Slightly less buff maneaters

[Roomba]

Maneaters currently appear to be almost invulnerable to anything that isn't fire damage, and are able to absorb quite a bit of punishment even then. A staff assistant wailing on one with a c-saber for almost a minute straight did nothing. I've seen them absorb full barrages of phaser and laser shots without batting an eye. Even taking them on with a welder requires you to refill the welder at least once because you're gonna run out of fuel. I haven't seen anyone with a flamethrower recently so I can't comment on the adage that they simply melt before it (although that's probably a comment in itself on the feasibility of such a countermeasure and the scarcity of fuel tanks on this map). Regular phlog/CLF3 smoke doesn't do very much last I tried, though.

Certainly, they're counterable, and not invincible - enough punishment will eventually bring one down. But twelve ultra-robust mobs that can be easily scattered across the station is pretty much a round-ender - I don't think I've seen a round with maneaters in play recently that didn't end with the crew surrendering and holing up in escape while the majority of the  maneaters roamed freely.  

The growth time is definitely a balancing factor, but I don't think it's much of one - botany is fairly isolated at the best of times, and it's not difficult to grow them in secret. In any case, I'm not a big fan of stuff that can only be effectively countered in the setup phase.