The skill progression is atrocious

[Lumberfoot]

You have your first ability right from the start and one of the first quests you do gives you another ability: Return."

That's some seriously poor bait.

Nope, it's gradual progression through gears and abilities. Time between patches and expansions does not make it sporadic.

I have not said anything about the time between patches and expansions.

Although, there are other contents outside of combat and crafting/gathering. So it's wrong to say that the gameplay is "solely based on using skills."

I guess the game is not based on using skills because the gold saucer exists? Of course you can spend hours walking around cities, chatting and so on without using any skills, but that does not mean that the main part of the game is not based on using them.