#1 - Without a doubt the most important thing you can change in this selection (START TUTORIAL) is this - When accessing the backpack after dying, DON'T REMOVE IT FOR AT LEAST 10 MINS. And keep the marker alive in the minimap as well. I have played this game since the beginning and nothing is more frustrating to a beginner than losing the backpack. NOTHING! And that means even if it has been accessed and is supposedly empty. The location itself is critical if the player accidentally drops items
In the Difficulty Settings of the game you can make it so that you can keep all your stuff, just keep your toolbelt or drop everything. New players can set this to what they like.
Players should simply not die in a "Tutorial". But they can die right at the start doing random things they can do, so the tutorial has to be made very linear and restrictive. It also has been tested by veterans and some things will just pass under the radar because they are now reflexes for veterans, while new players know nothing about pretty much everything.