Umbral

Purely off of personal preference, I go with melee defense on */Regen Scrappers.

Here's my "moderate" IO build (i.e. no purps and no PvPs). I have no clue what the actual cost of it would be in influence, but it's probably what you're asking for.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.704
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Technology Scrapper
Primary Power Set: Claws
Secondary Power Set: Regeneration
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Body Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Swipe -- Acc-I(A)
Level 1: Fast Healing -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(46), RgnTis-Regen+(46)
Level 2: Reconstruction -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(3), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(3), Dct'dW-Heal(5), Dct'dW-Rchg(5)
Level 4: Quick Recovery -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(21), EndMod-I(21)
Level 6: Spin -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(7), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(7), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(19), Oblit-%Dam(19)
Level 8: Follow Up -- T'Death-Acc/Dmg(A), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx(9), T'Death-Dmg/Rchg(9), T'Death-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), T'Death-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15), T'Death-Dam%(17)
Level 10: Dull Pain -- Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg(A), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(11), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Dct'dW-Heal(13), Dct'dW-Rchg(13)
Level 12: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(23), Winter-ResSlow(36)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Zephyr-Travel(A), Zephyr-Travel/EndRdx(37), Zephyr-ResKB(50)
Level 16: Integration -- Numna-Heal(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx(23), Mrcl-Heal(25), Mrcl-Rcvry+(25)
Level 18: Focus -- Decim-Acc/Dmg(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Decim-Dmg/Rchg(27), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29)
Level 20: Slash -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx(31), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(31), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(33), Achilles-ResDeb%(33)
Level 22: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(34)
Level 24: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 26: Tough -- Aegis-ResDam(A), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx(34), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34)
Level 28: Instant Healing -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(36)
Level 30: Weave -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(37), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(37)
Level 32: Shockwave -- Posi-Acc/Dmg(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Posi-Dmg/Rchg(39), Posi-Dmg/Rng(39), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(40)
Level 35: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def(40), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx(40)
Level 38: Moment of Glory -- LkGmblr-Rchg+(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg(42), RechRdx-I(42), RechRdx-I(42)
Level 41: Focused Accuracy -- GSFC-ToHit(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg(43), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(43), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx(43), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx(45), GSFC-Build%(45)
Level 44: Physical Perfection -- P'Shift-End%(A), P'Shift-EndMod(45), EndMod-I(46)
Level 47: Eviscerate -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(48), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(48), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(48), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(50), Oblit-%Dam(50)
Level 49: Resilience -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Critical Hit
Level 0: Ninja Run

There's a reason why I said you want to take all of the powers except for one of your level 1 picks and Confront. Slash is a nice attack, but, if you have to choose some fat to cut off from a really lean build, Slash can be cut. If you're running a really expensive top end build, it's even easier because, while Slash can run the AH proc for -res goodness, Eviscerate can run the Fury of the Gladiator proc for roughly the same contribution (and it can hit multiple targets, too). For reference, all of my Claws/Regen builds take both Eviscerate and Slash (they actually take everything except for Strike and Confront because, even if they're not used, they're still useful as set mules because so many good attack sets fit into the Claws/* attacks), so I'm not saying that it shouldn't be taken. I'm simply saying that sometimes choices have to be made.

It's honestly not as much work as you might think. It just seems like a lot when you see me talk about it in the terms I have because I'm not Castle and I can't simply find a decent heuristic of performance that I want to use for my tweaked version of Rage and apply that to all of the powers. Most of the work that would be required would be in determining what the appropriate degree of improvement to base damage and end cost would be while Rage is active. Other than that, it's actually rather simple (including increasing dam/rech/end because that's all governed by a flat formula).

The problem with a "simple" solution is that there isn't really a "simple" solution for fixing the problems (both balance and playstyle) with SS. If there was, I'm pretty sure that the devs would have already implemented it. Any change to SS has to somehow manage to bolster performance without Rage (because the set is utter rubbish pre-Rage) while keeping performance with Rage balanced to some degree while keeping the existing feel of the set. You can't simply buff the damage of the low end powers of the set because then you're also increasing performance when you've got Rage. You can't turn Rage into a clone of BU either because the set relies on Rage to accomplish almost anything.

I decided upon the method for fixing SS that I did because it fulfilled all of the qualities that it should have: the set wouldn't suck horribly without Rage, Rage still provides a tangible and substantial benefit that can be leveraged for a lot of power, and the set doesn't become something completely different than it used to be.

"Short recharge" within the context of AoEs is generally a bad thing. Because the base damage of a power is tied to its recharge and endurance (if you want to get technical, damage determines the recharge and endurance costs; AoEs also have a further variable added in that the area of the power affects the recharge and endurance as well) and the fact that powers don't begin recharging until they finish animating, shorter recharges generate higher animation time use for the same average contribution than longer recharges. If anything, one of the things that makes Footstomp so good is that it has a 20 second recharge rather than a shorter 12 or 15 second recharge (it's also the reason why you can favorably compare SS to almost any other set for AoE damage capability because FS just takes so little of your total animation time to accomplish so much).

I was simply quantifying it, though.

That's pretty much all the utility I ever see out of powers with -def as a secondary effect (rather than as a primary effect, such as with Radiation Infection).

The nice thing about the AH procs is that they're available at low levels and they're remarkably cheap. It's even better when you realize that you don't really need to slot a lot of them to see a substantial benefit: just drop one in your 1-2 most commonly used attacks with -def as a secondary effect, and you will see a substantial increase in DPS against hard targets (i.e. bosses, EBs, AVs, GMs).

One of the jokes amongst many of the people that I talk numbers with is that -def isn't the secondary effect you're giving to a power: getting to slot the AH proc is.

It depends on your slotting on Parry/DA. Parry and DA provide 15% +def(melee, lethal), so, without any +def enhancement in the power, you need 30% to get softcapped. With a single level 50 LotG +rech in there (what I tend to use), you only need 27.6%. If you're fully slotted for it (56%), you only need 21.6%. It's actually rather common to see people short slotting Parry/DA's +def slotting (either completely forgoing enhancing it or only going with the token +def from the LotG +rech) because most people would rather slot it like an attack (while ignoring recharge) because that's really what it is. It already stacks with itself to such an extent that, if you really need it, you can get as much defense as you need anyway.

I've actually been working on a tweak to SS that would require making Rage into a toggle power (and a free one to boot). Rather than having Rage operate via +dam, I would have it work much like Swap Ammo, applying a global change to all SS attacks (and all of the other powers except for Taunt as well) has them deal another portion of damage (so that SS actually gains full benefits from any source of +dam) but counters this benefit by applying an irresistible -end effect for the base cost of that damage (i.e. the loss of end would be the exact same as you would experience if you were dealing that damage through another attack without any end redux in it). Along with this, I would reduce the +tohit by a fair deal, likely down to ~5% base (because I also plan suggesting the toggle variant have no endurance cost). Rage would still increase damage by a substantial degree and allow SS to fully benefit from +dam sources. By that same token, I would give the toggle a 30 second recharge time (so that you can't just bounce it on and off to deal just the right amount of damage).

While I don't have any numbers down at the moment (it's more of an idea I've got brewing in my head to give to Castle once GoRo hits and things settle down), it would allow Rage to act as a perma-capable power out of the box that allows you to deal a specific amount of damage more without allowing you to carry those benefits over to powers from outside the set. The downside, rather than not being able to attack for 10 seconds every cycle, would be an increase to the endurance cost of your SS powers (and only your SS powers) that's exactly in line with how much you're already paying for those powers to deal (i.e. if the tweaks I made increased base damage by 50%, the unenhanced end cost of the attack would go up by 50%; with 100% end redux, however, the end cost would be 100% higher than without Rage on).

Of course, coupled with this, I would also alter the base dam/rech/end of many of the attacks: Jab and Punch would be buffed to not be completely worthless (likely up to a 4-5 and 6-7 base recharge time) and Hurl would get buffed so that it would have a competitive DPA as well (likely up to a 12-15 sec recharge time). I probably wouldn't do much else to the powers in the set, other than possibly turning Hand Clap's KB into KU (and likely giving it an extra mag of stun or some kind of -tohit debuff while Rage is active, possibly give it some degree of smashing damage). I would like to reduce the radius on Footstomp to boot, but, honestly, I doubt that would happen, even if there was a good deal of justification for it (like the AoE area formula) simply because of player backlash (though I would hope the buff to the set elsewhere would make up for that).

You're talking about a Brute, which already suffers from +dam dilution. For a Brute, single stacked Rage only accounts for a 12% increase in your total damage (((1.95 + .8 + 1.6) * .917) / (1.95 + 1.6)) with 60% Fury. On any other AT, the difference would be substantially higher. It's also for this reason that SS (and Shield Defense and Claws and any other set that brings large amounts of native +dam) isn't nearly as awesome for Brutes as it is for every other AT.

Except that it's largely true. Without Rage to bolster Footstomp, you're not going to be getting stellar performance from it. KO Blow's biggest problem is that, even though it's a massively powerful attack, it has a cripplingly long recharge time (thanks to the multiple secondary effects attached to it). Even if KO Blow were as strong as Seismic Smash (which is a better attack from a damage perspective thanks to a lower animation time), the set would still suffer from having only a single really good attack (Haymaker is actually on par with most basic ST attacks, unlike previously mentioned). Look at the set without Rage and then look at the set as it is now and you'll honestly see that Rage is the only thing keeping the set performing: FS and KOBlow are nice (very nice, in fact), but they're not doing nearly as much as Rage is.

Yes. Quite explicitly, yes.

Assuming SO grade slotting, Rage provides a 41% increase in total damage 91.7% of the time and a 100% reduction in total damage 8.3% of the time. This means that, all things averaged, Rage provides a ~30% increase in total damage over time (ignoring the fact that it also provides 20% +tohit for that entire time, freeing up a lot of acc slotting, which makes it even better).

Let's assume a nice, top end attack string (235% +rech total, damage values for Tankers) of KO>Hay>Punch>Jab>Hay>Punch, which manages roughly 106.5 DPS (423.7 * (1.95 + .8) * .917 / 10.032). Compare this to DM's MG>Smite>Siphon>Smite attack string which manages 107.9 DPS (372.4 * 1.95 / 6.732). This is assuming only a single stack of Rage (which is highly unlikely, considering that, with that much recharge, it's more than possible to get to the 2 stacks wherein Tankers start seeing diminishing returns). It's also using incredibly high recharge, which further benefits Super Strength because of the heavy weighting of KO Blow for DPS contribution compared to the powers that it is otherwise rendering redundant. Remove the effects of Rage and that number gets pulled down to 82.4 DPS.

(If you're curious about what that attack string would look like with the 1.675 stacks that it would be managing, the DPS would be ~119.5 (423.7 * (1.95 + 0.8 * 1.675) * (1 - (1.675 / 12)) / 10.032); on that same note, DM would be able to manage roughly 133.2 DPS (372.4 * (1.95 + (.8 * 30 / 38.32)) * (1- (2.508/38.32)) / 6.732) with 5 targets feeding Soul Drain and Soul Drain being using immediately)

Super Strength is a horribly designed set that is more than half full of completely useless powers that is bolstered to "normalcy" (though it's substantially stronger than "average" considering its ability to generate impressive ST and AoE DPS along with excellent utility) by a small suite of exceptionally powerful powers. Rage is the strongest of those powerful powers and the only reason that Super Strength performs in the least. Replacing it with a straight port of BU would completely kill the set.

Except that it lands 2 seconds after you start the attack, it's blurred behind a wall of DoT ticks if you use it as an AoE rather than a single target attack, and most people that use Shadow Maul intelligently generally kill their target before the last tick lands anyway.

I know for a fact that Shadow Maul has been critting ever since Scrappers got access to it as an inherent. Very few people actually notice it for the exact reasons given above (assuming you don't trust the real numbers). I doubt most Scrappers notice when they crit on any AoE, much less one that throws up 8 damage numbers before the crit.

You're assuming some incredibly back luck if you've somehow never gotten a Shadow Maul crit and been using it for any reasonable period of time. Chances are substantially better that they've happened, but you've never noticed them (unless you want to make the claim that you're somehow incapable of not seeing a crit amidst a really chaotic fight). At best, you've simply learned to kill targets with the first 2-3 ticks of Shadow Maul so they've never survived to check the crit, but, even then, I find it more likely that they've happened but you just haven't noticed them (because, honestly, how likely is it that you've never left a survivor from a Shadow Maul).

Actually, I'm developing a bit of a habit of doing that (ever since the DM changes, all of my major powerset tweak suggestions have involved sets I do not personally play), though I make sure to only do so with powersets that I have specifically seen have some imbalance and then had numbers to back them up with. I don't just arbitrarily pick sets and then start lobbying for change: I do it with purpose, which makes it a bit different than simply picking sets out of a hat and going from there. I'm more enamored with balance as a whole than I am with any single set's performance (though I readily admit to my prejudices, which can sometimes bleed over), and the closet I get to an emotional investment in any single set I make changes concerning is a desire to make me want to play that set at some point in the future (because, yes, I know the numbers and numbers are important to me when I pick a powerset combination to play and when I'm playing a set, my knowledge of those numbers is going to color my perceptions of my play experience). I don't want to play a set that I know, with very little doubt, underperforms on average compared to the other sets I could have taken, so, if a set is going to be an option that actually interests me, it needs to actually be a roughly equal numerical option compared to the other sets I could take (which I would argue MA really isn't, and, as such, should get some tweaking to bring it up to par).

Basic regeneration (i.e. 100% +regen) is .42%. If you ever want to convert from the numbers that many of the Scrappers here use to the numbers you use, simply multiple the given percent (such as 500%) by .42 and that will give you the total in terms you are comfortable with (which is hp/sec in percent form, if you were curious): 500% regen = 400% +regen = 2.1% hp/sec. Converting from real hp/sec regeneration to percent regen is a bit tougher though because it requires you know what the hp is at (though, most */Regen builds manage perma-DP and capped hp with DP up, so it's safe to assume that most builds operate under an assumption of 2409.5 max hp). All you have to do, once you figure out the max hp, is simply divide the given number (such as 60 hp/sec) by the max hp (assume 2409.5) to find the percent (2.49%).

The issue with simply aiming for hp in percent form is that it is largely a meaningless measure. We don't measure incoming damage in how much of our health it takes as a percentage; we measure it as a real number. Because of this, it's simply easier to convert into the real number and use that (real numbers will actually do this for you if you look to the right of the given percentage), especially when dealing with overall survivability that factors in defense and resistance.

You're operating under the assumption that most of what */Regen does is +regen. It isn't. The only powers in the set that provide +regen are Fast Healing, Integration, and Instant Healing and those last 2 don't even have fully enhanceable +regen values. What */Regen does is play clicky, as in, it survives off of its click powers (of which it has 4 major ones, and a pitifully bad self-rez). Because of this, if you honestly want to maximize what you're bringing in on your own, you need to get those click powers back faster, which also has the added benefit of providing you with more +regen from IH.

The numbers that Werner gave you for that build, however, are misleading. One of the biggest things that allowed that build to do what it did was Divine Avalanche (aka: defense). Getting regeneration on that level will do very little to help you survive against an AV that can actually deal a decent bit of damage because any kind of damage reduction isn't effective in the top end unless it has some kind of damage mitigation to functionally multiply its effect.

If you honestly want to be given numbers on what you should aim for in a build, I can give you some very explicit numbers that I give to anyone that asks:

Regen: at least 400% +regen but no more than 500% +regen (which pretty much means slotting Integration fully, giving a token slot or two to FH, and taking the +regen procs); any more +regen and you're going to be pulling resources away from more important things to bolter something you already have plenty of

Recharge: as much as superhumanly possible; for an IO build, I would, at a minimum, get at least 55% +rech (which, combined with 95% +Rech slotting in DP and Hasten, will get DP perma), but there isn't really a top end and there isn't really a bottom end; all that matters is that you get +rech if you can

Defense: the same as recharge, though it does come with a bottom end; anything less than 15-20% +def to any specific category is going to do you no good because it's not going to ameliorate the spikes in damage that have a tendency to beat down */Regen; if you can only get 10% defense (generally meaning a very low budget or an SO build), it's just not worth it and you could spend those resources more effectively elsewhere; for a top end, there isn't one, but the "good" spectrum depends on your primary: the sword primaries don't really need more than 27.5-30% +def because of Parry/DA while all of the other primaries want as much as possible though if you're getting more than 25-35% +def (depends on budget) chances are you're spending a lot of resources focusing on defense when you could get a better blend of def and rech with those same resources

The important thing to remember through all of this is that */Regen isn't a primarily regeneration based powerset any more (that mantle has largely passed to WP, though, even then, WP is more of a "regeneration augmented by diversified mitigation"), and you're serving yourself better by avoiding incoming damage to allow your damage recovery (which means your regen as well as Recon's and DP's heal). If you need a comic book example, Wolverine doesn't count exclusively on his Healing Factor to get through a fight; he actively works to avoid getting hit so that he doesn't have to regenerate from a wound (unless there is some major tactical advantage to doing so). Apply that same logic to your character, and it makes just as much sense (both in and out of character).

I told him 3 different times to back away and get further away from the mito. I can assure you that he should have known what he was doing. Ignorance isn't an excuse when you're told, quite explicitly, 3 different times (and more times by the other tanks on the team and even more by the scrappers that kept biting it because the tank was too close) what you're doing wrong, how you're doing it wrong, and what you should do to fix it.

The cups represent the current state of PvP and what it does to sets. The best thing to do would, honestly, be to just "get new cups" (i.e. take a look at how Scrappers operate in PvP and make it so that they're not so crappy), but it's going to be a helluva lot more work that it is in that analogy.

Since the discussion centers around numerical changes to the set, it's pretty easy to quantify exactly what would happen. You can then determine, based on improved performance, that it would actually start performing better and get more attention. The primary problem with MA is that it doesn't have the numbers that the other sets can manage and doesn't have synergistic secondary effects. Remember, the analogy of "people liking" is more akin to performance in game than a straight up assumption of how many people like the set: there are plenty of people that still play the set, regardless of how mediocre the numbers are. People always will. It's not a question of getting more people to play the set: it's a question of getting better performance for those that already do within the confines of the game that they play (whether it's PvE or PvP) and trying to get the most bang for the comparative change buck.

It shouldn't really. Your attack string will build a bit of Fury before hitting with MG, but, in the end, it wouldn't really matter substantially.

Do you have 235% +rech in Midnight Grasp (factoring in global buffs and enhancement)? If not, keep Shadow Punch: as a Brute you want to have a saturated attack string so you can generate that Fury. If you do (which is doubtful since you're WP and you don't really get anything from +rech defensively), the I would get rid of SP and switch to the MG>Smite>Siphon>Smite attack string (from the MG>Smite>SP>Siphon>Smite>SP string you should be using now).

Well if you really want to make the analogy apt, you have to tweak it even further: the ice cream shop has 10 flavors (vanilla, etc., etc., etc.) and 2 methods of serving the ice cream (cone and cup). The flavors are the equivalent of the various powersets and the serving methods are indicative of play mechanics (PvP and PvE). The ice cream store suffers from a problem, however: the wax coating on the inside of the cups makes any ice cream inside of it taste completely different, to such an extent that almost no one likes the way anything tastes in a cup, except for vanilla which is rather bland in a cone, but, thanks to the coating, makes vanilla in a cupo taste tolerable or even nice. Very few people actually buy anything in a cup, however.

You are saying that vanilla should be left alone because it tastes good to a select number of people that enjoy eating ice cream out a cup, even though it doesn't taste particularly good anywhere, specifically because of how wonky the cups are and how they make everything else taste bad. It would, honestly, be better for the store as a whole to simply change the formula for the vanilla so that it tastes better in a cone and then change the coating on the cups so that everything tastes good in both a cup and in a cone (this is what I've been saying).

This is not a question of having 10 flavors and changing the one you like. It's a question of having 29 flavors that taste good for a vast majority of people and 1 other flavor that only tastes good to a scant number of people (and, even then, doesn't really taste good compared to other stuff you could get if you didn't insist on eating ice cream).

It may seem selfish to you for me to say "screw the 10 people that like vanilla as it is now; there are 100 people that want to like vanilla but can't because it tastes like crap unless you eat in it a cup", but I'm considering the interests of 100 people rather than thinking of the interests of 10. It only seems "selfish" to you because you're in that small group that doesn't want anything changed. It only seems "selfish" to you because you think I'm ignoring you completely. It only seems "selfish" to you because I'm not putting your interests ahead of other people's and am instead looking to maximize benefit for the most people.

You can call me "selfish" all you want: I'll just facepalm and then refer you to a mirror.

Because performance comparisons needs a basis of comparison to be used and the general basis of comparison when one hasn't explicitly been labeled as such is a set that lies in the middle. MA doesn't lie in the middle so you don't really have a decent logical underpinning for that argument whatsoever.

Personally, I'd just say that MA overperforming compared to Scrappers as a whole and that Scrappers (and all melee ATs, honestly) need to be improved in PvP to make them even remotely viable. It's not an issue of other sets underperforming compared to MA; it's an issue of Scrappers as a whole sucking miserably because CoX PvP is horribly imbalanced. When you're trying to claim that a single set (or extremely small subset of sets) is the only truly viable option within an AT, it's not almost never a problem with the sets but rather an issue with the AT as a whole.

You're really not doing yourself much benefit by continuing on this path. It's pretty apparent you have no idea what you're talking about and you're just digging yourself in deeper and deeper.

Defense reduces the chance of your enemies base chance to hit by the amount listed. Because virtually all enemies that aren't more than 5 levels above you have a base 50% chance to hit you (assuming they haven't gotten any +tohit buffs on them, like Nemesis with Vengeance), you want 45% +def because it reduces that 50% base chance to hit to 5% (which is the minimum). This won't always reduce the chance of enemies to hit you to 5% because most enemies have some degree of acc mod that is multiplied by the modified base chance to hit to determine the real chance to hit. Essentially, unless the enemy is tohit buffed, 45% +def provides you with as much survivability from +def as you can manage (averages to 90% mitigation).

As a special addendum to this, you also have to know that only the highest applicable defense of yours is used whenever an enemy attacks you. All attacks have one or more types that determine what you use to avoid them. Most have 2-3 (1-2 positional and 1-2 typed). What this means is that you don't get any benefit from stacking the positional (melee, ranged, AoE) defense with typed (smash, lethal, fire, cold, energy, negative, psychic) defense so you only want to focus on a single variety.

Resistance is pretty straightforward: you simply reduce the incoming damage by that percent. The problem with this is that, unlike defense, which you can leverage to attain 90% mitigation, the Scrapper res cap is only 75%, so you can't get the same survivability from resistance as you can from defense.

For those numbers, the simplest way to determine your overall contribution is to simply double the value of the highest applicable defense (in your case, assuming it's a melee lethal attack, it would be melee because you have more melee def) and multiply that by the value of the applicable resistance, and then multiply that last value by the amount of incoming damage. In the case of a melee lethal attack that deals 100 damage being directed at you, you would be able to mitigate that down to just 23.267 damage on average ((.265 * 2)*.439*100).

That depends entirely upon your build. In general, most people aim for at least 3 end/sec net passve gain (yours is only 2.04) in order to deem themselves endurance sustainable (which still depends on the build and attack string in question), but, if you're slotted for a lot of end redux, you might be able to get away with it. I doubt you're slotted that well, so I'm going to chance it and say you're probably not endurance sustainable. Keep in mind that, if you have the Perf Shifter proc slotted in a passive power, like Physical Perfection or Stamina, Mids doesn't include their contribution in your recovery (mainly because it's not recovery; it's a chance for +end that averages out to provide largely the same benefit). For every one of those procs that you have slotted in a toggle, add .2 end/sec to your recovery to represent its contribution.

These are the forums we're talking about, not the servers. If you actually read this thread at all or spent any amount of time in this forum rather than simply jumping in randomly and looking like a fool, you'd have already realized who is who.

Try getting your facts straight rather than simply printing out incorrect information in an attempt to bolster your position. You may also want to try and move away from the "well that's selfish!" argument, especially since you're not really making any headway (your entire argument is based around the assertion that selfishness is placing the benefit of the many over the benefit the few, which is a joke), and it's rather obvious that you would refuse any change that improved PvE performance if it had even the slightest effect on PvP, regardless of the magnitude of the effect of each.

By the way, if you don't know who Arcanaville, BillzBubba, or any of the other reasonably big names on the forum are, I'm just going to have to facepalm. If you enter into any balance conversation ignorant of 99% of the balance talk that actually goes on, you don't deserve to even be paid attention to.

I know there is a lot of -res in Freezing Rain. The problem is that, like +dam, -res dilutes. -Dam, on the other hand, becomes more concentrated the more your have. Both sets have -res in their favor (Storm has 5% more actually), but the question was one of synergy. From a synergistic standpoint, using the mechanisms unique to each powerset, Rad/DP has more synergy than Storm/DP.