I don't recall spellsteal not being able to steal effects that were possibly "useless" to them. If the buff was magic, you could steal it (with some pve restrictions). If it was not a magical effect, you couldn't steal it. I definitely recall being able to steal a warlock's nightfall back in BC.
Spellsteal should be looked at as both a way to nab useful buffs for yourself as well as an offensive dispel. A few classes can really get screwed over when they're purged of a damned good spell. Is it a necessity? No. Is it useful? Better believe it.
calling bullshit
i could spellsteal ANY MAGIC BUFF since its been added and i could use it, its only in cata when things like clearcasting (shaman/druid) only gave boosts to their intended class but still allowed mages to spellsteal in order to use spellsteal as a DISPELL instead of a spellsteal...
and being able to spellsteal DK buffs in wrath pokes a giant hole in your "bc through wrath" bullshit
pve fights like jaraxxus in wrath prove you wrong as well since nether power isnt a "buff intended for mages"
pve fights like epoch hunter in durnholde prove you wrong as mages have always been able to spellsteal his aoe dispell
blizzard intended spellsteal to be akin to the spellsteal of warcraft 3 not some watered down, no-fun version you propose
tl:dr blizzard thinks its working as intended, thats why the only thing that changes about it is its mana cost
To the idiots posting things like poster above what about what I said made you think bosses with flat dmg buffs or defensive abilities to steal wouldn't be useful to the mage? Any magic buff huh you were running around in ghostwolf on a mage then? If you've played a mage long enough then I'm sure you noticed the fact buffs you could steal had border around them to show what you could take back in bc and wrath. It worked on most all pve things pvp was where it was limited.
When cata happen it was changed to dispel any magic even if you didn't get the buff and before that you had to be able to steal it to dispel it. It use to have some limits in pvp.
Last edited by Wow; 2012-11-17 at 08:47 AM.
I know someone said it already but...if the mage is not able to use the buff that he stole from you then what the fuck difference does it make if it was stolen or dispelled? You can't use the buff and neither can the mage. I could see you being upset if the mage stole a cool buff that he is now able to use against you (which in some cases they can i know) but...to complain about that is just silly. Stolen, dispelled, what's the difference? It's gone!
It's already having its mana cost increased. Just treat it like a dispell if you're so agitated that a class has an ability that can remove your buffs.