Valorant: a first evening without rage

Ninety minutes: twenty in the range, an hour in the short modes, then stop. The goal is to learn to crouch-walk and not to learn to hate the game.

Install, restart, aim settings
Vanguard needs a restart on PC. Then lower your mouse sensitivity below what feels natural; nearly every new player starts too fast.
Twenty minutes in the range
Run the bot drill at Easy until you can hit heads standing still. That is the whole skill for the first week.
Pick a simple agent
Sage, Brimstone or Phoenix have abilities that are easy to use and hard to waste. Play the same one all evening.
Swiftplay, not Unrated
Swiftplay is a shorter match with a faster economy. Play three. Walk with the group; do not go first.
Learn one map
Whatever map you got most, look at its layout on the loading screen and learn the names of the sites. Callouts are half the game.
Leave before the last match
Tactical shooters punish tired players. Stop while the last round still felt fun.

Before you go

Hold shift to walk quietly; footsteps are the loudest thing in the game.
Do not buy a rifle on the second round; save so that the third round is a real one.
Mute anyone who is rude before the second word.
The daily store is designed to make you check daily. You do not have to.

Read the full Valorant chart entry for the bearings, the toll and who it suits.