I'm a little on the fence. I think that getting to 99 is more or less all about the cape, but I don't think most skills are pointless. I like skills because I can craft/smith/fletch things for free, even for profit. OP says that they'd buy essence, but if you mine it yourself, then it's all free. That's at least my reasoning. I'm not a big person on earning money as an objective, nor buying all my runes and armor and weaps. I like being able to make my own things for a lot cheaper, even if it takes a long time.
