Well either I'm blind or luck isn't an option to imbue on a shield?
Not all properties can be imbued on all items, some properties are restricted to be imbued only on certain, specific items. BUT, the game CAN occasionally spawn them on items that players cannot imbue with them so, depending on what the players' needs for a suit might be, such spawn items carrying not imbuable properties on them could be valuable in the making of a suit. For some properties (not all and not on all slot pieces though), this can also be achieved through re-forging....
Swing Speed Increase (SSI) for example, can ONLY be imbued on weapons....
Yet, besides artifacts, sometimes it can spawn also on jewellery, shields thus reducing the need for having it on the weapon and so make it possible to imbue on the weapon some different property which is likewise important for fighting (and not imbuable much on other pieces) but which, contrary to SSI, it does not spawn on other pieces thus making it advisable to have it on the weapon in place of SSI, wherever possible....
For example, in the case of a dexer there may be other properties like Hit Life Leech (HLL), Hit Mana Leech (HML), the Slayer, Hit Lower Defense (HLD), Hit Lower Attack (HLA), Hit Stamina Leech (HSL) which can ONLY be imbued on a Weapon and, contrary to SSI, do not appear much on other pieces. So, whenever these properties are important for the suit in the making, clearly removing SSI from the weapon (by having it on other pieces) to make room on the weapon for any of them, can be crucial for the better fine tuning of the entire suit.....
Some players, sometimes even go as far as to hunt for days, if not for weeks, to get a rare drop of the
Whetstone of Enervation which allows the total removal of the Damage Increase (DI) property (it can be imbued on jewellery) from a Weapon thus making more room for another likewise valuable property but which cannot be found much on other pieces.....
It sounds complicated and confusing (and it is), especially when the tuning of an entire suit becomes finer and finer, and I wished wholeheartedly that there was like a walkthrough to help unknowledged players to navigate through all of these restrictions and "advisable steps" to follow (what property to choose for what item and for which template, a regular step by step walkthrough guiding unknowledged players depending on their various, different needs), when designing a high end suit, but other than bits and pieces of advice scattered here and there, there is no comprehensive, global picture to it....... no walkthrough, I am afraid.........