I disagree with the notion here that the game should never force you to do anything.
I mean, technically it doesn't. You're never forced to do any quest or piece of content in the game. Hell you're not even forced to press the start button at the title screen. However, predictably, doing so will render you unable to access anything further than the stuff you're being asked to do.
I don't think it's unreasonable for the devs to expect you to meet them on their own terms - if you're unwilling to engage with the game on a basic mechanical level then you can't expect to be rewarded for it.
It's not like the mandatory content in XIV is particularly demanding outside of some edge cases like the Stormblood final boss on release, unless you're just really that bothered about dying a handful of times to a fight you've never done before.