Active abilities in ME:A (Updated)

Amen to that: still, I really would have liked to have a meaningful Rachni charachter this time around...

Nope, it's as important against AI, unless you don't care about combat or difficulty levels at all. It will condition the number of ennemies you will face, their damage potential, their velocity, their variety and their HP. The more the protagonist is powerful, the more these variables will need to be increased to stupid levels, or not, and the game gets casualized on higher difficulties. I'm amazed you don't understand that.

When did I imply you were a scrub if you don't play higher than veteran? When did I tell you to git gud? So nice putting words in other's mouth. Does that mean because I used to be a scrub and put the time and effort to git gud, I don't have a right to have fun anymore? Fun is reserved to casual players now? So it's okay for you to spoil my fun, and every one else's who cares for a challenge? Your version of fun is necessarily superior to mine? Thanks for clarifying that.
Difficulty levels are there so that everyone can complete the game under their own preferences. However, when Insanity proves to be so easy an average player like myself has to limit their use of powers in order to feel challenged, then there's a problem. When there's a problem, it's only natural to look for its origin, and yes, the number of active powers Shepard had access to is part of it. See post above about the necessity of some sort of limitation.

Mine as well these days

Shepard's "OP-ness" was dependent on the skills taken and the player's ability to use them. Shepard wasn't OP because Shepard (except in the storyline)

Sounds like your beef is primarily with how enemies were balanced in the higher levels. While Limiting player chocie to just a few abilities might make that task easier, it's not the only, and certainly not the best way to address that.

I have a question, to both sides if I may...what is the point of arguing about this when the game is in the last stages of development (so they won't change core systems) but before it has come out? Why don't we go all into this with open mind and see how it works in context and shout we love/hate the system after we've seen and tried it?

Yeah, I'm not at all a fan of the deconstruction of the class system. Throughout the trilogy, it really enhanced my role-play - but I'm not one to re-spec or take bonus powers that don't gel with the class I'm playing.

I hope it will be viable in MEA to stick to a single class. I guess we'll see.

I'm going to attempt it that's for sure. I love/d my Engineer and Infiltrator classes. (And adept whenever I felt like being a space wizard lol)

Technically your Ryder isn't though. They don't start out as the pathfinder, so... in my mind anyway, they should already be in some sort of role. I'm probably going to play mine as "is on the pathfinder team to be the engineer of the group." 

And then of she gets promoted to pathfinder and has to lead. (while still being tech based)

Are we really trying to say this wasn't posted?

And I'm sorry if you can't see the parallelism in question: imo, the leap is the same. Less jarring maybe, but never the less the same poor logic: the abuse of a misconception to support an argument. It’s not believable a ME game mechanic you admit of not using it’s the cause of wrist damage for yourself in the same game.
Sorry, I really can’t stay silent before something so appalling: you consider it a titbit, but it’s the stuff of shivers reading it.
I really relate to wrist damage caused by too many work hours: hell, I work every day in an office doing research work. But faulting a game mechanic and promoting its removal for it, instead of the excess of every day workload, it’s incomprehensible. And it’s unbelievable someone could agree with this.

I'm not against a flippant tone in a discussion like this one (or any others for the matter), if you've the facts to support your thesis and the ability to explain it properly: in this thread, I’m afraid you haven’t provided anything substantial to support your reasons, more than personal perception and preferences (not facts). Something I pointed out already once at least.

“You have asked how having more powers could hurt the game, and I have provided extensive possible answers.”

No, I’m afraid you only succeed in declaring how good less powers are better for you, up until now.
Another limitation to the Opness you perceive as such in ME, would be, or could be, better mobs: more intelligent, not necessarily the bullet sponges we dread so much. I endorse something worse than Collectors in ME3MP: as they are now, they are masters of harassment, more than raw damage. Why not evolve from there, instead of reducing power numbers? It seems to me you consider dumb enemies and bullet sponges our collective doom: I think the devs showed us other ways are indeed possible in ME.
And where in the seven circles of hell even I said ME3MP was a fail? I just said I don’t think ME:A single player should be balanced with the same logic for more than one reason in different posts. Mainly, I don’t think the companions we will have in ME:A will be able to synergize with us, becoming a dead weight at best. If not an impairment. I’ve also said that allowing more power slots enhances possible builds: so the creativity and the joy of the player, able to experiment as they please most.
How this is a bad thing, when coupled with stronger enemies? And how does this damage people who play with less powers but likes a harsher challenge?
And I really don’t understand the bone you pick with sjsharp: if you have something to disagree with him, go for it. I usually don’t disagree on behalf of a third party, on a thread like this one at least. And considering Sjsharp took the time to repost twitter posts and investigate on the situation to clarify it, I think a thank is dued at least.

Lastly, I would like to remind you a little post of mine two days ago:

And lo and behold, you got flaked many times, by different users for different causes (me among the others, true). And I would be the bad guy? For trying to invite you to caution?
Ehhh…

Now, I suppose you will accuse us all of being a cartel of terror and ignorance, a stonewalling secret society spawned from the darkest corner of the night to disrupt your right to speech (granted by the forums btw): a collective of double standards…
Flash news: we are not. In fact, you see me discussing with other users too. Even when they don't agree with my opinions. Funny things about beginning to drawn lines among people btw, sooner or later you find yourself alone. Just sayin... been there, seen that.
I hope some of this manage to reach you.

Indeed.  I've played plenty of games with classless systems.  but this whole transmorpher-implant thing combined with a three power limit seems to undermine the entire point of being classless.

Or at least I hope it will be viable (satisfaction wise) to focus on one setup. Playing a master of none isn't really my cup of tea: If I must go to glass cannon build, I'll go it, I just hope it will allow for some "personality".