Regeneration is, for all intents and purposes, and unlike most other armor sets, reactive instead of proactive. Sure, you could hit dull pain in anticipation of taking a big hit, but most of the set's schtick is to take the damage head-on then heal back up afterward. This is contrary to most players' expectations, IMO. It's a good set where you have other forms of mitigation, via your attack set, pool powers, or other sources. I think that if you look at it from this perspective, you'll have a better outcome...