You have skill progression every 4 ranks you get a skill upgrade. You can also work on building a PvP set with roughly 360ish accuracy and the off stats of your choice. That's what I worked on and it felt like progress. I got most of the gear from PvP and a few pieces from pve with tombs. My ninja is super twinked and I can three shot casters when I pop CDs. Progress is in the eyes of the beholder.