Revamping the Vamp... what do?
Well, Theres some things about lifesteal you may not know. Here's my epic story and thought patter to get to my current conclusion (at the end). Here goes:
I march proudly into the dungeon as a Vampire with a sensation stone and conversion scroll, because I wanted to be the master of all life as we know it. I convert it, do some other stuff, convert some glyphs, then I actually looked at what I had...
Lifesteal: 18. So every time I hit an enemy, I should gain 18 health back. Right?
Damage Reduction: 2. I figured I'd bring the shield this time to stack with my natural ability to tank damage.
Current Damage with boosts: 12.
Level: 2.
I go to attack a level 4 Serpent, because from looking at my lifesteal... i'm a god right now.
The serpent has 27 attack. I hit it, and I take 13 damage. 27-18-2 = 7. So I should be taking 7 damage if I'm doing my math right... Not 13. I'm only stealing 12 life!
If I attack a level 2 Dragonspawn, because I should be its immortal master at my current stats...
The dragon has 10 attack. I hit it, and gain 4 health. 10-2-18 = -10. So according to my math, I should be gaining 10 health, not 4. I'm still only stealing 12 life!
If i attack a level 1 meat man, because he's just a chump...
The meat man has 2 attack. I hit it, and gain 12 health. 2-2-18 = -18. So according to my math again, I should be gaining my full 18 lifesteal, since my 2 damage reduction makes the meat man deal 0 damage. But I don't. Instead, I'm 6 health short still.
What am I missing here? Apparently I'm doing 12 lifesteal instead of 18. 12 just happens to be my actual attack and not my lifesteal.
I gain 1 level after killing stuff. My stats are: 18 total damage, 2 damage reduction, 18 lifesteal.
I move in on a level 3 animated armor. He has 28 attack. I hit him, I take 8 damage. 28-2-18 = 8. WOO it's correct. But I believe this is only because my actual attack is 18.
I gain another level. Stats: Attack 25 total. 2 damage reduction. 18 lifesteal.
I close in hungrily on a level 4 dragonspawn. He has 27 attack. What a wimp. I hit him and suffer a measly 7 damage. 27-2-18 = 7 WOO it's correct. I now believe this is because my attack is greater than my lifesteal.
Can you only lifesteal to a total of your maximum damage?
I convert some stuff, I'm up to 20 lifesteal now! wooo!
I attack a level 3 gooblob, because I can easily slurp up his measly life for breakfast. He has 18 damage. I hit, he hits. He deals 3 damage. WAIT A SEC! I thought I was fixed? 18-2-20 = -4. I should be Gaining life, not losing it... The prediction meter says i'll be gaining life too. But I didn't. I lifestealed for 13 only. I also only dealt 13 damage through his physical resistance.
My conclusions. You can only lifesteal up to the damage you deal. This means that the Vampire's huge lifesteal early on is absolutely useless for fighting higher level monsters, because he can't even get close to taking advantage of its full potential. Additionally, since the Vampire has no mana regeneration, he has almost NOTHING to deal with physical resistances. His attack and lifesteal BOTH get massively crippled, not to mention he certainly doesn't have the mage power to deal with it.
Also... Minor bug? or on purpose? I have patches. I gained the resistance boost. It shows me as having 2 little +0% resistance icons. Are the little icons supposed to be there?
Start talking. Save my crippled vampire.