How about a class gets nerfed only when it's better than the others, and not when it's weaker?
Ranged doesn't need a nerf, it needs to be buffed. Nerfing for ballance is a desease of this mod, and doesn't work in the long run. It only makes people frustrated.
Your problem is numbers, and you fix that, by changing the game design. By remaking the class in a way that the costlier builds have a natural advantage against the lighter builds, just like with melee. Because the lighter/faster/cheaper ranged has always had an advantage against the rest and that is wrong. That way, the class will keep itself in check without being weaker than other classes. Adding more glance for the highest tier armors against weaker ranged builds would help this ballance too.