ARC Auto-attack = Ranged attack..

[Akuun]

That's the point. ARC has to lock itself in just building TP via Light Shot.

Yeah you could AA up close via punch I guess but then face the same problem PGL has in getting hit with Sears (or having to jump in and out trying to avoid it).

My main is pug, but i feel it's more of an issue with the fight not being balanced around multiple classes.

That's the problem. You shouldn't be against it because you feel that ARC is somehow incredibly more difficult to control AA then you would on a melee class. In fact, what is the difference? A melee would avoid breaking those mechanics (ie sleep) just as ranged would, by turning around / canceling or changing target / disengage / spamming ESC / etc.. The players who can't manage pretty simple controls like these shouldn't necessarily govern the design of the class.

AA's primarily help TP build, but they also add a little dps, both things that ARC is seriously in need of right now.

You're against manual ranged attacks because you find it difficult to control.
It's not a matter of difficulty, it's a matter of control.

And it's weaker than Light Shot, so you're sacrificiing MORE damage and putting yourself in harms way just to avoid the lock.

Auto-attack on all classes is pretty weak, most of the dps comes from the TP attacks.
Besides, the Ifrit fight is more about survival than DPS, and animation lock is usually what kills every class on that fight.
Especially true for mages who have longer cast times than our light shot attacks.