Originally Posted by
NoctisUmbra
Was about to quote my old post and put this up again, but then I saw this... a single tear materialized and streamed down my cheek until it reached my proud smile. :D
The simple reason is placing your buffs and off-GCD skills into cooldown at the earliest reasonable opportunity is what makes it optimal. Once you reach GL3 after the 2nd Snap Punch in the opener you've also applied BfB and IR by then. It stands to reason that instead of leaving slots between GCD skills empty until PB is down, you can slot in Steel Peak and Howling Fist.
Being that this is am opener, in basically any boss fight I encounter I am able to pull this off with ease as there aren't any high movement mechanics in play right at the start. If the particular time I use the opener requires me to move away from the target during an off-GCD period, I forego the use of an off-GCD skill there and go right to the next GCD skill first, because you should never delay your GCD to use an off-GCD skill/buff.