Martyrdom

Martyrdom is a Tier 3 perk in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War. It returns as a Deathstreak in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It is also in Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nintendo DS). Martyrdom causes the player to drop a live fragmentation grenade upon death.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
"Drop a live grenade when killed."

- Perk description

Martyrdom is unlocked at level 17. A Martyrdom grenade's fuse is 2.5 seconds (opposed to 5 seconds on a non-Martyrdom grenade.) Since frag grenades in Call of Duty 4 have a large kill radius, this perk is very powerful. The most practical use of Martyrdom is in close quarters combat, where the enemy is less likely to be able to escape the blast.

Call of Duty: World at War
Martyrdom reappears in Call of Duty: World at War as it did in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. There are no significant differences between the perks in each game, as both grenade fuse times are 2.5 seconds. The only differences would be the general grenade-related changes Treyarch made in World at War, such as grenade indicator opacity, and decreased damage.

Due to these changes, it is much easier to escape from Martyrdom in World at War than in Modern Warfare, as the player who killed the Martyrdom user will be able to identify the location of the grenade.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Martyrdom returns as a Deathstreak in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, unlocked at level 27. It requires four consecutive deaths before it can be used (three if using Hardline Pro), so it is seen far less frequently than it was in previous games. It is also less effective, as the grenade fuse time has been increased to that of an uncooked fragmentation grenade.

The decrease in effectiveness has also been further amplified by the reduction in damage and range to the fragmentation grenades in Modern Warfare 2.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (DS)
Martyrdom is featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops (DS).

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Martyrdom reappears as a deathstreak in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and is unlocked at level 51. It is identical to the Modern Warfare 2 variant.

General

 * If Martyrdom kills an enemy after respawning, it will count towards a new kill streak.
 * A player without Martyrdom can throw back a grenade dropped by Martyrdom to achieve challenges requiring the use of Martyrdom.
 * Martyrdom is especially effective in Hardcore ricochet game types. The user's teammates will be unaffected, and so will the user, as he or she is already dead.
 * In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops campaigns, badly wounded enemies can mimic the effect of Martyrdom
 * There is a chance that a player could be hit by the falling grenade, causing damage, or even a direct impact kill.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 * In the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer beta, the Martyrdom grenade fuse was 5 seconds; this proved problematic as players were able to easily pick up the Martyrdom grenade and throw it away.
 * As seen in game menu source files, the Call of Duty 4 version of Martyrdom was originally a Tier 2 perk.

Call of Duty: World at War

 * In the Single Player campaign, if the player injures an enemy and they go down, they are capable of several things, such as Last Stand. Some enemies will actually pull the pin on a grenade and commit suicide, hoping the player gets caught in the blast. This tactic is dangerous to players who rush levels, because they may not be aware of an injured enemy who can kill the player in close proximity.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * If the player kills an enemy with this deathstreak, the player will get the title "Martyr" and a martyrdom emblem.
 * If playing Hardcore Ricochet: HQ Pro, the nature of martyrdom grenades' fuse timers and HQ Pro's instant respawn timer make it possible for the player to respawn before the grenade detonates. If the player is alive and the grenade detonates with a teammate in the kill radius, ricochet damage would kill the player again.
 * If a player using martyrdom dies next to their Tactical Insertion, the grenade can possibly deny the insertion or kill the spawned player

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

 * As in Modern Warfare 2, a "Martyr" title can be obtained by killing an enemy with Martyrdom.