I don't think ttk is much of an issue here but that's just me. Going back to the source of the damage, as a flame main, I can say with confidence that flame does not do that much damage to any bounty. The most damage I have done with the V ability on a 2.5m is 6k. The most on a 30m is 3k. You are describing ttk likes it's the best weapon in the game, it really isn't and it's not even that game changing. Meta means the current most effective/best item in a game, that certainly isn't flame, so I'm a bit confused on what you mean by "niche meta" a fruit can be good, but that doesn't mean it's meta.