Good/skilled players don't need to do the norm. They can perform unusal tasks that others skip over due to difficulty and complexity. It seems the biggest problem we are having here is you acting like I don't know wtf I am doing, and/or am surrounded by idiots. For maximum xp/hour, which is the goal of a RDM (which I agree with) you do things the way I've stated. You can do well without them, but thats THE BEST way to do it from my experiences. If I wanted to do it as per the norm it would be easier, but I'm willing to take that extra step. If you aren't, thats fine, but don't bother talking down to me cuz I'm not following the old rules. We all know what that gets you, and I know I can get more.
I pull, on my BRD at it's current level, and have for the past 3 levels. Aside from the first pull I did, I have been hit exactly 2 times while pulling.
My conclusion: Your BRD's were not skilled enough. (at the time, they may be great now =P)
I was more capable on my RDM at those levels though, and more effective, because I could run the full gammet of debuffs on the mob while it sat there, but on BRD it pretty much just sits, since I pulled with elegy.
Quit acting like I am some goober, my meathods have shown far more effectiveness than any other RDM I have PT'd with on any job. There are RDMs in the end game more experienced than me, but when it comes to XP parties, no one has ever measured up. There were decent ones, and some damn good ones, but there is always room for improvement. I've learned not to expect the best anymore, and am happy enough with that, but being told by some prick that pulling ahead of time and predebuffing a mob is a bad idea, while not ignoring all other duties, is ludacris. It's like the Allah forums all over again. Peace out Uzor.
You've reconfirmed my belief that even at the top of the chain there will be tools trying to slam down pure efficiency and effectiveness just because they've never tried it or seen it done.