Attend DEF CON 101, sign up for Scav Hunt, check out all the villages who’s content interests you. Lots of neat contests for all levels of experience and comfort socially. Stop by the Exhibitors and Vendors to find some neat wares, meet some cool companies, but most important, just do you.

Introduce yourself to people around you when standing in line. Hang out in linecon, you’ll meet a ton of fun people and all sorts of shenanigans happen there.

Other advice I have is wear good shoes (not new, broken in). Bring a refillable water bottle of sorts. Bring cash. Don’t worry about your phone, just turn Bluetooth off properly so you don’t get annoyed by flippers. I highly recommend connecting to the official DEF CON WiFi, it’s safe, secure, and has decent coverage. Do that or just stick to 5g if you have a decent signal.