Hm.. well, I've not had much bother from seeing what was going on as any of my classes, Conjurer or Lancer. But.. I certainly agree on casting animations. That's one of the few things did disappoint me - I kind of like the understated magic effects, but the actual casting? You can add a lot of character just by changing the way a spell looks as it's being cast.

Ragnarök Online, for instance. Their graphics engine could only handle one casting animation per class sprite, but every spell had a unique circle generated around the caster prior to activation.