My Beef With Lifesteal and ADC Defensive Options

#Whoa there ADC friends! Please read the entire post before killing me.

Before you get up in arms about the title let me explain. I LOVE life steal. At least, as a basic concept. I love the idea of sustain, because I hate backing in MOBAs... simply that lol. Anyway, I also think sustain through damage is fun. I mean, outside of my ADC options Ashe and Sivir, I also enjoy Vlad, Morgana, Nasus and use to play a lot of Yi with lifesteal. So lifesteal makes me happy. But it is a problem, and here is my personal opinion nobody asked for.

My personal beef with lifesteal is that it is extremely snowball based. I don't care whether the champion was 'meant' to heal or not(as certain Vlad mains I love would say Lifesteal needs to be removed entirely), if only 2 champions were meant to heal we wouldn't have healing potions, healing spells, healing items and lifesteal. Lifesteal has a place, but since it is healing based on damage it is defense that gets better the further ahead you are. Generally defensive items are anti-snowball, are you losing lane on Riven? Build more HP/Resistance based AD items instead of your optimal route. But Lifesteal is the opposite, it is snowball defense, which is fine some snowball needs to exist to prevent stall outs, just not as strong as it currently is. Instead lifesteal should be a LITTLE bit lower and ADCs should get some HP items, just enough to let them anti-burst when behind. At least, that would make my Ashe and Sivir gameplay feel better.

What makes me think ADCs should have some less damaging item options with HP? Mages HP is anti-burst, unlike resistances it cannot be penetrated and % HP damage is usually slower acting and DPS based. Resistances in low doses aren't worth much, not only due to pen but also due to the fact that they either are tuned high on their respective items and become busted, or tuned low and have no impact(especially when behind). HP is just pure and simple baseline defense for anybody.

#Now some quick answers to some of the obvious questions. "Aren't ADCs suppose to be weak to burst?" Correct. But it is at a point where the ADC who is ahead can out-sustain-tank 2-3 champions bursting them at times with as little as a BT for lifesteal. While the ADC who is behind gets blown up by a fucking Janna tornado. I feel an ahead ADC should have the opportunity to outplay an assassin or position well in their team so they can be safe. I don't feel like an overextended Miss Fortune should drain tank a Zed and Riven's burst just because she is ahead. Likewise I feel a behind ADC should be able to be bursted so the ahead team can capitalize on their lead, I don't feel like Bard should be able to burst them down with an AA-Q combo.

"What prevents the ADC who is ahead from building them?" Simple, put lower AD on them, and have lower or no lethality/crit on them. In my view that would make it no different than buying a low damage HP mage item. At this point if ahead in gold superior damage keeps lifesteal and glass cannon as the stronger option. Either way still healthier for an ahead ADC to have an extra couple hundred HP than to heal several hundred a second.

"ADCs Already have THREEEEEEEE Magic resist options?" Tell me the last time you saw a snowballing ADC build all Scimitar, EoN and Maw at the same time... That aside I agree, I am in the camp that there are too many strong AD/MR items at the moment, especially EoN. That said, this could be fixed with some tuning, item reworks and potentially some melee only tags.

"What prevents some melees from abusing these items?" I think some would be fine shared. The ones that are problematic could be made ranged only, just as some items should be melee only(Looking at you Sterraks).

"Aren't marksmen suppose to be feast/famine?" A fair point. I agree carry classes should do better when ahead and worse when behind. I don't think anybody's ahead should make them immune to failure or anybody's behind should make them completely without value to their team(Probably why I play Ashe as utility doesn't fall off).

That is all personal opinion though, based on what would make my gameplay more fun as Ashe. How do you feel?