ogabson,
Have you looked at the Help file, under New Features, General Productivity, Easy Offset?
Archicad works differently (duh...), learn the differences and you'll soon be working just as quickly: 1) there is the offset of slabs, roofs etc though the pet palettes, 2) then offset of lines through the magic wand and 3)and the drag a copy for walls, lines, etc. More things to remember, but once you get on with it, just as versatile.
I had the same "offset" frustration, until I just stopped, really stopped wanting to do it the Autocad/Microstation/whatever way, get your mind into the Archicad way. You will increase your expertize and speed with the program.
Snap