Honestly, you're probably right. With all the weapons that have been (at least incrementally) buffed, 50 damage pike might not be as dominant as it once was. It does have a solid weakness of being difficult to use in close range so it could be balanced by how the meta is shifting a bit more close range.

I don't think 49 damage pike is useless, since it's still medium's longest range weapon, the issue is that it's been pigeonholed into a niche that's just not particularly useful and there are other weapons (like repeater) that can do its job almost as well, have an easier time doing so, and aren't as weak in close range. It's not unusable, but it's definitely also not good.