Well if they don't RTFM, that's their own fault. But it is imperative to keep in mind that the target audience here is people with no prior CO experience, so things need to be kept simple, and they absolutely must not be led astray.
I still say no level 1 at all, simply because the first 2 levels are irredeemably broken but if you do put a big bold warning in there that the game sucks until level 3, don't be surprised if you die anyways etc I suppose that's fine.
Speaking of levels, avoid the 20 level fetishism. The first 2 levels are irredeemably broken, sure. But a character that doesn't come online until 5, or 10, or even later is even worse. At that point you're missing out on parts of the game that do work, for parts you might not even get to as most games do not run to 20, and many don't even run very much past 12 or so.