Its rough to lose friends when a game grows/develops.
I think that is the beauty of some console games. You know what is really great about goldeneye 007 on N64? I can pop it in and its still the same as it was in 1997. That being said in some ways its great to see things change and develop, both visually, and mechanically.
Personally I think riot is starting to lose sight of what makes LoL great, what makes dota games great. What is that? How deceptively simple they are.
4 abilities 2 summoner spells
now granted it becomes a little more complex with talents, runes, passives, itemization.
But at its basic core its you vs someone else and your use of the 6 buttons/keys vs their use of those 6 buttons/keys and though seemingly incredibly simple you can a vast skill difference between players.
Now in may cases items have made the game more complexed particularly in the last 2 years, we are seeing more and more active ability items. (which adds more keys/buttons to press)
Now granted new champions don't necessarily have MORE abilities, but they have a lot more IF this, than THIS. To them, more situational utility and variables built in, that make them considerably more complex than the original lineup from 2009. Gnar, Ekko, Bard, Rek'Sai, Kalista, Jinx, Thresh, Zed, Jayce, Ezreal.
Now I really don't want to turn this into a personal flavor thread (though each person is going to have their own tastes that will make a certain champion easier or more difficult to play/master)
I think where this becomes an issue is in matchmaking, in the hands of pro player, even a simplistic champion is going to do work on a less skilled player, however give that pro player a champion with the utility of some of these champion, add in their ability to juggle these active ability items, and you have a foe that is essentially in god mode.
I think by keeping it MORE simple, you detract from the possibility that this will occur, or the effect it will have on the psyche of a new player/less skilled player.