Quote Originally Posted by enil View Post
but has it been conclusively tested that it calculates for damage/buffs at the start of the animation as well?
(1) This was done re: DOT clipping testing.
(2) In order for Snap Punch to re-apply the GL3 (and not GL1) in the scenario you observed, it must read your buffs at the beginning of the animation (or rather, the end of the instantaneous spellcast), because you lost GL3 mid-animation. Sidenote: this is observed for AF3/UI3 stacks for BLMs as well, similar to the GL3 case.