You can display it at any time between the steps of a turn.
During an encounter, you may only display it if you're also going to use one of its powers (i.e. it's "relevant" to whats happening during the encounter).
If it's already displayed, you can use its banish power at ANY time, as long as it's appropriate (i.e. when the target character takes elemental damage).
What Lonshot says is that you can indeed play it anytime it is not forbidden (i. e. during you turn or someone else's turn, before or after moving, before or after exploring....)
This said during a single check or step you can only play it when relevant, i. e. if displaying creates a permanent effect that impacts what is currently happening.
Typical example, if a power says "When displayed, reduce damage by 1.", then you can display at the time you suffer damage because the reduction is immediate due to the displaying.
However - and that's the case with most armors -, if all powers say things like "When displayed, you MAY reduce damage by 1." - in order for the card to be relevant (i. e. to reduce damage) you would need to play twice that card card during the same damage suffering: first displaying, then activanting the power (deciding to reduce). Because of the "may".
So you cannot display such an armor when you suffer damage. You must have played it before the current check/step in order to activate the damage reduction.
Rulebook page 7 "Choosing to activate a power on a character or on a displayed card also counts as playing that card."
Note that even if an armor had a "When displayed, reduce damage by 1." power allowing you to display it when suffering damage (and therefore reducing it by 1), you wouldn't be able to activate another power like "When displayed, you MAY banish/bury to reduce damage to 0." to address the same damage.
IMHO.
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However - and that's the case with most armors -, if all powers say things like "When displayed, you MAY reduce damage by 1." - in order for the card to be relevant (i. e. to reduce damage) you would need to play twice that card card during the same damage suffering: first displaying, then activanting the power (deciding to reduce). Because of the "may".
So you cannot display such an armor when you suffer damage. You must have played it before the current check/step in order to activate the damage reduction.
I'm not entirely sure that's true, because of this rule: (p. 7)
Displaying a card and immediately activating a power on it counts as playing it once, not twice.
So displaying and immediately activating an armor only counts as one play.
Characters like Valeros might want to keep Armors in hand for their recharge/reload abilities, so it would be nice to know if blocking damage w/ displayable Armors in hand is legal. I think so, but maybe not?
However - and that's the case with most armors -, if all powers say things like "When displayed, you MAY reduce damage by 1." - in order for the card to be relevant (i. e. to reduce damage) you would need to play twice that card card during the same damage suffering: first displaying, then activanting the power (deciding to reduce). Because of the "may".
So you cannot display such an armor when you suffer damage. You must have played it before the current check/step in order to activate the damage reduction.
I'm not entirely sure that's true, because of this rule: (p. 7)
Displaying a card and immediately activating a power on it counts as playing it once, not twice.
So displaying and immediately activating an armor only counts as one play.
Characters like Valeros might want to keep Armors in hand for their recharge/reload abilities, so it would be nice to know if blocking damage w/ displayable Armors in hand is legal. I think so, but maybe not?
Wkover is correct. That line has been added to the rulebook to clear up a number of long-term rules disputes. (For example, it was TECHNICALLY against the RAW to display a Sphere of Fire after encountering a monster to use in a combat check against it, because that would be playing it twice. This also occurred on some other cards, like Caustic Fog, and some display-able armors (which are now commonplace).
This never matched the RAI, so it was an awkward gray area which has now been fixed in the Core Rules. If you want to use a power on a displayable card that's immediately relevant, you may display the card from your hand and activate that power as if it were one "Play" of a card.
So yes, Valeros (or anyone else) can keep a display-based armor in hand, then display and recharge/bury it when they take damage, if they so choose.
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Yes, you know the feeling...
You write your post. Feel that it seems stupid. Reread the rules. Find the sentence that clearly says your post is totally wrong. Run back to your computer to delete and modify it... and meanwhile you've lost your Internet connection.
And since it's just before the week-end, by the time you moved to your week-end spot in the countryside, it's too late to edit it.
Spending the rest of the week-end bumping your head on walls.
That feeling.
Sorry for the wrong answer. Thanks to you guys for the correction.