Well, when he hits 75 and reaches endgame, he can weigh in on the skill debate for himself, but getting to 75 and being 75 are hardly the same. EXP parties are all about mindless repetition. Ever see Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis? EXP parties are the drone-like proletariat. There might be skill involved against HNMs and high level challenges, but that's out of the scope of this thread. One could say "EXP comes pretty slowly in this game" to a new player, and of course it could be countered with "level 75 warrior-burn parties get chain 200+", but that'd be out of the scope of the topic really. For over half his first job's level span his skills will require: A) engaging the right enemy B)declaring TP and C)using the desired weaponskill when needed. C can be tricky as it can involve counting to three if he's a closer. A shouldn't require skill but somehow a lot of idiots manage to attack the wrong enemy. Maybe I'm partly wrong, or at the very least, overexaggerated the skill vs gear debate, but for a good 90% of ones levelling career, there's no skill involved.