An option for characters to start at level 50, pre-heavensward, for FREE

[Seraphor]

In that case you can pay to skip. I never found the story terrible, and I've done it a few times. Endgame is not everything, and is a pretty small part of this games overall content. Especially now, with the 3rd expansion coming out, there is a lot less endgame than there is content leading up to it.

I feel like you've missed the entire discussion.
The game is receiving a large influx of new players, many have come from games like WoW, many have come via recommendations from friends, and a lot fall into both boxes.
These people make up a significant portion of the player base now, and they want to play with their friends, not dredge through 6 years of story content on their own before they can do so, or have to pay more money for the privilege.

I've personally welcomed a friend who used to play WoW, after they liked the look of Shadowbringers. They quit at level 40 from burnout.