Orishia notes that it gives a ton of benifits at the start of combat, but I didn't actually see it showing up in my inventory screen (didn't see any added boosts to armor and such). Does it actually work? If so, how? 

I think it only gives one of the benefits at the start of combat.

It doesn't seem to work. I've been trying to spot a change in my penetration, recovery, or action speed but to no avail in more than 50 battles.

Edited December 1, 20187 yr by Ronin@