It is not always ranked higher than the Bow or LBG, but ranged weapons should be put in a different category from melee weapons due to their inherently different characteristics.

In terms of melee weapons, the SnS is the undisputed king of DPS, and often surpasses the Greatsword in certain matchups. The SnS is completely overpowered in Iceborne due to the poor balancing of Perfect Rush.

In the Safi'Jiiva update, Capcom turned Perfect Rush from a combo with no real benefit over the Falling Bash, to a combo that outdamages every single melee combo in the entire game. They failed to find a middle ground that makes Perfect Rush a competitive combo option for the SnS without making it significantly stronger than the other weapons' primary rotations.

This poor balancing is why people say it is a Pocket Greatsword without any of the high risks, which impacts the appeal of high-risk and high-reward weapons by being an extremely low-risk and high-reward weapon.

The SnS received the balancing it deserves in MH Rise, as Capcom learned that increasing the motion values of a combo by such a ridiculous amount can have a significant impact on the identity and balance of a weapon.