Swordsman Archive

Hi all, I'm Master Brawler/Master Swordsman, so I've got +48 2h Toughness and Melee Mitigation 3. I've been watching my combat spam over the last couple of days while fighting various mobs in PvE, and I haven't seen any indication that either toughness or mitigation are working. The combat spam shows a hit for some amount of damage, which is then mitigated appropriately by my armor, but the overhead numbers show the amount of the original hit - armor mitigation, ie:

creature hits you for 187 points of damage.
your ubese armor jacket absorbs 160 points of damage.

At which point I see a red -27 float over my head. So my question is: At what point (if they're not somehow broken) do toughness and melee mitigation factor in? Are they calculated and the damage reduced before the combat spam? Do they work at all in PvE, or only PvP (I don't PvP with that toon, so I haven't had a chance to test it there)?

TIA for your help. =)

After finding and reading the KB entry for Damage Mitigation, I understand how mitigation works now. I'm assuming toughness factors in behind the scenes as well (calculated and applied before the combat spam is displayed). My apologies for the stupid questions. =)