra answers i will be very disappointed.
Warp in will be canceled and you will get the resources back. Cydra, Rancid_death75. 2009-02-25. Warp in question for... Cydra!Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-02-25.
āDustin Browder, Robert Simpson, Matt Cooper, David Kim. 2008-12-19. Battle Report (1). Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2008-12-19.
Warp In Madness
