Does it dry on the normal setting? I did my first load on normal and dishes were still wet. Or do I need to specially pick a drying option every time?

Hello, yes, it will dry on the normal setting. Please make sure that you are using a Rinse Aid with your unit. Your dishwasher is designed to use a rinse aid for good drying performance. Without rinse aid, your dishes and dishwasher interior will have excessive moisture. The Heat Dry option will not perform as well without rinse aid. For most water conditions, the factory setting will give good results. However, if you are experiencing poor drying performance, you may want to try a higher setting. Turn the arrow adjuster inside the dispenser to change the rinse aid setting.