Please let me skip MSQ

[Jennah]

There's currently ... about three hours of endgame content.
No.

[Franny]

If you're skipping all cutscenes, the actual running from point A to point B isn't very much. The dungeons/trials are another thing, but your friends can join you for those. EW is VERY cutscene-heavy.

I guess I'll play a bit further then and see if it's faster than the end of Shadowbringers. Quth queues I maybe have 30-60 minutes of playtime each day so seeing the amount of msq felt like a huge mountain I didn't even want to tackle further after the first few quests I did.

Then at this point I have to ask... why are you even playing this game? It's clearly not an enjoyable experience for you given that the main focus: The Story, does not interest you. There are so many MMOs out there that would be far more enjoyable given your play style, why pick the one Story-Focused game and complain about its focus on the story?

I'm playing the game because I enjoyed the story when I had more time and I wasn't the super chosen one. I actually enjoyed ARR and HW the most. After that it became quite boring imo. I brought in my friends and now they only play this game so quitting is not an option as long as we don't move on.
Also I don't mind this game being story focused. I'm just annoyed that it is required to play through it. I don't want the game to change I just want a skip.

[Exosapien]

All my friends play this game and they are already done with MSQ. I have barely started because I don't have a lot of time especially with the long queues. I don't care about the story I just want to have a good time with my friends doing dungeons. But I haven't been able to do that because everything new is locked.
The game is actively preventing me from playing with my friends. I have cried over this.
I want to have a good time when I get home from work and not be stuck running from point A to B for days completely alone because I have to earn the ability to not be alone in a multi-player game.

At this point I regret asking my friends to play this game with me because I isolated myself because I can't keep up anymore.

Please just let me play with my friends.

You could ask your friends to join you.

[PondHollow]

All my friends play this game and they are already done with MSQ. I have barely started because I don't have a lot of time especially with the long queues. I don't care about the story I just want to have a good time with my friends doing dungeons. But I haven't been able to do that because everything new is locked.
The game is actively preventing me from playing with my friends. I have cried over this.
I want to have a good time when I get home from work and not be stuck running from point A to B for days completely alone because I have to earn the ability to not be alone in a multi-player game.

At this point I regret asking my friends to play this game with me because I isolated myself because I can't keep up anymore.

Please just let me play with my friends.

You are in a very difficult position. If you skip the MSQ, and you can indeed skip quite a lot of it with a paid item, it is unlikely you will have the enjoyment with your friends that you seek, given that you will miss on core elements that give these shared experiences meaning. I'm sorry for your position and will not dismiss your concerns, but do not expect an easy or fully satisfactory solution to your social issue in particular.

Now I know I join many strangers and make new friendly acquaintances in my Free Company (the in-game term for a guild), helping them on the early parts of their journeys. This is a normal part of playing the game, and a common experience. Many people enjoy vicariously re-experiencing their new friends' reactions to the earlier parts of the game. Perhaps this would help you.

[Novae]

I have cried over this.

Hahaha. Yea right. Booooooo.

[Arazehl]

But why? What is the benefit to this approach?

The benefit for FFXIV being story driven game is Final Fantasy series has always been story driven. Most want play for the story and the content it offers. They're not going to change a new expansion around to suit a minority of those that are just in it for the dungeon content. You will just have to skip the dialogue for Endwalker msq or quit the game entirely if it bothers you that much. If yours friends are really friends they will be there to congratulate you when you finish.

[Veliaire]

But why? What is the benefit to this approach?

Final Fantasy has always been a franchise invested in telling grand and immersive stories. It's like their trademark. If the story didn't matter, then it wouldn't be a Final Fantasy.

This is their chosen formula and it seems to be working, because Final Fantasy XIV is the most popular MMORPG out right now.

[Packetdancer]

I did 5.0 to 5.55 by skipping everything and it still took me several days of monotonous grind to get through it. Is Endwalker faster than that?

Yes. Remember that right now, all Endwalker has is 6.0.

6.0 is longer than 5.0 was, true, but you're describing doing 5.0 and then the following two years of MSQ content. 5.0 ended with the trial where you fought Hades; everything after that was in the later story patches we got in the two (and a half) years between the launch of Shadowbringers and the Endwalker launch this month.

Now, if you were trying to binge all of 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, and 6.55 MSQ two years from now because 7.0 was about to land, you'd potentially be talking about something the same (or, potentially, greater) quantity of quests to get through. But we won't even get 6.1 until spring 2022.

[jadeblade]

All my friends play this game and they are already done with MSQ. I have barely started because I don't have a lot of time especially with the long queues. I don't care about the story I just want to have a good time with my friends doing dungeons. But I haven't been able to do that because everything new is locked.
The game is actively preventing me from playing with my friends. I have cried over this.
I want to have a good time when I get home from work and not be stuck running from point A to B for days completely alone because I have to earn the ability to not be alone in a multi-player game.

At this point I regret asking my friends to play this game with me because I isolated myself because I can't keep up anymore.

Please just let me play with my friends.

Story skip Will never happen in FF14. I do recommend to do story properly otherwise you will be one of those mindless gear grind drones.

[Veliaire]

Story skip Will never happen in FF14. I do recommend to do story properly otherwise you will be one of those mindless gear grind drones.

While I do agree that everyone should at least try to enjoy the story, I feel that the beauty of Final Fantasy XIV is that anyone can play the way they want. If they get their enjoyment doing end game content and couldn't care less about the story, then they should do what makes them happiest. After all, they are paying to play the way they want to play.

I remember rushing through the story of 5.0 just so that I could get flying in all zones and make a ton of gil gathering and crafting. I made nearly 100m gil during the first couple months and it was great.. that's how I wanted to play at the time. This time around, I am taking my time with the story. I haven't even touched my gatherers/crafters yet.