According to the Mog Store, the #2 best selling item is the Shadowbringers Story Skip

[kejakalope]

If I was going to play an alt, I'd certainly buy one for it. Christ, I wish I could get one for Endwalker. Amazing story but even skipping cutscenes, the damn thing has to be at least 15 solid hours of runaround your second time through.

[CKNovel]

Same.
Alt -> Story skip.

There is not a lot of product to buy in the store, no WoW token for example.
A mount? Buy it once and it's not necessary, plus has no advantage whatsoever. Except the SLE Fenrir, the only one with a very minor advantage that doesn't exist once you unlock flying.

Services sells much more than items because you can buy them multiple times.
Fantasia is a service to change your character appearance, obviously it's the first.
Story skip can be bought multiple time for each alts.

So there you go.
Concerned? Absolutely not, it's natural.

[Wolwosh]

I've noticed a big dip in skill level, but I don't think skips are to blame for that.
I Personally think its the fear of getting reported that keeps the horrible players horrible, because everyone is afraid to tell the awful Tank that they need to improve in fear of getting reported.
So how are they to know they're doing a bad job?

[Clover_Blake]

I've bought the skip potion in the past for two or three alts too. Then again, I have like 16 alts; doing the MSQ on all of them sure gets tiring ;;;

[Krotoan]

Anyone somewhat concerned by this? Not that I have a problem with people who don't want to go through the story, but it suggests a significant number of new players as of Endwalker are skipping and buying boosts. My main concern is the average player quality is going to start dropping noticeably in instanced content. Maybe other players have already noticed it.

If I was concerned with the "quality" of the people I'm in instanced content with.. I would pick the people myself.

The choice to engage with the story or not is up to them as well as the choice to learn how to play. Someone who skip pots isn't necessarily going to be "bad".

[Azuri]

I don't see how completing the most accessible and simplified part of the game - MSQ - correlates with basic gameplay competency. And the quality of your average player in instanced content has been atrocious for years. They would literally have to start drilling into the ground to put the bar any lower.

[Jybril]

My main concern is the average player quality is going to start dropping noticeably in instanced content. Maybe other players have already noticed it.

This has no correlation whatsoever to peoples combat skill in game.
If people don't wanna go through hours upon hours of a story then they don't have to.
As long as they understand their job in the dungeons then I really don't care.

[Lily_Skye]

Anyone somewhat concerned by this? Not that I have a problem with people who don't want to go through the story, but it suggests a significant number of new players as of Endwalker are skipping and buying boosts. My main concern is the average player quality is going to start dropping noticeably in instanced content. Maybe other players have already noticed it.

WoW players

[EmoPanther]

There's not much to speak of for average player quality. I doubt anyone who just runs regular things or extremes will really notice :/

[kejakalope]

I've noticed a big dip in skill level, but I don't think skips are to blame for that.
I Personally think its the fear of getting reported that keeps the horrible players horrible, because everyone is afraid to tell the awful Tank that they need to improve in fear of getting reported.
So how are they to know they're doing a bad job?

I give people tips to improve their dungeon performance all the time and my account has no marks against it. You just have to not be a jerk about it.

The dip, to the degree it exists, is because the game has a massive number of brand new players.