I've been using affinity designer since 2014. I love it, however its lacking a couple really vital features still that make illustrator a must have for many professionals (not me).

One is the envelope distort mesh, allowing you to modify on a 3d grid (3d transform, things further away are smaller). Example here[0].

The other is blending between two shapes, as seen here[1]

0: https://youtu.be/cq3K27M36mI?t=214

1: https://youtu.be/GOCPUJ5xVTw?t=661