Update: Alright, I just tested it for an hour on test center. I reforged multiple hci 4 and hci 5 wood pieces using an oak kit. I then attempted to enhance with heartwood before imbuing. Every time I successfully hit the hci mod from heartwood there was no change for hci on the item. The item kept it's reforged hci 4 or 5. The only thing that increased was the resist, and the item kept it's original weight.

So much for enhancing to hci 10 pieces. I was able to enhance di onto the forged hci pieces though, but unfortunately it takes up 2 mod slots. So if you enhance before imbuing and hit di 10, and then imbue with those 2 mods + stam8/mana8/hpi5 OR stam8/mana8/lmc8 you'd end up with a piece of armor that is 393 total weight.

So you'd have to decide if the wasted 100+ weight in points is worth the trade off. Most people would say no I'm sure.

Cerv there is no option to add "damage increase" to armor. You can reforge hci or dci onto wood and then go for a damage increase "hit" by enhancing with heartwood after though. You've got a 1 in 7 chance the di 10 lands. You also have the same chance at your piece being 10 hci. You can enhance before you imbu. Keep in mind that if the di hit, you'd only have 3 mod slots left to play with. The hci 10 piece seems a lot sexier.

Lordraith, I finished my new gargoyle mage lavaliere suit today. I decided that if I had to lose any of my original mods, then it wasn't worthwhile for the eaters. My mage suit originally had 18 hpr, and I fit the 18% all eater on there. I decided it was an absolute waste to use the laval of 20 kinetic eater if my kinetic would have been only 20 total. I don't use the ranger augment 3% kinetic eater on the suit. I decided to squeeze in an extra 10 kinetic on the suit, so I'd have 30 kinetic vs physical, and 18 for everything else. It was quite costly to design the suit, but I just didn't feel like having my lavaliere sit on my mule anymore. 

I suited up two sampires, and 3 pvpers with hci or dci pieces. I want to say I used less than 5 spined kits total.

Choose "Powerful"
Choose "Grand Artifice"
Choose "Inspired Artifice"

For dci choose "Towering/of Aegis"
For hci choose "Vicious/of Slaughter"

You'll use 4 charges per hit.

I made the pieces two weeks ago, and I've messed around with a bunch of different options. You may be able to unclick the first option of "Powerful" and still rip out a bunch of hci5 or dci5 and only use 3 charges per use. I don't recall if I switch to the nonPowerful option. I've burned so many different hammers, kits, carp tools making different weapons and armor that it's all become a blur.

Regardless, you'll get your dci pieces easily.

As for your original question in this thread, after extensive testing last night with savvy pvp veterans, we determined the best way to utilize the lavaliere is with manwinc's suggestion. I was planning on making 2 fire and 2 cold eaters to go with the lavaliere for huge choke point fights, but to lose 4 mods for those slots wasn't practical for the hit points recovered. Also, if you're taking constant damage from someone, you will not recover any life until you get about 3 seconds of not being cast upon. Which equates to running away to get the benefit. One slot is fine to use imo. I'll probably do the same with my lavaliere.

Miffy's item Finder FTW! for those hard to find items.

Greatest script ever created!

Saw this link at AC - pretty neat.

http://www.xn--gchti-gra.ch/index.html

They look sweet, but are you sure they're "clean"? I'm just a little (well a lot) weary of clicking download from sites I'm not familiar with.

Magery has zero business being on that template.

After the changes go through, it's looking like 80 chiv (minimum) will be the norm. Peeps will go 80 or 120 imo, and I've tested the crap out of it.

The switching skills on the run is so comical on test. If you're really testing out chars why be lame and switch. It's so funny. The amount of blues hugging gz is ridiculous. I agree.

Definitely need to be leery of 2 full sdi mages bombing on you now. Have to re-adjust your threshold spidey-sense.

wow