Originally Posted by
Wisheez
First of all, if you wish to level up alone, it's highly recommended to spec Ice or Lightning.
You'll slowly realize that unlike many of the games where fire deals the most damage in Path of Exile everything is different, Ice does ok damage but it has a GREAT UTILITY, freezing and slowing foes is the way to go. Lightning deals TONS OF DAMAGE and it also may grant shock status on the enemy, which will make it take more damage exponetially. Fire has ok damage but close to zero utility. On top of that: inflicting any status to the enemy means that you dealt a critical hit, so it's good to look for skill nodes that grant you crit chance.
Uh, last thing: Get some % increased energy shield as it will be your one and only source of defense, in this game 90% of the dps comes out of your gear so, you should focus especially in the early stages of your character on those % increased energy shield nodes, to spec into crit and plain spell damage later.
Cheers.