Strategy Protoss - 4 Gate

[Bloodcount]

Build Type: All In
Skill level: Moderate
Build pro’s: You can kill your opponent in the early game and punish him for a greedy expo
Build countered by: Better micro than yours, huge amounts of well placed static defense
Most powerful in: Early game
Most powerful in: Masters and below
Match up: Any


The Basic Build Order:

• 9 pylon
• 9 scout
• 10 use chronoboost on Nexus
• 12 gateway
• 12 chronoboost Nexus
• 14 geyser
• 15 pylon
• 16/17 cybernetics core
• Don’t stop making probes until you have 16 mining, 3 in a geyser, and 1 scout probe (that is a total of 20 probes)
• Build a zealot when you have the time
• When your cyber finishes, so should the zealot
• Start researching warp tech
• Start training a stalker
• All the chronoboosts go on the warp gate tech
• When you have the money add 3 more gateways all at once. That should be around 4:20-30 and in terms of supply ~24
• Make one more stalker. That should supply block you. Make a proxy pylon and move out
• Turn the gateways into warp gates and begin warping in units. Attack after the first cycle of units
• What you do from here on is your call, but you should continue attacking and win the game with a good enough unit control

Tips:

• Do note that you need 1 pylon to support 1 warp in round
• Don’t just randomly warp in units, adjust to your opponent’s set up. For example, versus speedlings, warp in zealots
• Don’t forget to chronoboost your gateways for the extra production does help quite a bit
• Try to warp in the second you can, that way you won’t fall behind in terms of reinforcements
• Protect your proxy pylon. Build a second one if you don’t feel safe
• Remember, this is an all in, you can’t just transition out of it easy

This Build Prepares for:

• Mass Gateway Style
• Mass Gateway with Robotics Support
• 6/8 Gateway Push

Final word: This is a micro intensive build. If your micro is good enough it is quite powerful. Don’t get supply blocked, chronoboost, and don’t forget to warp in. Good luck!


Screenshots:

Spoiler

4 gate, 4 gate, gonna set up a 4 gate <3

Push out!

If you are cool, you will abuse the low/high ground vision : )

It is quite normal for you not to be HuK when it comes to micro, but please, don’t kill your units. They are your buddies man,! Your mates, your bros!

By the way, this is at the same time, on a different place as the main engagement. Expect multiple battles at the same time.

The results aren’t too clear from this game with the given screenshots. After 1 more minute, he was left with 8 probes 2 zealots and a stalker. I had ~5 zealots, 4 stalkers, and 3 times his probes… and also, he was going the “I will stop a 4 gate with a 3 gate and a robo” build. So bottom line, micro counts more than you think in the one base aggression builds. Good luck!

 

[Whitesock]

Fixed

 

[Daskunk]

Was this ever updated to account for the warpgate timing nerf?

I would also like to note, when Milestones were announced I used this build to grind to the top 8 before the reset. Using this build, I gained 855 points over 6 days with 70 games. It promoted me from low-gold (Matching Silvers regularly) to Diamond.

Might not be fun to watch or lose against, but man is it intense to execute.

Build countered by: Better micro than yours, huge amounts of static defense

Would like to mention: Well placed static defense. I've often had Zerg or Terran opponents who placed down sufficient bunkers or spine crawlers, but I walked around them and continued to own their base.

Also, its epic to have part of the pylon power going on to some back part of their base, so once you walk up there you can warp directly into their main.

 

[Bloodcount]

Yep. Totally agree about this one. The only thing I will say in my defense is that when you have tons of defense you are bound to have a few well placed bunkers/ spines, Regardless I will add this segment to the tutorial.

 

[Daskunk]

Yep. Totally agree about this one. The only thing I will say in my defense is that when you have tons of defense you are bound to have a few well placed bunkers/ spines, Regardless I will add this segment to the tutorial.

Well, I did not mean it as a criticism so much as an observation - I've had people with as many as 3 bunkers\spines\photons still lose to it.

 

[Bloodcount]

I didn't take it as criticism, only as something minor that can be improved in the tutorial, so I did add it : )

 

[Siretu]

As a zerg with my fair share of problems against 4gate, I would like to see you change that skill level to something lower like: "You only need to be bronze to kill people two leagues above you"

Funny story, I once lost three times in a row against 4gate against a bronze friend of mine.

 

[celerisk]

> I've had people with as many as 3 bunkers\spines\photons still lose to it

I've seen Protoss players that were 4-gating lose to it


> ... change that skill level to something lower

Depends.
Watching 2 Masters 4-gating each other normally looks like a skill-level that's several leagues over mine.

 

[Siretu]

The question is whether or not "skill level" defines the how much you can achieve with perfect play or how much skill you need to use it successfully. I think it's the latter. Just because there's lots you can improve to do it even better doesn't mean that you can't use it.

 

[celerisk]

I see your point.
It's just that I'm more on the idea that even the world's bestest strategy is pointless, or even dangerous to yourself, when used incorrectly / wrongly / ...ly.

Of course, YMMV.
But, then again, that's the entire point behind being here. To discuss stuff. So far, it seems to work.