Karma Gate

Karma Gates are massive, intricate gates that separate the regions of Rain World.

Function
Karma Gates are barriers that separate adjoining regions. Each gate has a distinct karma requirement to activate, which may differ depending on which region the gate is entered from.

Activation
The player, when meeting or exceeding a Karma Gate's Karma requirement, can activate it by standing still for about three seconds inside the chamber. Upon the gate's activation (which can be canceled by moving before the gate seals), the karma symbols within the chambers disappear, and the shutter begins to close behind, sealing the player in until the gate's animation (the duration of which is about 23 seconds) finishes. When playing as the, a gate's karma requirement only needs to be fulfilled once - subsequent activations do not require a specific karma level.

Inactivity
Karma Gates already used within a cycle are rendered inoperable for its remainder. If the player does not meet the Karma Gate's requirement, an attempt to use it causes their current karma level to flash red and white on their HUD, and the gate does not activate. While the player is in starvation, any gates activated in the previous cycle remain inoperable, with the player only being able to activate them once the starvation cycle has ended.

Appearance
Karma Gates comprise two open chambers separated by intricate mechanical shutters. When Karma Gates are idle, their chambers contain white projections of Karma symbols which represent the Karma requirement for entry. When a gate is activated, these symbols disappear for the duration of the gate's animation. If the player revisits a previously activated gate while playing as the, the karma symbols are replaced with light blue circular symbols, denoting a lack of a karma requirement for the gate's activation.

Variants
Karma Gates come in two variants: 'standard' gates, which utilize heating elements below the gate's chambers to heat water that falls from a reservoir above the gate to create steam, and 'electric' gates, which have yellow projections of Karma symbols, lack a reservoir and heating element, and release steam from an unseen source. 'Electric' gates are located exclusively in regions that are mostly or entirely above the ground, and contain several electronic elements that standard gates lack - namely, four signal lights indicating the stages of the gate activation process, as well as an indicator bar that drains throughout the activation.

Trivia

 * A new region is technically entered - the map to it being made available - about a third of the way through the activation process.
 * The steam produced in a Karma Gate's activation process is intended to function as a decontaminant.
 * The indicator bar present at most 'electric' gates is not present in either one of Five Pebbles' Karma Gates.
 * The bottom left signal light in the Karma Gate connecting Five Pebbles and Metropolis is inaccessible for every Slugcat except , who can only access it after  is talked to.
 * A Karma Gate's resetting animation after a successful activation lasts about 23 seconds, the same duration as its activation animation.
 * Karma Gates can sense "balance with nature", and so "stay open for this saintlike being".