Teleportation

Teleportation allows a unit to instantly move from one location to another location.

Units ordered to teleport will only be able to execute the order if they are within the range of a teleporter, a Slipgate or have a personal teleport ability. If the unit cannot teleport, this will result in a "No gate close to me" error message. Units cannot return to their point of departure without a teleporter or personal teleport ability.

Entire hierarchies can be ordered to teleport with a single order to the commander. However, teleporters can only teleport a single unit at a time - if several units attempt to teleport at once, they will be teleported in succession. Teleporters have a very small cooldown time and teleportation does not consume resources. Slingshots automatically teleport all units in their range.

Units which attempt to teleport into an occupied space will be "bumped" to one side and materialise nearby. Unlike chronofraging, this does not damage the unit or the object it teleports into. If a group of units attempts to teleport near a cliff or similar obstacle, that group may be split up as members appear on opposite sides of the cliff.

While teleporting onto an enemy unit does not damage either unit, a unit which has teleported is unable to attack or move for a short period after arriving, though its Line of Sight is unaffected.

Strategy and tactics

Depending on the map, teleportation can be useful for crossing difficult terrain and attacking the enemy from an unexpected angle. However, teleporters are one-way only, so plan ahead when deciding how to recover your units (Vecgir units can self teleport though making recovery much easier).

Teleportation requires Gate Tech to be researched first, a considerable investment that may not be worthwhile in short games.

Do not attempt to teleport anything directly into an enemy base. Units arrive individually and are unable to attack at first, so even a small defence force can heavily damage an incoming army if the army teleports in. Instead, teleport your units to a nearby unoccupied space and attack once the army is assembled. Note that units can still gather information while teleporting, making this a viable way of circumventing your enemy's defences when using Counterfactual Scouting.

If you have several bases, you can teleport defenders around as they are needed. Be aware that an enemy can still attack you in two places at once, though you may be able to use units from the future for defence.

Building a slip gate or a teleporter and chronoporter side-by-side allows you to send units anywhere in space and time.