http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1dqCjnATWg#t=4m52s
A lot of people seem to have missed this vid, though I'm not entirely sure if "slapping the first two weapon-based abilities" actually counts towards your normal weapon attack and block.

I'm pretty sure when they say "weapon attacks" they mean left mouse and right mouse buttons.

2 weapon attacks (left/right mouse buttons, normal attack/block)
5 class abilities (buttons 1-5, your spells/abilities)
1 ultimate ability (button 6)

Thats not what he says though, he says slot, as in action bar slot. And we know that weapons will come with their own abilities. So the way its described in the vid does make sense.

I hope it really is 8, in fact I'd love to have even more abilities. I always enjoyed having 40+ spells and binds, it allows for "fun" abilities for certain classes since you don't have to strictly fill out a certain number of slots. But before everyone jumps at my throat with their (in my opinion ridiculous) arguments that gigantic hotbars are outdated and don't promote skill and blahblahblah - it's just my preference, I know it won't happen.

You will have a ton of abilities but you can only hotbar 6 of them at a time

Hmm that does conflict with what they have on the Tamriel Foundry website itself which states the last slot is #6 which is the ultimate.

"The final (sixth) hotbar slot for every class is filled by an ultimate ability which is usable after the player accumulates sufficient “finesse”, a resource mechanic that builds through successful performance in combat."

If the video is correct, and there are 8 slots on the hotbar, they need to update their FAQ.
http://tamrielfoundry.com/development-faq/#combat

Wrong game for 40+ spells Mitlandir.

From what I've heard. You have 2 weapon skills, 3 class skills and 1 ultimate. With block/attack being on the mouse.

We'll have lots of abilities but will only have 6-8 to use at one time. The combat system and UI thats in ESO fits the single bar and would go against the design path if we had a ton of abilities on our screen. Been playing MMO's for many years and welcome the change to a minimal UI.

I wonder if in expansions they add one more hotbar slot?

I don't see why they would add it in an expansion....