The same reason why they give us 100,000 pieces of equipment but we can only equip eight. (Weapon-Offhand-Armor-Helmet-Accessory1-Accessory2-Ring1-Ring2)
Make a tactical decision on how to kit out your character and party for the task at hand. This isn't a new thing people...
This is the only explanation that makes sense to me. Still, limiting players to 8 active spells/abilities seems harsh and that's assuming our sustains actually stay up. I'm playing through DAO now and having to reactivate sustains after every encounter and load screen gets old fast. Surely we won't be forced to put sustains on those few slots.
Why would you ever want sustains active outside combat in DAO? I had them set up in Tactics to activate only when my mana/stamina had dropped low enough that the sustains didn't cost anything.
Did not find out if we have the ability to enable tactics for controlled characters. Problematic.
Didn't hear anything about the possibility for blunt weapons either.
I'm playing a blood mage, so sustains don't cost anything and I want my them up when I enter combat. Sometimes I enter a new area and combat starts before I have a chance to get them up (or I forget), so I'm being attacked while I'm loading them.Why would you ever want sustains active outside combat in DAO? I had them set up in Tactics to activate only when my mana/stamina had dropped low enough that the sustains didn't cost anything.
We can only access our mapped abilities while in combat? That's a shame 
I think you're confusing the abilities name with what it actually does.
You mark a point on the ground (preferably before the fight) then engage a group. Enemies run into melee range, you pop your trickiness and teleport to your marked location (only you, or at most a single enemy accompanies you). At this point you are at your marked location (perhaps with an enemy you kidnapped) and your party remain exactly where they were.
Retreating is only one use of this ability, gaining tactical advantages is a much better use. It isn't meant as an 'I escape' button, especially since it doesn't move your companions at all.
So rogues can teleport, without the ability to do magic?
To be fair, it was quite clear that was going to happen for a long time. They already stated in the past that every class has access to certain weapons.Not going to lie, this has dampened my enthusiasm for the game quite a bit. It seems like they learned nothing at all from DA2's dreadful weapon restrictions on classes, forcing you to pigeonhole your PC into tank/DPS roles and never being able to deviate.
This is the only explanation that makes sense to me. Still, limiting players to 8 active spells/abilities seems harsh and that's assuming our sustains actually stay up. I'm playing through DAO now and having to reactivate sustains after every encounter and load screen gets old fast. Surely we won't be forced to put sustains on those few slots.
They use a gadget to do so. Which I doubt it makes sense lorewise, but the don't use magic.So rogues can teleport, without the ability to do magic?
Why would you ever want sustains active outside combat in DAO? I had them set up in Tactics to activate only when my mana/stamina had dropped low enough that the sustains didn't cost anything.
Some builds don't mind the cost of sustainable abilities plus you can make quality willpower builds. The problem is that if they exist and are turned off everytime you drop out of combat then it's the most annoying thing.
For example my autoattacking rogue build in DAO used momentum and the stun ability only. I never needed to turn momentum off.
My 2h burst warrior in DA2 (which turned out to be pretty crap but anyway) used a quality build that had enough stamina to use all the low cooldown skills and could use second wind for the rest if needed.
Blood mage is the other obvious example that can go negative mana without a problem.
On the other hand I think toggles are a bad design and exploitable. Blood magic that changes a function, or some active ability like Wrath of the Elvhen and Bodyguard are fine, but more that just add modifiers (like elemental aegis, turn the blade, control, might, rock armor, etc) are just idiotic. They can instead make them passive and increase the cost of the active skills. Fatigue was a pretty good idea, but they can do without.
I'm calling it now: each companion uses one of the PC's specializations. There are three companions and specializations per class, which was the first hint. The second is Varric seeming to have an Artificer ability. I think it might also map out pretty neatly in terms of who has what spec:
Rogues
Varric: Artificer (beyond the evidence here, tinkering fits his personality given Bianca, and it makes sense for an archer)
Cole: Assassin (he's the dual-wielding rogue, which fits more with what the Assassin skills have offered before, and his skils at going unseen would help most with this spec.)Sera: Tempest (this is largely by process of elimination as I don't remember much of what the description of Tempest said when it was accessible.)
Warriors
Cassandra: Templar or Champion (Templar fits because the Seekers probably get similar training, and Champion because she's a defensive warrior and that spec seems to match)
Iron Bull: Reaver or Champion (Reaver fits because he's more offensively oriented and a semi-Qunari might not have qualms about drinking dragon's blood. It's also the one seen on him in the demo. Champion fits because he's a leader of troops)
Blackwall could be any of them. I don't really know enough about him to narrow it down.
Mages
Vivienne: Knight Enchanter (This spec seems to be the only one that the Chantry would approve of. Being a Circle Mage with political influence, I doubt she'd gain credibility by studying necromancy.)
Solas: Necromancer (He seems to be the mage least prone to following established norms, and would be the most likely to dabble in such unsavory magic.)
Dorian: Rift Mage (His connection to the Venatori means he may have studied the Rift more than most mages and found some ways to access its power.)
This worries me somewhat since that might mean that the companions are the ones that will train your inquisitor. I'd hate it if I needed to befriend someone to a certain level just to make them teach me my specialization of choice. (I despised having to be friends with Zevran for a short while in DA:O in order to become an assassin and I got rid of him as soon as I could once that was accomplished.)
This worries me somewhat since that might mean that the companions are the ones that will train your inquisitor. I'd hate it if I needed to befriend someone to a certain level just to make them teach me my specialization of choice. (I despised having to be friends with Zevran for a short while in DA:O in order to become an assassin and I got rid of him as soon as I could once that was accomplished.)
Well it's not really such a bad thing. Actually in of of those that resemble a real life situation where you forced to do something you don't like in order to gain something. Plus you can always give him a few gifts, he only needs 25 if memory serves.
But I think they already said that you don't learn specializations from companions. Not really sure though and I can't link source.
[DK]: There's a fun one put together by our ability designers, Jon Fuller and Luke Barrett, called Fallback Plan. Only Varric, and possibly your Inquisitor, gain access to this ability, which lets you place a gadget on the ground; if you get into trouble later, you can instantly relocate to that position. If you upgrade it, you'll also be set back to the level of health you had upon placing the gadget, and—if you are standing close to an enemy—you'll kidnap the enemy back with you. By combining this with stealth, and placing traps or mage glyphs under the marker, many hijinks can ensue
So not only we are teleported but also cured?
This better be a magic object of some sort because it seriously breaks lore otherwise...
Actually, even then it can break the lore. Echanting objects wasn't limited only to Tranquils and dwarves?
Anyone can use an enchanted object, absent stat requirements. (I quite liked Celene's self-boiling enchanted teapot in Masked Empire.)So not only we are teleported but also cured?
This better be a magic object of some sort because it seriously breaks lore otherwise...
Actually, even then it can break the lore. Echanting objects wasn't limited only to Tranquils and dwarves?
Dunno why but the whole focus thing doesn't fit my idea of DA
We had 6 on consoles.
The difference now is that we can't use the radial menu, so we're limited to using ONLY what's slotted to those 8 slots.
But again, that's quite a bit considering passives and upgrades, and we can switch them around.
No radial menu? 
When was this confirmed?
No radial menu?
Who cares really if the ability breaks lore? Backstab has you teleport behind the enemy. Stealth makes you go invisible. It's for gameplay. If everything needs an explanation then abilities will end up being limited in what they can do.
Remember it's a game and it's supposed to be fun. Not an encyclopedia.
I don't know why people are taking one comment on how *you can now map 8 abilities if playing on consoles* to "omg no radial menu and we can ONLY uce 8 abilities?"
If you've seen some gameplay vids, the radial menu is back in all it's glory with probably some new ui adustments for console but I'm sure we'll still be able to pause the game and go into it to choose abilities from there.
They're just emphasizing that you can now map 8 abilities as opposed to 6 like in DAO and DA2 in consoles since I think they're using the R1/RB button as another hotkey.
In any case, I'm kind of sad that they're limiting healing AGAIN, since I like playing as a "Cleric" in RPGs, but I understand why, since they don't want to be all spammy heals and make things easy and instead add an emphasis on supportive spells like Heroic Aura, and Barrier. But still. I'd like to be a "White Mage" In a Dragon Age game, that's literally how I played DAO. Still, as long as I can be a supportive spellcaster with better-er support spells then I won't be too mad on the limitations on healing.
Ahem. If I may throw in my 2 cents on the controversial Artificer ability...
It's called Fallback Plan. This means simply that Varric/The Quizzy set things up so they could quickly get to that area (maybe some elaborate system of automated ropes and pulleys, or just a lot of sprinting, who knows) and stored extra healing supplies or something in that location.
Remember its name. Then come up with explanations. Don't read teleport and instantly think lolmagic.
Gameplay potential has always trumped strict (key word) lore conformism in Dragon age, remembers what the taint was supposed to do ?
Mike was asked if we can access abilities through the radial menu, and not only through the mapped abilities. He said it's not possible. How else should we interpret the tweet?I don't know why people are taking one comment on how *you can now map 8 abilities if playing on consoles* to "omg no radial menu and we can ONLY uce 8 abilities?"
If you've seen some gameplay vids, the radial menu is back in all it's glory with probably some new ui adustments for console but I'm sure we'll still be able to pause the game and go into it to choose abilities from there.
They're just emphasizing that you can now map 8 abilities as opposed to 6 like in DAO and DA2 in consoles since I think they're using the R1/RB button as another hotkey.
In any case, I'm kind of sad that they're limiting healing AGAIN, since I like playing as a "Cleric" in RPGs, but I understand why, since they don't want to be all spammy heals and make things easy and instead add an emphasis on supportive spells like Heroic Aura, and Barrier. But still. I'd like to be a "White Mage" In a Dragon Age game, that's literally how I played DAO. Still, as long as I can be a supportive spellcaster with better-er support spells then I won't be too mad on the limitations on healing.
I don't know why people are taking one comment on how *you can now map 8 abilities if playing on consoles* to "omg no radial menu and we can ONLY uce 8 abilities?"
If you've seen some gameplay vids, the radial menu is back in all it's glory with probably some new ui adustments for console but I'm sure we'll still be able to pause the game and go into it to choose abilities from there.
They're just emphasizing that you can now map 8 abilities as opposed to 6 like in DAO and DA2 in consoles since I think they're using the R1/RB button as another hotkey.
Someone went on twitter and asked, and Mr Laidlaw said you can't use abilities from the radial menu
Though I don't know if it's a huge deal, losing access to my five least used talents at the end of the game wouldn't change things too much for me I don't think. Though it does risk making levelling up less interesting at high levels, when you're not only picking up the talents you're less interested in, but you won't be using them.
Though I wonder if tactics will allow you to get at the talents you can't map?
Who cares really if the ability breaks lore? Backstab has you teleport behind the enemy. Stealth makes you go invisible. It's for gameplay. If everything needs an explanation then abilities will end up being limited in what they can do.
Remember it's a game and it's supposed to be fun. Not an encyclopedia.
Because it renders the lore utterly pointless.
Ahem. If I may throw in my 2 cents on the controversial Artificer ability...
It's called Fallback Plan. This means simply that Varric/The Quizzy set things up so they could quickly get to that area (maybe some elaborate system of automated ropes and pulleys, or just a lot of sprinting, who knows) and stored extra healing supplies or something in that location.
Remember its name. Then come up with explanations. Don't read teleport and instantly think lolmagic.
The game should make us buy those healing potions and pulleys, then. Not just magically give it to us because its "kewl". If you don't have the gear you can't do the trick. This is seriously the awesome-button all over again.
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