Pumping Firebolt early on not only makes the starting game from 1-12 a lot easier, but also gives you a supercharged Fireball right off the bat at lvl 12. Imagine getting a Leaf staff with +3 Fireball at lvl 19 with +168% Dmg from Firebolt synergies, you could be firing off 400 dmg Fireballs before you even step into the Act 2 Sewers. Firebolt instead of Meteor quite simply makes everything a lot easier up until at least lvl 40, and saves skill points.
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