Strategy: Kill groups, or targets?

[RyuujinZERO]

Having recently switched from healer (Scholar) to DPS (Dragoon), I was sat down theory-crafting, assessing the Dragoons skills and rotations and generally seeking to improve my game; and a few things stuck out to me.

According to my calculations, when faced by 2 to 3 targets (ie. typical trash pull) the optimum DPS strategy was in fact to focus on spreading Chaos Thrust/Phlebotomise across the entire group, rather than burning down a single target fast as possible. On closer examination the strategy seems to be true for all DPS classes, DoT effects provide superior value over time (the long GCD places emphasis on making each skill activation count), with the limitation you can only place one copy of each DoT on each target so it behooves you to DoT multiple targets instead of focusing.

However, in the field, people mark targets and if you attack a target out of sequence (even when you ensure you don't pull threat from the tank and arn't interrupting sleep), people get ratty and question whether you're a "noob". This is further compounded by the perception that DPS is going slower, since the time from engagement to first kill tends to be longer (since the damage is being distributed relatively evenly) even though the time from engagement, to clearing the entire group is around ~20-30% shorter.

Is it unreasonable to explain this to a party an expect them embrace it, or have I got my maths wrong and it's better to burn down 1 target at a time even when there is no pressure to adopt that strategy (ie. healer and tank is not unduly pressured, sufficient threat is being generated to do so). While "burn down 1 at a time" is certainly a safer strategy, a dead enemy won't pressure the tank or healer, is seems like people have pre-conceptions of "how to DPS" and have never really sat back and looked at whether that was the optimum approach/dared question the common wisdom.


(To clarify I'm not saying spreading DPS out is a good idea in every situation. There are certainly times you'll want to sleep mobs, or focus down specific targets; just, as a general rule of thumb when dealing with trash )