Best synergy with regen in regular (questing) PvE?

I'm a recently returned player. I have a lvl 37 spines/regen which was a rather well-regarded combo at the time. However, I really don't like the spines set - it's potent, but very slow.

What's a quick set that works well with regen? I'm thinking either something with lots of control (to give regen more space to do its thing) or an energy-intensive set.

Note this isn't about farming at lvl 50, nor about PvP. I just want to run around in game following the quest lines. I know that pretty much anything can work, I just want to grab a good combo.

-Jeff

First, in super-hero land we call them "missions," not "quests." *snark*

But, snark aside, any Scrapper Primary will work for you.
-Katana or Broadsword will aid you with their +Def, but interfere with the clicky nature of /Self-Empathy. Actually, all of the weapon sets (Axe, BS, Claws, Dual Blades, Kat, Spines, War Mace) will have to deal with the redraw. Not to say it's not viable, just might be a factor in your decision. Axe and WM do offer mitigation via soft-control, and Claws makes you into a click-monster (which some love). I'd recommend against DB, since Self-Empathy heals will not only cause redraw, but pro'ly make you lose your combo... in addition to you failing 1 out of 7 combos due to ToHit caps.
-Dark Melee makes you rather tough, since it has -ToHit in each attack, as well as a Combat Heal. It's mostly single target, which jibes well with Self-Empathy, aiding you further in fighting smaller, harder mob groups (vice giant herds of even-level).
-Electrical Melee and Fire Melee are similar, both elemental damage, both good on AoE. ElM has some minimal soft control in Endurance Drain, Sleeps and Knockdown/back, while FM just gives burnination, as well as having a stronger Single Target DPS.
-Kinetic Melee offers damage debuffing, in addition to the self-buffing, so since you've no defense but your HP bar, it'll last a little longer since the hits hurt less.
-Martial Arts/Street Justice are also both similar. MA has a cornucopia of status effects, hard and soft controls and strong Single Target damage. StJ has the combo system, which helps to unlock/strengthen the status effects it offers, and more AoE, but the two sets are roughly equal in performance.

So, there ya are. With the exception of Dual Blades, I'd say any Primary will do well.

Thanks for the reply, very informative. I may have to make a fantasy-themed character so I can keep my questing motif. :-)

my 2 inf. Dark Melee thrives on high recharge. So does Regen. If you plan on I/Oing the build (Invention Origin enhancers) then you should consider lots of recharge. (Hasten power helps). The synergy between the two at high recharge levels will make you insanely tough. Regen will always have a problem with huge damage spikes, but on a high recharge build they even get some plannable and regular brief respites from that.

You may want to go brute and do Stone Melee/Regen. SM has no redraw, a great mitigation tool in fault to break up damage, and a higher hp base and cap to allow your Regen and click heals to keep you alive. Stone had high end costs, which quick recovery will help with. The aoe isn't great, but brutes have better epic options to add aoe than scrappers.

Katana or Broadsword both go well. The layered defense adds a lot of damage mitigation to regeneration.