Agreed.
Based on the things they said at the time, as well as since then, they seem to be of the opinion that RSV/Ranged SV was too similar to MM, for the sole reason of how both specs were focused on the use of a ranged weapon. They don’t seem to care about how the specs did not actually share any core abilities or effects, just the general class fantasy of both making use of a ranged weapon. Apparently, they also thought that the spec was underdeveloped.
Ironically, the percieved issue of it being underdeveloped would’ve solved itself, had they just continued with it by bringing it forward into Legion and the changes to class and spec design which we saw at the time. As for it “being too similar to MM”, this is even more ironic considering what they’ve done to SV since it became a melee spec, and how they’ve made it into a melee-version of BM. To the point where multiple core abilities and effects are taken directly from BM itself.
But yeah, there are A LOT of things that they could’ve done to SV to make it stand out even more, to build on it’s intended core theme and gameplay.
How? If you ask me, something like what you can see below(link) would do it…one thing’s for certain, it deff wouldn’t play like MM does, or any other current hunter spec for that matter. And like I’ve said before, the best solution would be to bring it back as a 4th spec option for the class.