The Leveling Problem explained.

[Jojoya]

Rested only applies to combat exp. There's truly very little actual combat through MSQ. The occasional "kill a few of these enemies" or "stand here and kill what spawns," and duties that are spread out. The vast majority of MSQ leveling exp is purely quest exp, which rested will not apply to and won't be used up for. At no point did I ever manage to catch up to rested bonus through EW.

What does help bridge those MSQ gaps is things like exploration bonus exp (I swapped to a different job to explore new maps) and sightseeing exp (again, swapped jobs for those bonuses). Sightseeing is definitely good to have unlocked and up to date just for those little boosts.

Point is, if you take a job starting at 80 at the first EW quest, taking only what exp you will get from MSQ quests, role quests, and one trip through each duty along the way, you'll find 2-3 points where MSQ ticks up a level before you've dinged, and will have to supplement with the activity of your choice. I didn't feel like running extra duties/roulettes mid-story, so I stuck with FATEs. And, to be clear, these are still small gaps, bridged with only a few FATEs at most.

You're forgetting the dungeons that are part of MSQ. The bonus does apply to the dungeon bosses and it does add up. I've seen the difference each expansion release as I first level this character almost without a break in MSQ followed by my alts that do it at a slower pace.

Either way, as you say the gap is fairly small and a few FATEs (or a roulette if that's the player's preference) to fill the gap isn't a big deal.

They suggest people should have a full rotation by 50 and because of us having so many levels now, we're getting abilities at a rate that makes it hard for new players to learn their jobs.

As someone who has leveled up every job, the fact Dragoon doesn't get their first AoE until 40 is a crime. I was straight up mad leveling up Dragoon. Why are people doing wall to wall pulls in these lowbie dungeons and don't nobody got an AoE?!

The tank will always have their first AoE by the time they do Sastasha.

Archer has Quick Nock at 18, Thaumaturge has Blizzard II at 12, Machinist has Spread Shot at 18, Red Mage has Scatter at 15, Dancer has Windmill and Standard Finish at 15.

Most of the remaining DPS get their first AoE at 25 or 26, which means they're only missing an AoE for the first 3 MSQ dungeons plus Halatali since Toto-Rak level syncs to 27. Rogue, Lancer and the healers are the ones that don't have an AoE by the time they reach 30.

If every job got every action type at the same level, it would just add more to the cries of too much homogenization. It might feel awkward but it does help add to a unique job identity.

As for getting the complete kit by 50, no thanks. There's no point in continuing to have levels in a RPG if your character won't be learning anything new and potency increases through traits aren't learning something new. They're just a different form of power creep that already gets out of hand with end game gear upgrades.

I understand that you feel differently but this is going to be one of those areas where players are going to end up split on which is a more satisfying experience.