I purchased VIP and I think it’s an excellent value for me. With all the instability and resets the free lab was really eating up time with no return. So I bought VIP and never looked back.
Most of the boxes I’ve done have had some contact with the PWK material. IMO you should keep practicing and not take a very very long break or you will lose some skills. I used HTB during a several month break from the OSCP lab, and it kept me fresh enough so that I passed when I finally got to the exam.