Do you actually get more than one level of chain lightning? ROFL. The scaling on that skill is so horrendous. TB gets it for last hits, which is why he gets it at level 1. Nothing else other than to proc lightning rod.
1/2/2/3/2/4/2/3/3/3/4 should be the only skill build you need to work with..
If you're soloing mid, its always fun to start with two mana pots and 2 minor totems and just spam chain lightning the first couple of waves for last hits. You should easily get 200g and rush your bottle in time for the 2:00 rune.
Edit: Being more on topic though, don't buy this game unless you are MOTIVATED TO GET BETTER. You'll literally get stomped the first XX number of games no matter how much of a quick learner you think you are. My advice? Play the tutorial, and play a bunch of NO STAT games. These games let you try out new things and just get a general feel of all the heroes and items and stuff. Don't leave until you are comfortable with them. The transition to no stat to stat games are huge, which is why you should practice practice practice in no stat ones.
Another thing is, don't try Matchmaking. At all. It looks like a promising place for newbies, but it just doesn't work at the moment. Make your own games so you can choose who to kick in the lobby (some people join noob games just to stomp).
Also, lurk around the hon forums A LOT. Especially the Training Grounds subforum. They provide so so so so much more help than the average person in a game could teach you. Just read whenever you're bored or something.
Oh, and last thing. A little shameless clan advertising :>
Clan LN is a learners clan specifically to help newer players get better at the game. We are relatively large, and most of us strive to help others get better.
More info here:
http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=78313