Beginner roller skating
Skates That Hurt: It's Quality, Not Newness
Cheap skates hurt whether they are new or worn in, and no amount of wearing them fixes it. Good ones still ache at first, because a rigid inline boot is rigid. Quads are often built soft like a trainer, which is why they are kinder from session one.
Waiting for a bad skate to break in is waiting for something that will not happen. Cheap boots hurt new and hurt worn, because the pain comes from a shell that presses in the wrong place, and pressing it for longer does not move it.
Good skates ache too, at the start, and that is not a fault. A rigid inline boot is rigid on purpose: the same stiffness that holds your ankle is the stiffness you feel on the first outings. That part is the discipline of the sport, and it does settle.
This is mostly an inline problem. Quads are often built soft, closer to a trainer than to a shell, which is why they feel kinder from the first session - and why they ask more of your ankle in return.
Keep going: this is one section of the full Roller Skating for Beginners guide — sizing, gear, stopping, and where to skate, in one page.