AI ships magically materialize at warp gate

[jordot42]

     Here's the situation:  I'm 1 hop from the last homeworld of the AI.  My forces have destroyed everything here (command station, guard posts, all ships) except the 2 warp gates.  I won't colonize this planet.  I sent 2 scouts to examine the AI's homeworld when I heard lots of shots.  I happened to check my galaxy map and I noticed 23 AI ships where my forces were massed.  "Wait a minute" I thought.  "I killed everything that could reinforce the AI."
     I did a planet view and clicked on one of the AI ships and found them at the 2 warp gates.  And then a few more materialized.
     I don't get it.  There was no warning.  I checked the Wiki but I haven't found anything that could explain this.  Someone explain this to me please.

[Lancefighter]

The warp gate has a 'warp gate - full' attribute - that means its both a reinforce warp gate and a raid warp gate

[jordot42]

     So these gates reinforce the AI even if it has no command station there?  Wow, that sucks. 
     I've left every warp gate up after I take over a planet because I was counting on the wave warning to tell me when to set up defenses on the threatened planet(s).  Doing this has kept AI progress low.  Hopefully these special "cheese" gates exist only on and/or near homeworlds and not all over the galaxy.

[Lancefighter]

ALL warp gates do this.

... ...

[quickstix]

Planets next to AI homeworlds are known as 'Core' planets, and they work a bit differently than regular planets. They have two warp gates, and are able to reinforce at these warp gates.

As an aside, leaving warp gates on conquered planets is a viable strategy, but not recommended. This is especially so on difficulty 7 and up. If you're yet to play on 7 or above, I would suggest doing so, because waves are much more dangerous on higher difficulties. Difficulty 7 is considered the standard difficulty, and is what all AI War players should consider aiming for to get the full AI War experience. I jumped from 5 to 7 a while back and the change in wave threat is extremely pronounced.

[jordot42]

     The game I was referring to was AI level 2 which I just won btw.  Yay!
     Thanks for the quick responses.  I also found, through searching the forums, that the AI can buff through command stations and warp gates.  That info should be added to the wiki (the warp gate part [unless I missed it]).
     I'll have to adjust my strategy and consider killing warp gates and stations if I want no non-wave attacks on a planet.  Wow.  My AIP will be higher next game.  I'm gonna jump to level 4 for that one.

[quickstix]

Good luck, and welcome to the forums. You'll find a lot of people willing to help out here, so feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

In regards to AI progress, the general rule is that 400-600 at the end of an 80 planet map is fairly normal and not something to get too concerned about. If you're smart with knowledge, then you should be able to unlock enough turret techs to cover most planets, and use lower level ships for the rest. Don't forget the 100+ jump when you kill the first AI. Here's some info on that: http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_AI_Progress#When_To_Worry

In regards to reinforcements, I recommend these articles from the wiki:
http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_AI_Reinforcements
http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_Reinforcements
http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_Gate_Raids#Warp_Gates

And for difficulty 6 and up:
http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_No_Warning_On_Waves%3F