In my first games the martyr seemed very powerful and I did hire him if I had the chance. Now, being wiser, I never do. He can be useful if you want to blow up your own mine or maybe...maybe...if you manage to kill someone off with it. Most of the time he is more of a risk than anything else.

I see now many new players hiring the martyr just like I did at the beginning:

They launch him on my queen and think they have won the game. It will only cost me one driller to show them otherwise.

They move the martyr to some other outpost and I can intercept him with a pirate or at their outpost at just the right time to blow all the drillers to bubbles.

More skillful players might think they can use him to kill me with a combo of navigator/xxx/martyr...but how is this better then navigator/xxx/assassin? You even get 2 assassins for one martyr and if something goes wrong you are not blown to pieces...and if you succeed with your assassin you can even capture the outposts for further use and go hunt the next player with the same or second assassin...

the fun factor is high I agree...he just has a cool vibe around him...you could even do some tricks with your sonar range...butt in case of value the martyr it just not worth it to my mind!

If someone sends just one driller in a sub to your node with a Martyr, I think you can send one back and deny it. So that's not a problem.

The best way to use a Martyr, I think, is not using it
Just by having it as a defense, people with a lot of subs might target another player instead. Or you force them to send subs with less drillers.

I use it to guard at-risk mines. If I fear a mine could be easily taken, I send my martyr to sit there, so that if the mine is attacked with an overwhelming force,it's lost rather than taken. I have to move it every now and them because of smaller driller attacks, but it does its job.

I would only use one if it's up for hire, and the queen is in the right place to hire it and send it off on a sub to intercept a big attack force.

madiranofo wrote:I would only use one if it's up for hire, and the queen is in the right place to hire it and send it off on a sub to intercept a big attack force.

This

The martyr to me is a last-ditch-effort. It's the only specialist that can counter an elder. In your example above, using an assassin won't work against someone who has an Elder. The martyr is the only specialist that takes precedence.

I don't like using the martyr but sometimes it's the only option for someone who's turtling.

A lot of interesting thoughts here.
Gift it before it's intercepted and shoot a driller to the receiving base.

toekneegee wrote:A lot of interesting thoughts here.
Gift it before it's intercepted and shoot a driller to the receiving base.

Never thought of this. You can gift the martyr and send a driller right after it. If this is timed well the gift receiver has no chance to do anything against it?

If the enemy isn't paying attention, sure.

kinc4id wrote:

toekneegee wrote:A lot of interesting thoughts here.
Gift it before it's intercepted and shoot a driller to the receiving base.

Never thought of this. You can gift the martyr and send a driller right after it. If this is timed well the gift receiver has no chance to do anything against it?

If a player can see the oncoming "detonator driller" then they still have 1 tick to escape, and that can be scheduled ahead. Good vs the unobservant player