Martha Ascension Guide 2026

This Martha Ascension Guide breaks down both of her new skills now that Martha’s Ascension Season is live in Hero Wars Alliance. We go through every number at every grade, what each upgrade actually buys you, and where the real costs are hiding.

For context, we already covered what these Ascension skills could mean for Martha’s teams, and then how the season itself works: the 25-day rental, the three ways to keep the skills permanently, and the emerald wall sitting behind grade three. Now that the skills are actually in the game, it’s time to look at the numbers themselves.

Martha Ascension Guide: Invigorating Herbs (Ascension 2)

Invigorating Herbs builds directly on her Tea Party totem. While the totem is standing, your whole team gets bonus speed. At base, that bonus sits at 10%, and the first two grades push it up in clean 5% steps.

So the speed stops growing at grade two. Instead of more speed, grade three adds durability, letting the totem survive up to three hits.

Why the Totem’s Survival Matters

Martha’s ultimate already gives your team a big speed burst, but it only lasts six seconds. Invigorating Herbs, on the other hand, is a smaller bonus tied to the totem. Tea Party conjures that totem every fifteen seconds, and it lasts up to eight seconds.

Enemies can’t target the totem directly, although area damage can still hit it. As a result, the value of this skill depends on how much of those eight seconds the totem actually survives. If area damage breaks it early, the bonus disappears with it, and that’s exactly the problem grade three is trying to solve.

Why Long Fights Favor This Skill

A 20% bonus may not sound like much next to her ultimate, but it keeps coming back. Each time the totem returns, so does the speed. Over a long fight, those repeated windows can add up to extra attacks and faster energy for your whole team.

In a short fight, however, it barely has time to matter. In other words, the longer your fights run, the more this skill is worth.

Turtle’s Patronage (Ascension 5)

While Martha is above 50% health, she takes part of the damage aimed at the nearest ally. The transfer starts at 10% and climbs the same way Invigorating Herbs does.

Why “Nearest” Matters

Martha doesn’t choose who to protect. Instead, it depends on who stands closest to her, so the ally getting the help changes with your lineup and with how the fight moves.

That makes grade three more interesting than it first looks. Covering two allies instead of one gives the skill a better chance of landing on the hero who actually needs it.

The 50% Health Condition and the Fragile Asgard Build

Here’s the condition that changes everything: above 50% health. The moment Martha drops below that line, the skill switches off.

Think about what that means for players who keep Martha deliberately fragile for Asgard. A fragile Martha drops under 50% fast, which is the whole point of that build. Unfortunately, that also means Turtle’s Patronage turns off fast. For that build, then, the skill and the strategy pull in opposite directions.

Tanky Martha and the Free Ascension Path

With real health and defense behind her, it’s a different story. She stays above the line longer, so the skill has room to work.

On top of that, ascending her branch (the free way to keep these skills) adds health, armor, and magic defense with every rank. So the free path makes Martha tankier, and a tankier Martha keeps Turtle’s Patronage active for longer. In short, the free route and this skill support each other, and only the fragile Asgard build works against it.

Martha Ascension Skill Costs, Grade by Grade

Taking Invigorating Herbs from base to grade three costs 1,250 Ascension Dust in total. Similarly, Turtle’s Patronage costs 1,250 Ascension Shards. The totals, however, hide the real story, so let’s walk through it step by step.

For Invigorating Herbs, the first upgrade costs 200 Dust and lifts the speed bonus from 10% to 15%. After that, 300 Dust takes it to 20%. That’s a clean deal, since every step adds 5% speed and the price climbs at a reasonable pace.

The Grade 3 Problem: 60% of the Materials, No Bigger Numbers

Then comes the final step at 750 Dust. That’s more than both earlier upgrades combined, and yet the speed doesn’t move at all. What you’re actually buying is a totem that can take up to three hits.

Turtle’s Patronage follows the same pattern, just with Shards. You pay 200 Shards for 15%, then 300 for 20%, and finally 750 for the same 20%, now spread across two allies instead of one.

So in both skills, that single last step eats 60% of the materials. For that 60%, you get no extra speed and no extra damage transfer, only a sturdier totem or a second protected ally.

That doesn’t make grade three bad. Rather, it makes it a different kind of upgrade. The first two grades make the skill stronger, while the third makes it more reliable. And reliability is only worth paying for if the skill was failing you in the first place.

Value Verdict: Which Grades Are Worth It?

Putting this Martha Ascension Guide’s numbers together, Invigorating Herbs at grade two is the strongest value point. You get the full 20% speed for 500 Dust, and everything after that is paying for durability. Grade three makes sense if you regularly face area damage that breaks her totem early. If you don’t, those 750 Dust are hard to justify.

Turtle’s Patronage depends almost entirely on how you build Martha. On a tanky Martha, it’s a real defensive tool, and grade three extends it to a second ally. On a fragile Asgard Martha, though, it may spend most of the fight switched off, so the investment gives very little back.

The 25-Day Clock and the Secret Wealth Shop

If the special Secret Wealth shop shows up during the season, it remains the one way to reach grade three without spending real money. Still, at these prices, it’s worth knowing what the skills do in your fights before you pour emeralds into them.

Also, keep the clock in mind. These skills are a 25-day rental, and when the season ends you keep them only if you unlock them permanently through one of the three methods. Otherwise, they go away. That means every Dust and Shard you spend now is also a bet on whether you’ll still be using these skills next month.

What’s Next: Testing Martha in Osh

Numbers on paper are one thing, but real fights are another. Next, we’re testing Martha in Osh to answer the questions this Martha Ascension Guide can’t settle on paper. How much does the totem actually survive? How long does Martha stay above 50%? Does grade three change the outcome, or just the cost?

Until then, we want to hear from you. Which skill are you keeping? Are you ascending her branch, using the Ticket, or letting the rental run out? And if you’re already running her, tell us what you’re seeing.

More Hero Wars Guides

• Martha Ascension Season
• Hero Wars Best Osh Setup
• Hero Wars Robin Nebula Synergy
• Mead Fest Mini Game