User blog comment:Commander Marko/Item Discussion: Rebalancing Certain Items/@comment-7118467-20140502205555/@comment-620927-20140505131653

In my opinion, that's a pretty reasonable amount of lifesteal coming from one source. the reworked Blade still gives attack damage - the same amount that it gave before even - so realistically it's only a cap to the internal healing from the item itself that limits the impact other items have on it, without affecting it's impact on other such items. It'll be just as effective on health stackers, which it was designed to help with, it just doesn't let ADCs who buy it spiral out of control against teams that build tanky, which is one of the first responses you should have when you're at a disadvantage.

The majority of itemization in this game now benefits ADCs as is, their itemization paths and build potential are nearly infinite compared to tanks, certain kinds of mages, and of course the supports. This item helps make it a more reasonable item that doesn't instantly become a core buy while still keeping it insanely strong against opponents who can be easily shredded and are trying to get a foothold back with tankiness.