jetzzzzzvulcNew players shouldn’t start out at level 3
What should they start at lol.
I've played hundreds of beginner pugs so I can shed some light on this. (Get ready for an essay because I had to climb out of that division playing demo)
I asked b4nny the reasoning for players new to faceit starting at level 3, and the answer is that with this system players that belong in higher divisions will climb out faster. This is reasonable, however at this point after launch it is far more likely for a new player to the system being new to 6s altogether and not just faceit.
With this in mind, starting new players at level 3, or 1000 elo is really harmful to them. New players always drop to level 1 if they stick with faceit long enough. Getting rolled is not fun. Getting rolled and having your teammates unhappy with the situation and you going 1-32 because you mained spy in pubs and you are apologizing profusely for being bad, and even having teammates reassure you and tell you what to do yet it doesn't help etc... it's far worse. This isn't even their own fault, as the matchmaking thinks their elo is, realistically speaking, perhaps double what it should be and keeps stacking teams against them.
I can understand the argument that a players first 6s experience should be newbie mixes, and whether that's valid or not, I'm sure newbie mixes would see more players after them being recommended it after a more fairly matched game, where the new player's teammates are less stressed and can actually carry, as opposed to a brutal roll.
To conclude, advertising tf2pl is good for bringing in new players and growing the scene, but there should be some attention given to player retention and the experience a new player will have with the matchmaking system and elo
To answer your question, I don't know what elo players should start with, it can be tested, but it certainly should be lower