Understanding How to Counter Lifesteal?

Hello and Welcome to Honors Corner!!

I hope have all had a great week, and have enjoyed the Thanksgiving Event. Norheim is kind of flat, after the flurry and commotion of Conquest. What better way to dust off the cobwebs, of one's IK knowledge, than to explore overlooked gems? After trawling the annals of IK library, I stumbled across Lifesteal. I must confess it was something I had overlooked since it is a niche area. The hour hand is rapidly approaching, time to dive into the article.

INTRODUCTION 

Hey there, fellow Infinity Kingdom strategist! If you have ever found yourself frustrated by opponents who seem to heal faster than you can damage them, you are not alone. Lifesteal can be a game-changer, but do not worry—I have got your back.

In this article, we are diving headfirst into the mechanics of Lifesteal—not to praise it, but to reveal its weaknesses. That is right, Lifesteal is not the magic wand that guarantees domination in Infinity Kingdom. We will break down its flaws, and explore smart counter-strategies to mitigate or nullify its effects. Also, to highlight practical ways to outplay Lifesteal-dependent marches.  

By the end, you will know exactly how to dismantle Lifesteal builds, identify the Immortals and skills that work best against it, and apply these insights to craft balanced and versatile marches. Whether climbing the ranks in ToS or fine-tuning your strategy for PvE, this guide will equip you with the tools to outwit Lifesteal users and secure your spot as a battlefield tactician. 

Ready to take your game to the next level? Let us get started and show those Lifesteal enthusiasts that you have got the perfect counter up your sleeve!

Immortals, debuffs and skills to counter Lifesteal  

Lifesteal works best on high-damage physical attackers who can consistently deal large amounts of damage. 

Facing a Lifesteal-heavy march or a boss that just will not quit because they heals faster than you can hurt them? Do not worry—there is a strategy for that. Early game, you will want to rely on accessible options for healing reduction or burst damage dealer Immortals. Pair them with debuffs from ToK to cut down healing efficiency and crowd control skills to stop Lifesteal-dependent enemies in their tracks.  

These Immortals often ranked B to C, might not seem like the flashiest choices, but they pack a punch for F2P players and are incredibly effective when resources are limited. 

As you progress, and gain access to higher-tier Immortals and skills, these options may be outclassed by better alternatives. For P2P players, these early-game picks are more of a stepping stone. But for F2P strategists, they remain a solid and budget-friendly way to hold your own, even in the late game. It is all about adapting your tools to your stage in the game and making every Immortal count.

Suggested candidates include: 

1.Hannibal (Wind): Hannibal's ability to reduce enemy defence increases his damage output, amplifying the effectiveness of lifesteal. He is a solid immortal and used in Earth/Wind hybrid march, even in the end game. The hybrid march is a solid F2P build, but remember there are counters to this march. Think long term and how to build your march to be adaptable.

What other Immortals could you suggest to be effective to counter Lifesteal?

Common Mistake: Applying lifesteal to Immortals with low base damage or magical DPS units, as their damage output is not sufficient to make the lifesteal meaningful. 

How to Avoid: Prioritise physical damage dealers with high attack stats and skills that amplify their damage. 

Countering Lifesteal 

1. Defense and Damage Mitigation 

Lifesteal depends entirely on damage output, so reducing that damage limits its effectiveness. 

Suggested Immortals as counters to use: 

Charles the Great (Earth): Reduces incoming physical damage, weakening lifesteals' effectiveness. 

Zenobia (Earth): Her healing and damage reduction abilities counteract lifesteals' incremental healing. 

Skills to Use: 

Defense Blessing (ToK): Increases your team's physical and magical defence. 

Resilience (ToK): Lowers the damage your Immortals take from critical hits, further limiting Lifesteals' effectiveness. 

This skill also counters Hybrid, which ironically is a good march build to counter Lifesteal

2. Burst Damage  

Lifesteal provides incremental healing, so it can not save an Immortal from burst damage. 

Suggested Immortals to Use: 

Gilgamesh (Holy), Baldwin (Wind), Poseidon (Chaos): High burst-damage dealers who can eliminate lifesteal-dependent units in one or two attacks. 

Hippolyta (Fire): Amplifies your marches damage, and increases the effectiveness of burst strategies. 

Skills to Use 

Death Breath (ToK): AoE damage that quickly eliminates lifesteal-reliant units. 

Rage (ToK): Increases attack speed, allowing your DPS to strike faster and harder before lifesteal can take effect. 

A reminder, these skills fall into the B-C rank category and do not shine as brightly as Triss skills. If you are a P2P player, you might want to save these for your 3rd or 4th march. Or consider using them in a Spider or Boss build. An F2P player, these skills are beneficial in the early game and are helpful support in your second march. As you progress, consider replacing them with KvK skills that can be reborn into Triss skills from the Wish shop. This gives you a solid foundation to start from. It would be helpful for you to explore and experiment with different march builds to find the one that best aligns with your gameplay style!

3. Healing Reduction Debuffs 

Healing reduction buffs are the kryptonite to sustain heavy marches, slashing the effectiveness of Lifesteal and other healing mechanics. These sneaky debuffs either cut down the percentage of healing received or block it entirely, leaving your opponent’s Immortals scrambling for survival. Whether you are in the thick of PvP or facing a stubborn PvE boss, healing reduction buffs can turn the tide of battle by making every bit of damage stick. Why let your enemy heal when you can make their pain permanent?

Certain debuffs can directly counter lifestyle by reducing or nullifying healing. 

Here are a few examples of debuffs (crowd control skills)

1. Gloom Remedy: This debuff transforms any healing received by the target into damage, adding an interesting twist to combat strategies. 
2. Wound: This debuff reduces the healing received by the target, making it harder for them to recover health during battles. It is particularly effective against teams with healers. Or heroes with self-healing abilities, only Bjorn has this capability.

 Shows Lifesteal in effect, the number indicating the amount of heal,after a normal attack (physical dmg)

An example of how Lifesteal has been countered, all 4 ally units have this debuff- DMG taken which reduces an immortals HP.

Skills to Use:  

Annihilation (ToK): Reduces the healing effectiveness of opponents, directly countering lifesteal. 

Poison Thorn: I would suggest this skill as a counter to Lifesteal because:

  What other ToK skills would you suggest with Healing Reduction attributes?

Why Use It?

Healing reduction debuffs are essential in matches where the enemy team has strong healing capabilities.

By reducing their healing, you can:

Prevent prolonged battles: Healing reduction helps to quickly eliminate high-priority targets without giving them a chance to recover.

Counter sustain compositions: Teams that rely on continuous healing to outlast opponents will struggle against healing reduction debuffs.

Increase burst damage effectiveness: When enemies can not heal effectively, your march burst damage becomes more impactful, leading to quicker victories.

Healing reduction debuffs are crucial for countering teams that rely heavily on healing to sustain through battles. 

Would you like more details on specific heroes or strategies?

4 skills to counter Lifesteal

To counter Lifesteal effectively in Infinity Kingdom, you can utilize several specific Tower of Knowledge (ToK) skills. 

Here are some of the most effective ones:

1. Energy Suppression: This skill can be used to delay the activation of enemy skills, including those that might enhance Lifesteal. By controlling the timing of enemy abilities, you can reduce their overall effectiveness².

2. Malice: This defensive skill reduces the critical hit rate of enemy attacks, which can indirectly counter Lifesteal by lowering the damage output and thus the health recovered through Lifesteal².

3. Weakness: This offensive skill increases your team's critical hit rate, allowing you to deal more burst damage and potentially outpace the healing effects of Lifesteal².

When selecting these skills, consider your overall strategy and playstyle. For F2P players, focusing on versatile skills like Healing Suppression and Anti-Heal can provide broad utility across different scenarios. P2P, have the flexibility to invest in specialised skills and combinations that suit their specific team compositions.

By incorporating these ToK skills into your strategy, you can effectively counter Lifesteal and gain an edge in battles. Remember to continuously adapt your approach based on the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents to maximize your chances of success.

An example, highlighting the counter to Bjorn Lifesteal Ultimate Skill.

This shows that although Elizabeth did 30 normal hits (Phys DMG) but not with a 100% success rate. When examining the Accuracy Information, we can see each hit caused 93k dmg with an accuracy of 100% when they stuck. Overall, the stats show us Elizabeth was very effective in causing dmg and using CC debuffs, for example Confused which will have healed her ally units. This march also did not inccur much dmg taken, and had effective healing. So, significant dmg and healing to withstand the duration of the battle to be victorious.

This EA worked overtime in this battle to use the DMG given to the enemy units and convert it into HP for the ally units.

Sadly for Bjorn, he was not able to get as many normal hits off, despite the 100% hit rate and accuracy. The numbers show us that each normal hit caused 4k DMG, not at all effective against Elizabeth or Alexander's normal hit rate. Also, see the units HP is diminished quicker than the Elizabeth Earth march. Bjorn was made to work hard during this battle, meaning it slowed down his recuperation and took more DMG. Less chance to use his Ultimate skill-Lifesteal. Being able to read and understand battle reports will help you to forge your strategies for your marches and Immortals.

Only Himiko performed when it came to DMG, was not enough to counter the counter of Elizabeth and the skills of the enemy unit!!

Conclusion: Lifesteal as a Tool, Not a Solution 

Lifesteal is a powerful mechanism when used correctly, but it's not the ultimate answer to every battle. Its effectiveness depends on careful synergy with your march, a balanced approach to team-building, and awareness of its counters. 

Lifesteal is an effective mechanism for PvE and PvP scenarios. In PvE, it helps Immortals sustain through battles, reducing the need for healers and conserving resources. In PvP, it boosts survivability allowing Immortals to recover health, while dealing damage, making them tougher to defeat.

Incorporating Lifesteal into your strategy will yield results, but remember to balance it with other approaches! Every battle is different, especially in PvP where opponents may have ways to counter Lifesteal. Having a well-rounded team with a variety of abilities can make a difference!

Common Mistakes When Using Lifesteal

1. Overcommitting to Lifesteal

Stacking lifesteal across multiple Immortals in a march often sacrifices critical attributes like critical hit rate, energy regeneration, or defence. 

Solution: Balance lifesteal with complementary stats and skills. For example, pair a lifesteal-focused Gilgamesh with a healer like Zenobia or a tank like Alexander. 

2. Ignoring Counters 

Lifesteal-heavy marches struggle against teams that focus on burst damage, healing reduction, or defensive strategies. 

Solution: Diversify your march with Immortals like Cleopatra or Dido who can cleanse debuffs or mitigate damage. 

Things to take away- the positives and negatives of Lifesteal:

Adapting your strategy for different game modes is crucial for maximizing your effectiveness and success across various challenges.

Here are some tailored strategies for different game modes:

1. PvE (Player vs Environment)

Focus on Sustainability: In PvE battles, such as gnomes, or the Time Rift sustainability is essential. Use Immortals with Lifesteal and healing abilities to maintain their health over prolonged engagements.

Elemental Advantage: Exploit the elemental weaknesses of your enemies. For example, use Water Immortals against Fire enemies to gain an edge.

Balanced Team Composition: Ensure a mix of damage dealers, tanks, and support to handle different types of enemies effectively.

Buffs and Debuffs: Find skills that buff your march damage or debuff the boss to reduce its effectiveness.

(use Cice Acct battle report)

2. PvP (Player vs Player)

• Counter Strategies: Pay attention to the enemies' lineup and adjust your team to counter their strengths. For instance, if they rely heavily on Lifesteal, then use Anti-Heal skills to reduce their effectiveness.

(ss of skills could use... poison thron -crowd control skill & weakening curse, good skill to counter the counter a hybrid march these are just suggestions, Why not post your idea and let's get a conversation going in how to counter the counter?)

• Speed and Burst Damage: In PvP, quick and decisive victories are often the goal. Focus on high burst damage and speed to overwhelm your opponent before they can react. Adaptability: Be ready to switch your team composition based on the opponent's setup. Flexibility can be a significant advantage in PvP battles.

3. Alliance Wars - KvK, KE

Coordination: Work closely with your alliance members to coordinate attacks and defences. Communication and timing are crucial for success in large-scale battles.

Specialised Roles: Assign specific roles to alliance members, such as attackers, defenders, and support, to ensure a well-rounded strategy.

Resource Management: Ensure you have enough resources and troops for prolonged engagements. Alliance wars can be resource-intensive, so preparation is important.

4. Illusion Battlefield

Team Synergy: Focus on creating teams with strong synergy. Combining Immortals with complementary skills can significantly enhance your effectiveness.

Objective Control: Work on capturing and holding objectives. Controlling strategic points on the battlefield can provide advantages and lead to victory.

Adapt to Opponents: Be prepared to adapt your strategy based on the enemy's movements and tactics. Flexibility and quick decision-making are essential.

By tailoring your strategy to the specific requirements of each game mode, you can improve your performance and achieve better results. Remember to continuously adapt and refine your approach based on your experiences and the evolving meta of the game.

How will you use lifesteal in your next battle? Will it be your greatest strength or a vulnerability for your opponents to exploit?

Is Lifesteal an Early or Late-Game Attribute?

Early Game: Lifesteal is helpful for gnome farming and sustaining weaker marches when healers are absent.  

Late Game: Its effectiveness decreases as opponents implement better counters like healing reduction and burst-damage strategies. 

Have you noticed lifesteal losing effectiveness as you progress? How do you adapt your strategy to keep up? 

In conclusion, countering Lifesteal can be highly effective. But it requires a strategic approach. From my experience, understanding the mechanics of Lifesteal and how it interacts with different Immortals and their positions is crucial. While Lifesteal can provide significant sustainability in battles, countering it can diminish this advantage.

One of the key pitfalls to watch out for is underestimating the impact of Lifesteal on high-damage dealers. If not countered effectively, these Immortals can quickly regain health and become difficult to defeat. To avoid this, focus on using skills and artifacts that reduce healing effects or increase burst damage to outpace the Lifesteal recovery.

Downsides to Stacking Lifesteal

1. Dependent on Damage Output  

  Lifesteal effectiveness is the amount of damage dealt. If the Immortal faces enemies with high defence, damage mitigation, or evasion abilities, their damage output (and therefore healing) will reduce, diminishing the value of Lifesteal. 

2. Vulnerability to Burst Damage  

  Lifesteal provides gradual healing during combat but cannot protect Immortals from massive burst damage. If an Immortal is defeated quickly, their Lifesteal attribute becomes irrelevant, highlighting the need for a balanced march with sufficient tankiness and support. 

3. Overinvestment in a Single Attribute

  Stacking Lifesteal across multiple Immortals may come at the expense of other essential attributes, such as Critical Hit, defence, or energy regeneration. It can lead to a lack of diversity in your team's capabilities, making your march predictable to counter. 

4. Limited Impact in Short Battles 

  Lifesteal is most valuable in prolonged battles, where sustained healing can significantly influence the outcome. In shorter battles or PvP scenarios, where fights may end quickly, Lifesteal may not have enough time to provide meaningful value. 

5. Reduced Synergy with Non-Physical Damage Dealers  

  Lifesteal works best with physical damage-dealing Immortals. If your march includes magical DPS units or Immortals focused on crowd control or utility, Lifesteal attributes may not work as effectively.

Instead of heavily stacking Lifesteal, consider diversifying your march to include complementary attributes, such as Critical Hit for burst damage, defence or HP boosts for survivability and energy regeneration for skill activation.

Pair Lifesteal-enhancing artifacts and skills with high-damage Immortals, but ensure the rest of your team can address various challenges.  

When diving into the world of ToK (Tower of Knowledge), do not just play; dominate! Zero in on skills that pack a punch against healing or supercharge your damage. Think along the lines of "Healing Reduction" or "Anti-Heal"—these mechanisms, are essential for dominating the battlefield! Remember, your strategy should reflect your unique play style, unleash your creativity and make every move count! For F2P players, it is advantageous to concentrate on developing versatile skills that can be applied in a variety of situations. On the other hand, P2P players have the opportunity to invest in specialised skills and artifacts, allowing for a more tailored gameplay experience.

Ultimately, the effectiveness of countering Lifesteal depends on your ability to adapt and optimise your strategy based on your resources and playstyle. By carefully selecting and ranking your ToK skills and understanding the dynamics of Lifesteal, you can significantly improve your chances of success in battles. Remember, the aim is to stay flexible and continuously refine your approach to stay ahead of your opponents. Good luck and may the Norheim Forces be with you:)

SOURCES

1. GRAMMARLY

HELPFUL LINKS IN INFINITY KINGDOM

1. GLOBAL IK DOWNLOAD
2. KOREAN IK DOWNLOAD
3. HONG KONG & TAIWAN