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Gather Party Warp

Table of Contents

Description

A GP Warp, or Gather Party Warp, is a technique that allows you to warp a party member to the nearest transit point on a map. In limited circumstances, this can allow you to teleport across entire maps.

Detailed Explanation

Every loading zone in KotOR has a transit point in front of it. This transit point is normally used when you try to enter the loading zone with a party member that is too far away. The game tells you that you need to “Gather Your Party” (GP), and then warps you a short distance to the nearest of these transit points, which normally is right in front of the loading zone you tried to enter.

However, if we can change party members before that warp takes place, then we can teleport that party member from anywhere on the map to the nearest transit point, which may be quite a distance away. This is why GP warps are situationally useful.

AMG GP Warps

A GP Warp requires at least two party members, which we will call the Warping Member and the Triggering Member. The AMG method is the most consistent method, but is only legal in the Unrestricted ruleset, since it uses the Anywhere Menu Glitch. To perform an AMG GP Warp:

  1. Using Solo Mode, position the Warping Member far enough away from the Triggering Member that the “Gather Your Party” dialog will occur when you try to enter a loading zone.
  2. Make sure the Triggering Member is near a loading zone, then activate AMG with a Quick Save (or other method).
  3. Enter the nearby loading zone. This should trigger the GP dialog. If you actually go through the load zone, your party was too close together.
  4. With the GP dialog up, cancel the quit dialog.
  5. Swap to the Warping Member and move them so that the closest load zone is the one you want to warp to.
  6. Click the dialog option to trigger the warp.

The AMG method of GP Warps allows party members to move even after triggering the GP dialog. This can be convenient, as enemies will not attack when moving in this state. Even the Triggering Member can move by using the Flourish Weapon hotkey while moving forward, but only if a melee weapon is equipped.

Finally, the AMG method also makes it easier to perform GP Warps where the load zone trigger is hit using a Displaced Load Zone (DLZ), though this method is not currently used in any speedrun.

Buffered GP Warps

A Buffered GP Warp uses an Open Buffer to delay the trigger for the GP dialog long enough to switch party members. It does not use a Menu Glitch, and thus is legal in the NMG ruleset as well as Unrestricted. To perform a Buffered GP Warp:

  1. Using Solo Mode, position the Warping Member far enough away from the Triggering Member that the “Gather Your Party” dialog will occur when you try to enter a loading zone, and so that the load zone you want to warp to is the closest one.
  2. Swap to the Triggering Member and ensure they are near a loading zone.
  3. Save Buffer into the loading zone trigger. See Buffering into Loading Zones below.
  4. While buffering, use the Change Leader hotkey (Tab by default) to swap to the Warping Member.
  5. Stop buffering without canceling the trigger (an Open Buffer). This will allow the GP trigger to activate.
  6. Click the dialog option to trigger the warp.

This method is more difficult than the AMG method, and does not allow you to move party members after triggering the GP dialog. It can, however, be faster than using AMG.

Buffering into Loading Zones

Triggers for loading zones are actually quite thin, so it is easy to accidentally Save Teleport over the trigger instead of buffering into it, especially if you are further into a run and have longer Quick Saves. Some tips for hitting the load zone trigger more consistently:

GP Warp Door Clips

The teleportation aspect of GP Warps means that it is possible to bypass locked doors completely using specific GP Warps. These GP Warps are considered to be Door Clipping, even if they are not clipping the door in the traditional sense. Thus these GP Warps are banned in the NMG ruleset, even when performed with a buffer.

See the Door Clipping guide for further information.

Uses

In Unrestricted speedruns, many GP Warps have been obsoleted by DLZs; in NMG speedruns, they are much more prevalent. GP Warps used in current routes include:

  1. In Upper City South to reach Upper City North slightly faster after shopping at Zelka’s.
  2. In Upper City North to trigger the Lower City Elevator conversation (NMG only).
  3. In the Lower Sewers to reach the Upper Sewers slightly faster (NMG only).
  4. In the Upper Sewers to bypass the rancor with a party member (NMG only).
  5. In the Czerka Landing Platform to reach the Great Walkway slightly faster (Any% Unrestricted only).
  6. After skipping the Saul Karath fight to more quickly leave the bridge (NMG only).
  7. In the Lehon Temple to more quickly reach the Temple Summit (NMG only).
  8. In Deck 1 of the Star Forge to skip all combat (Unrestricted only).
  9. A GP Warp Door Clip is used to skip Deck 2 of the Star Forge (Unrestricted only).

There are also some uses of GP Warps as backups to certain DLZs in Unrestricted runs:

  1. A GP Warp Door Clip can be used to enter Gadon’s Office in the Bek Base
  2. A GP Warp Door Clip can be used to enter the Lehon Temple
  3. A GP Warp Door Clip can be used to enter the Temple Summit