FF14 could allow players to potentially skip the Hydaelyn-Zodiark arc in the future

During our exclusive interview with Yoshi-P, FF14’s producer/director discussed the Hydaelyn-Zodiark story arc. From A Realm Reborn to Endwalker, that was one saga, one story. However, with Dawntrail in 2024, a new story will begin, with familiar characters heading to a new portion of the world. That said, one thing that frustrates some players is how long it takes to catch up on the main story quests.

Could FF14 create some Hydaelyn-Zodiark story arc skip and let players start at Dawntrail in the future? It’s possible, but Yoshi-P did not confirm one way or another. He merely suggested it was something that could happen. Here’s what we know about this potential feature.

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Yoshi-P reveals FF14 could feature a Hydaelyn-Zodiark arc skip in future updates

There already is a way for players to skip ahead in the story of FF14, but it requires spending real money. The “Tales of Adventure” items allow players to move forward in the story instead of playing through all of the MSQ adventures. Yoshi-P had this to say about the current and upcoming story arcs during our exclusive interview:

“Furthermore, we’ve been making preparations for those who want to skip the story between 2.0 and 6.0—collectively referred to as the “Hydaelyn & Zodiark Saga”—and instead begin from the “Newfound Adventure Saga” that started in the 6.1 update with a summary of the story and lore, as well as features to introduce key characters.”

Yoshi-P stated there’s preparation for some form of storyline skip in FF14, where you would go from A Realm Reborn straight into Endwalker’s 6.1 update. Whether this is done via a Tales of Adventure item or another method is currently unknown.

That said, Naoki Yoshida isn’t 100% sold on an actual skip from 1.0 to 7.0. After all, one of the most significant things about Final Fantasy 14 is its story-driven gameplay experience. During our interview, he highlighted some players' complaints of the beginning of the game being “dull”:

“Even if the introduction to the story may come off as too thorough and dull, is it truly the right choice to skip it? That’s where I’m undecided.”

Instead, perhaps A Realm Reborn could be revamped, according to the developer. Even if that’s the case, there’s still the matter of resources for such a task. Yoshi-P is still pondering this, but it does sound like he’s genuinely considered some form of skip.

More new players join FF14 every day, and Dawntrail is only going to increase those numbers. Between a new adventure opening up and the Xbox version of the game launching, many people will come to the game for the first time.

It does sound like there will be some way to jump forward and get closer to Dawntrail, but an actual 1.0-7.0 skip doesn’t sound like something the game’s producer is quite sold on yet.

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Final Fantasy 14 is currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary throughout the coming months. You can learn more about the upcoming expansion here.