The Gatekeeper is an alien enemy encountered in XCOM 2.
This late-game massive unit is deployed on normal missions as a pod leader beginning as early as August (mid-November on Legend).
Appearance
The Gatekeeper sits within a highly durable spherical shell. The creature inside is a tentacled mass of flesh whose emergence is the herald for impending havoc.
Tactics
- The Gatekeeper is an organic enemy, and is vulnerable to the full effects of Flashbangs, Gas or Incendiary grenades, all of which restrict its psionic abilities. Hitting a Gatekeeper with a Flashbang while there are psi zombies on the field will kill the zombies.
- It is also affected by EMP Grenades and Bluescreen Rounds, althought it cannot be hacked.
- Psionic abilities, including Domination, are all effective provided you can overcome its high Will. With an Alien Psi Amp, it is reasonably possible to take permanent control of one for easy terrain demolition and frontline reinforcements.
- After using its psionic abilities, the Gatekeeper will remain in its open form until it is damaged once (this includes damage from a stock). In this form they have less armor and less defense. It is advisable to use a hardhitting attack first.
- Armor shredding effects like Acid Bomb may be undone if applied while the shell is open.
- It will explode upon death, blasting a 3-tile range for up to 7 damage.
- It tends to use its Gateway ability where it can raise most zombies, regardless of whether itself or allies are in the blast radius. This can also include groups of civilians if there are no nearby corpses. Re-positioning the squad away from humanoid corpses and leading the enemies over them can be a useful strategy.
- Like the Andromedon and Sectopod, the Gatekeeper will destroy any objects it moves through, including terminal and container mission objectives.
Game Data
Abilities | |
|---|---|
| Dying Explosion | When the Gatekeeper dies, it triggers a damaging explosion. |
| Fire Beam |
Fire a beam of focused energy at a target.
|
| Consume |
Drain the life of a humanoid target at melee range, raising it as a Psi Zombie if it is killed.
|
| Gateway |
Open a devastating psionic rift in an area. Any humanoid enemies killed can be raised as psionic zombies.
|
| Retract |
The Gatekeeper retracts its defensive shell when damaged. |
| Open Shell | Open the Gatekeeper's shell, reducing armor but granting access to additional abilities. |
| Close Shell | Close the Gatekeeper's shell, increasing armor but preventing the use of some abilities. |
Autopsy | |
|---|---|
| Research Cost: |
1 x Gatekeeper Shell |
Codename: |
Barett |
| Summary |
Our initial readings of the odd spherical creature we encountered show it to be of immense Psionic power, potentially rivaling that of the Elders themselves. It may be possible to reverse-engineer its biomechanical components for use in our own equipment. |
| Report |
Having encountered a number of aliens capable of wielding Psionic power, it should come as no surprise that their aptitude and abilities are often unique to a given species. In this case the subject henceforth referred to as the "Gatekeeper," is on the extreme end of the spectrum in terms of Psionic sensitivity.\n\nHowever, our efforts to analyze the subject have so far revealed little in terms of its actual purpose or intention in the field. Unlike the Codex, so far we've found nothing that would allow the Gatekeeper to open or control a rift. All current indications point to an unusually independent, unpredictable species. R. Tygan. |
| Unlocks: |
Alien Psi Amp (Engineering) |