If this is your first proper rave, congratulations. You're about to find out that there's a kind of joy that only exists at 174 BPM among 800 strangers. Here are the twelve things that will make tonight better.

1. Eat before you go

Sounds basic. Half of the people having a bad night didn't. The dancefloor doesn't serve food and the metabolic cost of 6 hours of jumping is real.

2. Bring earplugs

Loop, Alpine, EarPeace: any decent pair runs 20 euros and saves your hearing for the next 40 years of nights. Most experienced dancers wear them. You won't lose any of the music, just the painful highs.

3. Water is free at the bar

Every venue in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania must serve tap water for free. Ask for "vesi" / "ūdens" / "vanduo". Drink a glass every hour.

4. The first hour is the warm-up

Don't peak early. The headliner usually plays the last two-hour slot. If you blow yourself out at midnight you will not enjoy 03:30.

5. Pick a meeting point

Phones die. WiFi is patchy. Tell your group "if we lose each other, meet at the cloakroom at 03:00." Saves a tearful Telegram in a corner.

6. Cloakroom is worth the wait

Dancing in a winter coat is misery. Most venues run cloakrooms for 3-5 euros. Pay. The 15-minute queue at the end is annoying but you won't smell like sweat for three days.

7. Phones down

Take a photo of the room. Take one of the lineup. Then put it away. Nobody at a rave wants to see your face lit up by Instagram, and you'll regret missing the actual drop you came for.

8. The crowd will move you. Let it.

Don't fight the surge. Don't anchor yourself in the middle of a moshing front-row. Either commit to that energy or stand back 4 metres. The in-between is where you get an elbow.

9. Talk to people

Compliment someone's outfit. Ask who they came to see. Drum & bass crowds are famously kind. Some of the best friendships in this scene started at the cigarette spot.

10. Know the after-party plan before doors close

When the venue lights come on at 04:00 you do not want to be making decisions. Have the next move sorted. Someone's apartment, the 24-hour spot, a tram home.

11. Tip the bartender

They are pulling 800 drinks in 6 hours in a Baltic-summer-hot room. One euro per drink. They will remember you and you will not wait.

12. The next day, hydrate

Two litres of water, electrolytes, real food, daylight. The dancefloor is a workout. Treat the recovery like one.

If you only remember one of these: earplugs. Everything else can be fixed. Hearing damage can't.