"Spellsteal is bad! It creates one-sided games and makes some champions so hard to kill, it's just not fair." -- Riot
... meanwhile, watch Graves, any ADC, Yi, Fiora or anyone who builds lifesteal just tank all your damage and heal more than you can hurt them.
Fair and balanced though, right? Yeah. Just another way to reward incompetence and make whales (who are by and large terrible) happy to spend money -- but Riot's not greedy, heavens no!
Zelnick6 votesThey reason mages don't have spellsteal is firstly because mages deal tons of damage in a short amount of time so they can get all their health back easily, unlike adcs who have to kite, and mages usually have way more range than anyone else and can get all their life back without putting themselves in any danger, unlike an adc or fighter and they usually have a bit of hard cc+aoe and/or an escape to keep everyone away, unlike a fighter and usually an adc.
Fondling Gems1 votesOn top of that aa are, for the most part, the same with all champs. Spells on the other hand vary wildly from champ to champ and certain champs (vlad and akali for ex.) End up getting balanced around said spellvamp items and not their own kits.
Niyumi2 votes... deal tons of damage in a short amount of time so they can get all their health back easily, unlike adcs who have to kite,
Uh, have you not seen how ADCs can literally instakill anyone who isn't a full tank these days? Hell, half of them can even instakill tanks now too. There is so much armor pen and absurdly high numbers that ADCs are able to burst harder than mages (I actually did a comparison of Syndra (you know, a burst mage) vs. a generic ADC with nothing but AA spam... the ADC had higher burst by mid-game, higher sustained damage, just overall more damage.)
and mages usually have way more range than anyone else and can get all their life back without putting themselves in any danger, unlike an adc or fighter and they usually have a bit of hard cc+aoe and/or an escape to keep everyone away, unlike a fighter and usually an adc.
Cait, Jhin, Ez, Quinn, Twitch, Varus and the like say hi. They have range too -- more than most people, actually. And uh, name one ADC that doesn't have an escape or some kind of CC. I dare you. Now, name a mage that has no escape or CC... hm, I can think of several.
So uh, I really don't see the argument.
Paroe1 votesUh, have you not seen how ADCs can literally instakill anyone who isn't a full tank these days? Hell, half of them can even instakill tanks now too. There is so much armor pen and absurdly high numbers that ADCs are able to burst harder than mages (I actually did a comparison of Syndra (you know, a burst mage) vs. a generic ADC with nothing but AA spam... the ADC had higher burst by mid-game, higher sustained damage, just overall more damage.)
Cait, Jhin, Ez, Quinn, Twitch, Varus and the like say hi. They have range too -- more than most people, actually. And uh, name one ADC that doesn't have an escape or some kind of CC. I dare you.
So uh, I really don't see the argument.
are most of the immobile ADCs.
Amongst them, ashe and kogmaw are the least mobile. Kogmaw is the least safe marksman in the game.
Niyumi1 votesSo, all of these champs have some kind of safety built into their kit:
Ashe has a Frozen Mallet built into her autos, slows on her W, a stun on her R... and is generally safe combined with her long range.
Jinx has a very long-range slow and her traps to get out.
Jhin has long range, has slows on his E, and can root people with his W from a mile away. On top of that, he speeds up whenever he crits.
Koggy is pretty fragile, but still has a sizable slow field on his E. (Probably the least safe ADC)
Sivir has her ult, E and passive to get out, and generally can't really be caught unless she fucks up hardcore.
Wanna try again?
Paroe1 votes
Ashe has a Frozen Mallet built into her autos, slows on her W, a stun on her R... can is generally safe combined with her long range.
Jinx has a slow and her traps to get out.
Jhin has long range, has slows on his E, and can root people with his W. On top of that, he speeds up whenever he crits.
Koggy is pretty fragile, but still has a sizable slow field on his E.
Sivir has her ult, E and passive to get out.
Wanna try again?
Youre confusing small amounts of CC for reliable escapes. Taking out ashe, jinx and jhin (i forgot they all had hard CC... ;-; i just woke up, so sue me.) youre left with two champions who arent very safe because movespeed slows below 70% are not effective against mobility unless you use them early and often and they dont have hard CC of some kind.
But, as for the thread, i agree; lifesteal is made broken due to crit and attack speed. 250AD with 2.0 attack speed simply isnt okay; especially when that gives you 30% lifesteal right off the bat. AD champions also get deaths dance, which is litterally the physical damage version of spellvamp AND doesnt have an AoE limitation. Anyone who has ever fought a yi or nasus with warlords knows just how extremely frustrating it is for them to heal up all of the damage you do while you have nothing.
Also, crit EASILY out damages mages. Especially now that AP has been lowered across the board... i should do the calculations again to be honest.
Arakadia1 votesAn MF can heal like 500hp on one AA if she crits. Mind that this AA is recourcless, doesnt need to be aimed, and has no cooldown. I dont understand why they couldnt make something like this:
SpellVamp: Every X Seconds, this champions next spell cast will heal X health if it hits an enemy.
This passive would heal a flat amount and wouldnt heal more from AoE. With a CD so someone like Cass has no advantage over Veigar.
Weiner the Pooh2 votesSpell vamp doesnt exist because champions like veigar could ult and heal to full in one move.
Zelnick1 votesAn MF can heal like 500hp on one AA if she crits. Mind that this AA is recourcless, doesnt need to be aimed, and has no cooldown. I dont understand why they couldnt make something like this:
SpellVamp: Every X Seconds, this champions next spell cast will heal X health if it hits an enemy.
This passive would heal a flat amount and wouldnt heal more from AoE. With a CD so someone like Cass has no advantage over Veigar.
Because that's so weak that it wouldn't be effective enough to spend all that gold for an item just for that ability, it would only benefit mages who already had some natural spellvamp like fid or swain and if you just throw it on zhonyas or abyss or something it just makes those items op.
Arakadia1 votesIdk, just doesn't seem fair that mages get no item form of sustain.
Zelnick1 votesIdk, just doesn't seem fair that mages get no item form of sustain.
It kind of seems exactly fair, mages don't have to put themselves in danger very much, adcs and fighters do.
Arakadia1 votesMost mages don't have the range of Xerath and also get in trouble like ADC's. Many AP assassins like Katarina or LB have to get VERY CLOSE to the enemy and for Kat she has no escape unless she kills someone. Literally every class except Mages and AP have really great sustain. Most ADC's don't have to worry about mana from early to mid, but mages have to worry about mana still. I think mages should get some form of sustain, be is passively like Warmogs or actively like my idea.
Niyumi1 votesAutomatically-aimed, resourceless, unmissable attacks that automatically fire off more than once a second at extreme range with no drawback or risk involved -- doesn't that sound fair? Shouldn't that be the highest form of damage in the game and rewarded with the most item diversity in the game?
The reason they don't do something like that is because whales can't really play mages, since they require more than one finger to play, and Riot doesn't want them to feel inadequate (and less likely to spend money), so they keep the complex champs sub-par, while making ADCs and easy champs like Annie absurdly strong.
Yrzen1 votesRiot's current itemization is more friendly to a better version of spellvamp than lifesteal right now, and has been for a while.
I'd like to bring up this item. 
Its giant slayer passive works not only on tanks, but also most other roles. Most adc items completely and totally lack hp. They can get away with healing off a sixth of their health with every hit on high attack speed because they can die in three spells or autos from another adc.
You could argue they try to mix tank and lifesteal items, but tell that to Aatrox, who isn't very good right now. The more tanky they get, the less damage they do. It's not like you can't build defenses or penetration as a mage, or try to lock them down with cc. There is counterplay here.
Now, compared to lifesteal, spellvamp or an alternative would never be as universal. No matter how it was made, it would always be better for some champions than others. What this boils down to is that only a select few champions can use it. Even now that Vladimir's synergy with spellvamp is worse, buffing it would probably only let it be viable on Vladimir, Swain, maybe the gunblade users, and that's it. If it's a good buy on, say, Lux, it would almost certainly be broken on Vladimir/whatever.
Throw this on top of the fact that mages have much more health options than lifesteal damage-dealers. After botrk/bloodthirster/Ravenous Hydra, what do they build then? 
?
?
?
?
Meanwhile, mages have options like 
The game is balanced around squishy glass cannon adcs being able to heal up damage so they don't need to constantly recall to have presence and stay relevant. Giving that to a mage, which is already supposed to have its own perks (generally either range, cc or escapes) upsets this balance. Just imagine if Azir could play like Illaoi. That would be some messed up shit.
To give another way of putting it, there are three Support item lines: 
, 
and 
. The first provides AP and mana regen, the second provides health and mana regen, and the third provides health and health regen. Why is there no AD gp10 Support item? Why does the most AD-centric Supportive item, 
, provide AP?
Because a gp10 AD item would be broken, easily outclassing Cull. If it wasn't, it probably wouldn't be good enough to call an AD Support "meta" or "not bad" in the first place, making it a noob trap. Riot thus can't support AD Supports. They don't want to give the idea it's an option when it's such a bad one, and they aren't prepared to test the effects of AD Supports being good on the meta. A good spellvamp item is the same as this good AD Support item.
So please, stop whining about balance matters you know jack about and calling people names just because you or your team fed a champion you can't be bothered to try countering.
Paroe1 votesSo please, stop whining about balance matters you know jack about and calling people names just because you or your team fed a champion you can't be bothered to try countering.
You say, fully thinking that spellvamp is still an obtainable stat on items... Also, we used to have avarice blade. Which built into executioners calling. Avarice blade was a GREAT item for the niche it filled and was core on bankplank and pre-rework ashe, but it didnt build into anything useful (making it build into executioners again, and then into mortal reminder would be a great idea!)
Since spellvamp is no longer a stat obtainable in large quantities (you can get 30% lifesteal with two items...) Why should it still have the AoE limitation on it? I mean only two champions actually HAVE spellvamp; morgana and Akali. and akali doesnt usually build the AD required to get much use out of it.
Yrzen1 votesYou've presumed I think Spellvamp is still obtainable on items. I am a Vladimir main. The removal of Spellvamp affects me more than most.
Avarice blade was removed, and it was a horrible GP10 item that relied on farming to even be worth its price. (It was literally 400 gold spent on gold-generation, which could only pay off after a much larger portion of the game than current Support items) It was a cull before cull, but too good on some champions and not good enough on others. (Sound familiar?) Its existence caused awkward interactions with its upgrades, and it did not make good AD Supports. At least, not since long ago.
If It built into executioner's, Mortal Reminder would get a decisive edge over Lord Dominik's, meaning it would need to get nerfed to compensate. it restricts design space, and if the repeated Gangplank nerfs haven't made it clear, Riot doesn't want to encourage farmfest champions. It's why Gangplank was so abusive and pick/banned in, what was it, 90+% of games in the lcs back when his rework first came around?
How about why they removed Ranger's Trailblazer?
How about why AD Twisted Fate hasn't been good in ages? (You know, the guy with the loaded dice passive that gave him more gold) Notice how Twisted Fate is labeled as having the same attack power as ability power http://www.leagueoflegendsguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/twisted-fate1.png
Spellvamp still has the AoE limitation on it because that's what spellvamp was. To change it, you would give Morgana an enormous boost in sustain, which would bring on nerfs to her. If Mage Morgana kept good spellvamp to heal up from waveclear, Support Morgana would suffer from the compensation nerfs. Akali might end up getting nerfs as well. Either way, it would only majorly change a couple champions. To add a Spellvamp item to the game, you'd be stuck with the following problems:
Is it too good on mages that already have healing as their identity? Is it good enough on mages that don't? Has it made champions who aren't supposed to have healing as their identity outclass champions who do?
Spells vary far more than auto attacks. Riot has come to the conclusion, at least for now, that there's no way to give mages good spellvamp. If you'd like to submit your ideas, make a thread about it, but just saying "THIS IS SO UNFAIR AND ANYONE WHO DISAGREES IS A GULLIBLE WHALE" isn't productive at all.
Paroe1 votessnip
EC lost the avarice blade passive upon completion. Making avarice blade have 10AD or so and making it cost 400g would make it a great, if niche, starting item. Your argument assumed spellvamp was still obtainable in large qaunities. Most champions who HAVE spellvamp dont do a whole lot of area damage (over time, yes they do, but not burst.) lets take morgana for example. 20% spell vamp. Assume her pool hits 3 targets for 100 damage (500*3 = 1500). 20% of 1500 is 300. Morgana heals for 300, over 5 seconds.
Now lets compare to an AD champion with lifesteal. 200AD, 2.0 attack speed, 30% lifesteal. over 5 seconds the AD champion will deal 2000 damage. 30% of 2000 is 600. Lifesteal is faster, more effective, and much more efficient than spell vamp due to AD itemization at the moment. While it is true that spellvamp used to need that 33% effectiveness, the current state of it does not warrant that at all due to the lack of high amounts of it on anyone but AD akali.
Why do marksman have access to such a powerful healing stat, while doing more damage than actual mages over shorter periods with greater safety?
Yrzen1 votesIf you're only arguing that spellvamp should be aoe, let's go from there.
Let's talk about early-mid game, because this is the biggest problem with Morgana getting healing. late game, this isn't even a good comparison, since Morgana should be able to just Q+W, maybe ignite or ult and they just die with no opportunity to fight back sans sash. I have no idea what you're talking about by "greater safety". An adc with no peel is a dead adc if your team has any basic coordination, or even just an assassin.
Let's say, hypothetically at least, that these changes cause mid Morgana to max Tormented Soil first.
At level 9, tormented soil does 400 (+110% AP) that increases by 1% for every 2% of the enemy's health missing, up to 600 (+165% AP)
Let's say at level 9 she completes a Zhonya's, or at least has the components, Doran's Ring, and runes/masteries for 70 AP. Her passive grants her 15% spellvamp. With spellvamp quints, she would get 21%. The change would make them really strong runes after all, and if you wanted to go the whole 9 yards, she could pick up the spellvamp mastery for 2% more.
She'd be able to use it on at least three minions at a time, and optimistically more. With only three minions, and ignoring missing health bonuses, using 23% spellvamp at level 9, Morgana will be able to heal a whopping 329 health with every single W. She would be able to use W every 9 seconds with the 10% cdr from Zhonya's, or every 8 with Ionian's. The real amount of healing is somewhat higher because of her execute damage, and her ability to use it on (much) more than just three targets. Finally, she can do all this from 900+175 radius range, has a black shield that NEGATES CC, and a long range, still decently long-lasting root.
Do you think Vayne can do that with one item and greaves? Well, Morgana's one item is Zhonya's, so it's only fair if Vayne's one item be Mercurial Scimitar. The answer, then, is no.
