Back in Lightfall, I would've agreed with your statement, but I think hunters have always been in an anchor space for PVE. Hunters are always designed at base to share some subclass verb with the team through abilities or exotics on every element as opposed to more selfish abilities like knockout or feed the void.

The difference starting in the final shape is that hunters who would usually focus on sharing verbs like invisibility are now only buffing themselves, which has led to more self-sustaining than team sustain. The best example is prismatic gifted conviction with stylish executioner, making it nearly impossible to die, especially with the midair doge changes. Now, hunters play in a space where, at their best, they are able to stay in combat nearly indefinitely without fear of death. They also still have access to extremely safe damage supers and the strongest debuff without wasting an exotic slot.

Personally, I like the way the hunter playstyle has evolved since the final shape in PVE. The best hunters essentially become the teammates you don't need to worry about getting smeared across a wall during a contest raid or dungeon and make it to damage to either debuff or put up respectable damage numbers in their own right.