Martyrdom

Martyrdom is a Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War Tier 3 perk that gives the player the ability to drop a live fragmentation grenade upon death. A Martyrdom grenade's fuse is 2.5 seconds (as opposed to the 5 second fuse of a non-Martyrdom grenade, and a grenade that is picked up with the Toss Back Perk, which is 3 seconds. The grenade cannot be considered "cooked" since a player would have to pick it up.  A player with the Martyrdom perk who is killed cooking a grenade will drop both the grenade that was held and the Martyrdom grenade.  An interesting fact is that enemies can be damaged by the grenade while it is falling, on rare occasions resulting in direct impact kills.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
The perk is very useful in close quarters levels, as well as small rooms where it is difficult for the enemy to exit in time to escape the blast. In multiplayer, some servers on the PC version ban the use of Martyrdom, either for it being considered cheap, or that it can become annoying if many/all of the players on a server have it, though many also argue that the inclusion of this perk is simply part of the game and can be easily avoided by more experienced players.

Though it's not a reliable perk, Martyrdom can give the user a handful of additional kills. Most players now will assume that a player has Martyrdom and flee the area as soon as they achieve a kill. Confined areas and Sonic Boom makes this perk more effective. It should be noted that some servers will kick players using this perk in the PC version of Call of Duty 4. It is also frowned upon to use in Hardcore Team Deathmatch and Hardcore Search and Destroy, given that the dropped grenade can also kill teammates (hence why it is far rarer on those modes). However, players still sometimes use the perk in those modes, and due to increased weapon damage, the perk becomes much more effective if teamkills can be avoided.

Many players despise Martyrdom as it is considered to be cheap way to earn kills since there is usually absolutely no skill required, and one is basically rewarded for dying. However, Martyrdom can also be used tactically, such as a with an SMG. Some players even Martyrdom as a suicide bomb by running into an enclosed area with enemies and allowing themselves to be killed in hopes of taking down one or more enemies. It is often thought that even having the fuse lengthened by a second would make it more fair.

If you are quick to react, it can be very advantageous to throw an enemy's Martyrdom grenade if the grenade was just dropped, so you do not need to run away and risk exposing yourself to fire, and you can get kills with it. However, be ready to sprint and/or move backward once an opponent is eliminated. If there is a threat of running toward more enemies then try move around a corner or go prone behind something. Turning completely around may take too long and there is a good possibility you will be hung up on another teammate.

Call of Duty: World at War
Martyrdom reappears in Call of Duty: World at War just as it did in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. There is no superficial difference between the two perks from the two games, as both grenade times are 2.5 seconds. The only possible difference would be that the grenade indicator for Call of Duty: World at War dims down when you are further away from a live grenade (Treyarch developers have changed the effect of grenades). Thus, the dimmer the indicator, the less damage you will take. This is not true in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as even if you are at the maximum range of the martyrdom, you would still get killed. Due to this fact, it is much easier to escape from Martyrdom in Call of Duty: World at War, as the player that killed the Martyrdom user will usually end up backpedaling.

Trivia

 * In the Call of Duty 4: Multiplayer Beta, the Martyrdom grenade fuse was five seconds; this proved problematic as players were readily able to pick up the Martyrdom grenade and throw it away.


 * The Martyrdom grenade on Call of Duty 5 can be picked up and thrown away, causing little damage to you (signaled by ringing ears and heavy breathing). However, it must be done within a very short period of time (1 second at the most) to ensure survival.


 * It is possible to kill yourself with you own Martyrdom. On small maps, such as Dome, while playing a fast paced game mode, like War or Headquarters, and one quickly skips KillCam and spawns on the grenade resulting in a suicide.


 * Every time someone gets a kill with martyrdom a kitten dies. You bastards!!!