Not being able to skip cutscenes...

[Squintina]

Then you are playing the wrong game for your tastes - the major draw of FFXIV over other MMOs is exactly the story from SE. The story is the point of this game. The actual gameplay is of merely average quality.

Please do not assume that the story is the major draw for everyone. There are lots of players who have joined because of many other draws, and the story became something they learned to enjoy along the way.

Here are a variety of draws people I know have joined for:
- Hearing that crafting is more than just hit "synthesize" all
- Hearing that raids don't take 5 hours
- Hearing that there are no pvp servers or pvp areas that can be accidentally walked into
- Just trying out something new after being tired of playing the same thing
- Friends/family recommended it

I know people who've never even played another FF game and thus have no association with the idea that FF games have good stories.

And in MMO culture, the stories have often taken a backseat. If anything it's amazing that there are as many people as there are who do care about the story (in a good way!), especially when those people came from other MMOs where they skipped through all the text.