I think that what makes MMO games tick is really the connectedness of a lot of different aspects. But, with our small resources, I think that we should try to implement the bare minimum of features in most areas, and then focus on one area at a time to develop more deeply. I agree that combat/skills should probably be that area just now, both because people should see Spellborn's unique skilldeck approach, and because so many other aspects depend on it (quests, dungeons, player communication/cooperation, PvP).

On the other hand, my most (not-so) recent work has been on NPC interaction - i.e. quests and dialogue. Developing that stuff did a lot to make mere debugging sessions feel like being back in the game world. So I certainly don't think those things are irrelevant either.

I probably have more to say on this - I just haven't thought of it yet! =p