Spellsteal

Spellsteal
Spellsteal Level 72 mage ability 40 yd range 21% of base mana Instant cast Steals a beneficial magic effect from the target. This effect lasts a maximum of 2 min.
Usable by
Class	Mage
Properties
Type	Offensive
School	Arcane
Cooldown	None/Global Cooldown
Other information
Level learned	72
Improvements	[Kleptomania]

Rogues aren't the only thieves in Azeroth.

Spellsteal is a level 72 mage spell that steals a magic buff from a single target. The stolen buff will benefit the mage for up to two minutes, but never more than the duration remaining on the target from which it was stolen.

Notes

• Spellsteal uses the dispel mechanic and is affected by dispel resistance. There is no known pattern to which buff Spellsteal will target. It attempts to steal a random buff every time. If a buff can be stolen, it will have a yellow border. Otherwise, you will get an error message, after attempting to steal it.
• Spell Steal was also a Spell Breaker ability in Warcraft III.

Improvements

• [Kleptomania] (honor talent)

Tips and tactics

See also: List of magic effects

• Sometimes a buff appears to have no practical use and is not worth stealing. However, if your party has no priest or shaman to dispel the buff, Spellsteal accomplishes the same thing.
• Often overlooked, this spell can be extremely useful. For example, Valkyrion Aspirants in Valkyrion have a buff called Metanoia, which increases your damage output a lot, especially if you are a Fire mage.

Patches and hotfixes

• Patch 5.1.0 (2012-11-27): The mana cost of Spellsteal has been increased to 21% of base mana for Fire and Frost mages, up from 7%.
  
• Hotfix (2011-07-06): "When using Spellsteal on a shaman, [Lava Flows] will no longer be given to the mage as a buff. The buff, however, will be removed from the shaman."
  
• Patch 4.2.0 (2011-06-28): Mana cost has been increased by 100%.
  
• Hotfix (2009-04-17): "The paladin ability Vengeance can no longer be spellstolen."
  
• Patch 2.4.0 (2008-03-25): [Blink], [Slow], and Spellsteal have all had their mana cost reduced, and Spellsteal will no longer overwrite a longer duration buff.
  
• Patch 2.3.0 (2007-11-13): It is no longer possible via this spell to get two [Forbearance] debuffs at the same time.
  
• Patch 2.2.0 (2007-09-25): Spellsteal now awards the correct amount of points for stacked auras that are stolen.
  
• Patch 2.1.0 (2007-05-22): Stolen buffs that affect specific spells from the original target's class will no longer have any effect for the mage.
  
• Patch 2.0.1 (2006-12-05): Added.
  

See also

• Spellsteal TCG Card

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB