New account so I can't post links, but the effect of the item is that each Smite has a 30% chance to reset the cooldown of Penance.
So on paper this thing seems pretty amazing (if mana isn't going to be an issue). I got one yesterday and turns out that it is indeed pretty sweet.
However, it very quickly became apparent that the proc is difficult to utilize optimally, despite how straightforward the actual effect is. If I'm casting Smite, it's because I'm happy with my Atonement timers, PWS and PtW just went out, and Penance is on cooldown. Chances are I'm going to have time for at least a few Smites in a row before needing to cast something else. Here's where my gripe comes in.
Because of the way latency works for casters and the general best practice of pre-casting your next spell just before your previous cast completes, here's what happens in practice: I cast a Smite, the belt procs from that Smite and Penance is taken off cooldown "immediately". But because of the aforementioned pre-casting I'm already casting another Smite because the server takes some fraction of a second to inform me of the proc (and because it's silly to wait after every Smite just in case a 30% proc happens). So I just get to wallow in my self-pity for that entire 1.1 second GCD and stare at Penance on my bar, off cooldown, sad, lonely, and not being used. This happens like 5 times every minute.
Also, because Penance is on such a short cooldown anyways, the proc often happens when it's 1-2 seconds away from coming off cooldown on its own, so that last unnecessary Smite means the proc itself is completely wasted and it just feels crappy to watch that happen. This happens constantly as well.
Is there any trick, addon or macro I can use to reduce the frequency of this happening, besides waiting half a second after every Smite just to see if the belt procced before using my next spell? Or should I just stop complaining about my awesome Legendary and accept that my Penances are very often going to be used one GCD later than they theoretically could have been?
First world problems, I know, but it would obviously be a game changer if I had a way to make every other Penance happen a full GCD earlier, so it seemed worth exploring.
Thanks
Edits: typos