User blog comment:Hidden Sniper/Mechanics that don't make sense to me - Part 1 Lifesteal/@comment-4922088-20130716224611/@comment-6301771-20130717040421

Yes, it's countered by all those Attack Damage reductions in the game. Like Tryndamere, and...

...Yeah that's about it.

The problem with Lifesteal is that it basically means that without any form of interruption, Carries now have a significantly higher effective health than most champions. They can't be killed WITHOUT any of those things, because Lifesteal is always tied to a highly offensive and powerful item (with the exception of Zeke's Herald, of course.) In contrast, the number of tanky items that grant potent damage is low, because as we all know items that grant both tankiness and damage are overpowered. But Lifesteal should be considered in EXACTLY the same way.