• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 10:52
CEST 16:52
KST 23:52
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S Season 1 - RO12 Group A: Rogue, Percival, Solar, Zoun7[ASL21] Ro8 Preview Pt1: Inheritors16[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt2: All Star10Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists19[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Fresh Flow9
Community News
2026 GSL Season 1 Qualifiers25Maestros of the Game 2 announced92026 GSL Tour plans announced15Weekly Cups (April 6-12): herO doubles, "Villains" prevail1MaNa leaves Team Liquid25
StarCraft 2
General
Code S Season 1 - RO12 Group A: Rogue, Percival, Solar, Zoun Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists MaNa leaves Team Liquid Maestros of the Game 2 announced
Tourneys
GSL Code S Season 1 (2026) FSL Season 10 Individual Championship WardiTV Spring Cup 2026 GSL Season 1 Qualifiers Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 523 Firewall Mutation # 522 Flip My Base Mutation # 521 Memorable Boss
Brood War
General
BW General Discussion ASL21 General Discussion JaeDong's ASL S21 Ro16 Post-Review Leta's ASL S21 Ro.16 review [ASL21] Ro8 Preview Pt1: Inheritors
Tourneys
[BSL22] RO16 Group Stage - 02 - 10 May [ASL21] Ro8 Day 1 Korean KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2 [ASL21] Ro8 Day 2
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Any training maps people recommend?
Other Games
General Games
Daigo vs Menard Best of 10 Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Dawn of War IV Diablo IV
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
Russo-Ukrainian War Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread US Politics Mega-thread 3D technology/software discussion Canadian Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion McBoner: A hockey love story
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
streaming software Strange computer issues (software) [G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Sexual Health Of Gamers
TrAiDoS
lurker extra damage testi…
StaticNine
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1671 users

[D] Gateway vs Warpgates

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
Post a Reply
Normal
bodysnatcher21
Profile Joined June 2009
Australia147 Posts
March 02 2010 06:26 GMT
#1
I was wondering if there was any difference in the build time of a gateway compared to the recharge time of the warpgates. It turns out the warpgate recharge time is actually less then the gateway build time. All these figures were recorded using a stopwatch, in a 1v1 vs a CPU, no Chrono Boost.

Unit Recharge/Build times

Warpgate
Zealot - 16.7
Sentry - 23.4
Stalker - 23
Templar - 32
DT - 32.4

Gateway
Zealot - 23.8
Sentry - 30.4
Stalker - 30.3
Templar - 40
Dark Templar 40

So warpgates produce units roughly 30% faster than normal gateways, in addition to all the other benifits.

CowGoMoo
Profile Joined December 2006
United States428 Posts
March 02 2010 06:31 GMT
#2
Heres a secret, tooltips now display build times in addition to mineral/gas costs =)
Ftrunkz
Profile Blog Joined April 2007
Australia2474 Posts
March 02 2010 06:38 GMT
#3
Wow, i dont have the beta, but i didn't know warpgates produced units faster than gateways... I was always wondering why everyone always upgraded every single gateway to warpgates more or less ASAP when not doing strategies specifically involved in proxy pylons etc.

30% seems like a LOT, and definitely discounts the small gas/mineral cost per gateway to do it.
@NvPinder on twitter | Member of Gamecom Nv | http://www.clan-ta.com | http://www.youtube.com/user/ftrunkz | http://www.twitchtv.com/xghpinder
ffswowsucks
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
Greece2297 Posts
March 02 2010 07:29 GMT
#4
Protoss are imba :D they can make units fasterrrrrrrrrrrrrr ^_^

Can you also tell us the timings on a gateway when it gets chrono boosted!?
Terran in particular is a notoriously strong race for a no brain skillhand bot style.
Floophead_III
Profile Joined September 2009
United States1832 Posts
March 02 2010 07:33 GMT
#5
It's whatever the number is over 1.5.

So for a zealot it's 23.8/1.5 seconds.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm doing Laplace transforms at 230 am and I'm a little mindfucked at the moment.
Half man, half bear, half pig.
bodysnatcher21
Profile Joined June 2009
Australia147 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-02 08:10:48
March 02 2010 08:04 GMT
#6
Also its worth considering this;

Gateways cost 150 minerals and 65 seconds to build, this time can not be reduced by chrono boost.

Researching warpgate costs 50 minerals/50 gas and takes 60 seconds and can be chrono boosted.

Converting a gateway to a warpgate takes 10 seconds (no mineral/gas cost) and can be chrono boosted.

I think based on this we can conclude the following;

You should ALWAYS research warpgate and upgrade your gateways BEFORE BUILDING A 3rd GATEWAY, as this is much, much more efficient.



Plexa
Profile Blog Joined October 2005
Aotearoa39261 Posts
March 02 2010 08:10 GMT
#7
I've gotten into researching warpgate asap while building 2 stalkers in PvT. By the time they finish I upgrade my gate to a warp gate and then land down a third. Pretty neat way of getting 3 stalkers out pretty quick.
Administrator~ Spirit will set you free ~
Mikilatov
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
United States3897 Posts
March 02 2010 08:18 GMT
#8
Excuse me for my ignorance, (I've played like ~450 games with terran but nothing else) but units which come out of warp gates must be 'warped in' in pylon power, right? Do these build times include the few second 'warp in' time while they spawn?

I feel that the warping in sometimes can be problematic as your base is being pushed, for the unit is vulnerable during this time and cannot move or attack. Just a thought!
♥ I used to lasso the shit out of your tournaments =( ♥ | Much is my hero. | zizi yO~ | Be Nice, TL.
exeprime
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United Kingdom643 Posts
March 02 2010 08:25 GMT
#9
On March 02 2010 17:18 Mikilatov wrote:
Excuse me for my ignorance, (I've played like ~450 games with terran but nothing else) but units which come out of warp gates must be 'warped in' in pylon power, right? Do these build times include the few second 'warp in' time while they spawn?

I feel that the warping in sometimes can be problematic as your base is being pushed, for the unit is vulnerable during this time and cannot move or attack. Just a thought!


Add to this the fact that you're almost never gonna start building a new units *exactly* when the cooldown finishes. Without queuing, you're bound to miss seconds here and there, which makes faster build speed less impressive.
Plexa
Profile Blog Joined October 2005
Aotearoa39261 Posts
March 02 2010 08:27 GMT
#10
On March 02 2010 17:18 Mikilatov wrote:
Excuse me for my ignorance, (I've played like ~450 games with terran but nothing else) but units which come out of warp gates must be 'warped in' in pylon power, right? Do these build times include the few second 'warp in' time while they spawn?

I feel that the warping in sometimes can be problematic as your base is being pushed, for the unit is vulnerable during this time and cannot move or attack. Just a thought!

Theres a 5 game second warp in time afaik
Administrator~ Spirit will set you free ~
Catch]22
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Sweden2683 Posts
March 02 2010 09:37 GMT
#11
On March 02 2010 17:27 Plexa wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 02 2010 17:18 Mikilatov wrote:
Excuse me for my ignorance, (I've played like ~450 games with terran but nothing else) but units which come out of warp gates must be 'warped in' in pylon power, right? Do these build times include the few second 'warp in' time while they spawn?

I feel that the warping in sometimes can be problematic as your base is being pushed, for the unit is vulnerable during this time and cannot move or attack. Just a thought!

Theres a 5 game second warp in time afaik


I do feel this reaffirms Liquid´Drones opinion that there was enough to do not to worry about MBS, in order to maximize efficiency with toss, you REALLY need to be on the ball as there is no queueing of units, and warpgates only save you a few seconds(sans the walking time). If you miss production rounds, tehy are actually worse since you can't queue, but if you are good, they are faster.

Voilá, Macro Skill required. I approve.
Twe3k
Profile Joined August 2009
89 Posts
March 06 2010 19:02 GMT
#12
srry for digging this up, I'm nub... But with warpgates, you can Warp in freshly produced units to anywhere with pylon power? but you can't move Already produced units instantly across the map to another spot with pylon power?
Lets Burn! <_/_/_D
FiBsTeR
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
United States415 Posts
March 06 2010 19:12 GMT
#13
On March 07 2010 04:02 Twe3k wrote:
but you can't move Already produced units instantly across the map to another spot with pylon power?


Now that would be imba.
Twe3k
Profile Joined August 2009
89 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-03-06 19:20:51
March 06 2010 19:16 GMT
#14
On March 07 2010 04:12 FiBsTeR wrote:
Now that would be imba.



well, if you have seen battle report 4, when he hits the 5 0'clock island Xpansion he sets down a warp prism and all of a sudden 12 zealots pop out of the pylon powa to rape all the scvs. perhaps he was just carrying them in the prism however it looked like they were warped in. Let me find the Vid.



At 1 min and 54 seconds the warp prism sets up and zealots get warped to the base. is that just units that were produced out of the warpgates at the time or was he able to send over some zealots that he had laying around.
Lets Burn! <_/_/_D
MidKnight
Profile Joined December 2008
Lithuania884 Posts
March 06 2010 19:28 GMT
#15
Btw, you also forgot to take into account 5s warp-in time, which also actually makes units vulnerable to attacks.So Warpgates are worse if your base is being under siege already.
Warpgates build units faster and in theory they are better than GWs in every aspect.

However, in practice there's a whole different deal.
You are wasting double as much time warping units in (you can't press "z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z", but instead you need to "z,mouse click,z,mouse click,z, mouse click" etc.) and you can't queue, which requires way more APM lategame.
It also adds more room for error as no player will play perfectly enough to keep warping units in as soon as warpgate's cooldown ends.
So few extra seconds will almost always be wasted.

Still, WGs are superior even with those little nuances, which I believe is wrong cause there's very little reason to ever turn WGs back to GWs and I think there should be.
Otherwise all GWs should just transform into WGs automatically once the upgrade in Cybernetics Core is finished..
da_head
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
Canada3350 Posts
March 06 2010 19:53 GMT
#16
warpgates are far superior to gateways, and not being able to que up units isn't a big deal. just keep a glance on the warpgate number on the bottom right and ur good to go
When they see MC Probe, all the ladies disrobe.
ihchulk
Profile Joined December 2008
Germany60 Posts
March 07 2010 01:22 GMT
#17
On March 07 2010 04:28 MidKnight wrote:

However, in practice there's a whole different deal.
You are wasting double as much time warping units in (you can't press "z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z", but instead you need to "z,mouse click,z,mouse click,z, mouse click" etc.) and you can't queue, which requires way more APM lategame.


But you can just press Z + hold shift + click + click + click.
dham
Profile Joined August 2010
4 Posts
August 15 2010 12:37 GMT
#18
thank you very much for this OP
Argoneus
Profile Joined July 2009
Czech Republic283 Posts
August 15 2010 12:47 GMT
#19
... reason for bump?
Terran OP
ggofthejungle
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Romania392 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-10-16 23:47:22
October 16 2010 23:43 GMT
#20
This is the closest post I found that mentions my problem, so i'm bumping instead of creating a new thread. I haven't heard much talk about this on teamliquid, if there is such a topic please post the link.
On March 07 2010 04:28 MidKnight wrote:
You are wasting double as much time warping units in (you can't press "z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z", but instead you need to "z,mouse click,z,mouse click,z, mouse click" etc.) and you can't queue, which requires way more APM lategame.
It also adds more room for error as no player will play perfectly enough to keep warping units in as soon as warpgate's cooldown ends.
So few extra seconds will almost always be wasted.

Exactly my problem: I don't have the necessary APM to use warpgates efficiently. I always forget to warp in units right when they're available, so the 5 seconds you get by warping faster does not warrant the time lost in not warping the unit right when it's available. I prefer gateways to warpgates 90% of the time, especially in the early game where I don't need to warp units to reinforce my main army - my main army is already in my base, right where the reinforcements pop out. Also, in the middle of the battle it is impossible to go back to warping units on time without a high APM. The pros have high APM anyway, so it's not a problem to them.

In the early and mid game, it is more efficient for me to have normal Gateways. My attention is already divided between : make probes, make pylons(which I forget a lot), scout, (sometimes) micro/attack/harass, make upgrades, expand, transfer probes, think of what strategy to use next etc. I can never keep track of when the warpage cooldown ends. If I have gateways instead of warpgates, I can queue units - this way, no time is being wasted. Yes, queuing is bad, but I queue it right when the unit coming out is almost done.

Yes, there are situations where warpgates are more useful to have. If the game is long enough or if there's a large distance to my opponents' base, I get warpgate tech. Late game there's no more probe production and no more pylons if I'm maxed, but how can I get the most out of my warpgates in the early and mid game? Do you guys do something specific - do you have stick-it notes on your screen that say "Warp units?" or you just don't care about the time lost between warping units?

When a unit is out of the gateway, it makes a sound. That is a signal that notifies me - that I need to make more units. But when they're warpgates, there is no notification that lets you know your warpgate is ready to produce again.

How do I overcome this other than, obviously, getting higher APM? Just practice more with warpgates until I get used to their mechanics? I feel like I am missing out and once I can master warpgates, I can become such a better player.
Soulish
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada1403 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-10-16 23:54:16
October 16 2010 23:51 GMT
#21
On March 02 2010 15:38 Ftrunkz wrote:
Wow, i dont have the beta, but i didn't know warpgates produced units faster than gateways... I was always wondering why everyone always upgraded every single gateway to warpgates more or less ASAP when not doing strategies specifically involved in proxy pylons etc.

30% seems like a LOT, and definitely discounts the small gas/mineral cost per gateway to do it.



its free
On March 07 2010 04:16 Twe3k wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 07 2010 04:12 FiBsTeR wrote:
Now that would be imba.



well, if you have seen battle report 4, when he hits the 5 0'clock island Xpansion he sets down a warp prism and all of a sudden 12 zealots pop out of the pylon powa to rape all the scvs. perhaps he was just carrying them in the prism however it looked like they were warped in. Let me find the Vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFNyg_EsJdA

At 1 min and 54 seconds the warp prism sets up and zealots get warped to the base. is that just units that were produced out of the warpgates at the time or was he able to send over some zealots that he had laying around.


the warp in animation and drop animation is the same (or at least very close)
me all in, he drone drone drone, me win
iCafeMoto2
Profile Joined October 2010
United States3 Posts
October 16 2010 23:54 GMT
#22
In my experience Warpgates are better than Gateways. One trick I found is to build units from your gateway while you are upgrading warp gate technology. That way you will be most efficient and get best of both worlds.
m00nchile
Profile Joined July 2010
Slovenia240 Posts
October 16 2010 23:56 GMT
#23
To be fair, using warpgates efficiently isn't APM intensive, just requires focus (remembering to use them instead of relying on sound alerts).
The above post was made by a noob. Take it as such.
CanucksJC
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada1241 Posts
October 17 2010 00:17 GMT
#24
On October 17 2010 08:54 iCafeMoto2 wrote:
In my experience Warpgates are better than Gateways. One trick I found is to build units from your gateway while you are upgrading warp gate technology. That way you will be most efficient and get best of both worlds.


... I'm not sure how to reply to this..... don't post in the strategy forum
UBC StarCraft Club is official @ UBC Vancouver campus! Your first eSport community on campus. Welcomes players of all levels at UBC. Follow us on facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=155630424470014 or IRC @ irc.rizon.net #ubcsc
insta111
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States80 Posts
October 17 2010 01:06 GMT
#25
I have like 45 average APM and I use my warpgates efficiently because I trained myself to glance down at the warpgate icon every few seconds. As Day9 would say, learn to use out of game resources instead of in game resources.
Pokebunny
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
United States10654 Posts
October 17 2010 01:09 GMT
#26
Yea, the warpgate icon at bottom right should help you a lot. You can glance at it easily without even thinking. Tells you how many are idle as well so you instantly can calculate what you can build.
Semipro Terran player | Pokebunny#1710 | twitter.com/Pokebunny | twitch.tv/Pokebunny | facebook.com/PokebunnySC
GoldenH
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
1115 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-10-17 01:25:25
October 17 2010 01:24 GMT
#27
What I see a lot of players do is constantly looking at the hotkey of the warpgates, or pressing the W key. Warpgates are the only building where you can see the cooldown timing of multiple hotkeyed buildings. Personally , I just build extra warpgates. Sure, I can't use all my buildings at one time, but instant reinforcement via gateway units right when I'm moving out for a fight, and during one, is probably more important than having the best unit composition.
"(Dudes are) not going to say "Buy this game — I cried at the end". (...) I suppose the secret is to find a game that makes you shoot eight million fuckin' dudes and then cry about how awesome it is to shoot eight million fuckin' dudes." - Tim Rogers
Soulish
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada1403 Posts
October 17 2010 03:57 GMT
#28
On October 17 2010 10:06 insta111 wrote:
I have like 45 average APM and I use my warpgates efficiently because I trained myself to glance down at the warpgate icon every few seconds. As Day9 would say, learn to use out of game resources instead of in game resources.

assuming that you only built stalkers out of warpgates (very generous assumption) you would only need 6 warpgates to get 45 apm.
me all in, he drone drone drone, me win
Normal
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 9h 9m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Hui .223
Ryung 105
SpeCial 67
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 7118
Sea 3624
Jaedong 2563
Mini 814
EffOrt 781
Hyuk 545
firebathero 437
Stork 407
actioN 331
Rush 276
[ Show more ]
ZerO 245
ggaemo 116
Hyun 108
hero 97
[sc1f]eonzerg 55
Pusan 53
PianO 42
sSak 40
ToSsGirL 39
Free 38
Bale 37
Sexy 35
Shine 25
Backho 25
soO 24
scan(afreeca) 22
GoRush 17
Movie 16
Rock 16
IntoTheRainbow 14
Noble 4
Dota 2
Gorgc3766
qojqva2115
420jenkins205
XcaliburYe104
Counter-Strike
fl0m1253
byalli489
shoxiejesuss372
adren_tv135
kRYSTAL_46
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King84
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu1273
Other Games
singsing1721
B2W.Neo1102
crisheroes286
Liquid`VortiX160
XaKoH 140
elazer97
ZerO(Twitch)12
Trikslyr5
ArmadaUGS1
Organizations
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream74
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 19 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• StrangeGG 91
• LUISG 14
• poizon28 12
• Reevou 11
• IndyKCrew
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• sooper7s
• intothetv
• Kozan
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• HerbMon 9
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
League of Legends
• Nemesis3470
• Jankos1293
• TFBlade1085
Other Games
• WagamamaTV304
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
9h 9m
GSL
18h 39m
Cure vs TriGGeR
ByuN vs Bunny
KCM Race Survival
19h 9m
Big Gabe
21h 9m
Replay Cast
1d 9h
Replay Cast
1d 18h
Escore
1d 19h
OSC
1d 22h
Replay Cast
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
[ Show More ]
RSL Revival
2 days
IPSL
3 days
Ret vs Art_Of_Turtle
Radley vs TBD
BSL
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
BSL
4 days
IPSL
4 days
eOnzErG vs TBD
G5 vs Nesh
Replay Cast
4 days
Wardi Open
4 days
Afreeca Starleague
4 days
Jaedong vs Light
Monday Night Weeklies
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
Afreeca Starleague
5 days
Snow vs Flash
GSL
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-04-28
WardiTV TLMC #16
Nations Cup 2026

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
2026 GSL S1
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W5
KK 2v2 League Season 1
Acropolis #4
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Maestros of the Game 2
2026 GSL S2
RSL Revival: Season 5
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.