Back to Astral Conduit. I don't think it is inherently bad. I agree that eventually enough changes made it capable of massively getting crazy when well geared and supported.
- The combination of multi attack, pet support/bubbles and speed of execution together is an issue with damage.
- It also has zero reason to use for Wards.
- It guarantees we're never going to see improvements to anything else like Wards effectiveness.
I don't even know how it gets to these suggestions to nerf SMN as a whole or into the ground completely. Regardless of decision to nerf AC. The dev team certainly does need to work on better pauses and mechanics during fights. The dev team is too small excuse in discussion is getting old.
Majority of fights are HP increase per player and time based. It is inherent that players will find the meta to be whatever is the fastest, safest, and easiest to execute reliably. You cannot fight that nature. Having fights being more about 100% kill it fast is going to always boil down to who does that best. Which means even if you burn SMN to ashes. The next meta will just have you bandwagon angry at the next job.
As long as combat is focused on zerg objective, kill as fast and overwhelmingly as possible. It will never change, just shift. Might as well put a monthly campaign in where <insert job> is "OP" this month. Because that's all nerfing a job into submission is.
Nerfing jobs to the point that it's rarely used and/or ineffective has never fixed this game. Distance didn't fix BST meta, mob nerfs did. GEO corrections didn't make it more likely to use BRD, BRD changes did and some ambuscade where NiTro lullaby was appealing.
There is a middle ground somewhere.