Director and producer Naoki Yoshida denied the possibility of introducing a new starting point option for Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail.

MMOs are becoming very long games. With one base game, four expansions, and a fifth expansion on the way, I don't think it's too far-fetched to assume that we'll be spending 300-400 hours on the story alone. [Honestly, if I hadn't been playing for nearly a decade, I don't know if I'd have the willpower to go through it all. Of course, there is the option to pay a few bucks and skip the story, but since "Dawntrail" is the beginning of a new story arc, I was hoping there would be another jump point option in the game.

The possibility of skipping to allow people to participate in the story during the post-Endwalker patch was discussed last year, so I thought I would bring it up again in my recent interview with Yoshida. Sadly, nothing is set in stone anytime soon. 'As far as the story goes, we're not planning anything like a new skip feature at this point,' Yoshida told me. This is something I'm constantly struggling with, and I've already finished implementing a feature that would allow people to skip the story and still learn about the story, setting, and characters."

Perhaps Yoshida is referring to the Unending Codex, a feature that was implemented shortly after Endwalker's release. It is full of information about various characters and concepts in the game, and is useful for remembering and catching up on key players in and out of Eorzea. There is also an Unending Journey, a long-term feature that allows you to go back and view cutscenes from past quests.

Despite the in-game access to lore and the ability to skip the cash store, Yoshida seems hesitant to make the process of ignoring a decade's worth of story easily accessible. He said, "I fear that if the world's acclaimed story can be skipped by the feature, it will diminish the value of the game itself, FF14." So far, FF14 has been able to continue to grow while keeping the story as its main focus."

While this response seems to largely dismiss the possibility of free in-game skipping, Yoshida's response did not end there. Let me think about it some more," he said.

"Of course, I understand what you are saying [about the length of the story becoming more and more difficult], so there is nothing to worry about."

That is unfortunate in a way, but I understand what Director Yoshida is saying. Much of my affection for this game comes from spending hundreds of hours with these colorful characters. Otherwise, I don't think I would have been as attached to Warrior of Light, but of course that's my preference. I have friends who love the game as much as I do, but can't stop skipping cutscenes.

There is still a paid option available to skip ahead--I don't necessarily like it, but at least it's there. At least you have to use the escape key a lot.

Good news for those who want more news and knowledge from Director Yoshida! This answer is part of a larger interview that will appear in PC Gamer magazine, where we talk to the director and producer about Dawntrail. The issue will be released on March 28 in the UK and April 16 in the US.