Last night (midnight EST-ish) there was a 3 hour game that the predators were influencing way more than usual. They had mines or something out, and would trap xenos. A few of us xenos tried to save another xeno from a trap and nearby predator, but I think the predator took that as a challenge and killed the xeno. Mind you this was a 18 (now 17) vs 80, back and forth, nail-biting game and here we are forced to be playing around with predators.
Later that match I hear other xenos saying that the predators are really doing a number on those tallhosts. I am thinking: that's not any better than what they did to us though. Why are the predators joining in as a third faction?
I thought predators were supposed to be the clowns of CM adding spice to RP, not a determining faction for who is winning the match. They exist to add RP elements, and kill downtime between heavy fights. Maybe they steal a single useless items from marines, or an alien WILLINGLY wants to fight one because a predator poked it. Even if the predators are randomly harassing players not at the frontlines, those xenos around the map still play an important scouting or transport role and shouldn't be forced to play games with predators.
Now, WHAT THE HELL is up with admin's relationship with predators?! I ahelp over these predators (I saw 3, someone said there were 6) and the admins were like "yea well I am not sure if they are following their honor code but you should DM someone about it". After the match when I brought this up besides some other salty players I get responses like:
OOC: Ediblebomb: HEY TO ANYBODY WHO IS SALTY ABOUT THE PREDS, COPE,SEETHE
The next match 3 more predators were in a circle so I copy-pasted that message to them and the admins are like "please don't do that". OOHH THANK YOU ADMINS FOR DOING YOUR JOB (and actually yes thanks for being there) but where the hell were you for the actual predator harassment? I brought that up a little more nicely and they were like "We don't really deal with the predators, it is up to the whitelist council to deal with them". What do you mean you don't deal with them?! You oversee the match for any rule breaking and you have no insight over their honor system nor ability to punish THEM but when it comes to ME you can do whatever you want?! A real world example would be like:
Man: "Police officer a man broke into my house and is stealing my stuff!"
cop: "Don't worry let me straighten this out"
*cop checks on the thief*
cop: "Yea sorry, the thief is actually a rich politician and he might be allowed to do that for all I know. It is up to the city council to decide what the rich can do, I am not sure myself. Go to the council with evidence if you want something done."
Admins are there in the game, and are the ones with power to actually do something on the spot. Why are they powerless in these situations? Why do they not know what predators can and cannot do? Why is the only thing they can do is punish those harassing the predators, not the predators themselves? Are predators just rich donators who can do whatever the hell they want to matches? Serious last question.
Due to bullshit like this predators get such a bad reputation too. Even the first time I played xenos months ago the other xenos basically said they were assholes you don't mess with or you die. Not even respectable hunters or other tags like that, nope, pretty much any description I have heard comes with assholes in some way or form. Over my time that I have seen predator interaction I have seen:
Favorable Predator RP:
-fog up wait time, xenos made fight club circle and predator and single xeno fought WITHOUT each side killing each other
-1v1s by ravenger or other T2/3 challenging predator. Death or not, they both signed up for it. If a xeno asked if they could fight without death preadator said they wouldn't promise something like that, so the xeno knew they could die doing this.
-5-10 minutes after marines leave the planet where xenos chase down a predator.
Unfavorable Predator RP:
-an active firefight was going on, and the predator was killing weeds nearby. Other times poking xenos close to action. Stop making xenos life hard.
-Almost every time a xeno falls into their random traps
-Almost every time they approach marines and either side is hostile. Seriously, they are wasting marine supplies and concentration over shananagans they didn't sign up for. I can see them doing something like stealthing and trying to take some useless ammo box and a marine or 2 fires towards him as he runs away, but don't bring a squad into this.
-Saving dead marines that aliens managed to trap (the particular example I am thinking of MIGHT have been a scout on stims). I wouldn't mind if predator baited marines into finding a dead marine in the middle of nowhere, but he shouldn't flat out pick him up.
-killing lone marines, or protecting lone marines from xenos.
Predators just seem to be overpowered gods that you have to lick their feet as they strut around or they will bully you, and don't bother with admins because they can't touch them. Thanks assholes. Why do they think adding this frustration would be fun?