I've never used the command-line perl debugger either, mostly because the Tk gui to it, ptkdb, is so easy to use. But after awhile, even ptkdb isn't needed, because you learn little tricks like printing @_ first thing in subroutines to trace problems.

BUT I will say ptkdb is quite handy when you are trying to figure out code that SOMEONE ELSE wrote. You can step right thru the program and watch your variables change at each step.