Funny you didn't mention blizzard, as it's probably right up there with arrest(not mentioned either) in "stopping" monsters in their tracks.
Granted, Sega could have done a bit better job balancing the gear and play in the game, but considering other MMORPGs I've played, it's not that bad.
Yea, so a few specials "suck", granted they are very situational for their use, namely against certain monsters who are weak to foie and zonde. One way to fix the foie attacks like burning is to somehow create a temporary burning "attack" adding more damage or just use a gifoie attack to spread across the area with it's damage from point of impact. For tempest, you could increase the chance of shock or make it like a gizonde attack that chains across nearby targets. That way it could be an alternative to arrest, the Anti-Android Rifle is a great example of a weapon that could be improved in this manner.
There are ways to improve such specials, but honestly only someone with command of the game's code could truly figure out an acceptable way to address the issues. So honestly, what do I know, I'm just a dumb gunman. XD