I don't often post here (usually I just check in to read/lurk) but I felt compelled to respond to this thread to get my two cents out there. As many people have pointed out before me, I am all for making the experience for new players more streamlined (whether it be cutting out extraneous quests in the main scenario or something similar), because who doesn't want to play with their friends? But I think the idea of a "jump potion" or whatever it would be called would do more harm than good. When you level a class/job, you learn how the class/job works and how it synthesizes (or clashes, even) with other classes/jobs. Unfortunately, I have been in a dungeon run (Lost City Hard Mode) where the tank admitted to purchasing his account - he did not understand tanking basics, and it made for an awful run that ended in a vote abandon before reaching the second boss. We tried to give him advice, but nothing would stick. It was as if he fed himself to the sharks. He did a disservice to himself by not learning to play the game, and quite frankly, he wasted the rest of the party's time. This is what I imagine would happen significantly more often with a "jump potion"-type item.

I understand the desire to be caught up with friends and/or the rest of the player base, but will this level of instant gratification in the form of a "jump potion" keep the new player(s) hooked or will they be looking for the next thing to bring them that instant gratification? I know I am just reiterating what others have said at this point, but I just wanted to chime in. There has to be a better way.