Main Scenario Restriction Bloodstorm - Very Very Bad idea.

[Alberel]

All I want is to be able to do dungeons, access zones, and unlock classes regardless of story quest completion. This character is level 55 and still can't touch any of the HW content. It's absurd. My main was 56 before she got to Ishgard, and because what I really wanted was to play as an AST, I was forced to waste all of that XP on WHM and now have to grind dungeons/fates from 30-50 and will have to deal with XP graveyards in HW content.

That is poor design.

Sorry but you were doing something VERY wrong if you reached level 56 before completing the 2.1 - 2.55 series of MSQs. Those quests give you about 2 or 3 levels at most. If you reached 56 then you were deliberately doing other things to inflate your level. If you wanted to get to Ishgard to unlock a job ASAP then just do the MSQ and do it.

Why are you complaining about it when you clearly CHOSE not to do it? Any wasted XP at that point was your own fault for choosing to prioritise other things. You can't come here and moan about something that's your own fault...