Gate glitch
A gate glitch is an exploit in collision detection allowing a player hit by a foe in melee range to go through certain closed gates (or similar thin boundaries like fences and barricades), resulting in access to areas otherwise inaccessible through normal gameplay or until later parts of the game.
This mechanism occurs because of the collision box between player and foe (responsible for bodyblocking), resulting in the game trying to move the player away from the foe.
It is also referred to as "minion trick" or "masterless minion trick" as it is possible to create a foe anywhere in an explorable area by animating a minion (with Aura of the Lich for instance) and then making the summoned minion masterless (by having the minion summoner suicide with health sacrifice skills or simply using Verata's Aura followed by Release Enchantments).
Uses[edit]
The primary application of the glitch is for running, most notably through the Factions campaign. Indeed, the first three missions in Kaineng City, the quests until Boreas Seabed, as well as the 10000 luxon points and 10000 kurzick points quests allowing access to each faction's main town can be skipped this way. See Outpost runs (Factions) for more information.
The second main application of the glitch is in cartography. In Nightfall it can notably be used to get access to the Elonian character starting area (the Island of Shehkah) and a good chunk in Gandara The Moon Fortress. In Prophecies, it can allow to explore a significant area inside the Yak's Bend outpost, and the western side of the Great Northern Wall without the mission's time limit.
Process[edit]
The player's build doesn't really matter, but a hard resurrection can be useful for the minion master if the glitch fails. Self-protection skills such as Shroud of Distress or Shadow Sanctuary can be used but are usually not necessary. Heal Area is worth mentioning as a way to heal both the player and the minions.
For the minion master, Aura of the Lich is the preferred skill. Without access to the skill it is still possible to use a saccer and raise minions from its corpse with any "Animate" skills.
The choice between Verata's Aura or health sacrifice skills in order to make the minion masterless is a choice between speed and reliability, since the first case is faster, but in the second the dead minion master won't draw aggro of the minion.
Affected gates[edit]
Campaign | Area | Zone | Location of the gate | Benefits |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prophecies | Ascalon | The Great Northern Wall | On the left at the beginning of the mission | Exploration without time limit, faster mission completion |
Prophecies | Ascalon | Ruins of Surmia | Close to Breena Stavinson | Small area beyond the fence (Map) |
Prophecies | Ascalon | Ruins of Surmia | On the way to the bonus objective | Skip talk and wait for the bonus |
Prophecies | Northern Shiverpeaks | Traveler's Vale | The fence before the dolyaks to the east in Yak's Bend location (requires SaO chain from Traveler's Vale to Yak's Bend) | Medium-sized normally inaccessible area beyond the fence (Map). |
Prophecies | Northern Shiverpeaks | Borlis Pass | All three gates leading up to the siege of Krok's Hollow | Skip lighting the beacons |
Factions | Kaineng City | Bukdek Byway | The gate leading to Xaquang Skyway | Early access to Senji's Corner (and Maatu Keep) |
Factions | Kaineng City | Shenzun Tunnels | The gate leading to Tahnnakai Temple | Early access to the mission |
Factions | Kaineng City | Wajjun Bazaar | The gate leading to Xaquang Skyway | Early access to Senji's Corner (and Maatu Keep) |
Factions | Kaineng City | Tahnnakai Temple (explorable area) | All gates | Unknown |
Factions | Kaineng City | Pongmei Valley | The gate leading to Sunjiang District | Early access to Zin Ku Corridor and Tahnnakai Temple (explorable area), then Tahnnakai Temple (outpost) |
Factions | Jade Sea | Pongmei Valley | The gate leading to Boreas Seabed (outpost) | Early access to the mission |
Factions | Jade Sea | Maishang Hills | The gate leading to Gyala Hatchery (outpost) | Early access to the mission, bypasses the 10,000 unspent faction points requirement |
Factions | Jade Sea | Unwaking Waters | the two exit gates from Unwaking Waters (explorable area) to Unwaking Waters (Luxon) and to Unwaking Waters (Kurzick) | Access to the other faction's area, bypasses the 10,000 unspent faction points requirement (Luxon or Kurzick). |
Factions | Jade Sea | Boreas Seabed | All gates during the mission | Skip the fights against the Luxons |
Nightfall | Istan | Churrhir Fields | The south-east gate | Access to the tutorial area in Elona for cartography (notably non-Elonian characters) |
Nightfall | Istan, Kourna | Areas with closed outposts (e.g. Beknur Harbor) | All gates to closed outposts | Early access to some outposts. Missions still require quests to be available. |
Nightfall | Kourna | Pogahn Passage, Consulate Docks | All gates | A few additional points toward cartographer title if going through the gates in the north-west and south-east of the map. The gate to the north-west can also be reached as part of the Gandara, the Moon Fortress explorable area. |
Nightfall | Vabbi | Yatendi Canyons | The gate to the south (north of the Fortress of Jahai) | Exploration of a tiny part of the map in the south-east |
Eye of the North | Charr Homelands | Dalada Uplands | The inside gate of Doomlore Shrine, requires a SaO chain to enter the outpost area. | Exploration of a small part of the map |
Eye of the North | Charr Homelands | Assault on the Stronghold | The gate that the Armored Saurus needs to break down | Skip to the end of the mission |
Eye of the North | Underground | Dungeons | Some gates | Skip some parts of the dungeons. Can sometimes be done with the resident melee foes |
Core | The Mists | The Underworld | Hall of Judgment | Hide from Dhuum's Champions and Minions |