Guide:Martian Madness strategies

The Martian Madness is a post-Golem invasion that can be done anytime after beating it. The event rewards the player with very powerful items dropped from its exclusive boss, the Martian Saucer. However, due to the great amount of powerful Martians that spawn the event can prove to be extremely difficult if attempted without preparation.

Event
The invasion will only happen when the Player finds a in the wild and lets it escape into Space. The Martians will then spawn in areas close to friendly NPCs.

During the invasion, all of the following enemies will spawn:
 * , the basic enemy of the event. Despite its simple appearance, it is one of the most dangerous martians due to its very high health and total immunity to knockback.
 * , who behave similarly, but with lower stats and the ability to shoot lasers from their gun.
 * Occasionally, it will spawn riding on a, becoming a Scutlix Gunner. The Scutilx moves very fast, deals high contact damage and its rider will shoot lasers, making this a deadly enemy. The Scutlix Gunner has a low chance to drop the , which allows the player to ride a Scutlix of their own.
 * are a very fast enemy that can quickly shoot lasers, have a lot of health and are immune to knockback. Despite these attributes, their size and very low jumps make them prone to getting stuck on simple obstacles.
 * are small enemies with low damage and health. They will lock on to a player, and then quickly charge towards them before exploding.
 * behave like Gray Grunts, with lower stats and the ability to inflict the debuff on hit, which causes a player to rapidly lose health when moving.
 * have low stats but instead of attacking, they can deploy, which shoot an electric projectile at the player, which inflicts the Electrified debuff. The Engineers should be killed quickly, as they can easily overwhelm a player with Turrets.
 * spawn protected by a Bubble Shield, which will need to be killed before the player can harm it. If the Officer isn't killed quickly after the Bubble Shield is destroyed, it will activate again.
 * are similar to Ray Gunners, with their projectile inflicting the debuff on hit.
 * The Martian Saucer is the boss of the event. It will alternate between firing lasers from its turrets at the player's position, shooting homing missiles from its Cannons, and then following the player while attacking with its Deathray. Players must destroy the Turrets and Cannon first, as its core can't be damaged. After these have been destroyed, the player will be able to damage its Core, and it will move more aggressively than before, and will only use the Deathray, which also does much more damage. When killed, it will drop a unique weapon or item.

Terrain Preparation
The great amount of enemies with high stats and/or projectiles makes it very hard to survive the invasion in the open. The event is better fought around your base, where the martians will be much less likely to overwhelm you with projectiles. Make sure to protect your NPCs however, as the enemies will easily kill them.

Like many other invasions, all pre-1.4 enemies completely lack the ability to attack through blocks, as only explosions from the Martian Drone and Martian Saucer have the ability to do so. This can be exploited by safely killing the enemies inside a tall box above the ground. Additionally, a Pit with a shallow layer of Lava and Traps can be built to trap the Martians and kill them safely, Using Summon weapons you can safely and quickly beat the Martian Saucer from inside the box. And you can use Track since enemies cannot spawn on it, serves as a great way keeping non-flying enemies at bay. You can also hop on the Track if you have a mechanical cart due to their great speed. Recommended weapons are the, and. If you manage to have a drop you can use that for the rest of the fight.

You can still do it in 1.4 but you need either a or a  to teleport out of the way of the deathray.

Note that the Martian Saucer will not fire it's deathray through some blocks as long as the player is not under them.

Armor

 * For Melee characters, the is the best available. The  is better for offensive bonuses, while the  is better for those that can’t avoid taking hits frequently.
 * For Ranged characters, the is the strongest available.
 * The is the strongest for a Mage. The  should be used only when at low health to maximize damage output.
 * A Summoner should summon their minions while wearing and then equip  for an extra, although weaker minion and slightly higher defense.

Weapons

 * For Melee users:
 * The or  are both very good all around swords. If the Old One's Army has been defeated, the  is excellent against crowds.
 * The is very useful for crowd control, and useful against the first phase of the Martian Saucer. The  makes a good combination with it, as it can deal with single targets and the second phase of the Saucer.
 * The is very powerful due to its many high damaging bubbles.
 * is the strongest yoyo available until the Terrarian.
 * The are a strong weapon with lifesteal capabilities.
 * The has low damage, but many homing projectiles.
 * The can pass through blocks. It is useful if the player has trouble dodging enemy attacks.


 * For Ranged users:
 * The is the strongest gun available, while the  is an acceptable alternative.  are the strongest for damage, while  are better against the second phase of the Saucer.
 * The is good against crowds and a decent choice against the Saucer.
 * The with  is the strongest bow. The  is an acceptable alternative.
 * The is excellent for the event due to its homing rockets with big explosions.
 * The can easily kill enemies while standing in an enclosed area. Be wary not to be caught by the saucer's death ray.


 * For Magic users:
 * The is the strongest weapon against single targets. The  and  are weaker but still effective.
 * The deals high amounts of damage and covers a wide area. Also Useful if you decide to box yourself, dealing damage to the Saucer without getting out the box.
 * The is an excellent weapon against both crowds and the Saucer.
 * The, and  are all great secondary weapons.


 * For Summoners:
 * The, and  are the strongest minions available.
 * The is a useful sentry to have.

Accessories

 * Any pair of Wings, such as or  are all useful for mobility.
 * The or any of its upgrades makes all Wings ascend significantly faster.
 * The will help greatly in dodging attacks.
 * A or  gives very welcomed increases to all stats, most notably damage and health regeneration.
 * Damage boosting accessories such as the, , or are all very good.
 * The reduces the length of the  debuff by 1/4 (15 seconds) as well as giving a small life regeneration increase. For the Philosopher's Stone effect to work, it only needs to be equipped the instant a potion is drunk.

Circle and Shake (Expert/Master)
In Expert and Master mode, you have access to a flying mount from killing either Duke Fishron or Mourning Wood.

When a Martian Saucer appears, it will cycle through three attacks: shoot rapid lasers to the side, shoot homing rockets, and shoot a downward laser.

For the first attack, stay above the saucer. As it releases the homing rockets, circle down and underneath it, coming up on the other side and dodging the rockets. This means that you'll be flying up and away when the downward laser fires.

After it loses half its health, it begins aggressively chasing you, too fast to escape unless you're using Shrimpy Truffle with the water/rain buff. Instead of running away the whole fight, only flee until its laser turns off, then go in the opposite direction. It will fire and chase you again, but once the laser turns off, go in the opposite direction. Once you get the rhythm down, it becomes a much easier fight.

Watch out, though, as burning Saucer Scrap projectiles fall from it as it fires. These do minor damage, but can knock you into the laser, so it's recommended to equip knockback-cancelling accessories like the Cobalt Shield or the Hero Shield.