User blog comment:Shigfugjum/Power Creep and the Fate of Older Champions/@comment-5588011-20150902155542/@comment-24420226-20150902225303

It's true that literal power creep isn't really a threat to the game or game balance. Perhaps a more accurate term I should have used (and maybe will edit in, as the comments so far have focused in on this misuse) is "Utility Creep"; utility being a form of power a champion can have in League as opposed to power in damage or numbers. You can see Utility Creep having an effect in the game clearly, though, with the near domination of Azir as a midlaner, since his complex and convulated mechanincs give him multiple avenues to impact the game compared to simpler champions (who may still have equal or better damage potential).

However, it's also important to note that Riot is hesitant to simply use bigger numbers to level the playing field. A good example is the about-face they did with Ahri earlier in the season and how the movement speed on her Q exploded her popularity. A more recent example of bringing utility creep to older champions is how Fiora, a champion who was notorious for lacking any real utility that her team can benefit from, now has 2 incredily powerful utility effects - an invulnerability+counterstun effect and MASSIVE Aoe heal for teamfights.

The blog was also never really about power creep or utiltiy creep being unanomously bad, per se, but more about preserving the simplicity of older champions not for power or identity reasons, but more to create a baseline to quickly introduce mechanics to new players without overwhelming them.