Quote Originally Posted by NoahG View Post
Cleric/Rouse/Whispering Dawn have to be casted beforehand, they affect the spell at the moment you cast them not afterwards.

As for Chain i haven't tested it thoroughly but it technically is a debuff on the boss so even if it is applied afterwards it should work. I have seen a couple of HC speedrunners casting chain after applying DoTs, so it must work like this or they are not as HC as i thought.
Probably more to do with not clipping the schs GCD. Chain strat gave SCH a new shining element to its role, but it's tacked on and clunky. At least you can cast cleric stance prepull, unlike chain strat.