First, let me say that my point is not to be combative, but I am pushing back. We are pulling in the direction of a better game for all.
If the devs just buffed the other skills/runes and items then they would be somewhat forced to rebalance DW and maybe Sigil. This approach should lead to a proper balancing. It’s like using a lint roller instead of pinching at bits of lint 1 at a time. If we simply call for nerfs the devs will respond and when there is a tidal wave of calls for nerfs they go overboard. If we say “hey devs channeling is too prevalent, please fix”, they are going to break or destroy all channeling builds. Their knee jerk reactions tend to end up as surgery by sledge hammer versus a tiny insition with a scalpel. This is why I disagreed with the approach.
The strength of bazooka32 isn’t just DW/sigil, it’s the accumulation multipliers. Many of the multipliers have been around for quite a while. A direct fix would have been to redesign the star pact rune. Even if they gave SP a flat damage value temporarily as a place holder it would have halted bazooka32, which they claim was either over performing or an unintended interaction. Yes, it would most likely break all SP builds, but that would be the point. 31 days should be more than enough time to sort out a redesign of SP and/or the interaction between the multipliers, and then get it on a PTR. Instead we have folks assigning blame to 1 or 2 items and ignoring the multipliers and their interaction as a whole.
I get that is easier to blame DW and offer it as a sacrifice. The problem is the devs are likely to destroy it and leave it broken without any further efforts.
If Wizards think DW requires a toning down or redesign then where are the calls for toning down Shadow Hook and Scythe of the Cycle?