Just finished A Realm Reborn and all the patches for the first time and...

[Bukachu]

can confirm I was missing a few levels for MSQ as well. so had to grind a lil bit out

[Jojoya]

Honestly, the entirety of ARR / Post-ARR could use an "expansion" all to itself that focuses on axing the entire thing and redoing / rewriting it. It's so absurdly boring and bloated even after the negligible amount of content they already trimmed from it. The whole thing is a product of early 2000s MMO design.

They actually trimmed a big amount from 2.0-2.2. It was 2.3 to 2.56 that didn't get much trimming, which is just as well considering it was setting up not just HW but also the start of SB.

can confirm I was missing a few levels for MSQ as well. so had to grind a lil bit out

Did that happen when you finished the level 46 MSQ and suddenly the level jumped to 49?

I had that problem when I was leveling an alt last year. I was deliberately avoiding all sources of bonus XP other than rested (so no FC buff, no earrings, no road to 70, etc.) and only doing MSQ plus class/job quests. I had to grind my way from 46 to 49 to continue the MSQ.

Someone getting bonus XP or doing a bit of side content (especially roulettes) shouldn't run into any problems unless they're leveling multiple jobs at the same time.

Contrast that to the current alt I'm leveling that has the advantage of Menphina earring plus Road to 80. She was level 61 by the time she reached Praetorium. Normally I would have unlocked a second job to split the XP but I'm trying to get this character caught up to friends.