Something left somewhat vague by the description (just like Blade Bash), is that the dispel affect is 100% IIIIFFFF you do not steal an item from the target mob. Found this out on dragons in Bhaflau Thickets, if I was successful in stealing that horrid Beastman Cape, it did not dispel the wind wall. Yes, I also get the {the/} thing, very bizzare. The absorbtion rate w/o extra merits seems to be around 20%, so you could theoretically merit your way to 100% (if my initial guage is correct). Very nice on Warm-Up, especially on the Thf Mamook mobs with that crazy eva. the extra acc (if you absorb) is great.
{The /}"Name" steal's the effect of "name of effect" from the "name of monster"
whats up with the {The /} part. Anyways, this ability really helps again annoying monsters that give themselves annoying buffs, like mamool with warmup, although you only dispel one of the two traits from warmup, its still nice.