I'm curious how you level, and what bonuses are available these days. Back in the day, the levels after around 40 start getting really slow. However, with level sync and maybe some additional options/zones for exp, it might not be that bad.

For BLM you definitely want to go with +INT wands up until level 51. After that, the elemental staves are basically all you need. Macro in the one for the element you are casting, and you get a damage bonus. You typically don't get a lot of good damage pulling out your club and whacking things as BLM. If you are solo doing EP mobs, maybe those extra melee points are helpful. In a party, if you aren't nuking, you are better off resting for MP than whacking. That keeps you out of AOE skill range as well.

A great solo option for BLM or any nuking job back in the day was the pets on BST mobs. The pets have very low HP and you can typically 1 or 2 shot the EM-T pets with your best nukes. Just make sure the main BST goblin or whatever has its back to you as if it sees you killing its pet, it will probably kill you. If it does not see this, it will respawn the pet in about a minute. Then you can repeat and make great exp chains that way.