Well, Nov '16 isn’t that long ago, especially in development terms.
I figured this might be the case from some players , don’t blame you .
I’m playing offline on steam now and don’t think I will go online for the foreseeable future . As a self found player I refuse to update and once again screw what few builds I have over .
I will PM you now and then for some op builds “Wink” 
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You’re right that they might’ve been targeting specific builds, but they also could’ve been targeting all the highest flat -rr to all effects. There are lower -rr effects available to S&B builds that were untouched, such as blessed steel at -18 which is about to get a lot more popular. (Aldritch is only -16, Mark of Dreeg is only -10, and Elemental Storm is elemental-only.) To me it looked like they thought the highest -rr to all were collectively overperforming and needed a pass, and they accidentally missed Agonizing Flames since it was hidden in a skill modifier. 
At the very least, BWC users are less hurt by the flat -rr change than builds dependent on BSoD for their -rr to all, which include a lot more than S&B builds.
As for the thermite mine nerf, I’m frankly shocked that it took them this long - I had been expecting them to nerf it alongside CoF/Vulnerability in the previous patch, since they were all extremely high performing stackable debuffs. But this one affects all demo builds obviously, not just BWC users.
In the end, we can only speculate on their reasoning unless they explicitly say otherwise.
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Crucible video of this build:
Having fun in Crucible with the build, though i get like insta gibbed when i get 2 IMs + Valdaraan combo. The stunlock is insane, you cant run away, you cant tank for long. And if you manage to dance around IMs just so they dont Blitz your ass, Valdi teleports you around and gives the IMs enough reason to Blitz you to death…
Will try with all 4 buffs today, should give me nearly permanent mirror and i will be able to fully enjoy the “OPs” (to be read by Crate as being efficient with BiS gear) of this build until the inevitable nerf around in 1.0.0.9
That combo sucks big time
I might RIP on this combo aswell.
I will give Zantai my char to play Gladiator and tell me how OP BWC is… i have like 30% success rate (vs 95% with S&B) or i just get very unlucky at w149 (Blood Lord + Sharzul + Sentinel = gg. This combo is horribly hard for my S&B as well with a good track record of deaths). W150 i pray for no IM - then its a success, otherwise its a big chance to die and lose all progress.
Seriously Crate - Nerf Iron Maiden retarded OPnes - as a caster you cant do almost anything to her insane stun + dmg + blitz
Crucible is a damn zerg fest anyway - you cant avoid being hit even if you play smart and avoid getting ganked. I barely survive thanks mostly to BS - these extra 4 sec CD in next patch will cost your life probably unless the mobs dmg is severely reduced!
Ask Drizto about more crucible insight he has 100% success rate with BWC build 
About IM I dont find to hard even to facetank her in main campaign tho it needs bit more time to put her down since her innate high fire resist.
I would estimate this build around 90% succes rate (still at 100% but i did only 7-8 runs till now), S&B build are more tough than this one for sure (also easier to play), but the strengh of this build is that you can do decent damage while hit&run. if you have 30% succes rate you are terribly unlucky or something is wrong with your playstyle. (crucible require quite good decision making overall)
if being zerg is a problem, you could try playing on Crucible of the sand, you will suffer a loss of cleartime but this is probably the best map for kiting.
Thanks for the tips guys - i will give it another try.
Aaand update of the update 1.0.0.8 v2 - more BWC build nerfs together with Harbinger and Dreeg/poison ones - i guess better now than get surprised in 2 months time lol…
> Legendary - Infernal Knight’s Faceguard: increased cooldown on Wave of Fire to 1.5s
> Blackwater Cocktail: reduced Offensive Ability Reduction scaling at ultimate ranks to 250 by max rank, reduced duration to 3s so enemies must stand within the flame to maintain the debuff for longer
> Agonizing Flames: reduced Resistance Reduction scaling at ultimate ranks to 30 by max rank, reduced duration to 3s so enemies must stand within the flame to maintain the debuff for longer
And a Buff (probably a mistake and will be reverted later):
> Legendary - Wyrmbone Handguards: added 8% Cast Speed
Doesnt look that concerning - we lose 25 OA and need to kite more effectively. Not sure how much dps was the Faceguard proc adding though.
Nice amount but imho its not to significant.
We will see when patch goes live, since they are nerfing almost everything they will probably compensate with that changes to monsters.
I don’t mind the balancing and stuff, but did they at least open up some new possibilities as well?
What I am really disappointed to see in those patch notes is “my idea of fun” being crushed - I wanted to play this kind of character when I learned about the thermit mines and meteor shower combo - its flashiness was the main reason I started to play this character, cause I wanted to see my screen being lit (reminded me a little of Hellborn Krieg from BL2 with Flame of the Firehawk). Why do they even have to remove this combo completely?!
AFAIK of those people having the gear and being able to clear crucible - they ain’t even using it?
Is there still an alternative left for me to implement meteor shower in this build now, or does it mean if I want to use it I have to take a completely different approach and to start from scratch? Maybe there is an easy solution, but I don’t see it. Makes me feel hesistant to keep playing as well.
I understand the sentiment of the community wanting to perfect their builds while letting others in on the fun - and I am grateful, cause I lack the knowledge and experience, but I can’t shake the feeling sharing them here just calls for them being compromised. I mean “Jesus, Pablo!” - this ain’t even a competetive game.
Dont worry its not that dark after all they just made meteor shower to work as it was intended to work, description of it say that only one meteor shower can be active in one given time and with termite mines you could have bunch of them active in same time :rolleyes:
You should just slightly change devotion bindings and bind meteor shower to flash bangs or even to BWC is not a big deal
I didn’t realize that it was more than one. Still don’t understand why not limit the number instead of removing the possibility of using them in combination alltogether. Thanks for the advice, maybe flashbang is an option (if it can procc meteor shower reliably).
They picked easier approach and dont get me wrong Im not defending them for that.
P.S. You could try with OFF also
Just wanted to show you my appreciation JoV! I build this sorc with what I had at the moment, every piece of gear but not the perfect rolls.
So far I been doing gladiator crucible without dying, just once actually but it was against 2IM+Vald, that doesn’t count right?
Really fun char! I did changed a few things, like maxing OFF, I do really like the all screen CC, plus in parties is really handy for crucible.
Thanks for your work! hope this doesn’t get butchered next patch.
Thx for kind words
About that combo, guess you just cant kill them all:D