A clean build flies okay on defaults. A good tune makes it feel locked-in. The basics, in order of impact:
Filtering first. Before touching PIDs, get your filtering right — too little and you cook motors, too much and you add latency. Modern Betaflight presets are a solid starting point.
PIDs to taste. D-term for that locked-in dampened feel, P for response, I to hold attitude. Small changes, test, repeat.
Rates last. Rates are personal — they decide how twitchy your sticks feel, not how the quad holds a tune.
Every rig I build is PID and filter dialled and maiden-tested before handover, with free fine-tuning after so we can adjust to your sticks.