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Spellsteal

Spellsteal

21% of base mana	40 yd range

Instant
Requires Mage
Requires level 64

Steals a beneficial magic effect from the target. This effect lasts a maximum of 2 min.

Spell Details

Duration

n/a

School

Arcane

Mechanic

n/a

Dispel type

Magic

GCD category

Normal

Cost

21% of base mana

Range

40 yards (Long)

Cast time

Instant

Cooldown

n/a

GCD

1.5 seconds

Effect

Spell Steal (1)
Value: 1

Flags

All spell effects are harmful

Guides

Mage DPS Guide

Raid and Class
cooldown list.

Ranged DPS
Overview -
Tips and Specs

[Outdated] Arcane Mage
PvE Guide 5.4

Comments

Comment by Pyrous

This spell removes 1 beneficial spell from an opposing player and applies its effects to your character. Only 1 spell can be stolen at a time.

Comment by PerilousPwner

Does the "one at a time" mean that I can just keep on stealing buffs until I run out of mana? In all honesty though, this is not that great of a spell. Costs a lot of mana, and the effect you steal only lasts 2 minutes. To me it looks like a rip off of dispell magic (dispell magic off enemies), but it costs way more mana and gives you a bit of a edge for 2 minutes.

2/5 rating for usefullness

Comment by Sware

For people thinking this costs too much mana, to test it on your own mage just cast blink because blink uses 28% of base mana which isn't very much at all.

Comment by jthg

The main complaint about this spell is that it steals a *random* buff. Most people who expect to fight mages will be stacking themselves with plenty of buffs, including some useless ones like water breathing. If someone has 8 buffs on him/her, then it will take on average 4 casts to steal the buff you want - meaning 116% of base mana and a cast time of 4.5 seconds..According to the estimate by ansepheth of 600 mana per cast, four casts is 2400 - a very significant amount of mana and 6 seconds (including the global cooldown) spent doing nothing but trying to steal the right buff.

Comment by axinthevoid

I dont know why Blizzard is doing this "% of base mana" bullshit. Why can't they just give us one simple mana cost is beyond me. I don't see the reason for fluctuation with the mana cost for this spell, its not just us Mages, but almost every other class has this crappy new mana cost mechanic.

Comment by yobo

They intended the % mana cost originally because of Blink. They wanted Blink to scale with the user since it’s a must use utility spell that any lvl 20-60 would use no matter what. They thought it would be unfair for a lvl 60 mage to spend as much mana as a lvl 20.

Why spell stealing has %base ... I have no idea ... they can’t use the original excuse so... why? The spell doesn’t scale at all since every mage has the basic base stats without gear/talents/pots.

Comment by figgy

People should list all the neat buffs they can steal off NPCs. In Sethekk Halls, the Shamans and other casters after the first boss have a 150 +dmg buff stealable, and the shield that the final boss puts up is stealable as well! Both rule, obviously. :P

Comment by Mdj71

The 295 dmg buff is stolen from some mobs in Botanica, and its awesome :)

Unfortunately i cant remeber the name.

Comment by Tyronyca

I was just wondering and it will be helping others to know if it's possible to steal a pala's bubble?

Was a group arguement and just wanted to know.
Thanks.

Comment by chaoshvy

It sounds illogical, but is it possible the 'steal' a rogues stealth? or something like a druids cat form? I doubt either will work but I'm not a mage and I can't test it.

Comment by Merowlin

http://www.warcraftmovies.com/stream.php?id=36326

- Merowlin

Comment by mkobaner

This spell has many uses for pve you can steal Renew or regenaration from mobs . And in Pvp stealing earth shield or blessing of freedom is definitely helpful .

Comment by Josina

Can't you just use Detect Magic on targets in PvE before pull? 35 mana aint that much..

http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=2855

Correct me if I'm wrong

Comment by majorspank

WoWWiki has some good info about mobs to use this on:

http://www.wowwiki.com/Spellsteal

Comment by Sitanel

OK... something I've been wondering for a while... "Steals a beneficial magic effect from the target." does this include the likes of a Warlocks Unending Breath or Detect Invisibility or any other such spells, and where multiple buffs are involved how does it determine WHICH buff is stolen? Here's hoping someone knows :P

Comment by Lilharry

Mage PvP video i m proud to be a 3 min mage...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jttvxqdoRg

Comment by zeebo

can this be stolen in a duel?
if a mage friend and i (affliction lock) are about to 2-man a 5-man elite, can we duel, have him steal fel armor, then yield, and then i rebuff and pull the mob?

also, do you get the improvements from talents?
will a mage get 130 spell damage from my fel armor instead of 100?

Comment by Slystal

Spellsteal is indeed able to steal a pally bubble if timed perfectly. Proof?

http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r17/girzwald/?action=view&current=pallybubblesteal.jpg

Comment by Gylfnogard

Using spellsteal on a polymorphed target will not break the effect.

Comment by Wandu

I think it's a fake picture as the mage who spell stealed has the same Forbearance debuff as the Paladin. Debuffs can't be stolen as a Mage spellstealing Priests Power Word: Shield isn't afflicted with the Weakened Soul debuff.

Also.. how come you steal a spell from someone who's immune to spells ;>

Comment by Xsear

o,o
Can you steal mounts? rofl

Comment by beylincenarius

What spell mechanics is this affected by if anything. Is it affected by spell hit rating or dispel resist mechanics like those from the paladin "Stoicism" or priest "Pain Suppression"? Does it ever fail in any way?

Comment by jeppe13

there is a comic where a mage steals a guys netherdrake XD

Comment by arthemas

It's supposed to scale with level, not gear. Imagine that Blink would be more expensive the better gear you got. So you actually would get penalized for improving your gear. This wouldn't make much sense, so instead it costs a procentage of your base mana, ie, the mana you have with the gear excluded.

Comment by Fizzleboy

deathbyhornet thats a bug, and will be fixed very soon :)

Comment by keiners

If you want a laugh, steal Slow Fall just as a mage jumps off a cliff :D

Comment by laxarai

You can spellsteal the shapeshift form from the mobs in Shadow Labs, before the Grandmaster Vorpil. Very funny :D

Comment by moleman12

as a mage i of course use armor spells such as mage armor,ice armor, and molten armor, bu i was wondering.... what if i used spellsteal on another mage when i have molten armor on or something, would i get mage armor or something from the other mage?

Comment by Ganarath

boy now i wish my mage would bug and become level seventy with all the moves.. and have PvP mounts lol.

Comment by Zaronto

You can steal Arcane Haste from Wave-Casters in The Arc

This is the most useful buff I've found stealable off an NPC so far.

Comment by Simayi

Combustion and Nature's Swiftness cannot be spellstolen. Which is odd, when Presence of Mind and Arcane Power can be spellstolen.

Comment by diag

You can steal a spell while you are NOT facing the target in 2.4.

I definitely remember that one MUST face the target in 2.1 when I was tanking Maulgar.

Who's got the idea when did the change happen?

Comment by Battleguard

It hasn't been mentioned before and I think it's important: stealing a buff with charges such as Water Shield will reset the number of charges to the maximum. In other words: if you steal it from a shaman who has only one charge left, you still get a buff with 3. Also tested with Inner Fire.

Comment by Archibald

With this spell is heal over time stealable? for example Rejuvenation

Comment by Zeshar

Be warned: If this spell is reflected by a warrior, you will lose one of your own buffs.

Fortunately, the warrior does not gain the buff you lost. Though I doubt you'll lose any sleep over a warrior buffed with Arcane Intellect.

Comment by Calminaion

You can steal the Fel Armour off the Dawnblade Summoners on Quel'Danas ... gives a nice +220 spell damage, and makes your bandages (or any healing effect) tick for quite a bit more. I love stealing it off them and then nailing them with a fel armoured/Pom/Trinket/AP/Pyro ... if it crits, it's 99% of the time a 1 shotter ;-)

Comment by geoffster

Mana cost reduced to 20% in 2.4

Comment by Fronager

Is it Possible to Steal Slow fall from another mage? So they fall down and get an instant kill.

Comment by John00

Considered as a dispel effect, so it is afflicted by dispell resistance talents/abillites like Pain Supression or Stoicism.

Comment by Cross88

Note that some stolen spells don't overlap with your regular mage buffs. For example, the Fel Armor of Sunblade Warlocks in Magister's Terrace will cancel out your Mage Armor or Molten Armor, etc.

Comment by xeroo

Hi i have a question ..... Can mage steal from paladin Seal ...when he have http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=35397#comments ?.. Thank

Comment by Noobinater

can u spell steal a shamans wolf form?(im asking cuase its also dispellable )

Comment by scorage

Looking forward to steal Metamorphosis xD

http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=47241

Comment by ylion42

I am interested about if this spell Tidal Shield can
be spellstolen or not. This is the "bubble" High Warlord Naj'entus uses.

The wording of the spell and the knowledge that it IS dispellable - though in special ways -
made me to question the Spellsteal is available or not on this item.

Could be very useful :-)

And YES I KNOW I'M SICK :D

Comment by nedyseagoon

ultimate usagefor a mage warr team.. steal an opposing mage's evocation buff. massive mana regen and you can cast. Brilliant.

Comment by nailia

..... i just found out that this spell can be good as you can kill kael in MGT in just some seconds... happend to me some days ago.

the group before him were the naga,blood knight,warlock,mage(caster),and a mage guard..

i told my grp that asap we kill these just charge on kael

stole warlocks "fel armor" and blood knight spell took spell haste x 15 from mage and than evocation after they were dead
frostbolt on 1sec+ a heroism wich made it to about 0.6-0.8 than it was just start to spam... 7 seconds and gravity part came another 7 seconds he was dead:D
Try it out if u dare to but your mana will like poff dead xD

Comment by Girlcaster

I've noticed that when a mage spell steals a shamman's earth shield, it does (or atleast used to) give you 10 charges, instead of the new 6 charges.

Comment by tozka

The % of base mana was implemented because many mages(and other classes as well) used to use low level spells for less cost (like mage using level 1 Arcane Explosion to spot a rogue) and Blizzard frown upon downgrading spells.

And % of base mana means the mana without gear and buffs
(as if you are naked and unbuffed :P)

Comment by Magetastic

When you use this spells, does it always steal the immediate shield? (Ice Barrier or Power Word: Shield)

If not i think it should, because stealing a completely random buff could be the death of you in a duel.

It should steal the shield (if possible) then proceed to steal any other random beneficial buffs.

Comment by pieilike

they should allow you to do this.Spellsteal.
lol =Þ

Comment by Abomb

lol this spell is the bane of any casters in arena and is perfect for fighting a holy pally, steal their bubble, Bow, hand of freedom, sacred shield, divine plea.

Comment by ShiroMage

I wish this spell was a passive ability.

You know how now we can see every1's buffs? and detect magic was removed around the BC times?

Now that we can see all those buffs we should be able to just right click one of those buffs, and it would steal it, instead of a random buff.

I would like that change :P

Comment by rigember

does that include blade fury
oh god
its the end of the world when a mage can shoot splash damage

Comment by cloudp

Does the steal from spellsteal count as a Dispel? Which is to say, does it proc things like Rapture, or is affected by Dispel protection mechanics?

And speaking of Rapture, would we get a proc from it if the mage lost the buff in one of the ways the talent describes?

Comment by gamerunknown

Now I feel bad for being trigger happy dispelling mobs when I had a mage in my team

They never complained though. Maybe they didn't have spellsteal to hand.

Comment by kgurnhill

Spellsteal can be extremely usefull in both PvP AND PvE, for example there are mobs that give Magic buffs to themselves that Decrease the cost of abilities (example the Bird things near shatt) which can be spell stolen and will last 2 mins, easy enough time for the mana cost of this spell to be outweighed in saved mana from casting spells :)

Comment by ntilelli

I've been thinking... Is it possible to use this on mounts?
If one of you know feel free to help but ill be back with an answer eventually lol

Comment by Reapper

its used in http://www.darklegacycomics.com/78.html

Comment by UpStream

Base Mana Pool = Mana with no Intellect OR armor at all
Its actually your mana WITH intellect and without gear bonus.

this change is to add a lil more Balance to the game, its a good move imo, if ya dont like it go play runescape or something.... :)

I agree =)

Comment by UpStream

can i ask, why this has been purged? O.o

Comment by Ebrunnaar

Be careful when spellstealing in WOTLK.. some mobs in Utgarde.. Keep, I think actually have bad buffs that you want to not steal.

Incidentally in UP there's a buff you can steal that turns you into a powerful melee wolf. It's pretty fun.

Comment by Tacker

So if someone heals them self you can still the heal? :O

Comment by Amrun

Very fun ability.

You can steal

- The Mage Hunter Ascendants' megasuperownage spell power boost
- Yjirmar Dusk Shaman's shapeshift ability (once they cast it a small, highlighted buff icon will show on their frame, steal it before it runs out) which transforms you into a pretty powerful melee wolf for a very short time. Fun to see the WTFHAX look on your party members' faces.
- Most usefully, other players' spells. You can use spellsteal in PvP effectively by not only stealing long-lasting buffs, but also by stealing HoTs. For example, if an enemy is "tanking" a group of allies, you can steal any HoTs that that nasty druid tree is giving them. This is also a useful way to increase mage survival - steal HoTs from a heavily healed enemy then engage in combat with the heals active on yourself.

Comment by stillnotking

High Cultist Zangus (level 72 quest mob in the Pit of Narjun, just outside the entrance to Azjol-Nerub in Dragonblight) has a stealable buff called Zeal that adds 20% to casting speed. Worth grabbing if you happen to be there.

Comment by draygourn

so, if you sheep a player, can you spam spellsteal till all of his/her buff is gone?
I for one would like another mage's ice barrier or priest shield :D

Comment by razzic

Metanoia from the Valkyrion Aspirants gives +50% crit damage, nice if you like seeing big numbers.

Comment by Auriaonelle

It's hard to believe that no one has mentioned how fun it is to steal "Healing Over Time" spells from healers. Since they count as buffs its possible to spellsteal things like Renew, Riptide, Regrowth and Rejuvination. laughing maniacally like a madman chasing down resto druids in northrend, spell stealing thier HoTs so that my Warrior friend could give them a taste of boot.

Comment by rqp24

on cataclysm, it gains another 5 yd range ^^ but still drains ur mana :\',date:

Comment by StaticLgtBrngr

I like to spellsteal tanks clean when they come for the leader killing achievements, take all the raid buffs and all the hots etc that come in while the other players in the city tear the raid up.

Comment by todiwan

Yeah, you can get a nickel for boosting Starfall, but jacking Heal's a ten-day stint in county. Now lifting Faerie Fire, they just let you go for that — it's not even worth the paperwork. But Reincarnation, man! That'll get you life!

Comment by 3daysgrace

Can you steal flying mounts with it?
(DLC comics joke. but srsly)

Comment by Genoso

thought i'd mention this.... a paladins avenging wrath is spell stealable as the buff it gives is considering magic

Comment by POINGjam

Now I've got your power!

Comment by talchas

Spellsteal now will dispel effects that it can't steal (at least in pve).

Comment by seahen

Has anyone tried this on a GM yet?

Comment by nelsomnio

incoming nerf announced by blizzard :D! stay tune xD

Comment by seahen

Interesting note: This is the only instant-cast spell with no cooldown that pulls aggro without dealing damage. That makes it useful on grey mobs in two situations. The first is when you need to weaken a mob without killing it for a quest, and you want to keep your gear and buffs on in case of PVP. The second is when you want the mob to come closer before dying, so you can loot the corpse from where you stand.

Comment by envelope91

4.2 PTR Note: Spellsteal now has a 6-second cooldown.

Not yet confirmed to be the final build, though.

Comment by goldenbender

4.2 Spellsteal will now have a 6 second cooldown.

OH FOR F#$* SAKE, WHY MUST BLIZZARD HATE MAGES AS THEY SO CLEARLY DO?

Edit : Because I'm getting hatemail for this comment... http://www.thedailyblink.com/2011/05/what-have-you-done-for-me-lately/ be sure to read all of it

Comment by angusmetal

Patch 4.2 - PTR Build 14179
Arcane
Spellsteal no longer has a cooldown. Now costs 40% of base mana, up from 20%.

Frost
Ring of Frost is now instant, down from 1.5 sec cast time.

They cant handle 2 nerf at time...

Comment by Shurai

With the 4.2 changes, mages may find that this isn't as spammable as it once was. stripping the buffs off a paladin made me go pretty low on mana

Comment by Karl5008

most op spell against rets since 1957

ret: yes finally i can deal some damage against him *pops wings*

mage: nop lol *spellsteal*

ghostcrawler needs to be fired

Comment by bojan112

why is it instant cast? wtf

Comment by Sketti11

SpellSteal so fun stealing a 30 minute buff that makes it last for 2 seconds.

Comment by celias

Does anyone have a list of spells that mages cant steal? Also wanted to know dangerous pvp buffs/cds that could increase too much his survival and dmg if stolen like pally Wings used to be.

Comment by Taraezor

In the previous patch the mana cost was 7%. In fact, over the years this was *the* ability to use when you found yourself undergeared or otherwise "useless" in a PvP BG. Was sooooo much fun to spam Spellsteal, watching the buffs disappear rapidly before your eyes as the good dps circled their victim and went in for the kill.

We went from no CD to having a CD. Mana use has fluctuated over the years. But now, at 21% of base mana (and no CD), Mages will actually have to learn to play properly. Can't be a bad thing though :)

(If the problem was due to Glyph of Spellsteal resulting in a 3% heal every 6 seconds (yum!) then the glyph could have been removed or altered.

Comment by Zabfromdurotan

63,000 mana now at 90 since last patch, for those of you interested.

Comment by Zabfromdurotan

After the massive mana increase, it now costs me almost 200k mana to take a rejuv, regrowth, and a lifebloom off a healing druid in a BG.

Comment by Ordayc

This spell is very potent in PvP and can be used two-way in many cases, as it weakens the enemy and at the same time helps the mage. A list of spellsteal-worthy effects in PvP:

Any heal-over-time or absorb effect (e.g. Rejuvenation, Power Word: Shield), particularly ones with a cooldown or prohibitive cost (Eternal Flame, Temporal Shield), either to heal oneself or to deny healing on the enemy. This can be more beneficial than casting damaging spells if the prevented healing is higher than the damage one could inflict, while other party members can take care of dealing damage.
Power effects: Bloodlust/Heroism/Time Warp, Arcane Power, Icy Veins, Power Infusion, Avenging Wrath, Elemental Mastery
Hand of Freedom: both for own mobility and to be able to slow the paladin
Ice Floes: interrupts spellcasting if enemy is moving
Ice Ward: synergizes with Shatter
Fear Ward: especially helpful as the priest has access to fear
Hand of Protection
Archangel: to deny the healing boost or to combine with self-healing
Stamina buffs (Power Word: Fortitude), which not only causes damage equal to the decreased health but also reduces further healing that depends on maximum health

No benefit to the mage, but still worth dispelling:

Spiritwalker's Grace

Comment by Azerothi

Talented priests can steal buffs too, use Dominate Mind on a target, gain access to whatever buffs they have, cast them on yourself and perhaps also party members! Done!

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