Active abilities in ME:A (Updated)

Did it? I didn't notice.

I'm sure the dpad will be used for moving the squad still, but not all of the buttons are used as far as I remember.

They haven't really done squad controls in any of the demos since they were showing off how flashy the powers and combat has gotten, so it might not be squad related.

Whether 3 active abilities are enough or not depends on the Class/Profile as well as play-style.

Take the Soldier Class from Mass Effect 2 and 3 as an example, you pretty much only use one active ability which is Adrenaline Rush. Since the cooldown is universal, and Adrenaline Rush is by far the best ability you've got, using anything else is just a waste of time. The same argument can be made for most classes, most builds, play-style-approaches, etc. Whoever played ME3 Multiplayer extensively is used to the idea of 3 active abilities - and some would even skip one ability, since many builds can be optimized using only 2 active abilities. It is very clear that ME:A team has been heavily influenced by ME3 Multiplayer, and since that formula of 3 active abilities was well-received and worked out pretty well for the most part, this is a safe path to follow from a combat-oriented standpoint.

That being said, there are limitations in ME3 Multiplayer and what I am worried about is regarding the Sentinel and the Jack-of-all-trades play-styles. You just can't make a Sentinel work with such limitations. Most "Sentinel Class" Characters in ME3 Multiplayer have nothing to do with the ideal of what a Sentinel is supposed to be; They are either full Tech or full Biotic (or at times even full Combat). Some characters do have one Tech and one Biotic ability, but since these do not combo well (if at all), you end up relying on weapons for damage more often than not. Sentinel in ME3 Multiplayer is more of a concept than a Class per se.

Jack-of-all-trades builds are out of question for ME3 Multiplayer, and I fear they might be so for ME:A as well. With just 3 active abilities you have to be specialized in rinsing and repeating the same process over and over, not much room for anything else. In ME3 Multiplayer the closest you can get to a Jack-of-all-trades approach is using two completely different weapons.

As far as the Multiplayer goes, it doesn't really matter much. You play a 20 minutes match with friends, get paid, open a Pack, rinse and repeat.
Doing the same thing over and over doesn't hurt much. There is little to no immersion there. Playing a Vanguard that uses only one active ability is not that bad in Multiplayer.

Now in Single player you will use the same character for tens of hours, and there is a story behind him/her. I would like to have a bit more immersion in terms of builds and possibilities than what I had playing ME3 Multiplayer.

There has got to be some kind of expanded hot key system for mouse and keyboard otherwise pc people are going to riot.

danaxe, @tzeenchianapostrophe

Stitching the two threads together as they follow on nicely...

They said they don't want the powers to be used on pause to not break the flow of combat. Though the weapon wheel does that as well. 
I don't find it strange that they wanted to unify the game modes because they did it (kind of) with DAI, and ME Was already more action oriented then DA. I do find it strange that they aren't confirming it, so something might be hidden for now. I just think it's far better to expect the system to work this way, to avoid (partially) disappointment.

I'm expecting no concessions for mouse/keyboard.
What ships on PS4/Xbox is what ships on PC (just remapped) is my expectation.

Clearly folk have questions, I hope we'll know more 'soon'...

I'm sure they have been testing it for many months,
why would they persist with a crippling mechanic?

To my mind, the biggest issue is simply that we don't know yet how it works.

ME3 was preceded with extensive complaints about the multiplayer which turned out very nicely.

imo there's nothing wrong with limiting how many active abilities one can have. Plenty of games do it. Rather than limiting gameplay variety it forces you to think about which abilities are best for a scenario, think about how those abilities synergize together and make the most out of that combination. It promotes build talk. There are good arguments for either side

That's great in theory. But until you play, you aren't going to know which abilities are best, in which situation. And if this is anything like DA:I, we won't be able to remap more suitable abilities during combat.
Which means we'll either have to suffer through the fight, or reload and come back with different abilities.