Animation lock is fine. I'd rather that than have abilities and run all over the place. A good example is how archers attack. An archer needs to take aim, realistically, if hes moving and jumping everywhere, hes gonna be really inaccurate. But that's just aesthetics. Its part of strategy... Here is an example: at lvl 15 as a PUG I'm fighting moles around drybone. Moles have that wonderful dig attack that if you notice their attack patterns, will see they use this move towards the end of their lifespan. You should be expecting that it will activate the technique, and anticipate when is not a good time to pop a skill so you are not locked to your location when the mole digs. I've only fought mini ifrit so i have no boss mode comparison, but i think animation lock should stay.