#W# Update: added Distribution/Data/Files to gitignore.

## Summary

`Mobile.DamageEntries` was a `List<DamageEntry>` allocated for every mobile, including the ~99% that never take damage. It is now an inline `ValueLinkList<DamageEntry>` (24 bytes in the `Mobile` object, no separate allocation) ordered least recent → most recent.

- `DamageEntry` implements `IValueLinkListNode<DamageEntry>`.
- `RegisterDamage` moves the entry to the tail in O(1) instead of `Remove` + `Add` on a list.
- Expired entries are always a head prefix, so pruning walks from the head and stops at the first live entry. The `DamageEntries` getter prunes on access.
- `DamageEntries` is exposed as `ref readonly`; enumerate with `foreach` or `.ByDescending()`. Mutation goes through `RegisterDamage` / `ClearDamageEntries`.
- `BaseCreature.GetLootingRights` and `BaseCreature.ComputeBonusDamage` take `in ValueLinkList<DamageEntry>`; all callers compile unchanged. Files that `foreach` over `DamageEntries` need `using Server.Collections;` for the enumerator extension.
- RunUO migration docs (`dev-docs/runuo-migration-docs/09`, `11`) and the `migrate-items-mobiles` skill document the change.

Saves one object and 16 bytes per mobile (~8 MB and 500k gen2 objects on a 500k world). Second of three PRs from the lazy per-mobile collections design (first: #2604). Branched from `main`; the two diffs touch disjoint hunks of `Mobile.cs`.

## Breaking change

- `Mobile.DamageEntries` is no longer a `List<DamageEntry>`. Indexing, `.Clear()`, `.Add()`, `.Remove()` no longer compile; use `foreach`, `.ByDescending()`, `.Count`, `ClearDamageEntries()`, and `RegisterDamage`. Calling a `ValueLinkList` mutator on the `ref readonly` property compiles but operates on a copy while still unlinking the real nodes; do not.
- `BaseCreature.GetLootingRights` and `BaseCreature.ComputeBonusDamage` signatures changed to `(in ValueLinkList<DamageEntry>, …)`.

Save format is untouched: damage entries are not serialized.

## Behavior

Recency order, `allowSelf`, tie-breaking in `FindMostTotal`/`FindLeastTotal` (most recent wins), `Responsible` accounting, and loot-rights ordering are unchanged and covered by the new `DamageEntryTests` and `LootingRightsTests`.

## Testing

- `dotnet build -c Release` clean.
- New `DamageEntryTests` and `LootingRightsTests` plus full `Server.Tests` and `UOContent.Tests`.

.config/dotnet-tools.json

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "isRoot": true,
   "tools": {
     "modernuoschemagenerator": {
-      "version": "2.14.3",
+      "version": "4.0.0",
       "commands": [
         "ModernUOSchemaGenerator"
       ]

.github/workflows/build-test.yml

@@ -40,13 +40,13 @@ jobs:
       with:
         fetch-depth: 0 # avoid shallow clone so nbgv can do its work.
     - name: Install .NET
-      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v5
+      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v6
       with:
         global-json-file: global.json
     - name: Install Prerequisites
       run: |
         brew update
-        brew install icu4c libdeflate zstd argon2
+        brew install icu4c libdeflate argon2
     - name: Set Library Path
       run: echo "DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/homebrew/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH" >> $GITHUB_ENV
     - name: Build
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ jobs:
         fi
     - name: Upload test results on failure
       if: failure()
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
       with:
         name: TestResults-${{ matrix.name }}
         path: ./TestResults
@@ -124,17 +124,41 @@ jobs:
           dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb
           dnf install -y epel-release
         if: ${{ matrix.epel }}
+      # Runtime packages only, deliberately. Installing the -dev packages here would add the
+      # unversioned .so symlink and mask the very thing the binding packages now probe for, so a
+      # regression in versioned-SONAME resolution would sail through CI.
       - name: Install Prerequisites using dnf
-        run: dnf makecache --refresh && dnf install -y findutils libicu libdeflate-devel zstd libargon2-devel liburing-devel
+        run: dnf makecache --refresh && dnf install -y findutils libicu libdeflate libargon2 tzdata
         if: ${{ matrix.packageManager == 'dnf' }}
+      # ICU's runtime package carries the ABI version in its name (libicu70 on jammy, libicu76 on
+      # trixie) and has no stable alias, so match it by pattern. libicu-dev was the old way to stay
+      # version-independent, but it drags in the unversioned symlink and defeats the check below.
       - name: Install Prerequisites using apt
-        run: apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y curl libicu-dev libdeflate-dev zstd libargon2-dev tzdata liburing-dev
+        run: apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y curl '^libicu[0-9]+$' libdeflate0 libargon2-1 tzdata
         if: ${{ matrix.packageManager == 'apt' }}
+      # Versioned-SONAME resolution is only under test while the unversioned symlink is absent. If a
+      # base image or a package ever starts shipping it, every probe would succeed on the first try
+      # and a regression in the fallback would sail through CI, so fail loudly instead of silently
+      # testing nothing.
+      - name: Assert the unversioned .so symlinks are absent
+        run: |
+          found=""
+          for lib in libicuuc libicui18n libdeflate libargon2; do
+            hit=$(ls /usr/lib/*/"$lib".so /usr/lib64/"$lib".so 2>/dev/null || true)
+            if [ -n "$hit" ]; then
+              found="$found $hit"
+            fi
+          done
+          if [ -n "$found" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Unversioned symlinks present, so CI is no longer exercising versioned SONAME resolution:$found"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "No unversioned symlinks present; versioned SONAME resolution is under test."
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0 # avoid shallow clone so nbgv can do its work.
       - name: Install .NET
-        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v5
+        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v6
         with:
           global-json-file: global.json
       - name: Build
@@ -150,7 +174,7 @@ jobs:
           fi
       - name: Upload test results on failure
         if: failure()
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
           name: TestResults-${{ matrix.name }}
           path: ./TestResults

.github/workflows/build-tool-release.yml

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0 # Full clone required for Nerdbank.GitVersioning
 
       - name: Install .NET
-        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v5
+        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v6
         with:
           global-json-file: global.json
 

.github/workflows/create-release.yml

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ jobs:
         fetch-depth: 0 # avoid shallow clone so nbgv can do its work.
         token: ${{ secrets.PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
     - name: Install .NET
-      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v5
+      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v6
       with:
         global-json-file: global.json
     - name: Compute version

.gitignore

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 # Distribution Files
+/Distribution/Data/Files
 /Distribution/Logger
 /Distribution/Logger.*
 /Distribution/ModernUO
@@ -9,16 +10,30 @@
 /Distribution/bsdtar
 /Distribution/Configuration/antimacro.json
 /Distribution/Configuration/assistants.json
+/Distribution/Configuration/auto-denylist.json
+/Distribution/Configuration/bans.json
+/Distribution/Configuration/blocklist.json
+/Distribution/Configuration/crowdsec.json
 /Distribution/Configuration/expansion.json
+/Distribution/Configuration/firewall.json
+/Distribution/Configuration/ip-allowlist*.txt
+/Distribution/Configuration/ip-allowlist*.txt.tmp
+/Distribution/Configuration/ip-blocklist.txt
+/Distribution/Configuration/ip-blocklist.txt.tmp
+/Distribution/Configuration/login-allowlist.json
+/Distribution/Configuration/login-allowlist.txt
+/Distribution/Configuration/login-allowlist.txt.tmp
 /Distribution/Configuration/modernuo.json
 /Distribution/Configuration/email-settings.json
 /Distribution/Configuration/throttles.json
 /Distribution/Configuration/tot.json
+/Distribution/Data/Pathfinding
 /Distribution/Logs
 /Distribution/Archives
 /Distribution/Backups
 /Distribution/Saves
 /Distribution/docs
+/docs/
 /Distribution/temp
 /Distribution/*.dylib
 /Distribution/*.so
@@ -46,5 +61,7 @@
 /packages/*
 /Distribution/Configuration/server-access.json
 
-# BuildTool native binaries (downloaded from GitHub Releases)
+# BuildTool native binaries (downloaded from GitHub Releases).
-/tools/
+# Ignore everything under tools/ except the operator scripts checked in below.
+/tools/*
+!/tools/Export-IpBlocklist.ps1

CLAUDE.md

@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@ Apply these when writing or reviewing `.cs` files under `Projects/`.
 
 1. **LINQ** — Tier 1 (zero-cost patterns) free on hot paths; Tier 2 (low overhead) OK on warm paths; Tier 3 (allocating) forbidden on hot paths → `dev-docs/code-standards.md`
 2. **No `Console.WriteLine`** — use `LogFactory.GetLogger(typeof(MyClass))` → `logger.Information(...)` (requires `using Server.Logging;`)
-3. **No concurrency primitives** — no `lock`, `volatile`, `ConcurrentDictionary`, `Mutex`, etc. Server is single-threaded.
+3. **Threading policy** — game logic runs only on the main loop; **never** touch game state (`World`, mobiles, items, maps, timers) from a background thread. Heavy work that *needs* game state must be **chunked** across ticks, not threaded. Heavy work that does *not* need game state (large-file parse, external I/O) **must** run on a background thread **and must yield to world saves** (defer while `World.Saving`/`WorldState.PendingSave`). Publish results back to the loop as an immutable snapshot swapped via a single `volatile` reference — the only sanctioned `volatile`. No `lock`/`Mutex`/`ConcurrentDictionary` in game logic. Rule #10 covers how background work hands results back to the loop → `dev-docs/threading-model.md`
 4. **No `World.Mobiles`/`World.Items` iteration** — use spatial queries: `map.GetMobilesInRange<T>()`, `map.GetItemsInRange<T>()`
 5. **Clean up refs in `OnDelete()`/`OnAfterDelete()`** — null out `Item`/`Mobile` references
 6. **Cancel timers in `OnDelete()`/`OnAfterDelete()`** — call `_token.Cancel()` or `_timer?.Stop()`
 7. **`STArrayPool<T>.Shared`** not `ArrayPool<T>.Shared` — single-threaded optimized, no locks
 8. **`PooledRefList<T>`** not `new List<T>()` on hot paths — zero GC pressure, stack-allocated ref struct
-9. **Serialization** — class must be `partial`, constructor needs `[Constructible]`, `TimerExecutionToken` must NOT have `[SerializableField]`. New classes: use `[SerializationGenerator(version)]` (omit `encoded`). When bumping versions, add `MigrateFrom(VXContent)` (X = previous version). Never modify `Deserialize(reader, version)` for version bumps — that method is only for pre-codegen legacy saves. When migrating from pre-codegen Serialize/Deserialize: pass `false` if old code used `reader.ReadInt()`, bump version +1, and keep old logic as `private void Deserialize(IGenericReader reader, int version)` → `dev-docs/runuo-migration-docs/02-serialization.md`
+9. **Serialization** — class must be `partial`, constructor needs `[Constructible]`, `TimerExecutionToken` must NOT have `[SerializableField]`. New classes: use `[SerializationGenerator(version)]` (omit `encoded`). Setters that coerce/veto/run side effects: use `[SerializableField]` args `allowFieldChange: nameof(BoolRefMethod)` / `fieldChanged: nameof(OldNewMethod)` — reserve `[SerializableProperty]` for custom getters. Serializable `Timer` members declare `[DeserializeTimer(nameof(Method))]` on the field (anchored by default — downtime preserves remaining delay; `wallClock: true` = absolute; method runs only when a timer was running at save). Conditional writes: `[SaveFlag(nameof(Should), nameof(Default))]` on the field. When bumping versions, add `MigrateFrom(VXContent)` (X = previous version). Never modify `Deserialize(reader, version)` for version bumps — that method is only for pre-codegen legacy saves. When migrating from pre-codegen Serialize/Deserialize: pass `false` if old code used `reader.ReadInt()`, bump version +1, and keep old logic as `private void Deserialize(IGenericReader reader, int version)` → `dev-docs/serialization.md`, `dev-docs/runuo-migration-docs/02-serialization.md`
-10. **No `Task.Run`/`new Thread()`** in game code — game logic is single-threaded event loop
+10. **No `Task.Run`/`new Thread()` for game logic** (tandem with rule #3) — game logic is the single-threaded event loop. Backgrounding is allowed only for work that does not itself touch game state (external service calls, large-file parse). **Prove the need before adding a thread**: measure **on-loop** time, not wall-clock (frozen world is the cost, player latency is not), and gate on `Environment.ProcessorCount` — off-loading creates no CPU and buys nothing on 1–2 cores. New workers go in the vetted table in `dev-docs/threading-model.md` with their measurement. When such work must *feed* game logic: run the heavy/I/O part off-loop and `ConfigureAwait(false)` its awaits so a continuation never resumes on the loop and silently foregrounds heavy work; then hand the result back **explicitly** — publish an immutable snapshot swapped via a `volatile` reference (the loop reads it lock-free), or marshal the apply step with `Core.LoopContext.Post(() => …)`, re-validating in the continuation whatever may have changed while it ran. Never touch game state off-thread; never let the scheduler decide where the heavy work runs → `dev-docs/threading-model.md`
 11. **Never assume era** — if code uses `Core.AOS`/`Core.SE`/etc., ask which expansion to target
 12. **Naming** — `_camelCase` private fields, `PascalCase` properties/methods/classes; don't flag legacy `m_` but use `_` for new code
 13. **No empty gumps** — every gump must produce visual elements. An empty gump leaks on client+server (no way to close it). Use static `DisplayTo()` to validate before constructing → `dev-docs/gump-system.md`
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ Apply these when writing or reviewing `.cs` files under `Projects/`.
 16. **Prefer switch expressions and switch-when** — use switch expressions for value mapping and switch-when for pattern matching where they improve readability. Exception: skip if unreadable or cold path → `dev-docs/code-standards.md`
 17. **No `System.Text.StringBuilder`** — use `ValueStringBuilder` with `stackalloc` (bounded output) or `ValueStringBuilder.Create()` (unbounded). Supports `$"..."` interpolation directly. Always use `using var` for disposal. Use `Reset()` instead of reassigning → `dev-docs/string-handling.md`
 18. **Interpolation anti-patterns on handler-aware APIs** — `Send*`/`Say`/`Emote`/`PublicOverhead*`/`IPropertyList.Add`/gump `AddLabel`/`AddHtml`/`Html.Center`/`SpanWriter.Write*` all have `ref RawInterpolatedStringHandler` overloads that allocate zero strings, but only when the call-site argument is a `$"..."` literal directly. Avoid: ternaries with interpolated branches (`Send(c ? $"a" : $"b")`), switch expressions with interpolated arms, pre-built `var s = $"..."` locals (single-use), `.ToString()` / `.String()` / `string.Format` inside holes, string concat (`{a + b}`), LINQ string ops in holes. Use `:L` format spec for lowercase (`{rank:L}` not `rank.ToString().ToLowerInvariant()`) → `dev-docs/string-handling.md` § Interpolation Anti-Patterns
+19. **No `InvalidateProperties()` from inside `GetProperties`** — every property a `GetProperties` override reads must be a pure read. `InvalidateProperties()` rebuilds the list in place (`Reset()` + rebuild), and `Reset()` returns the pooled interpolation buffer — which the compiler rents for the whole `$"..."` expression, so every hole is evaluated while it is live — and rewinds the packet cursor. A getter that invalidates therefore throws `ArgumentNullException` (parameter `"array"`) out of `GetProperties` from an unrelated-looking line, or silently corrupts the tooltip. The engine refuses and logs an error; `DEBUG` throws. Lazy recomputation in a getter is fine — the *notification* is not. Invalidate in the setter that changes the value, or defer with `Timer.DelayCall(InvalidateProperties)` → `dev-docs/property-lists.md` § Never Invalidate From Inside `GetProperties`
+20. **Tick-count math must be wraparound-safe** — compare `Core.TickCount`/`GetTimestamp()` values only by subtraction (`a - b < 0`, never `a < b`), no zero/sign sentinels on tick fields, seed deadline fields from a real tick (never rely on the 0 default). Cloud hypervisors (GCP) pass through the host's never-resetting counter: ticks start enormous and can wrap negative. Linux affected in production; Windows not so far → `dev-docs/tick-counts.md`
 
 ## Dev-Docs Reference
 
@@ -44,9 +46,14 @@ Apply these when writing or reviewing `.cs` files under `Projects/`.
 | Commands & targeting | `dev-docs/commands-targeting.md` |
 | Event system | `dev-docs/events.md` |
 | Threading model | `dev-docs/threading-model.md` |
+| Server hardware requirements | `dev-docs/server-requirements.md` |
+| Debugging event-loop performance (profiling build, decomposition, GC/RAM) | `dev-docs/debugging-event-loop.md` |
+| Tick-count overflow rules (subtraction comparisons; GCP pass-through counters) | `dev-docs/tick-counts.md` |
 | Server lifecycle & bootstrap phases (Configure/ConfigurePrompts/Initialize) | `dev-docs/server-lifecycle.md` |
+| Platform prerequisites (ICU, tzdata, native libs per distro) | `dev-docs/platform-prerequisites.md` |
 | Configuration system | `dev-docs/configuration.md` |
 | Networking & packets | `dev-docs/networking-packets.md` |
+| IP bans, blocklists & allowlists (incl. unblocking a player) | `dev-docs/ip-bans-and-allowlists.md` |
 | Region system | `dev-docs/regions.md` |
 | String handling & ValueStringBuilder | `dev-docs/string-handling.md` |
 | RunUO migration (overview) | `dev-docs/runuo-migration-docs/00-overview.md` |
@@ -92,7 +99,18 @@ Then copy only the relevant skill files based on the task:
 | Migrate persistence (WorldSave) | `migrate-from-runuo/migrate-persistence` |
 | Migrate multi-file system | `migrate-from-runuo/migrate-systems` |
 
-To enable a skill: `cp dev-docs/claude-skills/<name>.md .claude/skills/`
+To enable a skill — Claude Code loads `.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`; a bare `.md` dropped
+directly into `.claude/skills/` is **not** picked up, and newly installed skills appear in the
+*next* session:
+
+```sh
+# Standard skills (modernuo-*)
+mkdir -p .claude/skills/<name> && cp dev-docs/claude-skills/<name>.md .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
+
+# Migration skills — sources live in the migrate-from-runuo/ subfolder, but install under the
+# bare skill name (the table's "migrate-from-runuo/<name>" is the source path, not the name):
+mkdir -p .claude/skills/<name> && cp dev-docs/claude-skills/migrate-from-runuo/<name>.md .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
+```
 
 Migration skills reference the deep docs in `dev-docs/runuo-migration-docs/` and point to existing ModernUO skills for best practices.
 

Directory.Build.props

@@ -63,8 +63,15 @@
         <CodeAnalysisRuleSet>..\..\Rules.ruleset</CodeAnalysisRuleSet>
         <AnalysisLevel>latest</AnalysisLevel>
     </PropertyGroup>
+    <!-- Event-loop time accounting, compiled out unless requested:
+         dotnet build -p:EventLoopProfiling=true
+         See dev-docs/debugging-event-loop.md. Placed last so it appends to whatever the
+         configuration groups above set DefineConstants to. -->
+    <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(EventLoopProfiling)'=='true'">
+        <DefineConstants>$(DefineConstants);EVENT_LOOP_PROFILING</DefineConstants>
+    </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
-        <PackageReference Include="Serilog" Version="4.3.1" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Serilog" Version="4.4.0" />
         <PackageReference Include="Serilog.Sinks.Async" Version="2.1.0" />
         <PackageReference Include="Serilog.Sinks.Console" Version="6.1.1" />
         <PackageReference Include="Nerdbank.GitVersioning" Condition="!Exists('packages.config')">

Distribution/Data/npc-speeds.json

@@ -3,12 +3,16 @@
     "level": "VerySlow",
     "active": 0.4,
     "passive": 0.8,
+    "activeMove": 0.9,
+    "passiveMove": 1.5,
     "types": []
   },
   {
     "level": "Slow",
     "active": 0.3,
     "passive": 0.6,
+    "activeMove": 0.6,
+    "passiveMove": 1.2,
     "types": [
       "AntLion", "ArcticOgreLord", "BogThing",
       "Bogle", "BoneKnight", "EarthElemental",
@@ -28,6 +32,8 @@
     "level": "Medium",
     "active": 0.25,
     "passive": 0.5,
+    "activeMove": 0.45,
+    "passiveMove": 1.05,
     "types": [
       "AcidElemental", "AgapiteElemental", "Alligator",
       "AncientLich", "Betrayer", "Bird",
@@ -108,6 +114,8 @@
     "level": "Fast",
     "active": 0.2,
     "passive": 0.4,
+    "activeMove": 0.3,
+    "passiveMove": 0.9,
     "types": [
       "LordOaks", "Silvani", "AirElemental",
       "AncientWyrm", "Balron", "BladeSpirits",
@@ -139,6 +147,8 @@
     "level": "VeryFast",
     "active": 0.125,
     "passive": 0.30,
+    "activeMove": 0.125,
+    "passiveMove": 0.6,
     "types": [
       "Barracoon", "Mephitis", "Neira",
       "Rikktor", "Semidar", "EnergyVortex",

Projects/BuildTool/BuildOptions.cs

@@ -14,4 +14,11 @@ public sealed class BuildOptions
     public string? Arch { get; set; }
     public bool SkipPrereqs { get; set; }
     public bool Interactive { get; set; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Report the native library prerequisites and exit. The interactive flow is the only other
+    /// path that runs these checks, so without this there is no way to verify a deployment target
+    /// from a script or a container.
+    /// </summary>
+    public bool CheckPrereqsOnly { get; set; }
 }

Projects/BuildTool/BuildTool.csproj

@@ -17,6 +17,5 @@
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
         <PackageReference Include="Spectre.Console" Version="0.57.2" />
-        <PackageReference Update="Serilog" Version="4.4.0" />
     </ItemGroup>
 </Project>

Projects/BuildTool/Prerequisites/NativeLibraryChecker.cs

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
 using BuildTool.Platform;
 using BuildTool.Publishing;
 
@@ -31,8 +32,10 @@ public static class NativeLibraryChecker
                 "Linux",
                 [
                     ".NET 10 Runtime — https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0",
-                    "Debian/Ubuntu:  sudo apt-get install -y libicu-dev libdeflate-dev zstd libargon2-dev liburing-dev",
+                    "Debian/Ubuntu:  sudo apt-get install -y libdeflate0 libargon2-1 libicuNN tzdata",
-                    "Fedora/RHEL:    sudo dnf install -y libicu libdeflate-devel zstd libargon2-devel liburing-devel",
+                    "                (libicuNN varies by release, e.g. libicu76 — run build-tool --check-prereqs there for the exact name)",
+                    "                (add tzdata-legacy if the shard is configured with an alias such as US/Eastern)",
+                    "Fedora/RHEL:    sudo dnf install -y libdeflate libargon2 libicu tzdata",
                     "CentOS:         Also requires epel-release and CRB enabled"
                 ]
             ),
@@ -176,82 +179,59 @@ public static class NativeLibraryChecker
         return results;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Native libraries the server needs from the system on Linux, and the SONAME range to accept
+    /// for each. Rationale and per-distro package names: dev-docs/platform-prerequisites.md.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static readonly (string Name, int MinSoVersion, int MaxSoVersion)[] _linuxLibraries =
+    [
+        ("libicuuc", 60, 120),
+        ("libicui18n", 60, 120),
+        ("libdeflate", 0, 9),
+        ("libargon2", 0, 9)
+    ];
+
     private static List<PrerequisiteResult> CheckLinux(PlatformInfo platform)
-    {
-        return platform.PackageManager switch
-        {
-            PackageManager.Apt => CheckLinuxApt(),
-            PackageManager.Dnf => CheckLinuxDnf(platform),
-            _ => CheckLinuxGeneric(platform)
-        };
-    }
-
-    private static List<PrerequisiteResult> CheckLinuxApt()
     {
         var results = new List<PrerequisiteResult>();
-        var packages = new[] { "libicu-dev", "libdeflate-dev", "zstd", "libargon2-dev", "liburing-dev" };
         var missing = new List<string>();
 
-        foreach (var package in packages)
+        foreach (var (name, minSoVersion, maxSoVersion) in _linuxLibraries)
         {
-            var result = ProcessRunner.RunCaptured("dpkg", $"-l {package}");
+            var found = CanLoad(name, minSoVersion, maxSoVersion);
-            var installed = result.Success && result.StandardOutput.Contains("ii");
 
-            if (!installed)
+            if (!found)
             {
-                missing.Add(package);
+                missing.Add(name);
             }
 
             results.Add(new PrerequisiteResult
             {
-                Name = package,
+                Name = name,
-                Passed = installed,
+                Passed = found,
-                Details = installed ? "Installed" : "Not installed"
+                Details = found ? "Found" : "Not found"
             });
         }
 
-        if (missing.Count > 0)
+        var hasTimeZoneData = HasTimeZoneData();
+        if (!hasTimeZoneData)
         {
+            missing.Add("tzdata");
+        }
+
         results.Add(new PrerequisiteResult
         {
-                Name = "Install all missing",
+            Name = "tzdata",
-                Passed = false,
+            Passed = hasTimeZoneData,
-                IsWarning = true,
+            Details = hasTimeZoneData ? "Found" : "Not found — every zone except UTC will throw"
-                Details = "Run the following command to install all missing dependencies:",
-                InstallCommand = $"sudo apt-get install -y {string.Join(' ', missing)}"
         });
-        }
 
+        if (missing.Count == 0)
+        {
             return results;
         }
 
-    private static List<PrerequisiteResult> CheckLinuxDnf(PlatformInfo platform)
+        if (platform.DistroId?.Equals("centos", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) == true)
-    {
-        var results = new List<PrerequisiteResult>();
-        var packages = new[] { "libicu", "libdeflate-devel", "zstd", "libargon2-devel", "liburing-devel" };
-        var missing = new List<string>();
-
-        foreach (var package in packages)
-        {
-            var result = ProcessRunner.RunCaptured("rpm", $"-q {package}");
-            var installed = result.Success;
-
-            if (!installed)
-            {
-                missing.Add(package);
-            }
-
-            results.Add(new PrerequisiteResult
-            {
-                Name = package,
-                Passed = installed,
-                Details = installed ? "Installed" : "Not installed"
-            });
-        }
-
-        // Check if this is CentOS (needs EPEL)
-        var isCentOs = platform.DistroId?.Equals("centos", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) == true;
-        if (isCentOs && missing.Count > 0)
         {
             results.Add(new PrerequisiteResult
             {
@@ -263,49 +243,131 @@ public static class NativeLibraryChecker
             });
         }
 
-        if (missing.Count > 0)
-        {
         results.Add(new PrerequisiteResult
         {
             Name = "Install all missing",
             Passed = false,
             IsWarning = true,
-                Details = "Run the following command to install all missing dependencies:",
+            Details = "Install the missing dependencies. The -dev/-devel packages are not required:",
-                InstallCommand = $"sudo dnf install -y {string.Join(' ', missing)}"
+            InstallCommand = BuildInstallCommand(platform, missing)
         });
-        }
 
         return results;
     }
 
-    private static List<PrerequisiteResult> CheckLinuxGeneric(PlatformInfo platform)
+    /// <summary>
+    /// tzdata is data, not a library, so no loader probe finds it. Asking the runtime rather than
+    /// stat'ing a path keeps TZDIR honoured, and the count is still accurate under
+    /// InvariantGlobalization, which this tool runs with — only display names degrade there.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static bool HasTimeZoneData()
     {
-        var results = new List<PrerequisiteResult>();
+        try
-
-        // Use ldconfig to check for shared libraries
-        var ldResult = ProcessRunner.RunCaptured("ldconfig", "-p");
-        var ldOutput = ldResult.Success ? ldResult.StandardOutput : "";
-
-        var libraries = new Dictionary<string, string>
         {
-            ["libicu"] = "libicuuc",
+            return TimeZoneInfo.GetSystemTimeZones().Count > 1;
-            ["libdeflate"] = "libdeflate",
+        }
-            ["zstd"] = "libzstd",
+        catch
-            ["libargon2"] = "libargon2",
-            ["liburing"] = "liburing"
-        };
-
-        foreach (var (name, soName) in libraries)
         {
-            var found = ldOutput.Contains(soName, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+            return false;
-            results.Add(new PrerequisiteResult
+        }
-            {
-                Name = name,
-                Passed = found,
-                Details = found ? "Found" : "Not found — install using your package manager"
-            });
     }
 
-        return results;
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Asks the loader directly rather than querying a package database or scanning ldconfig's
+    /// cache, both of which answer a different question and can disagree with what dlopen will do.
+    /// Mirrors the binding packages' own probing: the unversioned name first, then libfoo.so.N
+    /// descending. Bare names go through the full loader search path, so LD_LIBRARY_PATH and
+    /// /etc/ld.so.conf.d still apply.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static bool CanLoad(string library, int minSoVersion, int maxSoVersion)
+    {
+        if (TryLoadAndFree($"{library}.so"))
+        {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        for (var soVersion = maxSoVersion; soVersion >= minSoVersion; soVersion--)
+        {
+            if (TryLoadAndFree($"{library}.so.{soVersion}"))
+            {
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    private static bool TryLoadAndFree(string candidate)
+    {
+        if (!NativeLibrary.TryLoad(candidate, out var handle))
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        NativeLibrary.Free(handle);
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    private static string BuildInstallCommand(PlatformInfo platform, List<string> missing)
+    {
+        switch (platform.PackageManager)
+        {
+            case PackageManager.Apt:
+                {
+                    // Distinct because the two ICU libraries resolve to the same package, and
+                    // ResolveAptIcuPackage shells out, so it is memoized rather than called per name.
+                    var packages = missing.Select(
+                        library => library switch
+                        {
+                            "libdeflate" => "libdeflate0",
+                            "libargon2"  => "libargon2-1",
+                            "tzdata"     => "tzdata",
+                            _            => _aptIcuPackage ??= ResolveAptIcuPackage()
+                        }
+                    ).Distinct();
+
+                    return $"sudo apt-get install -y {string.Join(' ', packages)}";
+                }
+            case PackageManager.Dnf:
+                {
+                    var packages = missing.Select(
+                        library => library switch
+                        {
+                            "libdeflate" => "libdeflate",
+                            "libargon2"  => "libargon2",
+                            "tzdata"     => "tzdata",
+                            _            => "libicu"
+                        }
+                    ).Distinct();
+
+                    return $"sudo dnf install -y {string.Join(' ', packages)}";
+                }
+            default:
+                return $"Install your distribution's runtime packages for: {string.Join(", ", missing)}";
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static string _aptIcuPackage;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// ICU's apt package carries the ABI version in its name and there is no stable alias, so ask
+    /// apt which one this release actually ships instead of printing a name that rots.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static string ResolveAptIcuPackage()
+    {
+        var result = ProcessRunner.RunCaptured("apt-cache", "search --names-only ^libicu[0-9]+$");
+        if (!result.Success)
+        {
+            return "libicu";
+        }
+
+        var best = result.StandardOutput
+            .Split('\n', StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)
+            .Select(line => line.Split(' ', 2)[0].Trim())
+            .Where(name => name.StartsWith("libicu", StringComparison.Ordinal))
+            .OrderBy(name => int.TryParse(name.AsSpan(6), out var version) ? version : 0)
+            .LastOrDefault();
+
+        return best ?? "libicu";
     }
 }

Projects/BuildTool/Program.cs

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ using BuildTool.Interactive;
 using BuildTool.Platform;
 using BuildTool.Prerequisites;
 using BuildTool.Publishing;
+using Spectre.Console;
 
 Console.OutputEncoding = Encoding.UTF8;
 
@@ -36,6 +37,22 @@ options.Os ??= detectedPlatform.OsRid;
 options.Arch ??= detectedPlatform.ArchRid;
 var rid = $"{options.Os}-{options.Arch}";
 
+if (options.CheckPrereqsOnly)
+{
+    // Same renderer the guided menu uses, so the two cannot drift. Spectre drops ANSI styling by
+    // itself when stdout is not a terminal, which is the case this flag exists for, but it also
+    // falls back to an 80 column width and folds anything longer. The install hints we print are
+    // shell commands — the CentOS one is 95 characters — and a fold puts a newline in the middle of
+    // a command that someone is meant to copy. Widen the profile so they stay on one line.
+    if (Console.IsOutputRedirected)
+    {
+        AnsiConsole.Profile.Width = 200;
+    }
+
+    // Exit code is the machine-readable half: 0 when everything resolves, 1 when anything is missing.
+    return PrerequisiteChecker.CheckNativeLibraries(detectedPlatform, interactive: false) ? 0 : 1;
+}
+
 // Run prerequisite checks unless skipped
 if (!options.SkipPrereqs)
 {
@@ -108,6 +125,12 @@ static BuildOptions ParseArguments(string[] args)
                     hasNamedArgs = true;
                     break;
                 }
+            case "--check-prereqs":
+                {
+                    options.CheckPrereqsOnly = true;
+                    hasNamedArgs = true;
+                    break;
+                }
             case "--interactive":
                 {
                     options.Interactive = true;

Projects/Server.Tests/Fixtures/TestServerInitializer.cs

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+using System;
 using System.IO;
 using System.Reflection;
 using System.Threading;
@@ -78,6 +79,15 @@ internal static class TestServerInitializer
             Core.LoopContext = new EventLoopContext();
             Core.Expansion = Expansion.EJ;
 
+            // Seed the loop clock as Main.cs does before the Configure sweep; otherwise Core.Now is
+            // DateTime.MinValue for the whole test host.
+            Core._now = DateTime.UtcNow;
+
+            // Timer wheel must exist before NetState.Configure(), which schedules a recurring
+            // sweep via Timer.DelayCall (matches production ordering in Main.cs: Timer.Init runs
+            // before AssemblyHandler.Invoke("Configure")).
+            Timer.Init(0);
+
             // Configure networking (initializes RingSocketManager for tests)
             Server.Network.NetState.Configure();
 
@@ -87,8 +97,6 @@ internal static class TestServerInitializer
             // Configure the world
             World.Configure();
 
-            Timer.Init(0);
-
             // Load the world
             World.Load();
 

Projects/Server.Tests/Server.Tests.csproj

@@ -5,17 +5,16 @@
         <RootNamespace>Server.Tests</RootNamespace>
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
-        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="18.8.1" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="18.9.0" />
         <PackageReference Include="xunit" Version="2.9.3" />
         <PackageReference Include="xunit.SkippableFact" Version="1.5.61" />
-        <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="3.1.5">
+        <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="4.0.0">
           <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
           <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
         </PackageReference>
         <ProjectReference Include="..\Application\Application.csproj" />
         <DataFiles Include="$(SolutionDir)\Distribution\Data\**" />
         <ProjectReference Include="..\UOContent\UOContent.csproj" />
-        <PackageReference Update="Serilog" Version="4.4.0" />
     </ItemGroup>
     <!-- Copy native ioring.dll for tests -->
     <ItemGroup>

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Buffers/RawInterpolatedStringHandlerTests.cs

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ using Xunit;
 
 namespace Server.Tests.Buffers;
 
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
 public class RawInterpolatedStringHandlerTests
 {
     [Fact]

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Items/DecayRegistrationTests.cs

@@ -208,6 +208,272 @@ public class DecayRegistrationTests
         item.Delete();
     }
 
+    // Unfreezing an item with a stale LastMoved must grant a fresh decay window,
+    // not delete it on the next tick.
+    [Fact]
+    public void StaleImmovableItemMadeMovable_GetsAFreshDecayWindow()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var item = new Item(0x1234);
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(107, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+            item.Movable = false;
+            Assert.False(DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(item), "A frozen item must not be tracked for decay.");
+
+            Core._now = start + TimeSpan.FromDays(30);
+            var flipped = Core._now;
+
+            item.Movable = true;
+
+            Assert.True(DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(item), "An unfrozen item must be tracked for decay.");
+
+            AdvanceDecay(flipped, item.DecayTime - TimeSpan.FromMinutes(2), item);
+            Assert.False(item.Deleted, "An unfrozen item must get a full decay window, not vanish immediately.");
+
+            AdvanceDecay(Core._now, TimeSpan.FromMinutes(4), item);
+            Assert.True(item.Deleted, "An unfrozen item must still decay once the fresh window elapses.");
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Same transition through the Visible setter: unhiding a long-hidden item.
+    [Fact]
+    public void StaleHiddenItemMadeVisible_GetsAFreshDecayWindow()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var item = new Item(0x1234);
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(109, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+            item.Visible = false;
+            Assert.False(DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(item), "A hidden item must not be tracked for decay.");
+
+            Core._now = start + TimeSpan.FromDays(30);
+            var flipped = Core._now;
+
+            item.Visible = true;
+
+            Assert.True(DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(item), "An unhidden item must be tracked for decay.");
+
+            AdvanceDecay(flipped, item.DecayTime - TimeSpan.FromMinutes(2), item);
+            Assert.False(item.Deleted, "An unhidden item must get a full decay window, not vanish immediately.");
+
+            AdvanceDecay(Core._now, TimeSpan.FromMinutes(4), item);
+            Assert.True(item.Deleted, "An unhidden item must still decay once the fresh window elapses.");
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // A refusal restarts the countdown without rewriting LastMoved.
+    [Fact]
+    public void RefusedDecay_DoesNotRewriteLastMoved()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var item = new RefusesDecayItem();
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(110, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+            var lastMoved = item.LastMoved;
+
+            AdvanceDecay(start, item.DecayTime + TimeSpan.FromMinutes(2), item);
+
+            Assert.False(item.Deleted, "A refused decay must not delete the item.");
+            Assert.True(DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(item), "A refused decay must leave the item tracked.");
+            Assert.Equal(lastMoved, item.LastMoved);
+
+            item.Delete();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // The fresh window must survive a save/load cycle, or a restart mid-window deletes the item.
+    [Fact]
+    public void FreshDecayWindow_SurvivesSerialization()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var item = new Item(0x1234);
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(111, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+            item.Movable = false;
+            Core._now = start + TimeSpan.FromDays(30);
+            item.Movable = true;
+
+            var expected = item.ScheduledDecayTime;
+
+            var writer = new BufferWriter(new byte[512], true);
+            item.Serialize(writer);
+
+            var copy = new Item(item.Serial);
+            copy.Deserialize(new BufferReader(writer.Buffer));
+
+            // The stamp is stored as a delta, so it ages only by the real time between
+            // write and read - milliseconds here, the downtime in production.
+            Assert.True(
+                (copy.ScheduledDecayTime - expected).Duration() <= TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5),
+                "The restarted decay window must survive a save/load cycle."
+            );
+
+            item.Delete();
+            copy.Delete();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // A real move supersedes the reset stamp; it must be dropped so the CompactInfo can collapse.
+    [Fact]
+    public void MovingAnItem_ClearsASupersededDecayResetStamp()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var item = new Item(0x1234);
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(112, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+            item.Movable = false;
+            Core._now = start + TimeSpan.FromDays(30);
+            item.Movable = true;
+
+            Assert.NotEqual(default, item.DecayResetTime);
+
+            Core._now += TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1);
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(113, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+            Assert.Equal(default, item.DecayResetTime);
+            Assert.Equal(item.LastMoved + item.DecayTime, item.ScheduledDecayTime);
+            Assert.True(DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(item));
+
+            item.Delete();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Losing decay eligibility makes the stamp meaningless; it must be dropped so the
+    // CompactInfo is not held for as long as the item stays ineligible.
+    [Fact]
+    public void ItemBecomingIneligible_DropsTheDecayResetStamp()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var item = new Item(0x1234);
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(115, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+            item.Movable = false;
+            Core._now = start + TimeSpan.FromDays(30);
+            item.Movable = true;
+
+            Assert.NotEqual(default, item.DecayResetTime);
+
+            item.Movable = false;
+
+            Assert.Equal(default, item.DecayResetTime);
+
+            item.Delete();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Moving a stamped item into a container programmatically (no drop, no SetLastMoved)
+    // must also drop the stamp.
+    [Fact]
+    public void StampedItemAddedToContainer_DropsTheDecayResetStamp()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var pack = new Container(0xE75);
+            pack.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(116, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+            var item = new Item(0x1234);
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(117, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+            item.Movable = false;
+            Core._now = start + TimeSpan.FromDays(30);
+            item.Movable = true;
+
+            Assert.NotEqual(default, item.DecayResetTime);
+
+            pack.AddItem(item);
+
+            Assert.Equal(default, item.DecayResetTime);
+
+            pack.Delete();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // A raw Map assignment (e.g. a GM changing Map through props) is a move: it must
+    // enroll an untracked item for decay.
+    [Fact]
+    public void ItemMovedToRealMapViaMapSetter_IsRegisteredForDecay()
+    {
+        var item = new Item(0x1234);
+        Assert.False(DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(item));
+
+        item.Map = Map.Felucca;
+
+        Assert.True(item.CanDecay());
+        Assert.True(DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(item), "Item placed on a map via the Map setter must be tracked.");
+
+        item.Delete();
+    }
+
+    // LiftItemDupe places the remainder of a partially lifted ground stack via raw
+    // Location/Map assignments, with no MoveToWorld fallback: it must still be tracked.
+    [Fact]
+    public void PartialLiftOfGroundStack_LeavesRemainderRegisteredForDecay()
+    {
+        var stack = new Item(0x1234) { Stackable = true, Amount = 10 };
+        stack.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(114, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+        var remainder = Mobile.LiftItemDupe(stack, 3);
+
+        Assert.NotNull(remainder);
+        Assert.Equal(7, remainder.Amount);
+        Assert.Null(remainder.Parent);
+        Assert.Equal(Map.Felucca, remainder.Map);
+        Assert.True(
+            DecayScheduler.IsRegistered(remainder),
+            "The remainder of a partially lifted ground stack must be tracked for decay."
+        );
+
+        stack.Delete();
+        remainder.Delete();
+    }
+
     // Dropping into a container must untrack; taking it back out to the ground must re-track.
     [Fact]
     public void ItemMovedIntoContainerThenBackToGround_IsRegisteredForDecay()

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Items/PlayerConstructedStackingTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests;
+
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class PlayerConstructedStackingTests
+{
+    // PlayerConstructed is per-instance provenance, and stack operations were written when no
+    // item carried any. Merging keeps the receiver's copy of a field and splitting rebuilds one
+    // half from a fixed list of fields, so a flag that is not accounted for in both places is
+    // one that ordinary stacking can launder or erase.
+
+    // Stands in for a real stackable type. LiftItemDupe builds the remainder through the
+    // parameterless constructor and copies only a fixed list of fields onto it -- Stackable is
+    // not on that list -- so the remainder is only stackable if the type restores it the way
+    // every genuine stackable does.
+    private class StackableItem : Item
+    {
+        public StackableItem() => Stackable = true;
+
+        public StackableItem(Serial serial) : base(serial) => Stackable = true;
+    }
+
+    private static StackableItem MakeStack(Serial serial, int amount, bool playerConstructed) =>
+        new(serial) { Amount = amount, PlayerConstructed = playerConstructed };
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(false)]
+    [InlineData(true)]
+    public void CanStackWith_IsTrueWhenProvenanceMatches(bool playerConstructed)
+    {
+        var first = MakeStack((Serial)0x1, 5, playerConstructed);
+        var second = MakeStack((Serial)0x2, 7, playerConstructed);
+
+        try
+        {
+            Assert.True(first.CanStackWith(second));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            first.Delete();
+            second.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(false)]
+    [InlineData(true)]
+    public void LiftItemDupe_CopiesPlayerConstructedToRemainder(bool playerConstructed)
+    {
+        var stack = MakeStack((Serial)0x1, 10, playerConstructed);
+        Item remainder = null;
+
+        try
+        {
+            remainder = Mobile.LiftItemDupe(stack, 4);
+
+            Assert.NotNull(remainder);
+            Assert.NotSame(stack, remainder);
+            Assert.Equal(4, stack.Amount);
+            Assert.Equal(6, remainder.Amount);
+            Assert.Equal(playerConstructed, remainder.PlayerConstructed);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            stack.Delete();
+            remainder?.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void SplitHalvesRemainStackableWithEachOther()
+    {
+        // The two halves of a split must still be one pile's worth: if the split dropped the
+        // flag, the remainder would no longer stack back onto what it came from.
+        var stack = MakeStack((Serial)0x1, 10, true);
+        Item remainder = null;
+
+        try
+        {
+            remainder = Mobile.LiftItemDupe(stack, 4);
+            Assert.NotNull(remainder);
+
+            Assert.True(stack.CanStackWith(remainder));
+            Assert.True(stack.StackWith(null, remainder, false));
+            Assert.Equal(10, stack.Amount);
+            Assert.True(stack.PlayerConstructed);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            stack.Delete();
+            remainder?.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Mobiles/DamageEntryTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,311 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Server.Collections;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests;
+
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class DamageEntryTests
+{
+    private class TestMobile : Mobile
+    {
+    }
+
+    private class PetMobile : Mobile
+    {
+        public Mobile Master { get; set; }
+
+        public override Mobile GetDamageMaster(Mobile damagee) => Master;
+    }
+
+    private static List<Mobile> Damagers(Mobile victim)
+    {
+        var result = new List<Mobile>();
+        foreach (var de in victim.DamageEntries)
+        {
+            result.Add(de.Damager);
+        }
+
+        return result;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void FreshMobile_HasNoEntries()
+    {
+        var m = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            Assert.Equal(0, m.DamageEntries.Count);
+            Assert.Null(m.FindMostRecentDamageEntry(true));
+            Assert.Null(m.FindLeastRecentDamageEntry(true));
+            Assert.Null(m.FindMostTotalDamageEntry(true));
+            Assert.Null(m.FindLeastTotalDamageEntry(true));
+            Assert.Null(m.FindDamageEntryFor(m));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            m.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void RegisterDamage_OrdersLeastRecentToMostRecent()
+    {
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+        var b = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, a);
+            victim.RegisterDamage(20, b);
+            victim.RegisterDamage(5, a); // a becomes most recent again
+
+            Assert.Equal(2, victim.DamageEntries.Count);
+            Assert.Equal(new[] { b, a }, Damagers(victim));
+            Assert.Equal(15, victim.FindDamageEntryFor(a).DamageGiven);
+            Assert.Same(a, victim.FindMostRecentDamager(true));
+            Assert.Same(b, victim.FindLeastRecentDamager(true));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+            b.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void FindRecent_HonorsAllowSelf()
+    {
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, a);
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, victim); // self is most recent
+
+            Assert.Same(victim, victim.FindMostRecentDamager(true));
+            Assert.Same(a, victim.FindMostRecentDamager(false));
+            Assert.Same(a, victim.FindLeastRecentDamager(false));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void FindLeastRecent_HonorsAllowSelf()
+    {
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, victim); // self is least recent, so the head is the one to skip
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, a);
+
+            Assert.Same(victim, victim.FindLeastRecentDamager(true));
+            Assert.Same(a, victim.FindLeastRecentDamager(false));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void FindTotal_PicksByDamage_MostRecentWinsTies()
+    {
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+        var b = new TestMobile();
+        var c = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RegisterDamage(30, a);
+            victim.RegisterDamage(30, b); // ties a; b is more recent
+            victim.RegisterDamage(1, c);
+
+            Assert.Same(b, victim.FindMostTotalDamager(true));
+            Assert.Same(c, victim.FindLeastTotalDamager(true));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+            b.Delete();
+            c.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void FindLeastTotal_MostRecentWinsTies()
+    {
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+        var b = new TestMobile();
+        var c = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RegisterDamage(30, a);
+            victim.RegisterDamage(5, b);
+            victim.RegisterDamage(5, c); // ties b for the minimum; c is more recent
+
+            Assert.Same(a, victim.FindMostTotalDamager(true));
+            Assert.Same(c, victim.FindLeastTotalDamager(true));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+            b.Delete();
+            c.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Prune_RemovesExpiredPrefix_KeepsOrder()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+        var b = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, a);
+
+            Core._now = start + DamageEntry.ExpireDelay + TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1);
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, b); // a is now expired, b is live
+
+            Assert.Equal(new[] { b }, Damagers(victim));
+            Assert.Null(victim.FindDamageEntryFor(a));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+            b.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Prune_AllExpired_EmptiesList()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+        var b = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, a);
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, b);
+
+            Core._now = start + DamageEntry.ExpireDelay + TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1);
+
+            Assert.Equal(0, victim.DamageEntries.Count);
+            Assert.Null(victim.FindMostRecentDamageEntry(true));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+            b.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ClearDamageEntries_UnlinksEveryNode()
+    {
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+        var b = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            var ea = victim.RegisterDamage(10, a);
+            var eb = victim.RegisterDamage(10, b);
+
+            victim.ClearDamageEntries();
+
+            Assert.Equal(0, victim.DamageEntries.Count);
+            Assert.False(ea.OnLinkList);
+            Assert.False(eb.OnLinkList);
+            Assert.Null(ea.Next);
+            Assert.Null(ea.Previous);
+            Assert.Null(eb.Next);
+            Assert.Null(eb.Previous);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+            b.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void FullHitPoints_ClearsEntries()
+    {
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var a = new TestMobile();
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RawStr = 50; // HitsMax follows Str for a base Mobile
+            victim.Hits = 10;
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, a);
+            Assert.Equal(1, victim.DamageEntries.Count);
+
+            // Also stops the HitsTimer the Hits = 10 write started, so the test leaves no timer behind.
+            victim.Hits = victim.HitsMax;
+
+            Assert.Equal(0, victim.DamageEntries.Count);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            victim.Delete();
+            a.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void RegisterDamage_AccumulatesResponsibleMaster()
+    {
+        var victim = new TestMobile();
+        var master = new TestMobile();
+        var pet = new PetMobile { Master = master };
+
+        try
+        {
+            victim.RegisterDamage(10, pet);
+            var entry = victim.RegisterDamage(5, pet);
+
+            Assert.Same(pet, entry.Damager);
+            Assert.Equal(15, entry.DamageGiven);
+            Assert.NotNull(entry.Responsible);
+            Assert.Single(entry.Responsible);
+            Assert.Same(master, entry.Responsible[0].Damager);
+            Assert.Equal(15, entry.Responsible[0].DamageGiven);
+            Assert.False(entry.Responsible[0].OnLinkList); // sub-entries never join the main list
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            victim.Delete();
+            master.Delete();
+            pet.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Network/Bans/BanChannelTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Threading;
+using Server.Network.Bans;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests.Network.Bans;
+
+public class BanChannelTests
+{
+    private sealed class FakeReporter : IBanReporter
+    {
+        public readonly List<(IPAddress ip, TimeSpan ttl, string reason)> Reports = [];
+        public readonly List<IPAddress> Retractions = [];
+        public bool ThrowOnReport;
+
+        public string Name => "fake";
+        public bool CanRetract => true;
+        public void Register() { }
+        public void Start(CancellationToken token) { }
+        public void Stop() { }
+
+        public void Report(IPAddress address, TimeSpan ttl, string reason)
+        {
+            if (ThrowOnReport)
+            {
+                throw new InvalidOperationException("boom");
+            }
+
+            Reports.Add((address, ttl, reason));
+        }
+
+        public void Retract(IPAddress address) => Retractions.Add(address);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Report_FansOutToAllReporters()
+    {
+        var a = new FakeReporter();
+        var b = new FakeReporter();
+        BanChannel.ConfigureForTesting([a, b]);
+
+        BanChannel.Report(IPAddress.Parse("1.2.3.4"), TimeSpan.FromHours(1), "rate-limit");
+
+        Assert.Single(a.Reports);
+        Assert.Single(b.Reports);
+        Assert.Equal("rate-limit", a.Reports[0].reason);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Report_SwallowsReporterException()
+    {
+        var bad = new FakeReporter { ThrowOnReport = true };
+        var good = new FakeReporter();
+        BanChannel.ConfigureForTesting([bad, good]);
+
+        BanChannel.Report(IPAddress.Parse("1.2.3.4"), TimeSpan.FromHours(1), "manual");
+
+        Assert.Single(good.Reports); // the throwing reporter does not block the others
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Report_SuppressedForExemptAddress()
+    {
+        var reporter = new FakeReporter();
+        BanChannel.ConfigureForTesting([reporter]);
+
+        var exempt = IPAddress.Parse("203.0.113.7");
+        BanChannel.IsExempt = (ip, _) => ip.Equals(exempt);
+
+        try
+        {
+            BanChannel.Report(exempt, TimeSpan.FromHours(1), "rate-limit");
+            Assert.Empty(reporter.Reports); // escalation suppressed; the local gate already acted
+
+            BanChannel.Report(IPAddress.Parse("203.0.113.8"), TimeSpan.FromHours(1), "rate-limit");
+            Assert.Single(reporter.Reports); // everyone else is still contributed
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            BanChannel.IsExempt = null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Retract_ReachesRetractCapableReporters()
+    {
+        var a = new FakeReporter();
+        BanChannel.ConfigureForTesting([a]);
+
+        BanChannel.Retract(IPAddress.Parse("9.9.9.9"));
+
+        Assert.Single(a.Retractions);
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Network/Bans/BanConfigurationTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+using System;
+using System.Text.Json;
+using Server.Json;
+using Server.Network.Bans;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests;
+
+public class BanConfigurationTests
+{
+    // Locks the JsonConfig casing/converter contract: JsonConfig's options are case-SENSITIVE, so
+    // every settings member must carry an explicit [JsonPropertyName("camelCase")] or it silently
+    // binds nothing. These tests round-trip through the exact options the loader uses.
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void BanSettings_RoundTripsThroughJsonConfig()
+    {
+        var original = new BanSettings
+        {
+            ReportRateLimitTrips = false,
+            AutoBanDuration = TimeSpan.FromHours(2)
+        };
+
+        var json = JsonConfig.Serialize(original);
+
+        Assert.Contains("\"reportRateLimitTrips\"", json);
+        Assert.Contains("\"autoBanDuration\"", json);
+
+        var restored = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<BanSettings>(json, JsonConfig.DefaultOptions);
+
+        Assert.NotNull(restored);
+        Assert.Equal(original.ReportRateLimitTrips, restored.ReportRateLimitTrips);
+        Assert.Equal(original.AutoBanDuration, restored.AutoBanDuration); // TimeSpan survives
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void BanSettings_Defaults_AreReportRateLimitTripsFourHourAutoBan()
+    {
+        var settings = new BanSettings();
+
+        Assert.True(settings.ReportRateLimitTrips);
+        Assert.Equal(TimeSpan.FromHours(4), settings.AutoBanDuration);
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Network/ConnectionFiltersTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: ConnectionFiltersTests.cs                                       *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Threading;
+using Server.Network;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests.Network;
+
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class ConnectionFiltersTests : IDisposable
+{
+    public ConnectionFiltersTests() => ConnectionFilters.ResetForTesting();
+
+    public void Dispose() => ConnectionFilters.ResetForTesting();
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void No_filters_denies_nothing()
+    {
+        Assert.False(ConnectionFilters.ShouldDeny(IPAddress.Parse("1.2.3.4"), out var deniedBy));
+        Assert.Null(deniedBy);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Register_is_idempotent_by_name()
+    {
+        ConnectionFilters.Register(new FakeFilter("dupe", deny: false));
+        ConnectionFilters.Register(new FakeFilter("dupe", deny: true));
+
+        // The second registration is ignored, so the deny:true instance never gets consulted.
+        Assert.Single(ConnectionFilters.Filters);
+        Assert.False(ConnectionFilters.ShouldDeny(IPAddress.Parse("1.2.3.4"), out _));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void First_denying_filter_short_circuits_and_is_named()
+    {
+        var first = new FakeFilter("allow-all", deny: false);
+        var second = new FakeFilter("deny-all", deny: true);
+        var third = new FakeFilter("never-reached", deny: true);
+
+        ConnectionFilters.Register(first);
+        ConnectionFilters.Register(second);
+        ConnectionFilters.Register(third);
+
+        Assert.True(ConnectionFilters.ShouldDeny(IPAddress.Parse("1.2.3.4"), out var deniedBy));
+        Assert.Equal("deny-all", deniedBy);
+        Assert.Equal(1, first.Calls);
+        Assert.Equal(1, second.Calls);
+        Assert.Equal(0, third.Calls); // short-circuited
+    }
+
+    // A filter that throws once throws for every subsequent connection, which would turn one bug into an
+    // exception per accept. It must be dropped, and the connection must fail open rather than be denied
+    // by a filter that never actually answered.
+    [Fact]
+    public void Throwing_filter_is_unregistered_and_fails_open()
+    {
+        var bad = new FakeFilter("bad", deny: true, throws: true);
+        var good = new FakeFilter("good", deny: false);
+
+        ConnectionFilters.Register(bad);
+        ConnectionFilters.Register(good);
+
+        Assert.False(ConnectionFilters.ShouldDeny(IPAddress.Parse("1.2.3.4"), out _));
+        Assert.Single(ConnectionFilters.Filters);
+        Assert.Equal("good", ConnectionFilters.Filters[0].Name);
+
+        // Remaining filters still run on the same pass the faulty one was dropped in.
+        Assert.Equal(1, good.Calls);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Register_configures_immediately()
+    {
+        var filter = new FakeFilter("cfg", deny: false);
+        ConnectionFilters.Register(filter);
+
+        Assert.True(filter.Configured);
+    }
+
+    private sealed class FakeFilter : IConnectionFilter
+    {
+        private readonly bool _deny;
+        private readonly bool _throws;
+
+        public FakeFilter(string name, bool deny, bool throws = false)
+        {
+            Name = name;
+            _deny = deny;
+            _throws = throws;
+        }
+
+        public string Name { get; }
+        public int Calls { get; private set; }
+        public bool Configured { get; private set; }
+
+        public void Register() => Configured = true;
+
+        public void Start(CancellationToken token)
+        {
+        }
+
+        public void Stop()
+        {
+        }
+
+        public bool ShouldDeny(IPAddress address)
+        {
+            Calls++;
+            if (_throws)
+            {
+                throw new InvalidOperationException("simulated filter bug");
+            }
+
+            return _deny;
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Network/EventLoopIdleTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// The event loop only sleeps when every queue it drains is empty. These drains are deliberately
+/// bounded -- ExecuteTasks stops at its per-frame cap -- so leftover work is normal and must keep
+/// the loop awake. Getting this wrong strands queued work for the length of a sleep.
+/// </summary>
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class EventLoopIdleTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void FreshContextIsEmpty()
+    {
+        var context = new EventLoopContext();
+
+        Assert.True(context.IsEmpty);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void PostedWorkMakesContextNonEmpty()
+    {
+        var context = new EventLoopContext();
+
+        context.Post(() => { });
+
+        Assert.False(context.IsEmpty);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void PriorityWorkMakesContextNonEmpty()
+    {
+        var context = new EventLoopContext();
+
+        context.Post(() => { }, EventLoopContext.Priority.High);
+
+        Assert.False(context.IsEmpty);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ContextIsEmptyAgainOnceDrained()
+    {
+        var context = new EventLoopContext();
+        context.Post(() => { });
+
+        context.ExecuteTasks();
+
+        Assert.True(context.IsEmpty);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void WorkBeyondThePerFrameCapKeepsContextNonEmpty()
+    {
+        // The cap is what makes IsEmpty necessary: a single ExecuteTasks pass cannot be assumed
+        // to have drained everything, so the loop must not treat "I just ran tasks" as "idle".
+        const int perFrameCap = 128;
+        var context = new EventLoopContext(perFrameCap);
+
+        for (var i = 0; i < perFrameCap + 10; i++)
+        {
+            context.Post(() => { });
+        }
+
+        context.ExecuteTasks();
+
+        Assert.False(context.IsEmpty);
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Network/Firewall/FirewallTests.cs

@@ -1,137 +0,0 @@
-
-using System.Net;
-using System.Threading.Tasks;
-using Server.Network;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace Server.Tests;
-
-public class FirewallTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_BlocksIPAddress_WhenAdded()
-    {
-        var ip = IPAddress.Parse("192.168.1.1");
-        var entry = new SingleIpFirewallEntry("192.168.1.1");
-
-        Assert.False(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-
-        Firewall.Add(entry);
-
-        Assert.True(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_DoesNotBlockIPAddress_WhenNotAdded()
-    {
-        var ip = IPAddress.Parse("192.168.1.2");
-        Assert.False(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_StopsBlockingIPAddress_WhenRemoved()
-    {
-        var ip = IPAddress.Parse("192.168.1.3");
-        var entry = new SingleIpFirewallEntry("192.168.1.3");
-
-        Firewall.Add(entry);
-        Assert.True(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-
-        Firewall.Remove(entry);
-        Assert.False(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_BlocksIPRange()
-    {
-        var entry = new CidrFirewallEntry(IPAddress.Parse("10.0.0.1"), IPAddress.Parse("10.0.0.5"));
-
-        Firewall.Add(entry);
-
-        Assert.True(Firewall.IsBlocked(IPAddress.Parse("10.0.0.1")));
-        Assert.True(Firewall.IsBlocked(IPAddress.Parse("10.0.0.3")));
-        Assert.True(Firewall.IsBlocked(IPAddress.Parse("10.0.0.5")));
-
-        Assert.False(Firewall.IsBlocked(IPAddress.Parse("10.0.0.6")));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_CacheInvalidation_WorksOnUpdate()
-    {
-        var ip = IPAddress.Parse("192.168.1.10");
-        var entry = new SingleIpFirewallEntry("192.168.1.10");
-
-        Firewall.Add(entry);
-        Assert.True(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-
-        Firewall.Remove(entry);
-        Assert.False(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_ReadsFirewallSetCorrectly()
-    {
-        var entry = new SingleIpFirewallEntry("172.16.0.1");
-        Firewall.Add(entry);
-
-        var found = false;
-        Firewall.ReadFirewallSet(set =>
-        {
-            found = set.Contains(entry);
-        });
-
-        Assert.True(found);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_IsThreadSafe()
-    {
-        var testIps = new IPAddress[256];
-        for (var i = 0; i <= 255; i++)
-        {
-            testIps[i] = IPAddress.Parse($"192.168.0.{i}");
-        }
-
-        var entry = new CidrFirewallEntry(IPAddress.Parse("192.168.0.1"), IPAddress.Parse("192.168.0.255"));
-        Firewall.Add(entry);
-
-        Parallel.ForEach(testIps, ip =>
-        {
-            var shouldBlock = int.Parse(ip.ToString().Split('.')[3]) is > 0;
-            Assert.Equal(shouldBlock, Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-        });
-
-        Firewall.Remove(entry);
-
-        Parallel.ForEach(testIps, ip =>
-        {
-            Assert.False(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-        });
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_DoesNotThrowWhenRemovingNonExistentEntry()
-    {
-        var entry = new SingleIpFirewallEntry("203.0.113.5");
-        Assert.False(Firewall.Remove(entry));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Firewall_CacheHandlesMultipleUpdates()
-    {
-        var ip = IPAddress.Parse("192.168.1.20");
-        var entry = new SingleIpFirewallEntry("192.168.1.20");
-
-        Firewall.Add(entry);
-        Assert.True(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-
-        Firewall.Remove(entry);
-        Assert.False(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-
-        Firewall.Add(entry);
-        Assert.True(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-
-        Firewall.Remove(entry);
-        Assert.False(Firewall.IsBlocked(ip));
-    }
-}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Network/ForeignProtocolTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: ForeignProtocolTests.cs                                         *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System.Text;
+using Server.Network;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests.Network;
+
+public class ForeignProtocolTests
+{
+    private static ForeignProtocolMatch Identify(byte[] bytes, out ForeignProtocolKind kind) =>
+        ForeignProtocol.Identify(bytes, out kind);
+
+    private static byte[] Ascii(string s) => Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(s);
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData("GET / HTTP/1.1\r\n")]
+    [InlineData("POST /a HTTP/1.1\r\n")]
+    [InlineData("HEAD / HTTP/1.0\r\n")]
+    [InlineData("OPTIONS * HTTP/1.1\r\n")]
+    [InlineData("CONNECT host:443 HTTP/1.1\r\n")]
+    [InlineData("DELETE /x HTTP/1.1\r\n")]
+    public void Http_requests_are_identified(string request)
+    {
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.Confirmed, Identify(Ascii(request), out var kind));
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolKind.Http, kind);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Ssh_banner_is_identified()
+    {
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.Confirmed, Identify(Ascii("SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_9.6"), out var kind));
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolKind.Ssh, kind);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Tls_client_hello_is_identified()
+    {
+        // handshake, TLS 1.2 record, length 0x0100, ClientHello
+        byte[] hello = [0x16, 0x03, 0x03, 0x01, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0xFC];
+
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.Confirmed, Identify(hello, out var kind));
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolKind.Tls, kind);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Tls_prefix_without_a_client_hello_is_not_foreign()
+    {
+        // A seed can spell 0x16 0x03 0x0? -- the address 22.3.x.x. Byte five is a packet id, not a
+        // handshake type, so it must fall through to normal parsing.
+        byte[] seedThenLogin = [0x16, 0x03, 0x03, 0x04, 0x00, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00];
+
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.None, Identify(seedThenLogin, out var kind));
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolKind.None, kind);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Seed_that_spells_an_http_method_falls_through()
+    {
+        // Seed 0x47455420 spells "GET ". The next byte is the 0x80 login packet id, not printable, so this
+        // is a real client and must not be flagged.
+        byte[] seedThenLogin = [(byte)'G', (byte)'E', (byte)'T', (byte)' ', 0x80, 0x00, 0x3A, 0x00];
+
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.None, Identify(seedThenLogin, out _));
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(0x80)] // login request
+    [InlineData(0x91)] // game server login
+    [InlineData(0xEF)] // new-style seed packet
+    public void Ordinary_uo_openings_are_not_foreign(byte secondPacketId)
+    {
+        byte[] buffer = [0x7F, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, secondPacketId, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00];
+
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.None, Identify(buffer, out _));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Encrypted_login_is_not_mistaken_for_a_foreign_protocol()
+    {
+        // A legitimate client with encryption on when the shard expects none. The login cipher is a
+        // byte-for-byte XOR, so this is noise of exactly the right length.
+        byte[] buffer = [0x7F, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0xC3, 0x9A, 0x04, 0xE1, 0x55, 0xB2];
+
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.None, Identify(buffer, out _));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Prefix_match_without_enough_bytes_waits()
+    {
+        // Framing is never assumed: "GET " split from its request line must wait.
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.Incomplete, Identify(Ascii("GET "), out _));
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.Incomplete, Identify(Ascii("GET /"), out _));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Too_few_bytes_to_match_a_prefix_is_not_foreign()
+    {
+        // Under four bytes the caller's own short-read handling applies.
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.None, Identify(Ascii("GE"), out _));
+        Assert.Equal(ForeignProtocolMatch.None, Identify([], out _));
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Network/NetworkCompressionBoundsTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+using System;
+using Server.Network;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests.Network;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Bounds behaviour of the Huffman compressor when the destination is too small.
+///
+/// This is reachable in production: NetState only checks that the send buffer has *some* writable
+/// space before handing the remainder to Compress, so a nearly-full buffer can offer a span of one
+/// to three bytes. The internal guard is computed as an unsigned <c>output.Length - 4</c>, which
+/// underflows for those sizes and stops bounding the writes at all.
+/// </summary>
+public class NetworkCompressionBoundsTests
+{
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(0)]
+    [InlineData(1)]
+    [InlineData(2)]
+    [InlineData(3)]
+    public void RefusesOutputTooSmallToBound(int outputSize)
+    {
+        var input = new byte[64];
+        Array.Fill(input, (byte)'A');
+
+        // Sentinel-filled backing array; only the middle window is offered to the compressor, so
+        // any write past the span shows up as a modified sentinel rather than silent corruption.
+        var backing = new byte[256];
+        Array.Fill(backing, (byte)0xCC);
+
+        const int windowStart = 64;
+        var output = backing.AsSpan(windowStart, outputSize);
+
+        var written = NetworkCompression.Compress(input, output);
+
+        Assert.Equal(0, written);
+
+        for (var i = 0; i < backing.Length; i++)
+        {
+            Assert.Equal(0xCC, backing[i]);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void StillCompressesWhenOutputIsLargeEnough()
+    {
+        var input = new byte[64];
+        Array.Fill(input, (byte)'A');
+
+        var output = new byte[256];
+
+        var written = NetworkCompression.Compress(input, output);
+
+        Assert.True(written > 0);
+        Assert.True(written <= output.Length);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ReportsFailureRatherThanOverrunningATightOutput()
+    {
+        // Large input against a small-but-bounded output: the guard is well-defined here, so this
+        // must fail cleanly rather than write past the end.
+        var input = new byte[4096];
+        Array.Fill(input, (byte)'A');
+
+        var backing = new byte[256];
+        Array.Fill(backing, (byte)0xCC);
+
+        const int windowStart = 64;
+        const int windowSize = 16;
+        var output = backing.AsSpan(windowStart, windowSize);
+
+        NetworkCompression.Compress(input, output);
+
+        for (var i = 0; i < windowStart; i++)
+        {
+            Assert.Equal(0xCC, backing[i]);
+        }
+
+        for (var i = windowStart + windowSize; i < backing.Length; i++)
+        {
+            Assert.Equal(0xCC, backing[i]);
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/PropertyList/ObjectPropertyListReentrancyTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+using System;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// The interpolation buffer is rented by the handler ctor and returned by the closing Add, so every
+/// hole is evaluated while it is live. A Reset()/Dispose() landing in that window used to leave the
+/// next Append* spanning a null array: ArgumentNullException, parameter "array".
+/// </summary>
+// Sequential: building a list rents from STArrayPool, which is not thread-safe.
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class ObjectPropertyListReentrancyTests
+{
+    // Stands in for a property getter that invalidates while its own tooltip is being built.
+    private static string ResettingHole(ObjectPropertyList list, string value)
+    {
+        list.Reset();
+        return value;
+    }
+
+    private static string DisposingHole(ObjectPropertyList list, string value)
+    {
+        list.Dispose();
+        return value;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void InterpolatedAdd_ResetMidHole_DoesNotThrow()
+    {
+        var opl = new ObjectPropertyList(null);
+
+        var ex = Record.Exception(
+            () => opl.Add(1060776, $"{ResettingHole(opl, "Knight")}\t{"Council of Mages"}")
+        );
+
+        Assert.Null(ex);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void InterpolatedAdd_DisposeMidHole_DoesNotThrow()
+    {
+        var opl = new ObjectPropertyList(null);
+
+        var ex = Record.Exception(
+            () => opl.Add(1060776, $"{DisposingHole(opl, "Knight")}\t{"Council of Mages"}")
+        );
+
+        Assert.Null(ex);
+    }
+}
+
+/// <summary>
+/// The guard is per-list, so nested builds (a GetProperties override that reads another entity's
+/// PropertyList) cannot unguard the outer one the way a single shared slot would.
+/// </summary>
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class ObjectPropertyListNestedBuildTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void NestedBuild_DoesNotUnguardTheOuterList()
+    {
+        var outer = new ObjectPropertyList(null);
+        var inner = new ObjectPropertyList(null);
+
+        outer.IsBuilding = true;
+        inner.IsBuilding = true;   // another entity starts building, and finishes
+        inner.IsBuilding = false;
+
+        Assert.True(outer.IsBuilding);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Reset_MidInterpolation_LeavesTheListUsable()
+    {
+        var opl = new ObjectPropertyList(null);
+
+        opl.Add(1060776, $"{Reset(opl, "Knight")}\t{"Council of Mages"}");
+        opl.Add(1042971, "still working");
+        opl.Terminate();
+
+        Assert.NotNull(opl.Buffer);
+    }
+
+    private static string Reset(ObjectPropertyList list, string value)
+    {
+        list.Reset();
+        return value;
+    }
+}
+
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Invalidating from inside GetProperties is a defect in the getter, not a case to recover from:
+/// DEBUG throws, RELEASE keeps a possibly stale tooltip without crashing or leaking.
+/// </summary>
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class PropertyListInvalidationDuringBuildTests
+{
+    private class SelfInvalidatingMobile : Mobile
+    {
+        public int Builds;
+
+        public override void GetProperties(IPropertyList list)
+        {
+            Builds++;
+            base.GetProperties(list);
+            InvalidateProperties();
+            list.Add(1060776, $"{"Knight"}\t{"Council of Mages"}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static SelfInvalidatingMobile Place(int x)
+    {
+        var m = new SelfInvalidatingMobile();
+        m.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(x, 1000, 0), Map.Felucca);
+        return m;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void InvalidatingFromGetProperties_FailsLoudlyWithoutTearingDownTheBuild()
+    {
+        var wasEnabled = ObjectPropertyList.Enabled;
+        ObjectPropertyList.Enabled = true;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var m = Place(1000);
+
+#if DEBUG
+            Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(() => _ = m.PropertyList);
+#else
+            Assert.Null(Record.Exception(() => _ = m.PropertyList));
+#endif
+
+            // Refused, not retried.
+            Assert.Equal(1, m.Builds);
+            m.Delete();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            ObjectPropertyList.Enabled = wasEnabled;
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/PropertyList/ObjectPropertyListSpanAddTests.cs

@@ -62,6 +62,21 @@ public class ObjectPropertyListSpanAddTests
         Assert.Equal((1070722, "Custom"), entries[0]);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void HashFormat_OnlyMarksIntegers()
+    {
+        // Integer {value:#} emits the cliloc marker "#<value>".
+        var intList = new ObjectPropertyList(null);
+        intList.Add(1062028, $"{1043009:#}");
+        Assert.Equal((1062028, "#1043009"), Decode(intList)[0]);
+
+        // Float {value:#} is the standard '#' custom-numeric (digit-placeholder) format, not a cliloc
+        // marker -- so no leading '#'.
+        var dblList = new ObjectPropertyList(null);
+        dblList.Add(1062028, $"{42.0:#}");
+        Assert.Equal((1062028, 42.0.ToString("#")), Decode(dblList)[0]); // "42"
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public void Add_TruncatesArgumentOverMaxLength()
     {

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Serialization/AnchoredItemSerializationTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+using System;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests;
+
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class AnchoredItemSerializationTests
+{
+    private static byte[] SerializeItem(Item item)
+    {
+        var writer = new BufferWriter(new byte[256], true);
+        item.Serialize(writer);
+        return writer.Buffer[..(int)writer.Position];
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Item v11 stores LastMoved and DecayResetTime as anchored time: the serialized bytes
+    /// are a function of item state only, not of when the save runs. Pre-v11 stored
+    /// minutes-since-moved and delta time, which rewrote the bytes on every save.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void ItemBytes_AreStable_AcrossSavesAtDifferentTimes()
+    {
+        var start = Core._now;
+
+        try
+        {
+            var item = new Item(0x1F13);
+            item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(120, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+            item.RestartDecay();
+
+            var first = SerializeItem(item);
+
+            // A save hours later, with no state change, must produce identical bytes.
+            Core._now = start + TimeSpan.FromHours(5);
+            var second = SerializeItem(item);
+
+            Assert.Equal(first, second);
+
+            item.Delete();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core._now = start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Pre-v11 LastMoved was stored at whole-minute precision relative to the save time and
+    /// could never round-trip exactly. Anchored storage is absolute and exact.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void LastMovedAndDecayReset_RoundTripExactly()
+    {
+        var item = new Item(0x1F13);
+        item.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(121, 100, 0), Map.Felucca);
+
+        // Sub-minute precision that the old minutes encoding would have destroyed.
+        var moved = Core.Now - TimeSpan.FromSeconds(90.5) - TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(123);
+        item.LastMoved = moved;
+
+        item.RestartDecay();
+        var decayReset = item.DecayResetTime;
+        Assert.NotEqual(default(DateTime), decayReset);
+
+        var bytes = SerializeItem(item);
+
+        var restored = new Item((Serial)0x7ffff123u);
+        restored.Deserialize(new BufferReader(bytes));
+
+        Assert.Equal(moved, restored.LastMoved);
+        Assert.Equal(decayReset, restored.DecayResetTime);
+
+        item.Delete();
+    }
+}

Projects/Server.Tests/Tests/Serialization/AnchoredTimeTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.IO;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests;
+
+public class AnchoredTimeTests
+{
+    private static (BufferWriter Writer, Func<TimeSpan, IGenericReader> Read) CreateRoundTrip()
+    {
+        var writer = new BufferWriter(new byte[64], true);
+        return (writer, shift => new BufferReader(writer.Buffer) { AnchoredTimeShift = shift });
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void AnchoredTime_RoundTripsExactly_WithZeroShift()
+    {
+        var (writer, read) = CreateRoundTrip();
+        var value = new DateTime(2026, 8, 22, 12, 30, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc);
+
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(value);
+
+        Assert.Equal(value, read(TimeSpan.Zero).ReadAnchoredTime());
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void AnchoredTime_AppliesShiftOnRead()
+    {
+        var (writer, read) = CreateRoundTrip();
+        var value = new DateTime(2026, 8, 22, 12, 30, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc);
+        var shift = TimeSpan.FromHours(3);
+
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(value);
+
+        Assert.Equal(value + shift, read(shift).ReadAnchoredTime());
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void AnchoredTime_SentinelsPassThroughUnshifted()
+    {
+        var (writer, read) = CreateRoundTrip();
+
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(DateTime.MinValue);
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(DateTime.MaxValue);
+
+        var reader = read(TimeSpan.FromDays(2));
+        Assert.Equal(DateTime.MinValue, reader.ReadAnchoredTime());
+        Assert.Equal(DateTime.MaxValue, reader.ReadAnchoredTime());
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void AnchoredTime_SaturatesInsteadOfOverflowing()
+    {
+        var (writer, read) = CreateRoundTrip();
+
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(DateTime.MaxValue - TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1));
+
+        Assert.Equal(DateTime.MaxValue, read(TimeSpan.FromDays(1)).ReadAnchoredTime());
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void AnchoredTime_NormalizesLocalKindOnWrite()
+    {
+        var (writer, read) = CreateRoundTrip();
+        var local = new DateTime(2026, 8, 22, 12, 30, 0, DateTimeKind.Local);
+
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(local);
+
+        Assert.Equal(local.ToUniversalTime(), read(TimeSpan.Zero).ReadAnchoredTime());
+    }
+}
+
+internal class AnchoredEntity : ISerializable
+{
+    public AnchoredEntity(Serial serial) => Serial = serial;
+
+    public Serial Serial { get; }
+    public DateTime Created { get; set; } = DateTime.UtcNow;
+    public bool Deleted => false;
+
+    public DateTime LastRested { get; set; }
+
+    public void Delete()
+    {
+    }
+
+    public void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer) => writer.WriteAnchoredTime(LastRested);
+
+    public void Deserialize(IGenericReader reader) => LastRested = reader.ReadAnchoredTime();
+}
+
+[Collection("Sequential Server Tests")]
+public class AnchoredTimePersistenceTests
+{
+    private class AnchoredPersistence : GenericEntityPersistence<AnchoredEntity>
+    {
+        public AnchoredPersistence(int priority) : base("AnchoredTrip", priority, 1, 0x7FFFFFFF)
+        {
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The idx v5 header carries the save-start anchor; loading re-bases anchored timestamps
+    /// by the elapsed time since the save started, so downtime does not age them.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void SaveStartAnchor_RebasesAnchoredTimestampsAtLoad()
+    {
+        var previousAssemblies = AssemblyHandler.Assemblies;
+        AssemblyHandler.Assemblies = [.. previousAssemblies ?? [], typeof(AnchoredEntity).Assembly];
+
+        var source = new SerializationChunkSource();
+        var workers = new SerializationThreadWorker[2];
+        for (var i = 0; i < workers.Length; i++)
+        {
+            workers[i] = new SerializationThreadWorker(i, source);
+            workers[i].AllocateHeap();
+        }
+
+        var previousWorkers = World._threadWorkers;
+        World._threadWorkers = workers;
+
+        var previousSaveStart = World.SaveStartTime;
+
+        var persistence = new AnchoredPersistence(2100);
+        AnchoredPersistence loaded = null;
+
+        var dir = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), $"muo-anchored-{Guid.NewGuid():N}");
+        Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);
+
+        try
+        {
+            var lastRested = Core.Now - TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10);
+            var serial = (Serial)1u;
+            persistence.EntitiesBySerial[serial] = new AnchoredEntity(serial) { LastRested = lastRested };
+            persistence.RegisterType(typeof(AnchoredEntity));
+
+            // Pretend the save started two hours ago, as if the server had been down since.
+            var downtime = TimeSpan.FromHours(2);
+            World.SaveStartTime = Core.Now - downtime;
+
+            foreach (var worker in workers)
+            {
+                worker.Wake();
+            }
+
+            source.SetOwner(persistence);
+            Assert.True(persistence.TrySnapshotEntries(out var slotCount));
+            source.PushSlotRanges(persistence, slotCount);
+
+            source.Flush();
+            foreach (var worker in workers)
+            {
+                worker.Sleep();
+            }
+
+            persistence.WriteSnapshot(dir);
+            persistence.PostWorldSave();
+
+            loaded = new AnchoredPersistence(2101);
+            loaded.DeserializeIndexes(dir, null);
+            loaded.Deserialize(dir, null);
+
+            var entity = loaded.EntitiesBySerial[serial];
+            var expected = lastRested + downtime;
+
+            Assert.True(
+                (entity.LastRested - expected).Duration() <= TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30),
+                $"Anchored timestamp must re-base by the downtime; expected ~{expected}, got {entity.LastRested}."
+            );
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            World.SaveStartTime = previousSaveStart;
+            persistence.Unregister();
+            loaded?.Unregister();
+
+            foreach (var worker in workers)
+            {
+                worker.Exit();
+            }
+
+            World._threadWorkers = previousWorkers;
+            AssemblyHandler.Assemblies = previousAssemblies;
+            Directory.Delete(dir, true);
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server/Collections/SortedRangeIndex.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: SortedRangeIndex.cs                                             *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.Numerics;
+
+namespace Server.Collections;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Immutable, allocation-lean membership index over a set of inclusive integer ranges. Ranges are
+/// stored as two parallel arrays (<c>_mins</c>/<c>_maxs</c>) sorted by minimum and coalesced into
+/// disjoint runs, so a single binary search decides membership. Coalescing is required for
+/// correctness: <see cref="Contains"/> only inspects the rightmost run whose minimum is &lt;= the
+/// value, which is only sound when the runs never overlap or nest.
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class SortedRangeIndex<T> where T : IBinaryInteger<T>
+{
+    public static readonly SortedRangeIndex<T> Empty = new([], []);
+
+    /// <summary>An inclusive <c>[Min, Max]</c> range. Singles are represented as <c>Min == Max</c>.</summary>
+    public readonly record struct Range(T Min, T Max);
+
+    /// <summary>Orders ranges ascending by minimum; the coalescing pass in <see cref="Build"/> requires this.</summary>
+    public static readonly Comparison<Range> ByMin = static (a, b) => a.Min.CompareTo(b.Min);
+
+    private readonly T[] _mins;
+    private readonly T[] _maxs;
+
+    private SortedRangeIndex(T[] mins, T[] maxs)
+    {
+        _mins = mins;
+        _maxs = maxs;
+    }
+
+    public int Count => _mins.Length;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when <paramref name="value"/> falls in any range. Binary-searches for the rightmost run
+    /// whose minimum is &lt;= the value, then tests that value against that run's maximum.
+    /// </summary>
+    public bool Contains(T value)
+    {
+        var lo = 0;
+        var hi = _mins.Length - 1;
+        var found = -1;
+        while (lo <= hi)
+        {
+            var mid = (lo + hi) >> 1;
+            if (_mins[mid] <= value)
+            {
+                found = mid;
+                lo = mid + 1;
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                hi = mid - 1;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return found >= 0 && value <= _maxs[found];
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Builds an index from ranges that are already sorted ascending by <see cref="Range.Min"/> (sort
+    /// the source with <see cref="ByMin"/> first). Overlapping and nested ranges are merged into disjoint
+    /// runs. Two passes over the (pooled) input keep the run count exact so only the two final arrays are
+    /// heap-allocated: pass one counts the runs, pass two fills the exact-size arrays.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static SortedRangeIndex<T> Build(ReadOnlySpan<Range> sortedByMin)
+    {
+        if (sortedByMin.IsEmpty)
+        {
+            return Empty;
+        }
+
+        // Pass 1: count the disjoint runs so the final arrays can be sized exactly.
+        var runs = 1;
+        var curMax = sortedByMin[0].Max;
+        for (var i = 1; i < sortedByMin.Length; i++)
+        {
+            var r = sortedByMin[i];
+            if (r.Min <= curMax)
+            {
+                if (r.Max > curMax)
+                {
+                    curMax = r.Max;
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                runs++;
+                curMax = r.Max;
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Pass 2: write the coalesced runs into the exact-size final arrays.
+        var mins = new T[runs];
+        var maxs = new T[runs];
+        var w = 0;
+        mins[0] = sortedByMin[0].Min;
+        maxs[0] = sortedByMin[0].Max;
+        for (var i = 1; i < sortedByMin.Length; i++)
+        {
+            var r = sortedByMin[i];
+            if (r.Min <= maxs[w])
+            {
+                if (r.Max > maxs[w])
+                {
+                    maxs[w] = r.Max;
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                w++;
+                mins[w] = r.Min;
+                maxs[w] = r.Max;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return new SortedRangeIndex<T>(mins, maxs);
+    }
+}

Projects/Server/Diagnostics/EventLoopProfiler.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,234 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: EventLoopProfiler.cs                                            *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
+
+namespace Server;
+
+public enum LoopPhase
+{
+    MobileDeltas,
+    ItemDeltas,
+    TimerSlice,
+    NetworkSlice,
+    LoopTasks,
+    WorldSnapshot,
+}
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Event-loop time accounting, compiled out of normal builds. Build with
+/// <c>-p:EventLoopProfiling=true</c> to enable; every hook is
+/// <c>[Conditional("EVENT_LOOP_PROFILING")]</c>, so without the flag the call sites do not exist
+/// in the IL and this class is dormant. See dev-docs/debugging-event-loop.md for how to read it.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+/// Each one-second sample decomposes wall time into work (per <see cref="LoopPhase"/>), sleep,
+/// GC pause, and a stolen residual (wall - work - sleep): time the host ran something else.
+/// Samples land in a ring buffer (~15 minutes) so a lag episode can be compared against the good
+/// minutes on the same box, build, and world — the baseline RunUO's profiler never had.
+/// </remarks>
+public static class EventLoopProfiler
+{
+    public const int PhaseCount = 6;
+    private const int RingSize = 900;
+    private const long SampleIntervalMs = 1000;
+
+    public struct Sample
+    {
+        public long WallStart;               // Core.TickCount at sample start
+        public long WallMs;                  // sample length
+        public long Iterations;
+        public long Sleeps;
+        public double SleepMs;               // total time blocked in WaitForCompletion
+        public double SleepOvershootMaxMs;   // worst (elapsed - requested) this sample
+        public long LateWakes;               // overshoot >= Timer.TickRate
+        public long WheelLagMaxMs;           // worst wheel lateness observed at Slice entry
+        public long WakesIssued;
+        public long WakesElided;
+        public double GcPauseMs;             // GC.GetTotalPauseDuration delta
+        public int Gen0;
+        public int Gen1;
+        public int Gen2;
+        public PhaseTimes Phases;
+
+        // Work the phases did not account for and the loop did not spend sleeping: host
+        // scheduling steals, and anything between the bracketed phases. GC pauses inside a
+        // phase or sleep inflate those measurements instead, so GcPauseMs overlaps rather
+        // than subtracts.
+        public double StolenMs
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                var known = SleepMs + Phases.Total;
+                return WallMs > known ? WallMs - known : 0;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    [InlineArray(PhaseCount)]
+    public struct PhaseTimes
+    {
+        private double _element0;
+
+        public double Total
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                double total = 0;
+                for (var i = 0; i < PhaseCount; i++)
+                {
+                    total += this[i];
+                }
+
+                return total;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static readonly double _msPerTick = 1000.0 / Stopwatch.Frequency;
+
+    private static Sample[] _ring;
+    private static int _ringCount;
+    private static int _ringHead;
+
+    private static Sample _current;
+    private static long _phaseStartTimestamp;
+    private static long _sampleStartedAt;
+    private static TimeSpan _lastGcPause;
+    private static int _lastGen0;
+    private static int _lastGen1;
+    private static int _lastGen2;
+
+    /// <summary>Number of samples recorded so far (capped at the ring size).</summary>
+    public static int SampleCount => _ringCount;
+
+    /// <summary>The sample currently being accumulated (not yet in the ring).</summary>
+    public static Sample Current => _current;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Copies the newest <paramref name="count"/> completed samples, oldest first.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static Sample[] History(int count = RingSize)
+    {
+        count = Math.Min(count, _ringCount);
+        var result = new Sample[count];
+        for (var i = 0; i < count; i++)
+        {
+            result[i] = _ring[(_ringHead - count + i + RingSize) % RingSize];
+        }
+
+        return result;
+    }
+
+    [Conditional("EVENT_LOOP_PROFILING")]
+    public static void IterationStart(long tickCount)
+    {
+        if (_ring == null)
+        {
+            _ring = new Sample[RingSize];
+            _sampleStartedAt = tickCount;
+            _current.WallStart = tickCount;
+            _lastGcPause = GC.GetTotalPauseDuration();
+            _lastGen0 = GC.CollectionCount(0);
+            _lastGen1 = GC.CollectionCount(1);
+            _lastGen2 = GC.CollectionCount(2);
+        }
+
+        _current.Iterations++;
+
+        if (tickCount - _sampleStartedAt < SampleIntervalMs)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _current.WallMs = tickCount - _sampleStartedAt;
+
+        var pause = GC.GetTotalPauseDuration();
+        _current.GcPauseMs = (pause - _lastGcPause).TotalMilliseconds;
+        _lastGcPause = pause;
+
+        var gen0 = GC.CollectionCount(0);
+        var gen1 = GC.CollectionCount(1);
+        var gen2 = GC.CollectionCount(2);
+        _current.Gen0 = gen0 - _lastGen0;
+        _current.Gen1 = gen1 - _lastGen1;
+        _current.Gen2 = gen2 - _lastGen2;
+        _lastGen0 = gen0;
+        _lastGen1 = gen1;
+        _lastGen2 = gen2;
+
+        _ring[_ringHead] = _current;
+        _ringHead = (_ringHead + 1) % RingSize;
+        if (_ringCount < RingSize)
+        {
+            _ringCount++;
+        }
+
+        _sampleStartedAt = tickCount;
+        _current = default;
+        _current.WallStart = tickCount;
+    }
+
+    [Conditional("EVENT_LOOP_PROFILING")]
+    public static void PhaseStart(LoopPhase phase) => _phaseStartTimestamp = Stopwatch.GetTimestamp();
+
+    [Conditional("EVENT_LOOP_PROFILING")]
+    public static void PhaseEnd(LoopPhase phase) =>
+        _current.Phases[(int)phase] += (Stopwatch.GetTimestamp() - _phaseStartTimestamp) * _msPerTick;
+
+    [Conditional("EVENT_LOOP_PROFILING")]
+    public static void SleepEnd(int requestedMs, long elapsedMs)
+    {
+        _current.Sleeps++;
+        _current.SleepMs += elapsedMs;
+
+        var overshoot = elapsedMs - requestedMs;
+        if (overshoot > _current.SleepOvershootMaxMs)
+        {
+            _current.SleepOvershootMaxMs = overshoot;
+        }
+
+        if (overshoot >= Timer.TickRate)
+        {
+            _current.LateWakes++;
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Conditional("EVENT_LOOP_PROFILING")]
+    public static void WheelSlice(long deltaSinceTurn)
+    {
+        var lag = deltaSinceTurn - Timer.TickRate;
+        if (lag > _current.WheelLagMaxMs)
+        {
+            _current.WheelLagMaxMs = lag;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Cross-thread; approximate counts are fine for diagnosis, so no interlocked.
+    [Conditional("EVENT_LOOP_PROFILING")]
+    public static void WakeSignal(bool elided)
+    {
+        if (elided)
+        {
+            _current.WakesElided++;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            _current.WakesIssued++;
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server/EventLoopTasks.cs

@@ -42,10 +42,47 @@ public sealed class EventLoopContext : SynchronizationContext
 
     public override SynchronizationContext CreateCopy() => new EventLoopContext();
 
-    public void Post(Action d, Priority priority = Priority.Normal) =>
+    /// <summary>
-        (priority == Priority.High ? _priorityQueue : _queue).Enqueue(d);
+    /// True when no callbacks are waiting to run.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// <see cref="ExecuteTasks"/> drains at most <c>_maxPerFrame</c> callbacks, so work can
+    /// legitimately be left over. The event loop checks this before sleeping so a backlog keeps
+    /// it running instead.
+    /// </remarks>
+    public bool IsEmpty => _queue.IsEmpty && _priorityQueue.IsEmpty;
 
-    public override void Post(SendOrPostCallback d, object state) => _queue.Enqueue(() => d(state));
+    public void Post(Action d, Priority priority = Priority.Normal)
+    {
+        (priority == Priority.High ? _priorityQueue : _queue).Enqueue(d);
+        WakeEventLoop();
+    }
+
+    public override void Post(SendOrPostCallback d, object state)
+    {
+        _queue.Enqueue(() => d(state));
+        WakeEventLoop();
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Nudges the game loop in case it is asleep: the loop blocks on network I/O, which a queue
+    /// push alone does not signal.
+    /// </summary>
+    private void WakeEventLoop()
+    {
+        // A post from the loop thread cannot need a wake -- the loop is executing this very call
+        // -- and the signal is a syscall on every backend.
+        if (Thread.CurrentThread == _mainThread)
+        {
+            EventLoopProfiler.WakeSignal(elided: true);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        EventLoopProfiler.WakeSignal(elided: false);
+
+        // Safe before networking is configured and after teardown; NetState.Wake does nothing.
+        Network.NetState.Wake();
+    }
 
     public override void Send(SendOrPostCallback d, object state)
     {
@@ -63,6 +100,8 @@ public sealed class EventLoopContext : SynchronizationContext
             evt.Set();
         });
 
+        WakeEventLoop();
+
         evt.WaitOne();
     }
 

Projects/Server/Events/AccountLoginEvent.cs

@@ -37,6 +37,13 @@ public class AccountLoginEventArgs
     public bool Accepted { get; set; }
 
     public ALRReason RejectReason { get; set; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// No verdict yet: a subscriber moved the password check off the game loop and replies itself
+    /// once it lands. The packet handler must send neither accept nor reject while this is set, or
+    /// the client gets two answers to one login.
+    /// </summary>
+    public bool Deferred { get; set; }
 }
 
 public static partial class EventSink

Projects/Server/FeatureFlags.cs

@@ -10,4 +10,5 @@ public static class ServerFeatureFlags
     public static bool PvPCombat { get; set; } = true;
     public static bool BankAccess { get; set; } = true;
     public static bool SpeedhackDetection { get; set; }
+    public static bool InsuranceEnabled { get; set; }
 }

Projects/Server/Items/Container.cs

@@ -44,10 +44,10 @@ public partial class Container : Item
     internal int _version;
 
     [SerializableField(3)]
+    [SaveFlag(nameof(ShouldSerializeLiftOverride))]
     [SerializedCommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
     private bool _liftOverride;
 
-    [SerializableFieldSaveFlag(3)]
     private bool ShouldSerializeLiftOverride() => _liftOverride;
 
     public Container(int itemID) : base(itemID)
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ public partial class Container : Item
 
     [EncodedInt]
     [SerializableProperty(0)]
+    [SaveFlag(nameof(ShouldSerializeMaxItems), nameof(MaxItemsDefaultValue))]
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
     public int MaxItems
     {
@@ -96,14 +97,13 @@ public partial class Container : Item
         }
     }
 
-    [SerializableFieldSaveFlag(0)]
     private bool ShouldSerializeMaxItems() => _maxItems != -1;
 
-    [SerializableFieldDefault(0)]
     private int MaxItemsDefaultValue() => -1;
 
     [EncodedInt]
     [SerializableProperty(1)]
+    [SaveFlag(nameof(ShouldSerializeGumpId), nameof(GumpIDDefaultValue))]
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
     public int GumpID
     {
@@ -115,14 +115,13 @@ public partial class Container : Item
         }
     }
 
-    [SerializableFieldSaveFlag(1)]
     private bool ShouldSerializeGumpId() => _gumpID != -1;
 
-    [SerializableFieldDefault(1)]
     private int GumpIDDefaultValue() => -1;
 
     [EncodedInt]
     [SerializableProperty(2)]
+    [SaveFlag(nameof(ShouldSerializeDropSound), nameof(DropSoundDefaultValue))]
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
     public int DropSound
     {
@@ -134,10 +133,8 @@ public partial class Container : Item
         }
     }
 
-    [SerializableFieldSaveFlag(2)]
     private bool ShouldSerializeDropSound() => _dropSound != -1;
 
-    [SerializableFieldDefault(2)]
     private int DropSoundDefaultValue() => -1;
 
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]

Projects/Server/Items/DecayScheduler.cs

@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ public class DecayScheduler : Timer
 
             if (timeUntilDecay > _bucketInterval)
             {
-                // Item was moved (SetLastMoved called) - re-bucket or move to overflow
+                // Deadline was pushed out (SetLastMoved/RestartDecay) - re-bucket or move to overflow
                 if (timeUntilDecay > _totalBucketSpan)
                 {
                     // Extended beyond total span - move to overflow
@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ public class DecayScheduler : Timer
             {
                 // Refused by the region. Restart the clock rather than dropping the item, which has
                 // already left the queue; re-registering as-is would spin on a due time in the past.
-                item.SetLastMoved();
+                item.RestartDecay();
             }
         }
     }

Projects/Server/Items/Item.cs

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  *************************************************************************/
 
 using System;
+using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Reflection;
 using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
@@ -334,7 +335,25 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
     public virtual bool Decays => Movable && Visible && Spawner == null;
 
-    public DateTime LastMoved { get; set; }
+    private DateTime _lastMoved;
+
+    public DateTime LastMoved
+    {
+        get => _lastMoved;
+        set
+        {
+            _lastMoved = value;
+
+            // A move at or past the reset stamp supersedes it; drop it so the CompactInfo can collapse.
+            var info = LookupCompactInfo();
+
+            if (info != null && info.m_DecayReset != default && info.m_DecayReset <= value)
+            {
+                info.m_DecayReset = default;
+                VerifyCompactInfo();
+            }
+        }
+    }
 
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
     public bool Stackable
@@ -372,7 +391,7 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
                 }
 
                 Delta(ItemDelta.Update);
-                UpdateDecayRegistration();
+                RestartDecay();
             }
         }
     }
@@ -388,7 +407,7 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
                 SetFlag(ImplFlag.Movable, value);
 
                 Delta(ItemDelta.Update);
-                UpdateDecayRegistration();
+                RestartDecay();
             }
         }
     }
@@ -748,6 +767,12 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
 
     public static bool ScissorCopyLootType { get; set; }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     True when the item was produced by the crafting system rather than bought or looted.
+    /// </summary>
+    [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
+    public bool PlayerConstructed { get; set; }
+
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
     public bool QuestItem
     {
@@ -798,7 +823,22 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
 
     public virtual int HuedItemID => m_ItemID;
 
-    public ObjectPropertyList PropertyList => m_PropertyList ??= InitializePropertyList(new ObjectPropertyList(this));
+    public ObjectPropertyList PropertyList
+    {
+        get
+        {
+            if (m_PropertyList == null)
+            {
+                // Publish the list before building it so a nested InvalidateProperties can see the
+                // build in progress and defer instead of recursing into a second throwaway list.
+                var list = new ObjectPropertyList(this);
+                m_PropertyList = list;
+                InitializePropertyList(list);
+            }
+
+            return m_PropertyList;
+        }
+    }
 
     /// <summary>
     ///     Overridable. Fills an <see cref="ObjectPropertyList" /> with everything applicable. By default, this invokes
@@ -823,7 +863,7 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
 
     public virtual void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer)
     {
-        writer.Write(9); // version
+        writer.Write(11); // version
 
         var flags = SaveFlag.None;
 
@@ -933,6 +973,11 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
             {
                 flags |= SaveFlag.SavedFlags;
             }
+
+            if (info.m_DecayReset > LastMoved)
+            {
+                flags |= SaveFlag.DecayReset;
+            }
         }
 
         if (info == null || info.m_Weight < 0)
@@ -963,16 +1008,21 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
             flags |= SaveFlag.ImplFlags;
         }
 
+        if (PlayerConstructed)
+        {
+            flags |= SaveFlag.PlayerConstructed;
+        }
+
         writer.Write((int)flags);
 
-        /* begin last moved time optimization */
+        // Anchored: shifted by downtime at load, so time-since-moved is preserved and the
-        var ticks = LastMoved.Ticks;
+        // bytes are stable across saves while the item does not move.
-        var now = Core.Now.Ticks;
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(LastMoved);
 
-        var minutes = new TimeSpan(now - ticks).TotalMinutes;
+        if (GetSaveFlag(flags, SaveFlag.DecayReset))
-
+        {
-        writer.WriteEncodedInt((int)Math.Clamp(minutes, int.MinValue, int.MaxValue));
+            writer.WriteAnchoredTime(info.m_DecayReset);
-        /* end */
+        }
 
         if (GetSaveFlag(flags, SaveFlag.Direction))
         {
@@ -1291,6 +1341,12 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
 
                 OnMapChange();
 
+                if (m_Parent == null)
+                {
+                    // A map change is a move; nothing else updates decay registration for a raw Map change.
+                    SetLastMoved();
+                }
+
                 if (old == null || old == Map.Internal)
                 {
                     InvalidateProperties();
@@ -1521,7 +1577,7 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
 
             if (oldValue != value)
             {
-                UpdateDecayRegistration();
+                RestartDecay();
             }
         }
     }
@@ -1715,6 +1771,7 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
                       || info.m_HeldBy != null
                       || info.m_BlessedFor != null
                       || info.m_Spawner != null
+                      || info.m_DecayReset != default
                       || info.m_TempFlags != 0
                       || info.m_SavedFlags != 0
                       || info.m_Weight >= 0;
@@ -1884,7 +1941,7 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
         {
             list.Add(1049643); // cursed
         }
-        else if (Insured)
+        else if (ServerFeatureFlags.InsuranceEnabled && Insured)
         {
             list.Add(1061682); // <b>insured</b>
         }
@@ -2299,7 +2356,64 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
     public virtual bool OnDecay() =>
         CanDecay() && Region.Find(Location, Map).OnDecay(this);
 
-    public DateTime ScheduledDecayTime => LastMoved + DecayTime;
+    public DateTime ScheduledDecayTime
+    {
+        get
+        {
+            var reset = DecayResetTime;
+            var lastMoved = LastMoved;
+
+            return (reset > lastMoved ? reset : lastMoved) + DecayTime;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// When decay eligibility was last restored without the item moving, e.g. a GM unfreezing it.
+    /// The decay countdown runs from the later of this and <see cref="LastMoved" />.
+    /// </summary>
+    public DateTime DecayResetTime
+    {
+        get => LookupCompactInfo()?.m_DecayReset ?? default;
+        private set
+        {
+            if (value == default)
+            {
+                var info = LookupCompactInfo();
+
+                if (info != null && info.m_DecayReset != default)
+                {
+                    info.m_DecayReset = default;
+                    VerifyCompactInfo();
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                AcquireCompactInfo().m_DecayReset = value;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Restarts the decay countdown without touching <see cref="LastMoved" />: call when decay
+    /// eligibility changes state (Movable/Visible/Spawner) or a region refuses a decay, where a
+    /// stale <see cref="LastMoved" /> would otherwise decay the item on the next tick.
+    /// Stamps <see cref="DecayResetTime" /> only when that extends the current deadline, then
+    /// updates the scheduler registration.
+    /// </summary>
+    public void RestartDecay()
+    {
+        if (CanDecay())
+        {
+            var now = Core.Now;
+
+            if (ScheduledDecayTime < now + DecayTime)
+            {
+                DecayResetTime = now;
+            }
+        }
+
+        UpdateDecayRegistration();
+    }
 
     public void UpdateDecayRegistration()
     {
@@ -2309,6 +2423,12 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
         {
             DecayScheduler.Register(this);
         }
+        else
+        {
+            // No countdown to anchor while ineligible; drop the stamp so the CompactInfo
+            // can collapse. Re-eligibility always re-anchors.
+            DecayResetTime = default;
+        }
     }
 
     public void SetLastMoved()
@@ -2341,6 +2461,11 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
         }
 
         Amount += dropped.Amount;
+        if (PlayerConstructed != dropped.PlayerConstructed)
+        {
+            PlayerConstructed = false;
+        }
+
         dropped.Delete();
 
         if (playSound && from != null)
@@ -2428,10 +2553,20 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
     }
 
     private ObjectPropertyList InitializePropertyList(ObjectPropertyList list)
+    {
+        list.IsBuilding = true;
+
+        try
         {
             GetProperties(list);
             AppendChildProperties(list);
             list.Terminate();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            list.IsBuilding = false;
+        }
+
         return list;
     }
 
@@ -2448,6 +2583,26 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
             return;
         }
 
+        // Always a bug in the property getter, and there is no correct recovery: refuse rather than
+        // hide it. RELEASE keeps a possibly stale tooltip, DEBUG throws.
+        // See dev-docs/property-lists.md "Never Invalidate From Inside GetProperties".
+        if (m_PropertyList?.IsBuilding == true)
+        {
+            logger.Error(
+                "{Entity} called InvalidateProperties() while its property list was being built. Remove the side effect from the property getter, or defer it with Timer.DelayCall.\n{StackTrace}",
+                this,
+                new StackTrace()
+            );
+
+#if DEBUG
+            throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                $"{this} invalidated its property list from inside GetProperties. Remove the side effect from the property getter."
+            );
+#else
+            return;
+#endif
+        }
+
         if (m_Map != null && m_Map != Map.Internal && !World.Loading)
         {
             int? oldHash;
@@ -2611,6 +2766,8 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
 
         switch (version)
         {
+            case 11:
+            case 10:
             case 9:
             case 8:
             case 7:
@@ -2618,7 +2775,11 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
                 {
                     var flags = (SaveFlag)reader.ReadInt();
 
-                    if (version < 7)
+                    if (version >= 11)
+                    {
+                        LastMoved = reader.ReadAnchoredTime();
+                    }
+                    else if (version < 7)
                     {
                         LastMoved = reader.ReadDeltaTime();
                     }
@@ -2636,6 +2797,18 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
                         }
                     }
 
+                    if (version >= 10 && GetSaveFlag(flags, SaveFlag.DecayReset))
+                    {
+                        var reset = version >= 11 ? reader.ReadAnchoredTime() : reader.ReadDeltaTime();
+
+                        // Pre-v11 LastMoved was stored at whole-minute precision; keep the
+                        // stamp only while it still extends the deadline.
+                        if (reset > LastMoved)
+                        {
+                            DecayResetTime = reset;
+                        }
+                    }
+
                     if (GetSaveFlag(flags, SaveFlag.Direction))
                     {
                         m_Direction = (Direction)reader.ReadByte();
@@ -2808,6 +2981,8 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
                         AcquireCompactInfo().m_SavedFlags = reader.ReadEncodedInt();
                     }
 
+                    PlayerConstructed = GetSaveFlag(flags, SaveFlag.PlayerConstructed);
+
                     if (m_Map != null && m_Parent == null)
                     {
                         m_Map.OnEnter(this);
@@ -3279,6 +3454,12 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
         m_DeltaFlags &= ~flags;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when deltas remain queued after a <see cref="ProcessDeltaQueue"/> pass, which is
+    /// bounded by the count it saw on entry. The event loop consults this before sleeping.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool HasQueuedDeltas => m_DeltaQueue.Count > 0;
+
     public static void ProcessDeltaQueue()
     {
         var limit = m_DeltaQueue.Count;
@@ -3385,7 +3566,7 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
         for (var i = 0; i < props.Length; i++)
         {
             var p = props[i];
-            if (p.GetCustomAttribute(typeof(IgnoreDupeAttribute), true) != null || !p.CanRead || !p.CanWrite)
+            if (p.GetCustomAttribute<IgnoreDupeAttribute>(true) != null || !p.CanRead || !p.CanWrite)
             {
                 continue;
             }
@@ -4216,12 +4397,12 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
     }
 
     public virtual bool CheckBlessed(Mobile m) =>
-        m_LootType == LootType.Blessed || Mobile.InsuranceEnabled && Insured || m != null && m == BlessedFor;
+        m_LootType == LootType.Blessed || ServerFeatureFlags.InsuranceEnabled && Insured || m != null && m == BlessedFor;
 
     public virtual bool CheckNewbied() => m_LootType == LootType.Newbied;
 
     public virtual bool IsStandardLoot() =>
-        (!Mobile.InsuranceEnabled || !Insured) && BlessedFor == null && m_LootType == LootType.Regular;
+        (!ServerFeatureFlags.InsuranceEnabled || !Insured) && BlessedFor == null && m_LootType == LootType.Regular;
 
     public override string ToString() => $"{Serial} \"{GetType().Name}\"";
 
@@ -4291,6 +4472,8 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
 
         public ISpawner m_Spawner;
 
+        public DateTime m_DecayReset;
+
         public int m_TempFlags;
 
         public double m_Weight = -1;
@@ -4328,6 +4511,8 @@ public partial class Item : IHued, IComparable<Item>, ISpawnable, IObjectPropert
         HeldBy = 0x00800000,
         IntWeight = 0x01000000,
         SavedFlags = 0x02000000,
-        NullWeight = 0x04000000
+        NullWeight = 0x04000000,
+        PlayerConstructed = 0x08000000,
+        DecayReset = 0x10000000
     }
 }

Projects/Server/Main.cs

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/*************************************************************************
+/*************************************************************************
  * ModernUO                                                              *
  * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
  * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ using Server.Compression;
 using Server.Json;
 using Server.Logging;
 using Server.Network;
+using Server.Network.Bans;
 using Server.Text;
 
 namespace Server;
@@ -38,10 +39,181 @@ public static class Core
 {
     private static readonly ILogger logger = LogFactory.GetLogger(typeof(Core));
 
-    private static bool _performProcessKill;
+    // Written off-loop (Kill, RequestSnapshot); volatile because the loop blocks between reads.
+    private static volatile bool _performProcessKill;
     private static bool _restartOnKill;
-    private static bool _performSnapshot;
+    private static volatile bool _performSnapshot;
     private static string _snapshotPath;
+
+    // A backstop, not a latency control: the wheel's tick rate already bounds the sleep.
+    // Measured across 1/2/4/8ms; 2 is optimal.
+    private static int _eventLoopIdleWaitMs = 2;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Longest the loop will block while idle, in milliseconds. 0 spins instead; the backoff
+    /// does the same temporarily when the host keeps returning waits late.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static int EventLoopIdleWaitMs => _eventLoopIdleWaitMs;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when idle sleeping was disabled at startup because the host cannot honor short
+    /// waits, overriding whatever <c>server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs</c> was configured to.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool IdleSleepUnsupported { get; private set; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Whether idle sleeping is currently suspended because the host returned waits late.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// Compared by subtraction, never directly: tick counts can start enormous and wrap.
+    /// See dev-docs/tick-counts.md.
+    /// </remarks>
+    public static bool IdleSleepSuspended => _tickCount - _idleSleepSuspendedUntil < 0;
+
+    private const long HealthSampleIntervalMs = 1000;
+
+    // Doubling: a fixed suspension oscillates forever on a persistently bad host, while doubling
+    // converges on "stop sleeping" yet still recovers from a transient.
+    private const long BackoffBaseMs = 5000;
+    private const long BackoffMaxMs = 120_000;
+    private const int BackoffMaxShift = 5;
+
+    // Clean streak that clears the escalation.
+    private const long BackoffResetAfterCleanMs = 60_000;
+
+    // Below this a backoff is still recoverable and not actionable, so it only logs at Debug.
+    private const int WarnAfterConsecutiveBackoffs = 3;
+
+    // A sleep is bounded by the next wheel turn, so only a wait returning late can cost a deadline.
+    // Measured per sleep, which is why server work (saves, heavy commands) cannot trip the backoff.
+    private static int _lateWakes;
+
+    // Denominator for the late-wake rate.
+    private static int _sleepAttempts;
+
+    private static long _nextHealthSample;
+    private static long _idleSleepSuspendedUntil;
+    private static int _lateWakeThreshold = 1;
+    private static int _lateWakePercent = 10;
+    private static long _idleSleepBackoffs;
+    private static int _consecutiveBadSamples;
+    private static int _consecutiveBackoffs;
+    private static long _currentBackoffMs = BackoffBaseMs;
+    private static long _lastBackoffAt;
+    private static bool _loggedBackoffCeiling;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Once a second, suspends idle sleeping (with escalating duration) if the host keeps
+    /// returning idle waits a full tick or more late.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static void CheckSchedulerHealth()
+    {
+        if (_tickCount - _nextHealthSample < 0)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _nextHealthSample = _tickCount + HealthSampleIntervalMs;
+
+        var late = _lateWakes;
+        var sleeps = _sleepAttempts;
+        _lateWakes = 0;
+        _sleepAttempts = 0;
+
+        // A clean streak resets the escalation and re-arms the ceiling Error. Gated on the count
+        // rather than a "_lastBackoffAt > 0" sentinel because tick counts are not guaranteed positive.
+        if (_consecutiveBackoffs > 0 && _tickCount - _lastBackoffAt > BackoffResetAfterCleanMs)
+        {
+            if (_consecutiveBackoffs >= WarnAfterConsecutiveBackoffs)
+            {
+                logger.Information(
+                    "This host has returned idle waits on time for {Duration}ms; idle sleeping is back to normal",
+                    BackoffResetAfterCleanMs
+                );
+            }
+
+            _consecutiveBackoffs = 0;
+            _loggedBackoffCeiling = false;
+        }
+
+        if (late <= _lateWakeThreshold)
+        {
+            _consecutiveBadSamples = 0;
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Lateness is a rate: an idle loop sleeps hundreds of times a second, so a few outliers are
+        // normal, while a host that cannot schedule the process returns most of its waits late. The
+        // threshold above is the floor for windows with too few sleeps for a proportion to mean anything.
+        if (late * 100 < sleeps * _lateWakePercent)
+        {
+            _consecutiveBadSamples = 0;
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Require persistence: any host can drop one sample to unrelated load, but an oversubscribed
+        // one stays bad.
+        if (++_consecutiveBadSamples < 2)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (_eventLoopIdleWaitMs <= 0)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _currentBackoffMs = Math.Min(BackoffBaseMs << Math.Min(_consecutiveBackoffs, BackoffMaxShift), BackoffMaxMs);
+        _consecutiveBackoffs++;
+        _lastBackoffAt = _tickCount;
+        _idleSleepSuspendedUntil = _tickCount + _currentBackoffMs;
+        _idleSleepBackoffs++;
+
+        if (_currentBackoffMs >= BackoffMaxMs)
+        {
+            // Escalation has run out of room; say so once.
+            if (!_loggedBackoffCeiling)
+            {
+                _loggedBackoffCeiling = true;
+                logger.Error(
+                    "This host keeps returning idle waits late and sleeping has backed off {Count} times. " +
+                    "The process is not being scheduled promptly, which is typical of shared or burstable vCPUs. " +
+                    "Set server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs to 0 to disable sleeping permanently and trade a full core for latency.",
+                    _idleSleepBackoffs
+                );
+            }
+
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Each backoff doubles the suspension, so every line is a distinct escalation step and
+        // needs no further rate limiting.
+        if (_consecutiveBackoffs < WarnAfterConsecutiveBackoffs)
+        {
+            logger.Debug(
+                "This host returned a {Requested}ms idle wait at least {TickRate}ms late {Count} of {Sleeps} time(s) " +
+                "in the last second; idle sleeping suspended for {Duration}ms",
+                _eventLoopIdleWaitMs,
+                Timer.TickRate,
+                late,
+                sleeps,
+                _currentBackoffMs
+            );
+
+            return;
+        }
+
+        logger.Warning(
+            "This host returned a {Requested}ms idle wait at least {TickRate}ms late {Count} of {Sleeps} time(s) in " +
+            "the last second, for the {Backoffs}th time running; idle sleeping suspended for {Duration}ms",
+            _eventLoopIdleWaitMs,
+            Timer.TickRate,
+            late,
+            sleeps,
+            _consecutiveBackoffs,
+            _currentBackoffMs
+        );
+    }
     private static bool _crashed;
     private static string _baseDirectory;
 
@@ -110,14 +282,6 @@ public static class Core
 
     public static long Uptime => TickCount - _firstTick;
 
-    private static double _currentCPS;
-    private static double _averageCPS;
-    private static bool _cpsInitialized;
-
-    public static double CyclesPerSecond => _currentCPS;
-
-    public static double AverageCPS => _averageCPS;
-
     public static string BaseDirectory
     {
         get
@@ -234,6 +398,10 @@ public static class Core
     {
         _restartOnKill = restart;
         _performProcessKill = true;
+
+        // Callers are usually off-loop (console input, signal handlers); wake so the request
+        // is noticed now rather than whenever the loop next surfaces.
+        NetState.Wake();
     }
 
     public static void CurrentDomain_UnhandledException(object sender, UnhandledExceptionEventArgs e)
@@ -260,7 +428,7 @@ public static class Core
                 // ignored
             }
 
-            if (!close && !Core.Headless)
+            if (!close && !Headless)
             {
                 Console.WriteLine("This exception is fatal, press return to exit");
                 ConsoleInputHandler.ReadLine();
@@ -342,6 +510,8 @@ public static class Core
         World.ExitSerializationThreads();
         PingServer.Shutdown();
         NetState.Shutdown();
+        BanChannel.Stop();
+        ConnectionFilters.Stop();
 
         if (!_crashed)
         {
@@ -421,6 +591,45 @@ public static class Core
 
         ServerConfiguration.Load();
 
+        // 0 disables idle sleeping entirely (full-core spin, zero scheduling overhead).
+        var idleWaitMs = ServerConfiguration.GetSetting("server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs", 2);
+        if (idleWaitMs < 0)
+        {
+            logger.Warning(
+                "server.eventLoopIdleWaitMs {Value} is negative; using 0 (idle sleeping disabled)",
+                idleWaitMs
+            );
+        }
+
+        _eventLoopIdleWaitMs = Math.Max(0, idleWaitMs);
+
+        // Floor for the backoff: idle waits per second the host may return a full tick late before
+        // the rate test below applies at all. Set very high to disable the backoff.
+        var lateWakeThreshold = ServerConfiguration.GetSetting("server.lateWakeThreshold", 1);
+        if (lateWakeThreshold < 0)
+        {
+            logger.Warning(
+                "server.lateWakeThreshold {Value} is negative; using 0",
+                lateWakeThreshold
+            );
+        }
+
+        _lateWakeThreshold = Math.Max(0, lateWakeThreshold);
+
+        // Share of a second's idle waits that must return late before the backoff trips. 0 leaves
+        // the threshold above in sole charge.
+        var lateWakePercent = ServerConfiguration.GetSetting("server.lateWakePercent", 10);
+        if (lateWakePercent is < 0 or > 100)
+        {
+            logger.Warning(
+                "server.lateWakePercent {Value} is outside 0-100; using {Clamped}",
+                lateWakePercent,
+                Math.Clamp(lateWakePercent, 0, 100)
+            );
+        }
+
+        _lateWakePercent = Math.Clamp(lateWakePercent, 0, 100);
+
         var assemblyPath = Path.Join(BaseDirectory, AssembliesConfiguration);
 
         // Load UOContent.dll
@@ -437,10 +646,8 @@ public static class Core
 
         AssemblyHandler.LoadAssemblies(assemblyFiles);
 
-        // First-boot interactive setup. Runs after assemblies are loaded (so content can
+        // First-boot interactive setup. After assemblies load so content can register prompts,
-        // register prompts) but before any Serilog output, so console prompts are not
+        // before any Serilog output so prompts are not interleaved with the async console sink.
-        // interleaved with the async console sink. Handlers self-gate on first-boot state
-        // (e.g. "is my setting already present?").
         AssemblyHandler.Invoke("ConfigurePrompts");
 
         logger.Information("Running on {Framework}", RuntimeInformation.FrameworkDescription);
@@ -450,6 +657,11 @@ public static class Core
         _now = DateTime.UtcNow;
         _firstTick = _tickCount = GetTimestamp();
 
+        // Seed from a real tick: tick counts need not start near zero, so a zero-initialized
+        // deadline compares wrong. See dev-docs/tick-counts.md.
+        _nextHealthSample = _tickCount + HealthSampleIntervalMs;
+        _idleSleepSuspendedUntil = _tickCount;
+
         Timer.Init(_tickCount);
 
         AssemblyHandler.Invoke("Configure");
@@ -461,44 +673,76 @@ public static class Core
 
         AssemblyHandler.Invoke("Initialize");
 
+        BanChannel.Start(ClosingTokenSource.Token);
+        ConnectionFilters.Start(ClosingTokenSource.Token);
         NetState.Start();
         PingServer.Start();
         EventSink.InvokeServerStarted();
+
+        // Without a high-resolution wait a 2ms request quantises to 15.625ms and the loop runs a
+        // tick behind. Only fires when the high-res timer and the timeBeginPeriod fallback both failed.
+        if (_eventLoopIdleWaitMs > 0 && NetState.Ring?.SupportsHighResolutionWait == false)
+        {
+            logger.Error(
+                "This host cannot honor short waits (no high-resolution timer, and raising the system timer " +
+                "resolution failed). Idle sleeping is disabled. The loop will spin instead, using a full core."
+            );
+
+            IdleSleepUnsupported = true;
+            _eventLoopIdleWaitMs = 0;
+        }
+
         RunEventLoop();
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when every queue the loop drains is empty, so sleeping cannot strand pending work.
+    /// The drains are bounded, so leftovers are normal and must keep the loop awake.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static bool IsIdle() =>
+        !Mobile.HasQueuedDeltas && !Item.HasQueuedDeltas && LoopContext.IsEmpty && NetState.IsIdle;
+
     public static void RunEventLoop()
     {
         try
         {
-            var lastRaw = Stopwatch.GetTimestamp();
-            const int interval = 100;
-            double frequency = Stopwatch.Frequency * interval;
-            const double alpha = 2.0 / 129; // EMA smoothing (≈128-sample window)
-
-            var sample = 0;
-
             while (!Closing)
             {
                 _tickCount = GetTimestamp();
                 _now = DateTime.UtcNow;
 
+                EventLoopProfiler.IterationStart(_tickCount);
+
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseStart(LoopPhase.MobileDeltas);
                 Mobile.ProcessDeltaQueue();
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseEnd(LoopPhase.MobileDeltas);
+
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseStart(LoopPhase.ItemDeltas);
                 Item.ProcessDeltaQueue();
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseEnd(LoopPhase.ItemDeltas);
+
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseStart(LoopPhase.TimerSlice);
                 Timer.Slice(_tickCount);
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseEnd(LoopPhase.TimerSlice);
 
                 // Handle networking
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseStart(LoopPhase.NetworkSlice);
                 NetState.Slice();
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseEnd(LoopPhase.NetworkSlice);
 
                 // Execute captured post-await methods (like Timer.Pause)
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseStart(LoopPhase.LoopTasks);
                 LoopContext.ExecuteTasks();
+                EventLoopProfiler.PhaseEnd(LoopPhase.LoopTasks);
 
                 Timer.CheckTimerPool(); // Check for pool depletion so we can async refill it.
 
                 if (_performSnapshot)
                 {
+                    EventLoopProfiler.PhaseStart(LoopPhase.WorldSnapshot);
                     // Return value is the offset that can be used to fix timers that should drift
                     World.Snapshot(_snapshotPath);
+                    EventLoopProfiler.PhaseEnd(LoopPhase.WorldSnapshot);
                     _performSnapshot = false;
                 }
 
@@ -508,29 +752,35 @@ public static class Core
                     break;
                 }
 
-                if (sample++ == interval)
+                CheckSchedulerHealth();
-                {
-                    sample = 0;
-                    var nowRaw = Stopwatch.GetTimestamp();
 
-                    _currentCPS = frequency / (nowRaw - lastRaw);
+                if (_eventLoopIdleWaitMs > 0 && _tickCount - _idleSleepSuspendedUntil >= 0 && IsIdle())
-
-                    if (!_cpsInitialized)
                 {
-                        _averageCPS = _currentCPS;
+                    // Re-read the clock: a stale timestamp overstates the time to the next tick
-                        _cpsInitialized = true;
+                    // and sleeps straight past it.
+                    var start = GetTimestamp();
+                    var due = Timer.MillisecondsUntilNextTick(start);
+                    if (due > 0)
+                    {
+                        var requested = (int)Math.Min(due, _eventLoopIdleWaitMs);
+
+                        // The GC prefers to collect during idle sleeps, so its pauses land here by
+                        // design and are not the host's fault. Gen1 and above (what
+                        // CollectionCount(1) counts) are the only pauses long enough to reach a tick.
+                        var collections = GC.CollectionCount(1);
+
+                        NetState.WaitForCompletion(requested);
+
+                        var elapsed = GetTimestamp() - start;
+                        EventLoopProfiler.SleepEnd(requested, elapsed);
+                        _sleepAttempts++;
+
+                        // The second collection read sits behind the overshoot test, so the common
+                        // path reads the counter once, not twice.
+                        if (elapsed - requested >= Timer.TickRate && GC.CollectionCount(1) == collections)
+                        {
+                            _lateWakes++;
                         }
-                    else
-                    {
-                        _averageCPS += alpha * (_currentCPS - _averageCPS);
-                    }
-
-                    lastRaw = nowRaw;
-
-                    var sleepMs = (int)Timer.MillisecondsUntilNextTick(_tickCount);
-                    if (sleepMs >= 2)
-                    {
-                        NetState.WaitForCompletion(sleepMs - 1);
                     }
                 }
             }
@@ -548,6 +798,9 @@ public static class Core
     {
         _snapshotPath = snapshotPath;
         _performSnapshot = true;
+
+        // Save requests arrive off-loop; wake so the snapshot starts now.
+        NetState.Wake();
     }
 
     public static void VerifySerialization()

Projects/Server/Mobiles/Mobile.cs

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ using Server.Network;
 using Server.Prompts;
 using Server.Targeting;
 using System;
+using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
 using Server.Buffers;
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ public delegate void PromptCallback(Mobile from, string text);
 
 public delegate void PromptStateCallback<in T>(Mobile from, string text, T state);
 
-public class DamageEntry
+public class DamageEntry : IValueLinkListNode<DamageEntry>
 {
     public DamageEntry(Mobile damager) => Damager = damager;
 
@@ -56,6 +57,11 @@ public class DamageEntry
     public List<DamageEntry> Responsible { get; set; }
 
     public static TimeSpan ExpireDelay { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(2.0);
+
+    // Intrusive links for Mobile._damageEntries. Sub-entries in Responsible never join a list.
+    public DamageEntry Next { get; set; }
+    public DamageEntry Previous { get; set; }
+    public bool OnLinkList { get; set; }
 }
 
 [Flags]
@@ -376,7 +382,6 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
         Aggressors = new List<AggressorInfo>();
         Aggressed = new List<AggressorInfo>();
         NextSkillTime = Core.TickCount;
-        DamageEntries = new List<DamageEntry>();
     }
 
     // Sectors
@@ -953,13 +958,27 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
 
     public static TimeSpan AutoManifestTimeout { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5.0);
 
-    public static bool InsuranceEnabled { get; set; }
-
     public static int ActionDelay { get; set; } = 500;
 
     public static VisibleDamageType VisibleDamageType { get; set; }
 
-    public List<DamageEntry> DamageEntries { get; private set; }
+    private ValueLinkList<DamageEntry> _damageEntries;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Damage entries ordered least recent (head) to most recent (tail). Expired entries are
+    /// pruned on access. Enumerate with <c>foreach</c> (ascending) or <c>.ByDescending()</c>.
+    /// Mutate only through <see cref="RegisterDamage"/> and <see cref="ClearDamageEntries"/>.
+    /// Calling a ValueLinkList mutator on this reference compiles, but operates on a defensive copy
+    /// while still unlinking the real nodes — it silently corrupts the list.
+    /// </summary>
+    public ref readonly ValueLinkList<DamageEntry> DamageEntries
+    {
+        get
+        {
+            PruneExpiredDamageEntries();
+            return ref _damageEntries;
+        }
+    }
 
     [CommandProperty(AccessLevel.GameMaster)]
     public Mobile LastKiller { get; set; }
@@ -1628,7 +1647,7 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
 
     public virtual bool KeepsItemsOnDeath => m_AccessLevel > AccessLevel.Player;
 
-    public bool HasTrade => m_NetState?.Trades.Count > 0;
+    public bool HasTrade => m_NetState?.Trades?.Count > 0;
 
     public bool NoMoveHS { get; set; }
 
@@ -2021,10 +2040,7 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
                     Aggressors[i].CanReportMurder = false;
                 }
 
-                if (DamageEntries.Count > 0)
+                ClearDamageEntries(); // reset damage entries on full HP
-                {
-                    DamageEntries.Clear(); // reset damage entries on full HP
-                }
             }
             else if (CanRegenHits)
             {
@@ -2293,7 +2309,22 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
     public int CompareTo(Mobile other) => other == null ? -1 : Serial.CompareTo(other.Serial);
 
     public virtual int HuedItemID => m_Female ? 0x2107 : 0x2106;
-    public ObjectPropertyList PropertyList => m_PropertyList ??= InitializePropertyList(new ObjectPropertyList(this));
+    public ObjectPropertyList PropertyList
+    {
+        get
+        {
+            if (m_PropertyList == null)
+            {
+                // Publish the list before building it so a nested InvalidateProperties can see the
+                // build in progress and defer instead of recursing into a second throwaway list.
+                var list = new ObjectPropertyList(this);
+                m_PropertyList = list;
+                InitializePropertyList(list);
+            }
+
+            return m_PropertyList;
+        }
+    }
 
     public virtual void GetProperties(IPropertyList list)
     {
@@ -2310,11 +2341,11 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
 
     public virtual void Serialize(IGenericWriter writer)
     {
-        writer.Write(37); // version
+        writer.Write(38); // version
 
-        writer.WriteDeltaTime(LastStrGain);
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(LastStrGain);
-        writer.WriteDeltaTime(LastIntGain);
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(LastIntGain);
-        writer.WriteDeltaTime(LastDexGain);
+        writer.WriteAnchoredTime(LastDexGain);
 
         byte hairflag = 0x00;
 
@@ -5234,8 +5265,15 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
         item.Name = oldItem.Name;
         item.Weight = oldItem.Weight;
 
+        item.PlayerConstructed = oldItem.PlayerConstructed;
         item.Amount = oldAmount - amount;
+
+        // A parented remainder gets its map from AddItem (parent first, then map), keeping the
+        // split off the decay scheduler; a ground remainder is placed and enrolled here.
+        if (oldItem.Parent == null)
+        {
             item.Map = oldItem.Map;
+        }
 
         oldItem.OnAfterDuped(item);
 
@@ -5724,24 +5762,54 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
         }
     }
 
+    // Entries are kept in LastDamage order, so expired entries are always a head prefix.
+    private void PruneExpiredDamageEntries()
+    {
+#if DEBUG
+        for (var node = _damageEntries._first; node != null; node = node.Next)
+        {
+            Debug.Assert(
+                node.Next == null || node.Next.LastDamage >= node.LastDamage,
+                "Damage entries must be ordered by LastDamage ascending."
+            );
+        }
+#endif
+
+        var first = _damageEntries._first;
+
+        if (first?.HasExpired != true)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var firstLive = first.Next;
+
+        while (firstLive?.HasExpired == true)
+        {
+            firstLive = firstLive.Next;
+        }
+
+        if (firstLive == null)
+        {
+            _damageEntries.RemoveAll();
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            _damageEntries.RemoveAllBefore(firstLive);
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void ClearDamageEntries() => _damageEntries.RemoveAll();
+
     public Mobile FindMostRecentDamager(bool allowSelf) => FindMostRecentDamageEntry(allowSelf)?.Damager;
 
     public DamageEntry FindMostRecentDamageEntry(bool allowSelf)
     {
-        for (var i = DamageEntries.Count - 1; i >= 0; --i)
+        PruneExpiredDamageEntries();
-        {
-            if (i >= DamageEntries.Count)
-            {
-                continue;
-            }
 
-            var de = DamageEntries[i];
+        for (var de = _damageEntries._last; de != null; de = de.Previous)
-
-            if (de.HasExpired)
         {
-                DamageEntries.RemoveAt(i);
+            if (allowSelf || de.Damager != this)
-            }
-            else if (allowSelf || de.Damager != this)
             {
                 return de;
             }
@@ -5754,21 +5822,11 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
 
     public DamageEntry FindLeastRecentDamageEntry(bool allowSelf)
     {
-        for (var i = 0; i < DamageEntries.Count; ++i)
+        PruneExpiredDamageEntries();
-        {
-            if (i < 0)
-            {
-                continue;
-            }
 
-            var de = DamageEntries[i];
+        for (var de = _damageEntries._first; de != null; de = de.Next)
-
-            if (de.HasExpired)
         {
-                DamageEntries.RemoveAt(i);
+            if (allowSelf || de.Damager != this)
-                --i;
-            }
-            else if (allowSelf || de.Damager != this)
             {
                 return de;
             }
@@ -5779,24 +5837,17 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
 
     public Mobile FindMostTotalDamager(bool allowSelf) => FindMostTotalDamageEntry(allowSelf)?.Damager;
 
+    // Walks most recent first with a strict comparison so the most recent entry wins ties,
+    // matching the previous reverse-indexed loop.
     public DamageEntry FindMostTotalDamageEntry(bool allowSelf)
     {
+        PruneExpiredDamageEntries();
+
         DamageEntry mostTotal = null;
 
-        for (var i = DamageEntries.Count - 1; i >= 0; --i)
+        for (var de = _damageEntries._last; de != null; de = de.Previous)
         {
-            if (i >= DamageEntries.Count)
+            if ((allowSelf || de.Damager != this) && (mostTotal == null || de.DamageGiven > mostTotal.DamageGiven))
-            {
-                continue;
-            }
-
-            var de = DamageEntries[i];
-
-            if (de.HasExpired)
-            {
-                DamageEntries.RemoveAt(i);
-            }
-            else if ((allowSelf || de.Damager != this) && (mostTotal == null || de.DamageGiven > mostTotal.DamageGiven))
             {
                 mostTotal = de;
             }
@@ -5809,46 +5860,28 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
 
     public DamageEntry FindLeastTotalDamageEntry(bool allowSelf)
     {
-        DamageEntry mostTotal = null;
+        PruneExpiredDamageEntries();
 
-        for (var i = DamageEntries.Count - 1; i >= 0; --i)
+        DamageEntry leastTotal = null;
-        {
-            if (i >= DamageEntries.Count)
-            {
-                continue;
-            }
 
-            var de = DamageEntries[i];
+        for (var de = _damageEntries._last; de != null; de = de.Previous)
-
-            if (de.HasExpired)
         {
-                DamageEntries.RemoveAt(i);
+            if ((allowSelf || de.Damager != this) && (leastTotal == null || de.DamageGiven < leastTotal.DamageGiven))
-            }
-            else if ((allowSelf || de.Damager != this) && (mostTotal == null || de.DamageGiven < mostTotal.DamageGiven))
             {
-                mostTotal = de;
+                leastTotal = de;
             }
         }
 
-        return mostTotal;
+        return leastTotal;
     }
 
     public DamageEntry FindDamageEntryFor(Mobile m)
     {
-        for (var i = DamageEntries.Count - 1; i >= 0; --i)
+        PruneExpiredDamageEntries();
-        {
-            if (i >= DamageEntries.Count)
-            {
-                continue;
-            }
 
-            var de = DamageEntries[i];
+        for (var de = _damageEntries._last; de != null; de = de.Previous)
-
-            if (de.HasExpired)
         {
-                DamageEntries.RemoveAt(i);
+            if (de.Damager == m)
-            }
-            else if (de.Damager == m)
             {
                 return de;
             }
@@ -5866,8 +5899,13 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
         de.DamageGiven += amount;
         de.LastDamage = Core.Now;
 
-        DamageEntries.Remove(de);
+        // Move to the tail so the list stays in LastDamage order.
-        DamageEntries.Add(de);
+        if (de.OnLinkList)
+        {
+            _damageEntries.Remove(de);
+        }
+
+        _damageEntries.AddLast(de);
 
         var master = from.GetDamageMaster(this);
 
@@ -6129,6 +6167,7 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
 
         switch (version)
         {
+            case 38: // Stat-gain stamps moved from delta time to anchored time
             case 37: // Decomposed hair into inline item id/hue (dropped the VirtualHairInfo object)
             case 36: // Moved virtues to VirtueSystem
             case 35: // Moved short term murders to PlayerMurderSystem
@@ -6136,10 +6175,19 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
             case 33: // Removed created
             case 32: // Removed StuckMenu
             case 31:
+                {
+                    if (version >= 38)
+                    {
+                        LastStrGain = reader.ReadAnchoredTime();
+                        LastIntGain = reader.ReadAnchoredTime();
+                        LastDexGain = reader.ReadAnchoredTime();
+                    }
+                    else
                     {
                         LastStrGain = reader.ReadDeltaTime();
                         LastIntGain = reader.ReadDeltaTime();
                         LastDexGain = reader.ReadDeltaTime();
+                    }
 
                     goto case 30;
                 }
@@ -6447,9 +6495,6 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
                     m_DexLock = (StatLockType)reader.ReadByte();
                     m_IntLock = (StatLockType)reader.ReadByte();
 
-                    _statMods = new List<StatMod>();
-                    _skillMods = new List<SkillMod>();
-
                     if (version < 32)
                     {
                         if (reader.ReadBool())
@@ -7226,9 +7271,19 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
     }
 
     private ObjectPropertyList InitializePropertyList(ObjectPropertyList list)
+    {
+        list.IsBuilding = true;
+
+        try
         {
             GetProperties(list);
             list.Terminate();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            list.IsBuilding = false;
+        }
+
         return list;
     }
 
@@ -7245,6 +7300,26 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
             return;
         }
 
+        // Always a bug in the property getter, and there is no correct recovery: refuse rather than
+        // hide it. RELEASE keeps a possibly stale tooltip, DEBUG throws.
+        // See dev-docs/property-lists.md "Never Invalidate From Inside GetProperties".
+        if (m_PropertyList?.IsBuilding == true)
+        {
+            logger.Error(
+                "{Entity} called InvalidateProperties() while its property list was being built. Remove the side effect from the property getter, or defer it with Timer.DelayCall.\n{StackTrace}",
+                this,
+                new StackTrace()
+            );
+
+#if DEBUG
+            throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                $"{this} invalidated its property list from inside GetProperties. Remove the side effect from the property getter."
+            );
+#else
+            return;
+#endif
+        }
+
         if (m_Map != null && m_Map != Map.Internal && !World.Loading)
         {
             int? oldHash;
@@ -7752,13 +7827,10 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
         m_FollowersMax = 5;
         Skills = new Skills(this);
         Items = new List<Item>();
-        _statMods = new List<StatMod>();
-        _skillMods = new List<SkillMod>();
         Map = Map.Internal;
         AutoPageNotify = true;
         Aggressors = new List<AggressorInfo>();
         Aggressed = new List<AggressorInfo>();
-        DamageEntries = new List<DamageEntry>();
 
         NextSkillTime = Core.TickCount;
     }
@@ -7790,6 +7862,12 @@ public partial class Mobile : IHued, IComparable<Mobile>, ISpawnable, IObjectPro
         }
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when deltas remain queued after a <see cref="ProcessDeltaQueue"/> pass, which is
+    /// bounded by the count it saw on entry. The event loop consults this before sleeping.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool HasQueuedDeltas => m_DeltaQueue.Count > 0;
+
     public static void ProcessDeltaQueue()
     {
         var limit = m_DeltaQueue.Count;

Projects/Server/Mobiles/Mods/ResistanceMod.cs

@@ -21,17 +21,15 @@ namespace Server;
 [SerializationGenerator(0)]
 public partial class ResistanceMod : MobileMod
 {
-    [SerializableField(0)]
+    [SerializableField(0, fieldChanged: nameof(OnTypeChanged))]
     private ResistanceType _type;
 
-    [SerializableFieldChanged(0)]
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
     private void OnTypeChanged(ResistanceType oldValue, ResistanceType newValue) => Owner?.UpdateResistances();
 
-    [SerializableField(1)]
+    [SerializableField(1, fieldChanged: nameof(OnOffsetChanged))]
     private int _offset;
 
-    [SerializableFieldChanged(1)]
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
     private void OnOffsetChanged(int oldValue, int newValue) => Owner?.UpdateResistances();
 

Projects/Server/Mobiles/Mods/SkillMod.cs

@@ -21,33 +21,29 @@ namespace Server;
 [SerializationGenerator(0)]
 public abstract partial class SkillMod : MobileMod
 {
-    [SerializableField(0)]
+    [SerializableField(0, fieldChanged: nameof(OnObeyCapChanged))]
     private bool _obeyCap;
 
-    [SerializableFieldChanged(0)]
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    private void OnObeCapChanged(bool oldValue, bool newValue) => Owner?.Skills[_skill]?.Update();
+    private void OnObeyCapChanged(bool oldValue, bool newValue) => Owner?.Skills[_skill]?.Update();
 
-    [SerializableField(1)]
+    [SerializableField(1, fieldChanged: nameof(OnSkillChanged))]
     private SkillName _skill;
 
-    [SerializableFieldChanged(1)]
     private void OnSkillChanged(SkillName oldValue, SkillName newValue)
     {
         Owner?.Skills[newValue]?.Update();
         Owner?.Skills[oldValue]?.Update();
     }
 
-    [SerializableField(2)]
+    [SerializableField(2, fieldChanged: nameof(OnRelativeChanged))]
     private bool _relative;
 
-    [SerializableFieldChanged(2)]
     private void OnRelativeChanged(bool oldValue, bool newValue) => Owner?.Skills[_skill]?.Update();
 
-    [SerializableField(3)]
+    [SerializableField(3, fieldChanged: nameof(OnValueChanged))]
     private double _value;
 
-    [SerializableFieldChanged(3)]
     private void OnValueChanged(double oldValue, double newValue) => Owner?.Skills[_skill]?.Update();
 
     public SkillMod(Mobile owner) : base(owner)

Projects/Server/Network/Bans/BanChannel.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: BanChannel.cs                                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Threading;
+using Server.Logging;
+
+namespace Server.Network.Bans;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Coordinates the configured <see cref="IBanReporter"/> contribution sinks. Enforcement is NOT here —
+/// the accept path asks <see cref="ConnectionFilters"/>. This channel only fans locally-decided bans out
+/// to external systems (CrowdSec), which distribute them to OS-level bouncers.
+/// </summary>
+public static class BanChannel
+{
+    private static readonly ILogger logger = LogFactory.GetLogger(typeof(BanChannel));
+
+    private static IBanReporter[] _reporters = [];
+
+    public static IReadOnlyList<IBanReporter> Reporters => _reporters;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Registers a contribution sink from content (inversion of control). Idempotent by
+    /// <see cref="IBanReporter.Name"/>: a second registration of the same name is ignored. Configures the
+    /// reporter immediately so it is ready before <see cref="Start"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static void Register(IBanReporter reporter)
+    {
+        if (reporter == null)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var reporters = _reporters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < reporters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            if (reporters[i].Name == reporter.Name)
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+
+        reporter.Register();
+
+        var updated = new IBanReporter[_reporters.Length + 1];
+        Array.Copy(_reporters, updated, _reporters.Length);
+        updated[^1] = reporter;
+        _reporters = updated;
+
+        logger.Information("Ban channel registered reporter '{Name}'", reporter.Name);
+    }
+
+    internal static void ConfigureForTesting(IBanReporter[] reporters) => _reporters = reporters ?? [];
+
+    public static void Start(CancellationToken token)
+    {
+        var reporters = _reporters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < reporters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            var reporter = reporters[i];
+            try
+            {
+                reporter.Start(token);
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                // A broken contribution path must not crash boot — enforcement is local and unaffected.
+                logger.Error(e, "Ban reporter '{Name}' failed to start; continuing without it", reporter.Name);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static void Stop()
+    {
+        var reporters = _reporters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < reporters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            var reporter = reporters[i];
+            try
+            {
+                reporter.Stop();
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                logger.Warning(e, "Ban reporter '{Name}' threw while stopping", reporter.Name);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Fans a locally-decided ban out to every reporter. Non-blocking; never throws.</summary>
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Optional content-supplied exemption; true drops the contribution before any reporter sees it. This
+    /// withholds escalation only — the gate that reached the verdict has already acted.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// An implementation that ignores <c>reason</c> would silently swallow manual bans. See
+    /// <see cref="BanReasons.IsBehavioral"/>.
+    /// </remarks>
+    public static Func<IPAddress, string, bool> IsExempt { get; set; }
+
+    public static void Report(IPAddress ip, TimeSpan ttl, string reason)
+    {
+        var exempt = IsExempt;
+        if (exempt != null && exempt(ip, reason))
+        {
+            logger.Debug("{Address} not contributed ('{Reason}'): exempt", ip, reason);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var reporters = _reporters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < reporters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                reporters[i].Report(ip, ttl, reason);
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                logger.Warning(e, "Ban reporter '{Name}' threw during Report", reporters[i].Name);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Fans a retraction (manual unban) out to every retract-capable reporter.</summary>
+    public static void Retract(IPAddress ip)
+    {
+        var reporters = _reporters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < reporters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            if (!reporters[i].CanRetract)
+            {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            try
+            {
+                reporters[i].Retract(ip);
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                logger.Warning(e, "Ban reporter '{Name}' threw during Retract", reporters[i].Name);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/Server/Network/Bans/BanConfiguration.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: BanConfiguration.cs                                             *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
+using Server.Json;
+
+namespace Server.Network.Bans;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Loads the <see cref="BanSettings"/> from <c>Configuration/bans.json</c> (matching the per-feature
+/// JSON config pattern used by <c>AssistantConfiguration</c>). Loaded once; a missing file writes a
+/// local-only, fail-open template so operators have something to edit.
+/// </summary>
+public static class BanConfiguration
+{
+    private const string _path = "Configuration/bans.json";
+
+    private static bool _loaded;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Never null: the accept and reap paths read this per connection, including before <see cref="Configure"/>
+    /// has run (a harness driving <c>NetState.Slice</c> directly), so it starts at the record's defaults.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static BanSettings Settings { get; private set; } = new();
+
+    public static void Configure()
+    {
+        // Idempotent; flagged rather than null-checked because Settings is non-null from the start.
+        if (_loaded)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _loaded = true;
+
+        var path = Path.Join(Core.BaseDirectory, _path);
+
+        if (File.Exists(path))
+        {
+            Settings = JsonConfig.Deserialize<BanSettings>(path);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            Settings = new BanSettings
+            {
+                ReportRateLimitTrips = true,
+                AutoBanDuration = TimeSpan.FromHours(4)
+            };
+
+            Save();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static void Save()
+    {
+        JsonConfig.Serialize(Path.Join(Core.BaseDirectory, _path), Settings);
+    }
+}
+
+/// <summary>Ban-channel policy: which reporters receive contributions, and how auto-detections are handled.</summary>
+public record BanSettings
+{
+    /// <summary>Whether IP rate-limiter trips are contributed to reporters. They never enter the local firewall set.</summary>
+    [JsonPropertyName("reportRateLimitTrips")]
+    public bool ReportRateLimitTrips { get; set; } = true;
+
+    /// <summary>Duration reported for an auto-detected (rate-limit) ban.</summary>
+    [JsonPropertyName("autoBanDuration")]
+    public TimeSpan AutoBanDuration { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromHours(4);
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Whether behavioural detections are contributed to reporters. Those connections are disconnected either
+    /// way; this only controls escalation.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// Keyed on bytes-received, never elapsed time: a connection that sent something and ran out of time is
+    /// far more likely a slow link than an attack. See <c>dev-docs/ip-bans-and-allowlists.md</c>.
+    /// </remarks>
+    [JsonPropertyName("reportBadConnects")]
+    public bool ReportBadConnects { get; set; } = true;
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("badConnectDuration")]
+    public TimeSpan BadConnectDuration { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromHours(4);
+}

Projects/Server/Network/Bans/BanReasons.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: BanReasons.cs                                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+namespace Server.Network.Bans;
+
+/// <summary>The <c>reason</c> slugs contributed through <see cref="BanChannel"/>. Policy keys off these.</summary>
+public static class BanReasons
+{
+    /// <summary>An operator banned this address explicitly. Never exempt, never auto-denied.</summary>
+    public const string Manual = "manual";
+
+    public const string RateLimit = "rate-limit";
+
+    /// <summary>Matched the reputation blocklist. Enforced by its own filter, not by behaviour.</summary>
+    public const string Blocklist = "blocklist";
+
+    /// <summary>Reaped without ever sending a byte.</summary>
+    public const string SilentConnect = "silent-connect";
+
+    /// <summary>Opened with a zero seed, which no real client sends.</summary>
+    public const string InvalidSeed = "invalid-seed";
+
+    /// <summary>Positively identified as another protocol entirely. See <see cref="ForeignProtocol"/>.</summary>
+    public const string ForeignProtocol = "foreign-protocol";
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Verdicts the shard reached by watching the connection. Only these may be exempted, and only these feed
+    /// the local denylist.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// Opt-in rather than "everything except <see cref="Manual"/>", so a reason added later escalates normally
+    /// instead of silently inheriting an exemption.
+    /// </remarks>
+    public static bool IsBehavioral(string reason) =>
+        reason is RateLimit or SilentConnect or InvalidSeed or ForeignProtocol;
+}

Projects/Server/Network/Bans/IBanReporter.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: IBanReporter.cs                                                 *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Threading;
+
+namespace Server.Network.Bans;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// A contribution sink behind <see cref="BanChannel"/>. Reporters receive locally-decided bans
+/// (manual admin bans, rate-limit trips, blocklist promotions) and forward them to an external system
+/// (e.g. CrowdSec), which distributes them to OS-level bouncers. Reporters never answer the accept-path
+/// membership query — that is an <see cref="IConnectionFilter"/>'s job.
+/// </summary>
+public interface IBanReporter
+{
+    /// <summary>Stable id for logging/config (e.g. <c>crowdsec</c>).</summary>
+    string Name { get; }
+
+    /// <summary>Reads configuration. No network or file I/O here.</summary>
+    void Register();
+
+    /// <summary>Starts background delivery. The token is cancelled on shutdown.</summary>
+    void Start(CancellationToken token);
+
+    /// <summary>Flushes and tears down background delivery.</summary>
+    void Stop();
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Enqueues a ban contribution. MUST be non-blocking and safe on the accept path: it may only
+    /// enqueue (bounded, drop-on-overflow) and never perform synchronous I/O.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="ttl"><see cref="TimeSpan.Zero"/> or negative = use the reporter's default duration.</param>
+    /// <param name="reason">Short slug (<c>manual</c>, <c>rate-limit</c>) used as the scenario suffix.</param>
+    void Report(IPAddress address, TimeSpan ttl, string reason);
+
+    /// <summary>True if this reporter can retract a previously-reported ban.</summary>
+    bool CanRetract { get; }
+
+    /// <summary>Enqueues a retraction (e.g. a manual unban). No-op if unsupported.</summary>
+    void Retract(IPAddress address);
+}

Projects/Server/Network/ConnectionFilters.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: ConnectionFilters.cs                                            *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Threading;
+using Server.Logging;
+
+namespace Server.Network;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Registry of the <see cref="IConnectionFilter"/> gates the accept path consults, and their lifecycle.
+/// Filters are registered during the Configure sweep and the backing store is a plain array, so
+/// <see cref="ShouldDeny"/> is an indexed loop over a field read — no enumerator, no closure, no
+/// allocation. The whole accept path runs on the game loop, so no synchronization is needed.
+/// </summary>
+public static class ConnectionFilters
+{
+    private static readonly ILogger logger = LogFactory.GetLogger(typeof(ConnectionFilters));
+
+    private static IConnectionFilter[] _filters = [];
+
+    public static IReadOnlyList<IConnectionFilter> Filters => _filters;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Registers a gate (inversion of control, mirroring <c>BanChannel.Register</c>). Idempotent by
+    /// <see cref="IConnectionFilter.Name"/>. Filters are consulted in registration order, so register
+    /// the cheapest and most selective first — core registers the firewall before content is swept.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static void Register(IConnectionFilter filter)
+    {
+        if (filter == null)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var filters = _filters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < filters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            if (filters[i].Name == filter.Name)
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+
+        filter.Register();
+
+        var updated = new IConnectionFilter[_filters.Length + 1];
+        Array.Copy(_filters, updated, _filters.Length);
+        updated[^1] = filter;
+        _filters = updated;
+
+        logger.Information("Registered connection filter '{Name}'", filter.Name);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when any filter denies the connection. Short-circuits on the first denial;
+    /// <paramref name="deniedBy"/> names it for logging.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool ShouldDeny(IPAddress address, out string deniedBy)
+    {
+        var filters = _filters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < filters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            // A faulty filter must not take down the accept loop for every connection.
+            try
+            {
+                if (filters[i].ShouldDeny(address))
+                {
+                    deniedBy = filters[i].Name;
+                    return true;
+                }
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                Disable(filters[i], e);
+            }
+        }
+
+        deniedBy = null;
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Drops a filter that threw on the accept path: one that faults once faults for every subsequent
+    /// connection, costing an exception and a log line per accept. Failing open is deliberate — a broken
+    /// filter must not be able to deny every connection either.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static void Disable(IConnectionFilter filter, Exception e)
+    {
+        logger.Error(e, "Connection filter '{Name}' threw on the accept path; unregistering it", filter.Name);
+
+        var filters = _filters;
+        var updated = new List<IConnectionFilter>(filters.Length);
+        for (var i = 0; i < filters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            if (!ReferenceEquals(filters[i], filter))
+            {
+                updated.Add(filters[i]);
+            }
+        }
+
+        _filters = updated.ToArray();
+    }
+
+    public static void Start(CancellationToken token)
+    {
+        var filters = _filters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < filters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            var filter = filters[i];
+            try
+            {
+                filter.Start(token);
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                // A filter that cannot hydrate must not crash boot; it simply denies nothing.
+                logger.Error(e, "Connection filter '{Name}' failed to start; continuing without it", filter.Name);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static void Stop()
+    {
+        var filters = _filters;
+        for (var i = 0; i < filters.Length; i++)
+        {
+            var filter = filters[i];
+            try
+            {
+                filter.Stop();
+            }
+            catch (Exception e)
+            {
+                logger.Warning(e, "Connection filter '{Name}' threw while stopping", filter.Name);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    internal static void ResetForTesting() => _filters = [];
+}

Projects/Server/Network/Firewall/Firewall.cs

@@ -1,168 +0,0 @@
-/*************************************************************************
- * ModernUO                                                              *
- * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
- * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
- * File: Firewall.cs                                                     *
- *                                                                       *
- * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
- * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
- * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
- * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
- *                                                                       *
- * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
- * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
- *************************************************************************/
-
-using System;
-using System.Collections.Concurrent;
-using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Net;
-using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
-using System.Threading;
-
-namespace Server.Network;
-
-public static class Firewall
-{
-    [ThreadStatic]
-    private static InternalValidationEntry _validationEntry;
-    private static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<IPAddress, int> _isBlockedCache = [];
-    private static readonly ReaderWriterLockSlim _firewallLock = new(LockRecursionPolicy.NoRecursion);
-
-    private static int _firewallVersion;
-    private static readonly SortedSet<IFirewallEntry> _firewallSet = [];
-
-    public static int FirewallSetCount => _firewallSet.Count;
-
-    public static void ReadFirewallSet(Action<IReadOnlySet<IFirewallEntry>> callback)
-    {
-        _firewallLock.EnterReadLock();
-        try
-        {
-            callback(_firewallSet);
-        }
-        finally
-        {
-            _firewallLock.ExitReadLock();
-        }
-    }
-
-    internal static bool IsBlocked(IPAddress address)
-    {
-        if (_isBlockedCache.TryGetValue(address, out var blockVersion) && blockVersion == _firewallVersion)
-        {
-            return true;
-        }
-
-        if (_validationEntry == null)
-        {
-            _validationEntry = new InternalValidationEntry(address);
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            _validationEntry.Address = address;
-        }
-
-        if (CheckBlocked(_validationEntry))
-        {
-            _isBlockedCache[address] = _firewallVersion;
-            return true;
-        }
-
-        return false;
-    }
-
-    private static bool CheckBlocked(IFirewallEntry validationEntry)
-    {
-        if (_firewallSet.Count == 0)
-        {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        _firewallLock.EnterReadLock();
-        try
-        {
-            var min = _firewallSet.Min;
-            if (validationEntry.CompareTo(min) < 0)
-            {
-                return false;
-            }
-
-            // Get all entries that are lower than our validation entry
-            var view = _firewallSet.GetViewBetween(min, validationEntry);
-
-            // Loop backward since there shouldn't be any entries where the Min address is higher than ours
-            foreach (var firewallEntry in view.Reverse())
-            {
-                if (firewallEntry.IsBlocked(validationEntry.MinIpAddress))
-                {
-                    return true;
-                }
-            }
-
-            return view.Max?.IsBlocked(validationEntry.MinIpAddress) == true;
-        }
-        finally
-        {
-            _firewallLock.ExitReadLock();
-        }
-    }
-
-    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    public static bool Add(IFirewallEntry firewallEntry)
-    {
-        _firewallLock.EnterWriteLock();
-        try
-        {
-            if (_firewallSet.Add(firewallEntry))
-            {
-                Interlocked.Increment(ref _firewallVersion); // Update version
-                return true;
-            }
-            return false;
-        }
-        finally
-        {
-            _firewallLock.ExitWriteLock();
-        }
-    }
-
-    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-    public static bool Remove(IFirewallEntry entry)
-    {
-        if (entry == null)
-        {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        _firewallLock.EnterWriteLock();
-        try
-        {
-            if (_firewallSet.Remove(entry))
-            {
-                Interlocked.Increment(ref _firewallVersion); // Update version
-                return true;
-            }
-            return false;
-        }
-        finally
-        {
-            _firewallLock.ExitWriteLock();
-        }
-    }
-
-    private class InternalValidationEntry : BaseFirewallEntry
-    {
-        private UInt128 _address;
-
-        public IPAddress Address
-        {
-            set => _address = value.ToUInt128();
-        }
-
-        public override UInt128 MinIpAddress => _address;
-        public override UInt128 MaxIpAddress => _address;
-
-        public InternalValidationEntry(IPAddress ipAddress) => Address = ipAddress;
-    }
-}

Projects/Server/Network/ForeignProtocol.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: ForeignProtocol.cs                                              *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+
+namespace Server.Network;
+
+public enum ForeignProtocolKind
+{
+    None,
+    Http,
+    Tls,
+    Ssh
+}
+
+public enum ForeignProtocolMatch
+{
+    None,
+
+    /// <summary>A prefix matched, but more bytes are needed to be sure.</summary>
+    Incomplete,
+
+    Confirmed
+}
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Identifies traffic that is positively some OTHER protocol (HTTP, TLS, SSH), rather than deciding whether
+/// a connection is a good Ultima Online client.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+/// The direction matters. A legitimate client with encryption enabled when the shard expects none sends a
+/// structurally correct connection whose payload is noise, because <c>LoginEncryption.ClientDecrypt</c> is a
+/// byte-for-byte stream XOR: length survives, content does not. So "unreadable" cannot mean "hostile", while
+/// "speaks HTTP" safely can. Nothing here assumes arrival framing; see
+/// <c>dev-docs/ip-bans-and-allowlists.md</c>.
+/// </remarks>
+public static class ForeignProtocol
+{
+    private const int RequiredBytes = 8;
+    private const int MaxTlsRecordLength = 16384;
+
+    public static ForeignProtocolMatch Identify(ReadOnlySpan<byte> buffer, out ForeignProtocolKind kind)
+    {
+        kind = ForeignProtocolKind.None;
+
+        // Too little to match a prefix; the caller's own short-read handling covers it.
+        if (buffer.Length < 4)
+        {
+            return ForeignProtocolMatch.None;
+        }
+
+        var candidate = MatchPrefix(buffer);
+        if (candidate == ForeignProtocolKind.None)
+        {
+            return ForeignProtocolMatch.None;
+        }
+
+        if (buffer.Length < RequiredBytes)
+        {
+            return ForeignProtocolMatch.Incomplete;
+        }
+
+        if (!Confirm(buffer, candidate))
+        {
+            return ForeignProtocolMatch.None;
+        }
+
+        kind = candidate;
+        return ForeignProtocolMatch.Confirmed;
+    }
+
+    private static ForeignProtocolKind MatchPrefix(ReadOnlySpan<byte> buffer)
+    {
+        // TLS handshake record: content type 0x16, major version 3, minor version 0..4 (SSL 3.0 - TLS 1.3).
+        if (buffer[0] == 0x16 && buffer[1] == 0x03 && buffer[2] <= 0x04)
+        {
+            return ForeignProtocolKind.Tls;
+        }
+
+        if (StartsWith(buffer, "SSH-"))
+        {
+            return ForeignProtocolKind.Ssh;
+        }
+
+        // HTTP request methods. Four bytes only selects a candidate; Confirm checks the request line.
+        if (StartsWith(buffer, "GET ") || StartsWith(buffer, "POST") || StartsWith(buffer, "HEAD") ||
+            StartsWith(buffer, "PUT ") || StartsWith(buffer, "OPTI") || StartsWith(buffer, "DELE") ||
+            StartsWith(buffer, "CONN") || StartsWith(buffer, "TRAC") || StartsWith(buffer, "PATC"))
+        {
+            return ForeignProtocolKind.Http;
+        }
+
+        return ForeignProtocolKind.None;
+    }
+
+    private static bool Confirm(ReadOnlySpan<byte> buffer, ForeignProtocolKind candidate)
+    {
+        if (candidate == ForeignProtocolKind.Tls)
+        {
+            // A seed can collide with the 0x16 0x03 0x0? prefix (that is just the address 22.3.x.x), so
+            // require a ClientHello inside a plausible record.
+            var recordLength = (buffer[3] << 8) | buffer[4];
+            return buffer[5] == 0x01 && recordLength is >= 4 and <= MaxTlsRecordLength;
+        }
+
+        // A UO client's fifth byte is a packet id (0x80, 0x91, 0xEF), none of them printable, so requiring
+        // the request line to continue in ASCII lets a seed that spells "GET " fall through.
+        for (var i = 4; i < buffer.Length && i < 16; i++)
+        {
+            if (!IsPrintableAscii(buffer[i]))
+            {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    private static bool IsPrintableAscii(byte value) =>
+        value is >= 0x20 and <= 0x7E or (byte)'\r' or (byte)'\n' or (byte)'\t';
+
+    private static bool StartsWith(ReadOnlySpan<byte> buffer, string ascii)
+    {
+        for (var i = 0; i < ascii.Length; i++)
+        {
+            if (buffer[i] != (byte)ascii[i])
+            {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return true;
+    }
+}

Projects/Server/Network/IConnectionFilter.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: IConnectionFilter.cs                                            *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System.Net;
+using System.Threading;
+
+namespace Server.Network;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// A gate consulted for every inbound connection, before the socket is configured and before any
+/// per-connection allocation. Implementations decide membership only — the accept path neither knows
+/// nor cares where a filter's data comes from, so a filter may be a handful of admin-curated entries,
+/// a millions-strong list hydrated from a file, or a query against something else entirely. Core owns
+/// the question; content owns every answer (see <c>Firewall</c> and <c>BlocklistFilter</c> in UOContent).
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+/// <para>
+/// <see cref="ShouldDeny"/> runs on the game loop once per accepted socket, which is the path that has
+/// to survive a DDoS. Implementations MUST be allocation-free and O(log n) at worst, MUST NOT perform
+/// I/O, and MUST NOT block. Anything expensive (parsing, reloading, reporting to an external service)
+/// belongs off the loop or behind a bounded, non-blocking enqueue.
+/// </para>
+/// <para>
+/// Side effects that a hit implies (contributing to <c>BanChannel</c>, promoting to an OS firewall,
+/// suppressing duplicate reports) are the filter's own business, not the accept path's. This is why
+/// <see cref="ShouldDeny"/> returns a bare bool: the accept path asks one question and does one thing.
+/// </para>
+/// </remarks>
+public interface IConnectionFilter
+{
+    /// <summary>Stable id for logging/config (e.g. <c>firewall</c>, <c>blocklist</c>).</summary>
+    string Name { get; }
+
+    /// <summary>Reads configuration. Called by <see cref="ConnectionFilters.Register"/>. No I/O beyond config.</summary>
+    void Register();
+
+    /// <summary>Starts any background hydration. The token is cancelled on shutdown.</summary>
+    void Start(CancellationToken token);
+
+    /// <summary>Flushes and tears down. Called during shutdown.</summary>
+    void Stop();
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True to deny the connection. Must be allocation-free and non-blocking; see the remarks on
+    /// <see cref="IConnectionFilter"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    bool ShouldDeny(IPAddress address);
+}

Projects/Server/Network/MovementThrottle.cs

@@ -50,9 +50,6 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
     private const int ClientMaxUnackedMovements = 5;
     private const int MaxQueueWithUnmodifiedClient = ClientMaxUnackedMovements - 1;  // 4
 
-    // Debug logging - enable for testing speed hack detection
-    private static bool _debugLogging = false;
-
     // Track NetStates with queued movements for efficient processing
     private static readonly HashSet<NetState> _netStatesWithQueuedMovements = new(256);
 
@@ -83,15 +80,9 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
 
     public static void Configure()
     {
-        _maxCredit = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting(
+        _maxCredit = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting("movementThrottle.maxCredit", _maxCredit);
-            "movementThrottle.maxCredit",
+        _maxRttBonus = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting("movementThrottle.maxRttBonus", _maxRttBonus);
-            _maxCredit
+        _hardQueueLimit = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting("movementThrottle.hardQueueLimit", _hardQueueLimit);
-        );
-
-        _hardQueueLimit = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting(
-            "movementThrottle.hardQueueLimit",
-            _hardQueueLimit
-        );
 
         _movementHistorySize = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting(
             "movementThrottle.movementHistorySize",
@@ -103,6 +94,13 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             _minSamplesForRate
         );
 
+        _maxChainGap = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting("movementThrottle.maxChainGap", _maxChainGap);
+
+        _speedHackNotificationCooldown = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting(
+            "movementThrottle.speedHackNotificationCooldown",
+            _speedHackNotificationCooldown
+        );
+
         _suspiciousRateThreshold = (float)ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting(
             "movementThrottle.suspiciousRateThreshold",
             _suspiciousRateThreshold
@@ -112,11 +110,6 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             "movementThrottle.definiteRateThreshold",
             _definiteRateThreshold
         );
-
-        _debugLogging = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting(
-            "movementThrottle.debugLogging",
-            _debugLogging
-        );
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -191,15 +184,16 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             // Credit can go negative up to -dynamicCredit (debt limit)
             if (ns._movementCredit - earlyAmount >= -dynamicCredit)
             {
-                var prevCredit = ns._movementCredit;
                 // Use credit to cover early arrival
                 ns._movementCredit -= earlyAmount;
 
-                if (_debugLogging && ns._movementLogging)
+                if (ns._movementLogging)
                 {
+                    var prevCredit = ns._movementCredit + earlyAmount;
+
                     logger.Debug(
                         "[Credit] {Name}: delta={Delta}ms early={Early}ms credit={PrevCredit}->{Credit}/{MaxCredit} action=execute",
-                        mobile.RawName, delta, earlyAmount, prevCredit, ns._movementCredit, dynamicCredit
+                        mobile, delta, earlyAmount, prevCredit, ns._movementCredit, dynamicCredit
                     );
                 }
 
@@ -208,11 +202,11 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
                 return;
             }
 
-            if (_debugLogging && ns._movementLogging)
+            if (ns._movementLogging)
             {
                 logger.Debug(
                     "[Credit] {Name}: delta={Delta}ms early={Early}ms credit={Credit}/{MaxCredit} EXHAUSTED -> queue",
-                    mobile.RawName, delta, earlyAmount, ns._movementCredit, dynamicCredit
+                    mobile, delta, earlyAmount, ns._movementCredit, dynamicCredit
                 );
             }
 
@@ -227,11 +221,11 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             var prevCredit = ns._movementCredit;
             ns._movementCredit = Math.Min(ns._movementCredit + delta, dynamicCredit);
 
-            if (_debugLogging && ns._movementLogging && ns._movementCredit != prevCredit)
+            if (ns._movementLogging && ns._movementCredit != prevCredit)
             {
                 logger.Debug(
                     "[Credit] {Name}: delta=+{Delta}ms credit={PrevCredit}->{Credit}/{MaxCredit} action=execute",
-                    mobile.RawName, delta, prevCredit, ns._movementCredit, dynamicCredit
+                    mobile, delta, prevCredit, ns._movementCredit, dynamicCredit
                 );
             }
         }
@@ -247,12 +241,9 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
     {
         if (!mobile.Move(dir))
         {
-            if (_debugLogging && ns._movementLogging)
+            if (ns._movementLogging)
             {
-                logger.Debug(
+                logger.Debug("[Execute] {Name}: Move FAILED dir={Dir} seq={Seq} -> reject+reset", mobile, dir, seq);
-                    "[Execute] {Name}: Move FAILED dir={Dir} seq={Seq} -> reject+reset",
-                    mobile.RawName, dir, seq
-                );
             }
 
             // Movement failed (blocked, paralyzed, frozen, etc.)
@@ -260,11 +251,11 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             return;
         }
 
-        if (_debugLogging && ns._movementLogging)
+        if (ns._movementLogging)
         {
             logger.Debug(
                 "[Execute] {Name}: Move OK dir={Dir} seq={Seq} nextMove={NextMove}ms",
-                mobile.RawName, dir, seq, ns._nextMovementTime - Core.TickCount
+                mobile, dir, seq, ns._nextMovementTime - Core.TickCount
             );
         }
 
@@ -304,11 +295,11 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         ns._hasQueuedMovements = true;
         _netStatesWithQueuedMovements.Add(ns);
 
-        if (_debugLogging && ns._movementLogging)
+        if (ns._movementLogging)
         {
             logger.Debug(
                 "[Queue] {Name}: enqueued dir={Dir} seq={Seq} (depth={Depth})",
-                ns.Mobile?.RawName, dir, seq, ns._movementQueue.Count
+                ns.Mobile, dir, seq, ns._movementQueue.Count
             );
         }
     }
@@ -320,7 +311,6 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
     {
         ns.SendMovementRej(seq, mobile);
         ns.ResetMovementState();
-        _netStatesWithQueuedMovements.Remove(ns);
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -333,20 +323,18 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             return;
         }
 
-        // Process each NetState with queued movements
+        foreach (var ns in _netStatesWithQueuedMovements)
-        // Use a snapshot to avoid modification during iteration
-        var toProcess = new List<NetState>(_netStatesWithQueuedMovements);
-
-        for (var i = 0; i < toProcess.Count; i++)
         {
-            var ns = toProcess[i];
+            if (ns.Running)
-            if (!ns.Running)
+            {
+                ProcessMovementQueue(ns);
+                if (ns._hasQueuedMovements)
                 {
-                _netStatesWithQueuedMovements.Remove(ns);
                     continue;
                 }
+            }
 
-            ProcessMovementQueue(ns);
+            _netStatesWithQueuedMovements.Remove(ns);
         }
     }
 
@@ -356,6 +344,7 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
     public static void ProcessMovementQueue(NetState ns)
     {
         var mobile = ns.Mobile;
+
         if (mobile?.Deleted != false)
         {
             ClearQueue(ns);
@@ -374,7 +363,7 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         while (ns._movementQueue?.Count > 0)
         {
             // Check if it's time to execute
-            if (now < ns._nextMovementTime)
+            if (now - ns._nextMovementTime < 0)
             {
                 // Not yet - leave remaining items in queue for next Slice
                 break;
@@ -394,11 +383,11 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             // Execute the move
             if (!mobile.Move(movement.Direction))
             {
-                if (_debugLogging && ns._movementLogging)
+                if (ns._movementLogging)
                 {
                     logger.Debug(
                         "[Queue] {Name}: dequeued FAILED dir={Dir} (remaining={Remaining})",
-                        mobile.RawName, movement.Direction, remaining
+                        mobile, movement.Direction, remaining
                     );
                 }
 
@@ -407,12 +396,12 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
                 return;
             }
 
-            if (_debugLogging && ns._movementLogging)
+            if (ns._movementLogging)
             {
                 var waited = now - ns._nextMovementTime;
                 logger.Debug(
                     "[Queue] {Name}: dequeued OK dir={Dir} (remaining={Remaining}, waited={Waited}ms)",
-                    mobile.RawName, movement.Direction, remaining, waited >= 0 ? waited : 0
+                    mobile, movement.Direction, remaining, waited >= 0 ? waited : 0
                 );
             }
 
@@ -430,10 +419,6 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
 
         // Update tracking
         ns._hasQueuedMovements = ns._movementQueue?.Count > 0;
-        if (!ns._hasQueuedMovements)
-        {
-            _netStatesWithQueuedMovements.Remove(ns);
-        }
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -469,7 +454,6 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
     {
         ns._movementQueue?.Clear();
         ns._hasQueuedMovements = false;
-        _netStatesWithQueuedMovements.Remove(ns);
     }
 
     // Maximum expected packets per second (mounted running = 100ms = 10/sec, plus tolerance)
@@ -484,7 +468,7 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         logger.Information(
             "Movement queue overflow: {Character} ({Account}) | " +
             "Queue reached hard limit: {Limit} | IP: {IP}",
-            mobile?.RawName ?? "Unknown",
+            mobile,
             ns.Account?.Username ?? "Unknown",
             _hardQueueLimit,
             ns.Address
@@ -516,7 +500,7 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
     private static void RecordMovement(NetState ns, long now, int cost, Direction dir, Mobile mobile)
     {
         // Calculate interval since last movement
-        var interval = ns._lastMovementRecordTime > 0
+        var interval = ns._hasMovementRecord
             ? (int)(now - ns._lastMovementRecordTime)
             : -1; // -1 indicates first movement (no previous time)
 
@@ -525,6 +509,7 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         if (interval <= 0 || interval > _maxChainGap)
         {
             ns._lastMovementRecordTime = now;
+            ns._hasMovementRecord = true;
 
             // Use RTT to distinguish "stopped moving" vs "lagged"
             // - Stable low-latency connection with gap >> RTT → player stopped, reset history
@@ -544,19 +529,19 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
                 // A large gap followed by a burst of packets = likely lag recovery, not speed hack
                 ns._lastGapDuration = interval;
 
-                if (_debugLogging && mobile?.RawName != null)
+                if (ns._movementLogging)
                 {
                     var action = shouldReset ? "history reset" : "history preserved (possible lag)";
                     logger.Debug(
                         "[Movement] {Name}: SKIP recording (gap {Gap}ms > {MaxGap}ms, " +
                         "RTT={RTT}ms stable={Stable} → {Action})",
-                        mobile.RawName, interval, _maxChainGap, avgRtt, ns.HasStableConnection, action
+                        mobile, interval, _maxChainGap, avgRtt, ns.HasStableConnection, action
                     );
                 }
             }
-            else if (_debugLogging && mobile?.RawName != null)
+            else if (ns._movementLogging)
             {
-                logger.Debug("[Movement] {Name}: SKIP recording (first in chain)", mobile.RawName);
+                logger.Debug("[Movement] {Name}: SKIP recording (first in chain)", mobile);
             }
 
             return;
@@ -572,12 +557,9 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         // the next real move's interval artificially short, inflating rate.
         if (cost == 0)
         {
-            if (_debugLogging && mobile?.RawName != null)
+            if (ns._movementLogging)
             {
-                logger.Debug(
+                logger.Debug("[Movement] {Name}: SKIP direction-only change (preserves interval measurement)", mobile);
-                    "[Movement] {Name}: SKIP direction-only change (preserves interval measurement)",
-                    mobile.RawName
-                );
             }
             return;
         }
@@ -613,15 +595,16 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         }
 
         ns._lastMovementRecordTime = now;
+        ns._hasMovementRecord = true;
 
         // Debug logging
-        if (_debugLogging && mobile?.RawName != null)
+        if (ns._movementLogging)
         {
             var historyCount = ns._movementHistoryFull ? _movementHistorySize : ns._movementHistoryIndex;
             logger.Debug(
                 "[Movement] {Name}: interval={Interval}ms target={Target}ms queue={Queue} " +
                 "flags={Flags} history={History}/{MaxHistory} RTT={RTT}ms",
-                mobile.RawName, interval, cost, record.QueueDepth,
+                mobile, interval, cost, record.QueueDepth,
                 flags, historyCount, _movementHistorySize, ns.AverageRtt
             );
         }
@@ -814,7 +797,7 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         var averageRtt = ns.AverageRtt;
 
         // Detailed rate breakdown for debugging
-        if (_debugLogging)
+        if (ns._movementLogging)
         {
             logger.Debug("[MovementAnalysis] Rate={Rate:F3}, Samples={Samples}, RTT={RTT}ms",
                 rate, sampleCount, averageRtt);
@@ -977,19 +960,19 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         var verdict = AnalyzeMovement(ns, out var rate, out var sampleCount, out var confidence);
 
         // Debug logging
-        if (_debugLogging && ns.Mobile?.RawName != null)
+        if (ns._movementLogging)
         {
             var (burstSize, _) = DetectRecentBurst(ns);
-            var probeStatus = ns._rttProbeTime > 0 ? "pending" : "idle";
+            var probeStatus = ns._rttProbePending ? "pending" : "idle";
             var queueDepth = ns._movementQueue?.Count ?? 0;
             logger.Debug(
                 "[RateCheck] {Name}: rate={Rate:F3} samples={Samples} verdict={Verdict} " +
                 "confidence={Confidence:P0} queue={Queue} burst={Burst} sustained={Sustained}s",
-                ns.Mobile.RawName, rate, sampleCount, verdict, confidence, queueDepth, burstSize, ns._consecutiveHighRateSeconds
+                ns.Mobile, rate, sampleCount, verdict, confidence, queueDepth, burstSize, ns._consecutiveHighRateSeconds
             );
             logger.Debug(
                 "    RTT: avg={Avg}ms last={Last}ms var={Var} samples={RttSamples} stable={Stable} probe={Probe}",
-                ns.AverageRtt, ns._lastRtt, ns._rttVariance, ns._rttSampleCount, ns.HasStableConnection, probeStatus
+                ns.AverageRtt, ns.LastRtt, ns._rttVariance, ns._rttSampleCount, ns.HasStableConnection, probeStatus
             );
         }
 
@@ -1025,11 +1008,11 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
 
         if (shouldNotify)
         {
-            if (_debugLogging)
+            if (ns._movementLogging)
             {
                 logger.Debug(
                     "[ALERT] {Urgency} - {Name}: rate={Rate:F3} verdict={Verdict} confidence={Confidence:P0}",
-                    urgency, ns.Mobile?.RawName, rate, verdict, confidence
+                    urgency, ns.Mobile, rate, verdict, confidence
                 );
             }
             NotifyStaff(ns, rate, sampleCount, confidence, verdict, urgency);
@@ -1054,11 +1037,12 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
         var now = Core.TickCount;
 
         // Rate-limit notifications per player
-        if (now - ns._lastSpeedHackNotification < _speedHackNotificationCooldown)
+        if (ns._speedHackNotified && now - ns._lastSpeedHackNotification < _speedHackNotificationCooldown)
         {
             return;
         }
 
+        ns._speedHackNotified = true;
         ns._lastSpeedHackNotification = now;
 
         var mobile = ns.Mobile;
@@ -1070,7 +1054,7 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             "PacketRate: {PacketRate}/s (peak: {PeakRate}/s) | RTT: {Rtt}ms (stable: {Stable}) | " +
             "Sustained: {Sustained}s | Queue: {Queue} | Location: {Location} Map: {Map} | IP: {IP}",
             urgency,
-            mobile?.RawName ?? "Unknown",
+            mobile,
             ns.Account?.Username ?? "Unknown",
             rate,
             sampleCount,
@@ -1138,7 +1122,7 @@ public static class MovementThrottle
             Verdict = verdict,
             Confidence = confidence,
             AverageRtt = ns.AverageRtt,
-            LastRtt = ns._lastRtt,
+            LastRtt = ns.LastRtt,
             RttVariance = ns._rttVariance,
             StableConnection = ns.HasStableConnection,
             RttSampleCount = ns._rttSampleCount,

Projects/Server/Network/NetState/NetState.Movement.cs

@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
 using Server.Logging;
 
@@ -70,23 +69,24 @@ public partial class NetState
     internal Queue<QueuedMovement> _movementQueue;          // Lazy initialized
     internal long _movementCredit;                          // Credit buffer for timing jitter
     internal long _nextMovementTime = Core.TickCount;       // When next movement is allowed
-    internal int _sustainedQueueDepth;                      // Tracks sustained high queue depth
+    internal long _lastQueueDepthCheck = Core.TickCount;    // Throttle depth check frequency
-    internal long _lastQueueDepthCheck;                     // Throttle depth check frequency
     internal bool _hasQueuedMovements;                      // Fast check for Slice()
 
     // Movement history for rate-based speed hack detection (lazy initialized)
     internal MovementRecord[] _movementHistory;             // Circular buffer
     internal int _movementHistoryIndex;                     // Next write position (also serves as count until full)
     internal bool _movementHistoryFull;                     // True once buffer has wrapped
-    internal long _lastMovementRecordTime;                  // For calculating intervals
+    internal long _lastMovementRecordTime;                  // For calculating intervals (valid only when _hasMovementRecord)
+    internal bool _hasMovementRecord;                       // False until the first movement in a chain is seen
 
     // Detection state
     internal int _consecutiveHighRateSeconds;               // Sustained detection counter
-    internal long _lastSpeedHackNotification;               // Rate-limit notifications
+    internal long _lastSpeedHackNotification;               // Rate-limit notifications (valid only when _speedHackNotified)
+    internal bool _speedHackNotified;                       // False until the first notification is sent
     internal int _lastGapDuration;                          // Duration of last gap > maxChainGap (for burst forgiveness)
 
     // Movement packet rate tracking (for speed hack detection)
-    internal long _movementWindowStart;                     // Start of current 1-second window
+    internal long _movementWindowStart = Core.TickCount;    // Start of current 1-second window
     internal int _movementsInWindow;                        // Count in current window
     internal int _peakMovementRate;                         // Highest rate seen (packets/sec)
 
@@ -100,10 +100,9 @@ public partial class NetState
         _nextMovementTime = Core.TickCount;
         _movementCredit = 0;
         _hasQueuedMovements = false;
-        _sustainedQueueDepth = 0;
 
         // Reset movement history - next movement starts a new chain
-        _lastMovementRecordTime = 0;
+        _hasMovementRecord = false;
         _movementHistoryIndex = 0;
         _movementHistoryFull = false;
 
@@ -113,7 +112,7 @@ public partial class NetState
         _rttProbeInterval = RttProbeIntervalNormal;
 
         // Reset packet rate window
-        _movementWindowStart = 0;
+        _movementWindowStart = Core.TickCount;
         _movementsInWindow = 0;
     }
 
@@ -165,17 +164,19 @@ public partial class NetState
     private const long MaxStableLatency = 200;            // Max RTT (ms) for "stable" connection
 
     // RTT state
-    internal long _rttProbeTime;                            // When we sent the probe (0 = not waiting)
+    internal bool _rttProbePending;                         // True while waiting for a probe response
-    internal long _lastRtt;                                 // Most recent RTT measurement
+    internal long _rttProbeTime;                            // When we sent the probe (valid only when _rttProbePending)
     internal long[] _rttHistory;                            // Rolling history (lazy init)
     internal int _rttHistoryIndex;                          // Current position in history
     internal int _rttSampleCount;                           // Number of samples collected (saturates at RttHistorySize)
     internal long _rttVariance;                             // Calculated variance for stability
-    internal long _nextRttProbe;                            // When to send next probe
+    internal long _nextRttProbe = Core.TickCount;           // When to send next probe
     internal int _rttProbeInterval = RttProbeIntervalNormal; // Current probe interval
 
-    // High-resolution timestamp for RTT measurement (Stopwatch ticks, not game loop ticks)
+    /// <summary>
-    private long _rttProbeTimestampHiRes;
+    /// Gets the most recent RTT measurement, or 0 if none has been recorded.
+    /// </summary>
+    public long LastRtt => _rttSampleCount > 0 ? _rttHistory[(_rttHistoryIndex - 1) & (RttHistorySize - 1)] : 0;
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Sets the RTT probe interval based on suspicion level.
@@ -206,23 +207,22 @@ public partial class NetState
         var now = Core.TickCount;
 
         // Don't send if we're still waiting for a response
-        if (_rttProbeTime > 0)
+        if (_rttProbePending)
         {
             // Timeout after 10 seconds - connection is probably dead or very laggy
             if (now - _rttProbeTime > 10000)
             {
-                _rttProbeTime = 0;
+                _rttProbePending = false;
-                _rttProbeTimestampHiRes = 0;
             }
             return;
         }
 
         // First probe: send immediately when player starts moving
         // Subsequent probes: send when interval has passed
-        if (_nextRttProbe == 0 || now >= _nextRttProbe)
+        if (now - _nextRttProbe >= 0)
         {
+            _rttProbePending = true;
             _rttProbeTime = now;
-            _rttProbeTimestampHiRes = Stopwatch.GetTimestamp();
             _nextRttProbe = now + _rttProbeInterval + Utility.Random(RttProbeJitter);
 
             if (_movementLogging)
@@ -242,10 +242,9 @@ public partial class NetState
     /// </summary>
     public void RecordRttMeasurement()
     {
-        var nowHiRes = Stopwatch.GetTimestamp();
         var now = Core.TickCount;
 
-        if (_rttProbeTime <= 0)
+        if (!_rttProbePending)
         {
             // Not expecting a response (client-initiated version send) - ignore silently
             return;
@@ -253,19 +252,15 @@ public partial class NetState
 
         var rtt = now - _rttProbeTime;
 
-        // High-resolution RTT in microseconds
-        var rttHiResUs = (nowHiRes - _rttProbeTimestampHiRes) * 1_000_000 / Stopwatch.Frequency;
-
         if (_movementLogging)
         {
             movementLogger.Debug(
-                "[RTT-Response] {Account}: {Rtt}ms (HiRes: {RttHiRes:F2}ms)",
+                "[RTT-Response] {Account}: {Rtt}ms",
-                Account?.Username ?? _toString, rtt, rttHiResUs / 1000.0
+                Account?.Username ?? _toString, rtt
             );
         }
 
-        _rttProbeTime = 0;
+        _rttProbePending = false;
-        _rttProbeTimestampHiRes = 0;
 
         // Sanity check - RTT should be positive and reasonable
         if (rtt is <= 0 or > 10000)
@@ -285,7 +280,6 @@ public partial class NetState
 
         // Update history
         _rttHistory[_rttHistoryIndex++ & (RttHistorySize - 1)] = rtt;
-        _lastRtt = rtt;
 
         // Track sample count (saturates at buffer size)
         if (_rttSampleCount < RttHistorySize)

Projects/Server/Network/NetState/NetState.Network.cs

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ using System.Linq;
 using System.Net;
 using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
 using System.Network;
+using System.Numerics;
 
 namespace Server.Network;
 
@@ -29,7 +30,8 @@ public partial class NetState
 {
     // Buffer sizes
     private const int RecvBufferSize = 1024 * 64;    // 64KB recv buffers
-    private const int SendBufferSize = 1024 * 256;  // 256KB send buffers
+    private const int DefaultSendBufferSize = 1024 * 256;  // 256KB send buffers
+    private const int MinSendBufferSize = 1024 * 64;       // Platform allocation granularity
     private const int MaxConnections = 4096;         // Max concurrent connections
 
     private static readonly Queue<NetState> _disposed = [];
@@ -41,7 +43,9 @@ public partial class NetState
     // NetState storage indexed by RingSocket.Id
     private static readonly NetState[] _netStates = new NetState[MaxConnections];
 
-    // Events buffer for ProcessCompletions
+    // Events buffer for ProcessCompletions. Bounded by one event per peeked completion
+    // (maxSockets), doubled for headroom. Undersizing drops DataReceived events whose bytes were
+    // already committed, leaving them unparsed until the next recv completes.
     private static readonly RingSocketEvent[] _events = new RingSocketEvent[MaxConnections * 2];
 
     // Listener management
@@ -67,6 +71,24 @@ public partial class NetState
         _socketManager?.WaitForCompletion(timeoutMs);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Wakes the game loop if it is blocked in <see cref="WaitForCompletion"/>. Safe from any
+    /// thread; a no-op before networking is configured or after teardown. The signal is sticky,
+    /// so a wake racing the loop's decision to sleep is not lost.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static void Wake()
+    {
+        _socketManager?.Ring?.Wake();
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when no queued network work remains for the loop to drain. <see cref="Slice"/> defers
+    /// work in several places, so an empty completion queue alone is not enough.
+    /// </summary>
+    internal static bool IsIdle =>
+        _throttled.Count == 0 && _throttledPending.Count == 0 &&
+        _flushPending.Count == 0 && _pendingDisconnects.Count == 0 && _disposed.Count == 0;
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets the listening addresses that the server is bound to.
     /// </summary>
@@ -88,20 +110,61 @@ public partial class NetState
         // Initialize IP rate limiter
         _ipRateLimiter = new IPRateLimiter(10, 10000, 1000, 2.0, 3_600_000, Core.ClosingTokenSource.Token);
 
+        // Sends in flight per connection; honoured by RIO only (see IIORingGroup). Costs a
+        // request-queue and completion-queue slot per send, not another buffer. Worst-case added
+        // latency is roughly completion RTT / this value.
+        var maxOutstandingSends = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting("network.maxOutstandingSends", 32);
+
         // Initialize IORingGroup
-        var ring = IORingGroup.Create(queueSize: MaxConnections * 2, maxConnections: MaxConnections);
+        var ring = IORingGroup.Create(
+            queueSize: MaxConnections * 2,
+            maxConnections: MaxConnections,
+            maxOutstandingSends: maxOutstandingSends
+        );
+
+        // Per-connection send buffer: the lever for "send buffer exhausted" disconnects, and the
+        // per-connection memory ceiling.
+        var sendBufferSize = GetSendBufferSize();
 
         // Create socket manager which handles buffer pools and socket lifecycle
         _socketManager = new RingSocketManager(
             ring,
             maxSockets: MaxConnections,
             recvBufferSize: RecvBufferSize,
-            sendBufferSize: SendBufferSize,
+            sendBufferSize: sendBufferSize,
             initialBufferSlabs: 8,
             maxBufferSlabs: 32
         );
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Reads the configured send buffer size, coerced to a power of two of at least the platform
+    /// allocation granularity. IORingBuffer requires this and would otherwise throw at socket
+    /// creation rather than at startup.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static int GetSendBufferSize()
+    {
+        var configured = ServerConfiguration.GetOrUpdateSetting("network.sendBufferSize", DefaultSendBufferSize);
+        var size = Math.Max(MinSendBufferSize, configured);
+
+        if (!BitOperations.IsPow2(size))
+        {
+            size = (int)BitOperations.RoundUpToPowerOf2((uint)size);
+        }
+
+        if (size != configured)
+        {
+            logger.Warning(
+                "network.sendBufferSize {Configured} is not a power of two of at least {Minimum}; using {Adjusted}",
+                configured,
+                MinSendBufferSize,
+                size
+            );
+        }
+
+        return size;
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Starts the network server on configured listening addresses.
     /// </summary>
@@ -224,10 +287,19 @@ public partial class NetState
                 if (_ipRateLimiter != null && !_ipRateLimiter.Verify(remoteIP, out var totalAttempts))
                 {
                     logger.Debug("{Address} Past IP limit threshold ({TotalAttempts})", remoteIP, totalAttempts);
-                }
+
-                else if (Firewall.IsBlocked(remoteIP))
+                    if (Bans.BanConfiguration.Settings.ReportRateLimitTrips)
                     {
-                    logger.Debug("{Address} Firewalled", remoteIP);
+                        // Enqueue-only contribution; NOT added to the local firewall set (the limiter already
+                        // gates it here and the OS bouncer drops it at the kernel).
+                        Bans.BanChannel.Report(remoteIP, Bans.BanConfiguration.Settings.AutoBanDuration, Bans.BanReasons.RateLimit);
+                    }
+                }
+                else if (ConnectionFilters.ShouldDeny(remoteIP, out var deniedBy))
+                {
+                    // Whatever a hit implies (persisting, promoting to an OS bouncer, contributing to the
+                    // ban channel) is the filter's own business; the accept path just drops the socket.
+                    logger.Debug("{Address} denied by connection filter '{Filter}'", remoteIP, deniedBy);
                 }
                 else
                 {
@@ -308,6 +380,18 @@ public partial class NetState
             // Socket must have finished the entire authentication process or be forcibly disconnected
             if (!ns.SentFirstPacket || !ns.Seeded)
             {
+                // Only the totally silent ones are evidence. A connection that sent SOME data and ran out of
+                // time is far more likely a slow link, and banning those makes the player retry, trip the
+                // rate limiter, and compound it into an hours-long ban.
+                if (!ns._receivedData && Bans.BanConfiguration.Settings.ReportBadConnects)
+                {
+                    Bans.BanChannel.Report(
+                        ns.Address,
+                        Bans.BanConfiguration.Settings.BadConnectDuration,
+                        Bans.BanReasons.SilentConnect
+                    );
+                }
+
                 ns.Disconnect(null);
 
                 // Force immediate cleanup - these are unauthenticated connections
@@ -484,6 +568,11 @@ public partial class NetState
             return;
         }
 
+        if (bytesReceived > 0)
+        {
+            ns._receivedData = true;
+        }
+
         // Data is already committed to buffer by RingSocketManager
         // Decode if encryption is enabled
         ns.DecryptRecvBuffer(bytesReceived);

Projects/Server/Network/NetState/NetState.cs

@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
 
     private static readonly Queue<NetState> _connectingQueue = new(2048);
     private static readonly HashSet<NetState> _instances = new(2048);
-    public static IReadOnlySet<NetState> Instances => _instances;
+    public static HashSet<NetState> Instances => _instances;
 
     private readonly string _toString;
     private ClientVersion _version;
@@ -60,6 +60,10 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
     internal ProtocolState _protocolState = ProtocolState.AwaitingSeed;
     private bool _packetLogging;
 
+    // Whether ANY inbound bytes have arrived: what separates a slow client from a socket held open on
+    // purpose. See BanSettings.ReportBadConnects.
+    internal bool _receivedData;
+
     // Managed socket with buffers (handles lifecycle automatically)
     internal RingSocket _socket;
 
@@ -105,9 +109,6 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
         Address = address;
 
         Seeded = false;
-        HuePickers = [];
-        Menus = [];
-        Trades = [];
         NextActivityCheck = Core.TickCount + 30000;
         ConnectedOn = Core.Now;
         _toString = address?.ToString() ?? "(error)";
@@ -162,7 +163,7 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
 
     public bool BlockAllPackets { get; set; }
 
-    public List<SecureTrade> Trades { get; }
+    public List<SecureTrade> Trades { get; private set; }
 
     public bool Seeded { get; set; }
 
@@ -256,8 +257,18 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
 
     public void ValidateAllTrades()
     {
+        if (Trades == null)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
         for (var i = Trades.Count - 1; i >= 0; --i)
         {
+            if (Trades == null)
+            {
+                break;
+            }
+
             if (i >= Trades.Count)
             {
                 continue;
@@ -276,8 +287,18 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
 
     public void CancelAllTrades()
     {
+        if (Trades == null)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
         for (var i = Trades.Count - 1; i >= 0; --i)
         {
+            if (Trades != null)
+            {
+                break;
+            }
+
             if (i < Trades.Count)
             {
                 Trades[i].Cancel();
@@ -287,11 +308,21 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
 
     public void RemoveTrade(SecureTrade trade)
     {
-        Trades.Remove(trade);
+        Trades?.Remove(trade);
+
+        if (Trades?.Count == 0)
+        {
+            Trades = null;
+        }
     }
 
     public SecureTrade FindTrade(Mobile m)
     {
+        if (Trades == null)
+        {
+            return null;
+        }
+
         for (var i = 0; i < Trades.Count; ++i)
         {
             var trade = Trades[i];
@@ -307,6 +338,11 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
 
     public SecureTradeContainer FindTradeContainer(Mobile m)
     {
+        if (Trades == null)
+        {
+            return null;
+        }
+
         for (var i = 0; i < Trades.Count; ++i)
         {
             var trade = Trades[i];
@@ -332,7 +368,11 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
     {
         var newTrade = new SecureTrade(Mobile, state.Mobile);
 
+        Trades ??= [];
+
         Trades.Add(newTrade);
+
+        state.Trades ??= [];
         state.Trades.Add(newTrade);
 
         return newTrade.From.Container;
@@ -444,17 +484,36 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
         }
 
         var length = span.Length;
-        if (length <= 0 || !GetSendBuffer(out var buffer))
+        if (length <= 0)
         {
             return;
         }
 
+        // Never drop silently: the client would stay connected while missing game state.
+        if (!GetSendBuffer(out var buffer))
+        {
+            SendBufferExhausted(length, 0);
+            return;
+        }
+
         try
         {
             // Apply encoding first (e.g., compression from UOContent)
             if (CompressionEnabled)
             {
                 length = NetworkCompression.Compress(span, buffer);
+
+                // 0 means nothing was written, whether it did not fit or the input was too large.
+                if (length <= 0)
+                {
+                    SendBufferExhausted(span.Length, buffer.Length);
+                    return;
+                }
+            }
+            else if (span.Length > buffer.Length)
+            {
+                SendBufferExhausted(span.Length, buffer.Length);
+                return;
             }
             else
             {
@@ -484,6 +543,31 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
         }
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Handles a packet that cannot be placed in the send buffer.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// High unacked means a slow client holding the buffer; needed approaching capacity means the
+    /// buffer is too small for this shard and network.sendBufferSize should be raised.
+    /// </remarks>
+    private void SendBufferExhausted(int needed, int writable)
+    {
+        var sendBuffer = _socket?.SendBuffer;
+        var unacked = sendBuffer?.InFlightBytes ?? 0;
+        var capacity = sendBuffer?.PhysicalSize ?? 0;
+
+        logger.Warning(
+            "{NetState}: send buffer exhausted - needed {Needed} bytes, {Writable} writable, {Unacked} awaiting acknowledgement, {Capacity} capacity. Raise network.sendBufferSize (power of two) if this recurs on healthy connections.",
+            this,
+            needed,
+            writable,
+            unacked,
+            capacity
+        );
+
+        Disconnect($"Send buffer exhausted (needed {needed}, writable {writable}, unacked {unacked}, capacity {capacity})");
+    }
+
     private void StartPacketLog()
     {
         try
@@ -577,6 +661,37 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
                     {
                         case ProtocolState.AwaitingSeed:
                             {
+                                // Traffic that is positively another protocol. Unlike "does not look like a
+                                // good client", this cannot misfire on a misconfigured one.
+                                var foreign = ForeignProtocol.Identify(buffer, out var foreignKind);
+
+                                if (foreign == ForeignProtocolMatch.Incomplete)
+                                {
+                                    _parserState = ParserState.AwaitingPartialPacket;
+                                    break;
+                                }
+
+                                if (foreign == ForeignProtocolMatch.Confirmed)
+                                {
+                                    logger.Debug(
+                                        "{Address} spoke {Protocol} on the game port; disconnecting",
+                                        Address,
+                                        foreignKind
+                                    );
+
+                                    if (Bans.BanConfiguration.Settings.ReportBadConnects)
+                                    {
+                                        Bans.BanChannel.Report(
+                                            Address,
+                                            Bans.BanConfiguration.Settings.BadConnectDuration,
+                                            Bans.BanReasons.ForeignProtocol
+                                        );
+                                    }
+
+                                    Disconnect(string.Empty);
+                                    return;
+                                }
+
                                 if (packetId == 0xEF)
                                 {
                                     _parserState = ParserState.ProcessingPacket;
@@ -592,6 +707,18 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
 
                                     if (newSeed == 0)
                                     {
+                                        // No real client sends a zero seed, so this is deliberate garbage
+                                        // rather than a damaged connection — unlike the short-read branch
+                                        // below, which a fragmented first segment can reach honestly.
+                                        if (Bans.BanConfiguration.Settings.ReportBadConnects)
+                                        {
+                                            Bans.BanChannel.Report(
+                                                Address,
+                                                Bans.BanConfiguration.Settings.BadConnectDuration,
+                                                Bans.BanReasons.InvalidSeed
+                                            );
+                                        }
+
                                         Disconnect(string.Empty);
                                         return;
                                     }
@@ -603,8 +730,11 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
                                     _parserState = ParserState.AwaitingNextPacket;
                                     _protocolState = ProtocolState.GameServer_AwaitingGameServerLogin;
                                 }
-                                else // Don't allow partial packets on initial connection, just disconnect them.
+                                else
                                 {
+                                    // Disconnect rather than wait. Waiting would hold a connection slot for
+                                    // the full ConnectingSocketIdleLimit per one- or two-byte client, which
+                                    // is what a flood sends. Only pre-0xEF clients reach here.
                                     Disconnect(string.Empty);
                                 }
                                 break;
@@ -1082,8 +1212,16 @@ public partial class NetState : IComparable<NetState>, IValueLinkListNode<NetSta
 
         var a = Account;
 
-        Menus.Clear();
+        Menus?.Clear();
-        HuePickers.Clear();
+        Menus = null;
+
+        HuePickers?.Clear();
+        HuePickers = null;
+
+        // Just in case, but should already be nulled when Mobile.NetState is set to null and CancelAllTrades is called.
+        Trades?.Clear();
+        Trades = null;
+
         Account = null;
         ServerInfo = null;
         CityInfo = null;

Projects/Server/Network/NetworkCompression.cs

@@ -73,7 +73,9 @@ public static class NetworkCompression
 
     public static int Compress(ReadOnlySpan<byte> input, Span<byte> output)
     {
-        if (input.Length > DefiniteOverflow)
+        // output.Length < 4 underflows safeOutputLength below (nuint), defeating the hot loop's
+        // bounds check. Reachable whenever the send buffer is nearly full.
+        if (input.Length > DefiniteOverflow || output.Length < 4)
         {
             return 0;
         }

Projects/Server/PropertyList/ObjectPropertyList.cs

@@ -55,6 +55,12 @@ public sealed class ObjectPropertyList : IPropertyList, IDisposable
     private int _pos;
     private char[]? _arrayToReturnToPool;
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True while GetProperties is populating this list. Set by the owning entity so a nested
+    /// InvalidateProperties can be refused instead of Reset()ing a build already in flight.
+    /// </summary>
+    internal bool IsBuilding { get; set; }
+
     public ObjectPropertyList(IEntity? e)
     {
         Entity = e;
@@ -319,8 +325,23 @@ public sealed class ObjectPropertyList : IPropertyList, IDisposable
     private static int GetDefaultLength(int literalLength, int formattedCount) =>
         Math.Max(256, literalLength + formattedCount * 11);
 
+    // Reset()/Dispose() return the scratch buffer to the pool. If either lands while a `$"..."`
+    // handler is still appending, re-rent rather than spanning a null array and throwing out of
+    // GetProperties. Mobile/Item hold the primary guard; this covers any other caller.
+    [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    private void EnsureInterpolationBuffer()
+    {
+        if (_arrayToReturnToPool == null)
+        {
+            _arrayToReturnToPool = STArrayPool<char>.Shared.Rent(256);
+            _pos = 0;
+        }
+    }
+
     public void AppendLiteral(string value)
     {
+        EnsureInterpolationBuffer();
+
         if (value.Length == 1)
         {
             var chars = _arrayToReturnToPool.AsSpan();
@@ -354,6 +375,8 @@ public sealed class ObjectPropertyList : IPropertyList, IDisposable
 
     public void AppendFormatted<T>(T value)
     {
+        EnsureInterpolationBuffer();
+
         string? s;
         if (value is IFormattable)
         {
@@ -384,9 +407,11 @@ public sealed class ObjectPropertyList : IPropertyList, IDisposable
 
     public void AppendFormatted<T>(T value, string? format)
     {
-        // We support localization '#' cliloc formatter for custom property lists
+        EnsureInterpolationBuffer();
-        // This allows someone to build an IPropertyList that creates HTML using the same syntax as LocalizationInterpolationHandler
+
-        if (format == "#")
+        // '#' marks an integer argument as a cliloc ("#<value>"). Integers only -- a float/double/decimal
+        // '#' is the standard numeric format, not a cliloc marker.
+        if (format == "#" && value is int or uint or long or ulong or short or ushort or byte or sbyte)
         {
             AppendLiteral("#");
             format = null;
@@ -442,6 +467,8 @@ public sealed class ObjectPropertyList : IPropertyList, IDisposable
 
     public void AppendFormatted(ReadOnlySpan<char> value)
     {
+        EnsureInterpolationBuffer();
+
         if (value.TryCopyTo(_arrayToReturnToPool.AsSpan(_pos..)))
         {
             _pos += value.Length;
@@ -454,6 +481,8 @@ public sealed class ObjectPropertyList : IPropertyList, IDisposable
 
     public void AppendFormatted(ReadOnlySpan<char> value, int alignment = 0, string? format = null)
     {
+        EnsureInterpolationBuffer();
+
         var leftAlign = false;
         if (alignment < 0)
         {
@@ -488,6 +517,8 @@ public sealed class ObjectPropertyList : IPropertyList, IDisposable
 
     public void AppendFormatted(string? value)
     {
+        EnsureInterpolationBuffer();
+
         if (value?.TryCopyTo(_arrayToReturnToPool.AsSpan(_pos..)) == true)
         {
             _pos += value.Length;

Projects/Server/Serialization/BinaryFileReader.cs

@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ public sealed unsafe class BinaryFileReader : IDisposable, IGenericReader
     /// </summary>
     public long Position => _reader.Position;
 
+    public TimeSpan AnchoredTimeShift
+    {
+        get => _reader.AnchoredTimeShift;
+        set => _reader.AnchoredTimeShift = value;
+    }
+
     public void Dispose()
     {
         _accessor?.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.ReleasePointer();

Projects/Server/Serialization/BufferReader.cs

@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ public class BufferReader : IGenericReader
     public long Position => _position;
     public long BufferSize => _buffer.Length;
 
+    public TimeSpan AnchoredTimeShift { get; set; }
+
     public BufferReader(byte[] buffer, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb = null, Encoding encoding = null)
     {
         _buffer = buffer;

Projects/Server/Serialization/BufferWriter.cs

@@ -384,6 +384,7 @@ public class BufferWriter : IGenericWriter
     }
 
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+    [Obsolete("Delta time rewrites its bytes on every save. Write anchored time instead (WriteAnchoredTime, or [AnchoredDateTime] on generated fields); bump the containing type's version, as the wire format changes. Existing delta payloads remain readable through ReadDeltaTime in old-version fallbacks.")]
     public void WriteDeltaTime(DateTime value)
     {
         if (value == DateTime.MinValue)
@@ -407,6 +408,21 @@ public class BufferWriter : IGenericWriter
         Write(value.Ticks - DateTime.UtcNow.Ticks);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Writes the absolute value; <see cref="IGenericReader.ReadAnchoredTime" /> re-bases it
+    /// by the elapsed time since the save started, so downtime does not age it and an
+    /// unchanged value serializes to identical bytes.
+    /// </summary>
+    public void WriteAnchoredTime(DateTime value)
+    {
+        if (value.Kind == DateTimeKind.Local)
+        {
+            value = value.ToUniversalTime();
+        }
+
+        Write(value.Ticks);
+    }
+
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
     public void Write(IPAddress value)
     {

Projects/Server/Serialization/GenericEntityPersistence.cs

@@ -114,9 +114,10 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : GenericPersistence, IGenericEntityPer
         using var binFs = new FileStream(
             Path.Combine(dir, $"{Name}.bin"), FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None, 1024 * 1024
         );
-        // v4 records are fixed-width 26 bytes; the header carries the type table
+        // v4 records are fixed-width 26 bytes; the v5 header carries the save-start anchor
-        // (name lengths vary — 64 bytes per entry is a staging hint, not a contract).
+        // and the type table (name lengths vary — 64 bytes per entry is a staging hint, not
-        var expectedIdxSize = 12 + 26L * EntitiesBySerial.Count + 64L * _typeTable.Count;
+        // a contract).
+        var expectedIdxSize = 20 + 26L * EntitiesBySerial.Count + 64L * _typeTable.Count;
         using var idx = new FileBufferWriter(Path.Combine(dir, $"{Name}.idx"), expectedIdxSize);
 
         var binPosition = 0L;
@@ -142,7 +143,10 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : GenericPersistence, IGenericEntityPer
             binPosition += _selfLength;
         }
 
-        idx.Write(4); // Version
+        idx.Write(5); // Version
+
+        // One anchor for the whole save: the world is frozen from the moment it is stamped.
+        idx.Write(World.SaveStartTime.Ticks);
 
         // The type table is fully known at freeze (AddEntity diverts to the pending
         // queues while saving) and is written before the records so the loader can
@@ -494,6 +498,18 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : GenericPersistence, IGenericEntityPer
 
         var version = dataReader.ReadInt();
 
+        if (version >= 5)
+        {
+            // Re-base anchored timestamps by the elapsed time since the save started.
+            var anchor = new DateTime(dataReader.ReadLong(), DateTimeKind.Utc);
+            var shift = Core.Now - anchor;
+            _anchoredTimeShift = anchor.Ticks > 0 && shift > TimeSpan.Zero ? shift : TimeSpan.Zero;
+
+            // The whole save shares one anchor. Publish it so payloads without their own
+            // (GenericPersistence bins) can shift too; indexes load before any of them.
+            World.LoadTimeShift = _anchoredTimeShift;
+        }
+
         if (version >= 4)
         {
             DeserializeIndexesV4(dataReader, entities);
@@ -660,6 +676,9 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : GenericPersistence, IGenericEntityPer
 
     private static List<T> _toDelete;
 
+    // From the loaded idx (v5+); zero when the save predates the anchor.
+    private TimeSpan _anchoredTimeShift;
+
     private unsafe void InternalDeserialize(string filePath, int index, Dictionary<ulong, string> typesDb)
     {
         using var mmf = MemoryMappedFile.CreateFromFile(filePath, FileMode.Open);
@@ -667,7 +686,10 @@ public class GenericEntityPersistence<T> : GenericPersistence, IGenericEntityPer
 
         byte* ptr = null;
         accessor.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.AcquirePointer(ref ptr);
-        var dataReader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, accessor.Length, typesDb);
+        var dataReader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, accessor.Length, typesDb)
+        {
+            AnchoredTimeShift = _anchoredTimeShift
+        };
 
         Deserialize(dataReader);
 

Projects/Server/Serialization/GenericPersistence.cs

@@ -98,7 +98,13 @@ public abstract class GenericPersistence : Persistence, IGenericSerializable
 
             byte* ptr = null;
             accessor.SafeMemoryMappedViewHandle.AcquirePointer(ref ptr);
-            var dataReader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, accessor.Length, typesDb);
+            var dataReader = new UnmanagedDataReader(ptr, accessor.Length, typesDb)
+            {
+                // These payloads carry no anchor of their own; they inherit the save-wide
+                // shift stamped while the entity indexes were read (indexes always load
+                // before persistence payloads — see Persistence.Load).
+                AnchoredTimeShift = World.LoadTimeShift
+            };
             Deserialize(dataReader);
 
             error = dataReader.Position != fileLength

Projects/Server/Serialization/IGenericReader.cs

@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ public interface IGenericReader
     DateTime ReadDateTime() => new(ReadLong(), DateTimeKind.Utc);
     TimeSpan ReadTimeSpan() => new(ReadLong());
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Decodes a legacy delta-time value. Only for reading old-version payloads (version
+    /// fallbacks and migration replays) — current formats store anchored time and read it
+    /// with <see cref="ReadAnchoredTime" />. <see cref="IGenericWriter.WriteDeltaTime" /> is
+    /// obsolete: no current-version format may write delta time.
+    /// </summary>
     DateTime ReadDeltaTime()
     {
         return ReadLong() switch
@@ -52,6 +58,37 @@ public interface IGenericReader
             var delta     => new DateTime(delta + DateTime.UtcNow.Ticks, DateTimeKind.Utc)
         };
     }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Elapsed time between the loaded save starting and this load, applied by
+    /// <see cref="ReadAnchoredTime" />. Zero when the source carries no anchor.
+    /// </summary>
+    TimeSpan AnchoredTimeShift => TimeSpan.Zero;
+
+    DateTime ReadAnchoredTime()
+    {
+        var value = ReadDateTime();
+
+        if (value == DateTime.MinValue || value == DateTime.MaxValue)
+        {
+            return value;
+        }
+
+        var shift = AnchoredTimeShift;
+        if (shift == TimeSpan.Zero)
+        {
+            return value;
+        }
+
+        var ticks = value.Ticks + shift.Ticks;
+
+        if (ticks >= DateTime.MaxValue.Ticks)
+        {
+            return DateTime.MaxValue;
+        }
+
+        return ticks <= 0 ? DateTime.MinValue : new DateTime(ticks, DateTimeKind.Utc);
+    }
     decimal ReadDecimal() => new([ReadInt(), ReadInt(), ReadInt(), ReadInt()]);
     int ReadEncodedInt()
     {

Projects/Server/Serialization/IGenericWriter.cs

@@ -40,7 +40,11 @@ public interface IGenericWriter
     void Write(decimal value);
     void WriteEncodedInt(int value);
     void Write(DateTime value);
+
+    [Obsolete("Delta time rewrites its bytes on every save. Write anchored time instead (WriteAnchoredTime, or [AnchoredDateTime] on generated fields); bump the containing type's version, as the wire format changes. Existing delta payloads remain readable through ReadDeltaTime in old-version fallbacks.")]
     void WriteDeltaTime(DateTime value);
+
+    void WriteAnchoredTime(DateTime value);
     void Write(IPAddress value);
     void Write(TimeSpan value);
     void Write(Point3D value);

Projects/Server/Serialization/UnmanagedDataReader.cs

@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ public unsafe class UnmanagedDataReader : IGenericReader
     /// </summary>
     public long Position { get; private set; }
 
+    public TimeSpan AnchoredTimeShift { get; set; }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Read bits of data raw from a serialized file using Little-endian.
     /// </summary>

Projects/Server/Server.csproj

@@ -34,14 +34,13 @@
     </Target>
     <ItemGroup>
         <ProjectReference Include="..\Logger\Logger.csproj" />
-        <PackageReference Include="IORingGroup" Version="1.0.7" />
+        <PackageReference Include="IORingGroup" Version="1.0.10" />
         <PackageReference Include="CommunityToolkit.HighPerformance" Version="8.4.2" />
-        <PackageReference Include="LibDeflate.Bindings" Version="1.0.3" />
+        <PackageReference Include="LibDeflate.Bindings" Version="1.0.4" />
-        <PackageReference Include="System.IO.Hashing" Version="10.0.10" />
+        <PackageReference Include="System.IO.Hashing" Version="10.0.11" />
 
-        <PackageReference Include="ModernUO.Serialization.Annotations" Version="2.14.2" />
+        <PackageReference Include="ModernUO.Serialization.Annotations" Version="4.0.0" />
-        <PackageReference Include="ModernUO.Serialization.Generator" Version="2.14.3" />
+        <PackageReference Include="ModernUO.Serialization.Generator" Version="4.0.0" PrivateAssets="all" />
-        <PackageReference Update="Serilog" Version="4.4.0" />
     </ItemGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
         <AdditionalFiles Include="Migrations/*.v*.json" />

Projects/Server/Timer/Timer.TimerWheel.cs

@@ -51,8 +51,15 @@ public partial class Timer
         }
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Milliseconds of simulated time one wheel turn advances.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static int TickRate => _tickRate;
+
     public static void Slice(long tickCount)
     {
+        EventLoopProfiler.WheelSlice(tickCount - _lastTickTurned);
+
         var deltaSinceTurn = tickCount - _lastTickTurned;
         while (deltaSinceTurn >= _tickRate)
         {

Projects/Server/Utilities/IPAddressUtility.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+/*************************************************************************
+ * ModernUO                                                              *
+ * Copyright 2019-2026 - ModernUO Development Team                       *
+ * Email: hi@modernuo.com                                                *
+ * File: IPAddressUtility.cs                                             *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or     *
+ * (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                       *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License     *
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. *
+ *************************************************************************/
+
+using System;
+using System.Buffers.Binary;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Net.Sockets;
+using System.Numerics;
+
+namespace Server;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Low-level IPAddress conversion and parsing helpers shared by the firewall, ban channel, and
+/// blocklist. All members are allocation-free (stack buffers only) so they are safe on hot accept
+/// paths and inside tight parse loops.
+/// </summary>
+public static class IPAddressUtility
+{
+    // Converts an IPAddress to a UInt128 in IPv6 format.
+    // The IsIPv4MappedToIPv6 clause below looks redundant (the BCL only ever sets it on InterNetworkV6),
+    // but it guards the v4 -> UInt128 -> IPAddress round-trip, which can return a mapped v6 address for
+    // what is really a v4 one.
+    //TODO Rework as an explicit "to canonical v6 bits" step that needs no family check
+    //     (see dev-docs/networking-packets.md, "IP Address Normalization")
+    public static UInt128 ToUInt128(this IPAddress ip)
+    {
+        if (ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork && !ip.IsIPv4MappedToIPv6)
+        {
+            Span<byte> integer = stackalloc byte[4];
+            return !ip.TryWriteBytes(integer, out _)
+                ? (UInt128)0
+                : new UInt128(0, 0xFFFF00000000UL | BinaryPrimitives.ReadUInt32BigEndian(integer));
+        }
+
+        Span<byte> bytes = stackalloc byte[16];
+        if (!ip.TryWriteBytes(bytes, out _))
+        {
+            return 0;
+        }
+
+        var high = BinaryPrimitives.ReadUInt64BigEndian(bytes[..8]);
+        var low = BinaryPrimitives.ReadUInt64BigEndian(bytes.Slice(8, 8));
+
+        return new UInt128(high, low);
+    }
+
+    // Converts a UInt128 in IPv6 format to an IPAddress
+    public static IPAddress ToIpAddress(this UInt128 value, bool mapToIpv6 = false)
+    {
+        // IPv4 mapped IPv6 address
+        if (!mapToIpv6 && value >= 0xFFFF00000000UL && value <= 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFUL)
+        {
+            var newAddress = IPAddress.HostToNetworkOrder((int)value);
+            return new IPAddress(unchecked((uint)newAddress));
+        }
+
+        Span<byte> bytes = stackalloc byte[16]; // 128 bits for IPv6 address
+        ((IBinaryInteger<UInt128>)value).WriteBigEndian(bytes);
+
+        return new IPAddress(bytes);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Parses <c>a.b.c.d/n</c>, <c>::/n</c>, or a bare address (treated as a single-host range) into an
+    /// inclusive <see cref="UInt128"/> range in normalized IPv6 form. A bare IPv4 prefix is widened by 96
+    /// bits so v4 and v6 ranges are directly comparable. Returns false on anything malformed.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool TryParseCidrRange(ReadOnlySpan<char> cidr, out UInt128 min, out UInt128 max)
+    {
+        min = default;
+        max = default;
+
+        var slash = cidr.IndexOf('/');
+        if (!IPAddress.TryParse(slash >= 0 ? cidr[..slash] : cidr, out var ip))
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        var isV6 = ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetworkV6;
+        var maxPrefixLength = isV6 ? 128 : 32;
+        int prefixLength;
+
+        if (slash < 0)
+        {
+            prefixLength = maxPrefixLength;
+        }
+        else if (!int.TryParse(cidr[(slash + 1)..], out prefixLength) ||
+                 prefixLength < 0 || prefixLength > maxPrefixLength)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if (!isV6)
+        {
+            prefixLength += 96; // 32 -> 128
+        }
+
+        Span<byte> bytes = stackalloc byte[16];
+        ip.WriteMappedIPv6To(bytes);
+
+        min = Utility.CreateCidrAddress(bytes, prefixLength, false);
+        max = Utility.CreateCidrAddress(bytes, prefixLength, true);
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Extracts the big-endian uint of an <see cref="AddressFamily.InterNetwork"/> address.</summary>
+    public static bool TryV4(IPAddress ip, out uint v)
+    {
+        Span<byte> b = stackalloc byte[4];
+        if (ip.TryWriteBytes(b, out var n) && n == 4)
+        {
+            v = ((uint)b[0] << 24) | ((uint)b[1] << 16) | ((uint)b[2] << 8) | b[3];
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        v = 0;
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Extracts the embedded v4 uint from a v4-mapped-v6 address directly from the mapped bytes,
+    /// avoiding the allocation of <see cref="IPAddress.MapToIPv4"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool TryMappedV4(IPAddress ip, out uint v)
+    {
+        Span<byte> b = stackalloc byte[16];
+        if (ip.TryWriteBytes(b, out var n) && n == 16)
+        {
+            v = ((uint)b[12] << 24) | ((uint)b[13] << 16) | ((uint)b[14] << 8) | b[15];
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        v = 0;
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Parses a dotted-quad IPv4 literal into a big-endian uint. Allocation-free, strict.</summary>
+    public static bool TryParseV4(ReadOnlySpan<char> s, out uint v)
+    {
+        v = 0;
+        uint acc = 0;
+        int octet = 0, digits = 0, dots = 0;
+        for (var i = 0; i < s.Length; i++)
+        {
+            var c = s[i];
+            if (c == '.')
+            {
+                if (digits == 0 || octet > 255)
+                {
+                    return false;
+                }
+
+                acc = (acc << 8) | (uint)octet;
+                dots++;
+                octet = 0;
+                digits = 0;
+            }
+            else if (c is >= '0' and <= '9')
+            {
+                octet = octet * 10 + (c - '0');
+                if (++digits > 3)
+                {
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (dots != 3 || digits == 0 || octet > 255)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        v = (acc << 8) | (uint)octet;
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// UTF-8/ASCII byte overload of <see cref="TryParseV4(ReadOnlySpan{char}, out uint)"/>, mirroring its
+    /// validation exactly so the blocklist can parse dotted-quads straight from file bytes with no
+    /// per-line string allocation.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool TryParseV4(ReadOnlySpan<byte> s, out uint v)
+    {
+        v = 0;
+        uint acc = 0;
+        int octet = 0, digits = 0, dots = 0;
+        for (var i = 0; i < s.Length; i++)
+        {
+            var c = s[i];
+            if (c == (byte)'.')
+            {
+                if (digits == 0 || octet > 255)
+                {
+                    return false;
+                }
+
+                acc = (acc << 8) | (uint)octet;
+                dots++;
+                octet = 0;
+                digits = 0;
+            }
+            else if (c is >= (byte)'0' and <= (byte)'9')
+            {
+                octet = octet * 10 + (c - '0');
+                if (++digits > 3)
+                {
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (dots != 3 || digits == 0 || octet > 255)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        v = (acc << 8) | (uint)octet;
+        return true;
+    }
+}

Projects/Server/Utilities/NetworkUtilities.cs

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
+using System;
 using System.Net;
 using System.Net.Sockets;
-using Server.Network;
+using Server.Collections;
 
 namespace Server;
 
@@ -14,36 +15,42 @@ public static class NetworkUtilities
             _                            => false
         };
 
-    private static readonly IFirewallEntry[] _privateNetworkV4 =
+    // These are constant reserved ranges, not firewall entries -- they only ever answer "is this address
-    [
+    // in one of these blocks?", which is exactly what SortedRangeIndex is for. Building them through the
-        new CidrFirewallEntry("127.0.0.1/8"),
+    // firewall entry types was a convenience that made core depend on the firewall for something that has
-        new CidrFirewallEntry("192.168.0.0/16"),
+    // nothing to do with banning.
-        new CidrFirewallEntry("10.0.0.0/8"),
+    private static readonly SortedRangeIndex<UInt128> _privateNetworkV4 = BuildIndex(
-        new CidrFirewallEntry("172.16.0.0/12"),
+        "127.0.0.1/8",
-        new CidrFirewallEntry("169.254.0.0/16"),
+        "192.168.0.0/16",
-        new CidrFirewallEntry("100.64.0.0/10")
+        "10.0.0.0/8",
-    ];
+        "172.16.0.0/12",
+        "169.254.0.0/16",
+        "100.64.0.0/10"
+    );
 
-    private static readonly IFirewallEntry[] _privateNetworkV6 =
+    private static readonly SortedRangeIndex<UInt128> _privateNetworkV6 = BuildIndex(
-    [
+        "fc00::/7",
-        new CidrFirewallEntry("fc00::/7"),
+        "fe80::/10"
-        new CidrFirewallEntry("fe80::/10")
+    );
-    ];
 
-    public static bool IsPrivateNetworkV4(this IPAddress ip)
+    private static SortedRangeIndex<UInt128> BuildIndex(params ReadOnlySpan<string> cidrs)
     {
-        for (var i = 0; i < _privateNetworkV4.Length; i++)
+        var ranges = new SortedRangeIndex<UInt128>.Range[cidrs.Length];
+        for (var i = 0; i < cidrs.Length; i++)
         {
-            if (_privateNetworkV4[i].IsBlocked(ip))
+            if (!IPAddressUtility.TryParseCidrRange(cidrs[i], out var min, out var max))
             {
-                return true;
+                throw new ArgumentException($"Invalid reserved-network CIDR \"{cidrs[i]}\"");
-            }
             }
 
-        return false;
+            ranges[i] = new SortedRangeIndex<UInt128>.Range(min, max);
         }
 
-    public static bool IsPrivateNetworkV6(this IPAddress ip) =>
+        Array.Sort(ranges, SortedRangeIndex<UInt128>.ByMin);
-        _privateNetworkV6[0].IsBlocked(ip) ||
+        return SortedRangeIndex<UInt128>.Build(ranges);
-        _privateNetworkV6[1].IsBlocked(ip);
+    }
+
+    public static bool IsPrivateNetworkV4(this IPAddress ip) => _privateNetworkV4.Contains(ip.ToUInt128());
+
+    public static bool IsPrivateNetworkV6(this IPAddress ip) => _privateNetworkV6.Contains(ip.ToUInt128());
 }

Projects/Server/Utilities/Utility.cs

@@ -108,45 +108,6 @@ public static partial class Utility
         }
     }
 
-    // Converts an IPAddress to a UInt128 in IPv6 format
-    public static UInt128 ToUInt128(this IPAddress ip)
-    {
-        if (ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork && !ip.IsIPv4MappedToIPv6)
-        {
-            Span<byte> integer = stackalloc byte[4];
-            return !ip.TryWriteBytes(integer, out _)
-                ? (UInt128)0
-                : new UInt128(0, 0xFFFF00000000UL | BinaryPrimitives.ReadUInt32BigEndian(integer));
-        }
-
-        Span<byte> bytes = stackalloc byte[16];
-        if (!ip.TryWriteBytes(bytes, out _))
-        {
-            return 0;
-        }
-
-        var high = BinaryPrimitives.ReadUInt64BigEndian(bytes[..8]);
-        var low = BinaryPrimitives.ReadUInt64BigEndian(bytes.Slice(8, 8));
-
-        return new UInt128(high, low);
-    }
-
-    // Converts a UInt128 in IPv6 format to an IPAddress
-    public static IPAddress ToIpAddress(this UInt128 value, bool mapToIpv6 = false)
-    {
-        // IPv4 mapped IPv6 address
-        if (!mapToIpv6 && value >= 0xFFFF00000000UL && value <= 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFUL)
-        {
-            var newAddress = IPAddress.HostToNetworkOrder((int)value);
-            return new IPAddress(unchecked((uint)newAddress));
-        }
-
-        Span<byte> bytes = stackalloc byte[16]; // 128 bits for IPv6 address
-        ((IBinaryInteger<UInt128>)value).WriteBigEndian(bytes);
-
-        return new IPAddress(bytes);
-    }
-
     [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
     public static UInt128 CreateCidrAddress(ReadOnlySpan<byte> bytes, int prefixLength, bool isMax)
     {
@@ -1089,28 +1050,16 @@ public static partial class Utility
             return;
         }
 
-        using var queue = PooledRefQueue<K>.Create();
         foreach (var (key, value) in dictionary)
         {
-            if (serializableKey)
+            var deleted = serializableKey
-            {
+                ? ((ISerializable)key).Deleted
-                if (key == null || ((ISerializable)key).Deleted)
+                : value == null || ((ISerializable)value).Deleted;
-                {
-                    queue.Enqueue(key);
-                }
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                if (value == null || ((ISerializable)value).Deleted)
-                {
-                    queue.Enqueue(key);
-                }
-            }
-        }
 
-        while (queue.Count > 0)
+            if (deleted)
             {
-            dictionary.Remove(queue.Dequeue());
+                dictionary.Remove(key);
+            }
         }
 
         dictionary.TrimExcess();

Projects/Server/World/World.cs

@@ -93,6 +93,21 @@ public static class World
     public static string SavePath { get; private set; }
     public static WorldState WorldState { get; private set; }
     public static bool Saving => WorldState == WorldState.Saving;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// UTC time the current or most recent world save started. Written into save indexes so
+    /// anchored timestamps can be re-based by the downtime at load.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static DateTime SaveStartTime { get; internal set; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The anchored-time shift for the save currently being loaded: the downtime between the
+    /// save's start and this load. Stamped while entity indexes are read (they all carry the
+    /// same anchor, since the whole save shares one <see cref="SaveStartTime" />) and applied
+    /// to every reader of that save's files — including <see cref="GenericPersistence" />
+    /// payloads, which carry no anchor of their own. Zero for saves that predate the anchor.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static TimeSpan LoadTimeShift { get; internal set; }
     public static bool Running => WorldState is not WorldState.Loading and not WorldState.Initial;
     public static bool Loading => WorldState == WorldState.Loading;
 
@@ -287,6 +302,10 @@ public static class World
 
         WorldState = WorldState.Saving;
 
+        // The world is frozen from here: one anchor for the whole save. Written into save
+        // indexes so anchored timestamps can be re-based by the downtime at load.
+        SaveStartTime = Core.Now;
+
         Broadcast(0x35, true, "The world is saving, please wait.");
 
         logger.Information("Saving world");

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Fixtures/TestServerInitializer.cs

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-using System;
+using System;
 using System.IO;
 using System.Reflection;
 using System.Threading;
@@ -61,6 +61,15 @@ internal static class TestServerInitializer
             AssemblyHandler.LoadAssemblies(["Server.dll", "UOContent.dll"]);
 
             SkillsInfo.Configure();
+
+            // Seed the loop clock as Main.cs does before the Configure sweep; otherwise Core.Now is
+            // DateTime.MinValue for the whole test host.
+            Core._now = DateTime.UtcNow;
+
+            // Timer wheel must exist before NetState.Configure(), which schedules a recurring
+            // sweep via Timer.DelayCall (matches production ordering in Main.cs: Timer.Init runs
+            // before AssemblyHandler.Invoke("Configure")).
+            Timer.Init(0);
             Server.Network.NetState.Configure();
             TestMapDefinitions.ConfigureTestMapDefinitions();
 
@@ -91,8 +100,10 @@ internal static class TestServerInitializer
             }
 
             World.Configure();
-            Timer.Init(0);
+            // Registers the Accounts entity persistence; without it no test can construct an Account.
+            Server.Accounting.Accounts.Configure();
             RaceDefinitions.Configure();
+            Server.Movement.Movement.Configure();
             MovementImpl.Configure();
             PathFollower.Configure();
             World.Load();

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Accounting/AccountPasswordTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+using System;
+using Server.Accounting;
+using Server.Accounting.Security;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests.Accounting;
+
+[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
+public class AccountPasswordTests : IDisposable
+{
+    private const string Password = "hunter2";
+
+    // CurrentAlgorithm is process-wide state shared with the rest of the collection.
+    private readonly PasswordProtectionAlgorithm _originalAlgorithm = AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm;
+
+    public void Dispose() => AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = _originalAlgorithm;
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.SHA1)]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.SHA2)]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.PBKDF2)]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.Argon2)]
+    public void NewAccount_CanLogIn(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm algorithm)
+    {
+        AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = algorithm;
+        var account = new Account($"new-{algorithm}-user", Password);
+
+        Assert.Equal(algorithm, account.PasswordAlgorithm);
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword(Password));
+        Assert.False(account.CheckPassword("wrong-password"));
+    }
+
+    // SetPassword assigns PasswordAlgorithm before deriving the phrase from it. Reversed, the hash
+    // is salted by the outgoing algorithm's rule but stored under the incoming one, which verifies
+    // once and then never again.
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.SHA1)]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.SHA2)]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.PBKDF2)]
+    public void UpgradingAlgorithm_DoesNotLockTheAccountOut(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm from)
+    {
+        AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = from;
+        var account = new Account($"upgrade-{from}-user", Password);
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword(Password));
+
+        AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.Argon2;
+
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword(Password));
+        Assert.Equal(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.Argon2, account.PasswordAlgorithm);
+
+        // Must verify against what the rehash wrote.
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword(Password));
+        Assert.False(account.CheckPassword("wrong-password"));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void StaleArgon2Parameters_AreRehashedOnLogin()
+    {
+        AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.Argon2;
+        var account = new Account("stale-params-user", Password);
+
+        // The shipping default before this change: Argon2i, m=8192, t=3, p=1.
+        account.Password =
+            "$argon2i$v=19$m=8192,t=3,p=1$LD1XJz7P3wQmIJ+Tu6ScgA$NO5hBABsHQ172C5nDO2X4gWnB4jDef3x6WhLdVE2LFw";
+
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword(Password));
+        Assert.StartsWith("$argon2id$v=19$m=16384,t=1,p=1$", account.Password);
+
+        // Already current: verifying again must not rewrite the hash.
+        var afterFirst = account.Password;
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword(Password));
+        Assert.Equal(afterFirst, account.Password);
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Accounting/PasswordWorkerTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,229 @@
+using System;
+using System.Threading;
+using Server.Accounting;
+using Server.Accounting.Security;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Server.Tests.Accounting;
+
+[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
+public class PasswordWorkerTests : IDisposable
+{
+    private const string Password = "hunter2";
+
+    private readonly PasswordProtectionAlgorithm _originalAlgorithm = AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm;
+
+    public PasswordWorkerTests() => AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.Argon2;
+
+    public void Dispose() => AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = _originalAlgorithm;
+
+    private static Account CreateAccount(string username) =>
+        Accounts.GetAccount(username) as Account ?? new Account(username, Password);
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Enqueues work, then pumps the loop context until <paramref name="complete"/> or the deadline.
+    ///
+    /// The context pins itself to the thread that constructed it and refuses <c>ExecuteTasks</c>
+    /// from any other. The fixture's belongs to whichever thread built the fixture, and xUnit gives
+    /// no guarantee that a test method runs on that thread even inside a sequential collection --
+    /// so this owns one for the duration and puts the original back. Pumping the fixture's context
+    /// passed locally and failed on CI.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static void PumpUntil(Action enqueue, Func<bool> complete, int timeoutSeconds = 20)
+    {
+        var original = Core.LoopContext;
+        var owned = new EventLoopContext();
+        Core.LoopContext = owned;
+
+        try
+        {
+            enqueue();
+
+            var deadline = DateTime.UtcNow.AddSeconds(timeoutSeconds);
+
+            while (!complete() && DateTime.UtcNow < deadline)
+            {
+                owned.ExecuteTasks();
+                Thread.Sleep(5);
+            }
+
+            // Anything that landed between the last pump and the final check.
+            owned.ExecuteTasks();
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core.LoopContext = original;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static PasswordJob JobFor(Account account, string submitted) =>
+        new()
+        {
+            Account = account,
+            StoredHash = account.Password,
+            VerifyPhrase = account.GetVerifyPhrase(submitted),
+            HashPhrase = account.NeedsPasswordUpgrade() ? account.GetRehashPhrase(submitted) : null,
+            StoredAlgorithm = account.PasswordAlgorithm,
+            TargetAlgorithm = AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm
+        };
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Drives the real queue rather than <c>ComputeInline</c>. A job with no NetState attached -- an
+    /// admin password change -- was being dropped by the liveness check, which read a null State as
+    /// a dead connection, so the change silently never happened and its callback never fired.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void RunsAJobThatHasNoConnectionAttached()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-no-netstate-user");
+        var applied = false;
+
+        var job = new PasswordJob
+        {
+            Account = account,
+            HashPhrase = account.GetRehashPhrase("a-queued-password"),
+            TargetAlgorithm = AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm,
+            OnComplete = (_, outcome) => applied = outcome.Hash != null
+        };
+
+        PumpUntil(() => Assert.True(PasswordWorker.TryEnqueue(job)), () => applied);
+
+        Assert.True(applied);
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword("a-queued-password"));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void VerifiesTheCorrectPassword()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-correct-user");
+
+        var outcome = PasswordWorker.ComputeInline(JobFor(account, Password));
+
+        Assert.True(outcome.Verified);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void RejectsTheWrongPassword()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-wrong-user");
+
+        var outcome = PasswordWorker.ComputeInline(JobFor(account, "not-the-password"));
+
+        Assert.False(outcome.Verified);
+        Assert.Null(outcome.Hash);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ProducesNoUpgradeWhenParametersAreCurrent()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-current-user");
+
+        var outcome = PasswordWorker.ComputeInline(JobFor(account, Password));
+
+        Assert.True(outcome.Verified);
+        Assert.Null(outcome.Hash);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ProducesAnUpgradeWhenParametersAreStale()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-stale-user");
+
+        // The shipping default before #2562: Argon2i, m=8192, t=3, p=1.
+        account.Password =
+            "$argon2i$v=19$m=8192,t=3,p=1$LD1XJz7P3wQmIJ+Tu6ScgA$NO5hBABsHQ172C5nDO2X4gWnB4jDef3x6WhLdVE2LFw";
+
+        var outcome = PasswordWorker.ComputeInline(JobFor(account, Password));
+
+        Assert.True(outcome.Verified);
+        Assert.StartsWith("$argon2id$v=19$m=16384,t=1,p=1$", outcome.Hash);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ProducesNoUpgradeWhenThePasswordIsWrong()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-wrong-stale-user");
+        account.Password =
+            "$argon2i$v=19$m=8192,t=3,p=1$LD1XJz7P3wQmIJ+Tu6ScgA$NO5hBABsHQ172C5nDO2X4gWnB4jDef3x6WhLdVE2LFw";
+
+        var outcome = PasswordWorker.ComputeInline(JobFor(account, "not-the-password"));
+
+        Assert.False(outcome.Verified);
+        Assert.Null(outcome.Hash);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void AppliesAWrite()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-apply-user");
+        var upgraded = Argon2PasswordProtection.Instance.EncryptPassword(Password);
+
+        account.ApplyPasswordWrite(upgraded, PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.Argon2);
+
+        Assert.Equal(upgraded, account.Password);
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword(Password));
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Writes apply in dispatch order, which is what makes a guard unnecessary: dispatch is on the
+    /// loop, one worker drains FIFO, and results return through the loop context in that same order.
+    /// A second worker thread would break this and would need ordering reintroduced.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void WritesApplyInDispatchOrder()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-two-writes-user");
+        var done = 0;
+
+        PumpUntil(
+            () =>
+            {
+                for (var i = 1; i <= 2; i++)
+                {
+                    Assert.True(
+                        PasswordWorker.TryEnqueue(
+                            new PasswordJob
+                            {
+                                Account = account,
+                                HashPhrase = account.GetRehashPhrase($"password-{i}"),
+                                StoredAlgorithm = account.PasswordAlgorithm,
+                                TargetAlgorithm = AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm,
+                                OnComplete = (_, _) => done++
+                            }
+                        )
+                    );
+                }
+            },
+            () => done >= 2
+        );
+
+        Assert.Equal(2, done);
+        Assert.True(account.CheckPassword("password-2"));
+        Assert.False(account.CheckPassword("password-1"));
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.SHA1)]
+    [InlineData(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.SHA2)]
+    public void UsesTheUsernameSaltedPhraseForShaAccounts(PasswordProtectionAlgorithm algorithm)
+    {
+        AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = algorithm;
+        var account = CreateAccount($"offloop-phrase-{algorithm}-user");
+
+        // Verification must use the algorithm the hash was stored under...
+        Assert.Equal($"{account.Username}{Password}", account.GetVerifyPhrase(Password));
+
+        // ...and a rehash the one it is moving to. Swapping these is the #2562 lockout.
+        AccountSecurity.CurrentAlgorithm = PasswordProtectionAlgorithm.Argon2;
+        Assert.Equal(Password, account.GetRehashPhrase(Password));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void UsesTheBarePasswordForArgon2Accounts()
+    {
+        var account = CreateAccount("offloop-phrase-argon2-user");
+
+        Assert.Equal(Password, account.GetVerifyPhrase(Password));
+        Assert.Equal(Password, account.GetRehashPhrase(Password));
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Accounting/Security/PasswordProtectionTest.cs

@@ -74,4 +74,89 @@ public class PasswordProtectionTest
 
         Assert.False(passwordProtection.ValidatePassword(encryptedPassword, "Not the same password"));
     }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Literal digests of <see cref="plainPassword"/>, so the stored format cannot drift. These are
+    /// compared as strings against what is already in every account database -- a casing or encoding
+    /// change would lock out every SHA and MD5 account on the shard at once.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData("MD5", "52284053181040AC90DBDE74A0E7FF5E")]
+    [InlineData("SHA1", "9AC635509803AAE2D8312BA1879289259A50C5F0")]
+    [InlineData(
+        "SHA2",
+        "5A727BFF8F8E08A24BDF6B0CD5065F30A1F8E0060B857BB8AFD6955BE0ACBC489DA63F19B8F4CF08D73DE4069CF4B" +
+        "29D94B353F31513B2FB2D9382EFE15AE975"
+    )]
+    public void HashAlgorithm_StoredFormatIsStable(string algorithmType, string expected)
+    {
+        var protection = algorithmType switch
+        {
+            "SHA1" => HashAlgorithmPasswordProtection.SHA1Instance,
+            "SHA2" => HashAlgorithmPasswordProtection.SHA2Instance,
+            _      => HashAlgorithmPasswordProtection.MD5Instance,
+        };
+
+        Assert.Equal(expected, protection.EncryptPassword(plainPassword));
+        Assert.True(protection.ValidatePassword(expected, plainPassword));
+    }
+
+    // The shipping default before this change, as a literal so it cannot drift with the configured
+    // defaults. Password: "hunter2".
+    private const string LegacyArgon2iHash =
+        "$argon2i$v=19$m=8192,t=3,p=1$LD1XJz7P3wQmIJ+Tu6ScgA$NO5hBABsHQ172C5nDO2X4gWnB4jDef3x6WhLdVE2LFw";
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Argon2_ValidatesLegacyArgon2iHash()
+    {
+        Assert.True(Argon2PasswordProtection.Instance.ValidatePassword(LegacyArgon2iHash, "hunter2"));
+        Assert.False(Argon2PasswordProtection.Instance.ValidatePassword(LegacyArgon2iHash, "wrong"));
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    // type, memory, time, parallelism -> expected NeedsRehash
+    [InlineData("argon2id", 16384, 1, 1, false)] // current defaults
+    [InlineData("argon2i", 8192, 3, 1, true)]    // the old shipping default
+    [InlineData("argon2id", 8192, 1, 1, true)]   // right type, stale memory
+    [InlineData("argon2id", 16384, 3, 1, true)]  // right type, stale iterations
+    [InlineData("argon2id", 16384, 1, 2, true)]  // right type, stale parallelism
+    [InlineData("argon2i", 16384, 1, 1, true)]   // right cost, stale type
+    public void Argon2_NeedsRehash_ComparesTypeAndCost(
+        string type, int memory, int time, int parallelism, bool expected
+    )
+    {
+        var hash = $"${type}$v=19$m={memory},t={time},p={parallelism}$" +
+                   "LD1XJz7P3wQmIJ+Tu6ScgA$NO5hBABsHQ172C5nDO2X4gWnB4jDef3x6WhLdVE2LFw";
+
+        Assert.Equal(expected, Argon2PasswordProtection.Instance.NeedsRehash(hash));
+    }
+
+    // Digest and salt lengths are decoded base64 sizes rather than parameter-list entries, so they
+    // need their own literals. Current type and cost throughout; only a length differs.
+    [Theory]
+    // 16-byte digest: 22 base64 chars instead of the 43 a 32-byte digest encodes to.
+    [InlineData("$argon2id$v=19$m=16384,t=1,p=1$LD1XJz7P3wQmIJ+Tu6ScgA$NO5hBABsHQ172C5nDO2X4g")]
+    // 8-byte salt: 11 base64 chars instead of the 22 a 16-byte salt encodes to.
+    [InlineData("$argon2id$v=19$m=16384,t=1,p=1$LD1XJz7P3wQ$NO5hBABsHQ172C5nDO2X4gWnB4jDef3x6WhLdVE2LFw")]
+    public void Argon2_NeedsRehash_ComparesSaltAndDigestLengths(string hash)
+    {
+        Assert.True(Argon2PasswordProtection.Instance.NeedsRehash(hash));
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData("")]
+    [InlineData("not-a-hash")]
+    public void Argon2_NeedsRehash_IsTrueForUnparseableHashes(string hash)
+    {
+        Assert.True(Argon2PasswordProtection.Instance.NeedsRehash(hash));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void NonArgon2Protections_NeverNeedRehash()
+    {
+        Assert.False(PBKDF2PasswordProtection.Instance.NeedsRehash("anything"));
+        Assert.False(HashAlgorithmPasswordProtection.SHA2Instance.NeedsRehash("anything"));
+        Assert.False(HashAlgorithmPasswordProtection.SHA1Instance.NeedsRehash("anything"));
+        Assert.False(HashAlgorithmPasswordProtection.MD5Instance.NeedsRehash("anything"));
+    }
 }

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/CagTreeBuilderTests.cs

@@ -1,80 +0,0 @@
-using System.Linq;
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
-public class CagTreeBuilderTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void BuildTree_creates_nested_categories_and_resolves_types()
-    {
-        var index = new ObjectIndexFile
-        {
-            Objects =
-            [
-                new ObjectIndexEntry
-                {
-                    Type = "Katana", Entity = "item", Category = "Items.Weapons.Swords",
-                    Chunk = "items.weapons.swords", ItemID = 0x13FF, Hue = 0
-                }
-            ]
-        };
-
-        var root = CAGLoader.BuildTree(index);
-
-        var items = Assert.IsType<CAGCategory>(FindChild(root, "Items"));
-        var weapons = Assert.IsType<CAGCategory>(FindChild(items, "Weapons"));
-        var swords = Assert.IsType<CAGCategory>(FindChild(weapons, "Swords"));
-
-        var leaf = Assert.IsType<CAGObject>(swords.Nodes[0]);
-        Assert.Equal(typeof(Katana), leaf.Type);
-        Assert.Equal(0x13FF, leaf.ItemID);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void BuildTree_keeps_multiple_objects_in_one_category()
-    {
-        var index = new ObjectIndexFile
-        {
-            Objects =
-            [
-                new ObjectIndexEntry { Type = "Katana",   Entity = "item", Category = "Items.Weapons.Swords", Chunk = "items.weapons.swords", ItemID = 0x13FF, Hue = 0 },
-                new ObjectIndexEntry { Type = "Longsword", Entity = "item", Category = "Items.Weapons.Swords", Chunk = "items.weapons.swords", ItemID = 0x0F5E, Hue = 0 }
-            ]
-        };
-
-        var root = CAGLoader.BuildTree(index);
-        var swords = (CAGCategory)FindNestedCategory(root, "Items", "Weapons", "Swords");
-
-        var leafTypes = swords.Nodes.OfType<CAGObject>().Select(o => o.Type).ToList();
-        Assert.Contains(typeof(Katana), leafTypes);
-        Assert.Contains(typeof(Server.Items.Longsword), leafTypes);
-    }
-
-    private static CAGNode FindChild(CAGCategory parent, string title)
-    {
-        foreach (var node in parent.Nodes)
-        {
-            if (node.Title == title)
-            {
-                return node;
-            }
-        }
-
-        throw new Xunit.Sdk.XunitException($"No child '{title}'.");
-    }
-
-    private static CAGNode FindNestedCategory(CAGCategory root, params string[] titles)
-    {
-        CAGNode current = root;
-        foreach (var title in titles)
-        {
-            current = FindChild((CAGCategory)current, title);
-        }
-
-        return current;
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/CategorizationSyncTests.cs

@@ -1,44 +0,0 @@
-using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Linq;
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-public class CategorizationSyncTests
-{
-    private static CAGJson Cat(string category, params System.Type[] types) =>
-        new()
-        {
-            Category = category,
-            Objects = types.Select(t => new CAGObject { Type = t }).ToArray()
-        };
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Reconcile_appends_missing_types_to_uncategorized()
-    {
-        var categorization = new List<CAGJson> { Cat("Items.Weapons.Swords", typeof(Katana)) };
-        var discovered = new List<System.Type> { typeof(Katana), typeof(Runebook) };
-
-        var (updated, report) = CategorizationSync.Reconcile(categorization, discovered);
-
-        Assert.Contains("Runebook", report.Appended);
-        Assert.Empty(report.Orphaned);
-
-        var uncategorized = Assert.Single(updated, c => c.Category == "Items.Uncategorized");
-        Assert.Contains(uncategorized.Objects, o => o.Type == typeof(Runebook));
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void Reconcile_reports_orphans_not_in_discovered()
-    {
-        var categorization = new List<CAGJson> { Cat("Items.Weapons.Swords", typeof(Katana)) };
-        var discovered = new List<System.Type> { typeof(Runebook) };
-
-        var (_, report) = CategorizationSync.Reconcile(categorization, discovered);
-
-        Assert.Contains("Katana", report.Orphaned);
-        Assert.Contains("Runebook", report.Appended);
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectCacheBuilderTests.cs

@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-using System.Collections.Generic;
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-public class ObjectCacheBuilderTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void Build_produces_index_row_and_detail_chunk()
-    {
-        var extracted = new ExtractedObject(
-            typeof(Runebook),
-            "item",
-            "Items.Skill Items.Magical",
-            new LeanMetadata(8901, 0x461, "runebook", 1041267),
-            [new CtorDoc()],
-            [new PropertyDoc { Name = "Hue", Type = "int" }],
-            [new OplLine { Cliloc = 1041267 }],
-            "Item"
-        );
-
-        var (index, chunks) = ObjectCacheBuilder.Build([extracted], "2026-07-19T00:00:00Z");
-
-        var row = Assert.Single(index.Objects);
-        Assert.Equal("Runebook", row.Type);
-        Assert.Equal("items.skill-items.magical", row.Chunk);
-        Assert.Equal(8901, row.ItemID);
-
-        var chunk = Assert.Contains("items.skill-items.magical", chunks);
-        Assert.Contains("Runebook", chunk.Keys);
-        Assert.Equal("Item", chunk["Runebook"].BaseType);
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectCacheGeneratorTests.cs

@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-using System;
-using System.Collections.Generic;
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
-public class ObjectCacheGeneratorTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void Generate_builds_index_and_chunks_from_extracted_objects()
-    {
-        var discovered = new List<Type> { typeof(Runebook), typeof(Katana) };
-        var categorization = new List<CAGJson>(); // empty -> both land in Items.Uncategorized
-
-        var result = ObjectCacheGenerator.Generate(categorization, discovered);
-
-        Assert.Equal(2, result.Index.Objects.Count);
-        Assert.NotEmpty(result.Chunks);
-
-        var runebook = Assert.Single(result.Index.Objects, o => o.Type == "Runebook");
-        Assert.True(runebook.ItemID > 0);
-        Assert.Equal(1041267, runebook.Cliloc);
-        Assert.Equal("items.uncategorized", runebook.Chunk);
-
-        Assert.Contains("Runebook", result.Report.Appended);
-        Assert.Contains("items.uncategorized", result.Chunks.Keys);
-        Assert.Contains("Runebook", result.Chunks["items.uncategorized"].Keys);
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectDiscoveryTests.cs

@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
-public class ObjectDiscoveryTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void Discover_includes_concrete_constructibles_and_excludes_abstract()
-    {
-        var types = ObjectIntrospection.DiscoverConstructibleTypes();
-
-        Assert.Contains(typeof(Katana), types);
-        Assert.Contains(typeof(Runebook), types);
-        Assert.DoesNotContain(typeof(BaseWeapon), types); // abstract
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectIndexSerializationTests.cs

@@ -1,52 +0,0 @@
-using System.IO;
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Json;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-public class ObjectIndexSerializationTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void ObjectIndexFile_round_trips_through_json()
-    {
-        var index = new ObjectIndexFile
-        {
-            GeneratedUtc = "2026-07-19T00:00:00Z",
-            Objects =
-            [
-                new ObjectIndexEntry
-                {
-                    Type = "Katana",
-                    Entity = "item",
-                    Category = "Items.Weapons.Swords",
-                    Chunk = "items.weapons.swords",
-                    ItemID = 8901,
-                    Hue = 0x461,
-                    Name = "katana",
-                    Cliloc = 1041267
-                }
-            ]
-        };
-
-        var tempPath = Path.GetTempFileName();
-        try
-        {
-            JsonConfig.Serialize(tempPath, index);
-            var roundTripped = JsonConfig.Deserialize<ObjectIndexFile>(tempPath);
-
-            Assert.NotNull(roundTripped);
-            var entry = Assert.Single(roundTripped.Objects);
-
-            Assert.Equal("Katana", entry.Type);
-            Assert.Equal("items.weapons.swords", entry.Chunk);
-            Assert.Equal(8901, entry.ItemID);
-            Assert.Equal(0x461, entry.Hue);
-            Assert.Equal(1041267, entry.Cliloc);
-        }
-        finally
-        {
-            File.Delete(tempPath);
-        }
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectIntrospectionCtorsTests.cs

@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
-public class ObjectIntrospectionCtorsTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void ExtractCtors_lists_both_constructible_runebook_overloads()
-    {
-        // Runebook has [Constructible] Runebook() and [Constructible] Runebook(int maxCharges).
-        var ctors = ObjectIntrospection.ExtractCtors(typeof(Runebook));
-
-        Assert.Equal(2, ctors.Count);
-        Assert.Contains(ctors, c => c.Parameters.Count == 0);
-
-        var parameterized = Assert.Single(ctors, c => c.Parameters.Count == 1);
-        Assert.Equal("maxCharges", parameterized.Parameters[0].Name);
-        Assert.Equal("int", parameterized.Parameters[0].Type);
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectIntrospectionLeanTests.cs

@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Server.Tests;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
-public class ObjectIntrospectionLeanTests
-{
-    [SkippableFact]
-    public void ExtractLean_reads_item_id_from_a_weapon()
-    {
-        // Requires client TileData: ExtractLean clamps itemID > TileData.MaxItemValue to 1, and
-        // MaxItemValue is 0 when tiledata.mul is absent (CI), so the real 0x13FF only survives with data.
-        TileDataRequirement.SkipIfMissing();
-
-        // Katana ctor is base(0x13FF) — era-independent.
-        var lean = ObjectIntrospection.ExtractLean(typeof(Katana));
-        Assert.Equal(0x13FF, lean.ItemID);
-    }
-
-    [Fact]
-    public void ExtractLean_reads_hue_and_cliloc_from_a_runebook()
-    {
-        // Runebook sets Hue = 0x461 and LabelNumber 1041267 regardless of era.
-        var lean = ObjectIntrospection.ExtractLean(typeof(Runebook));
-        Assert.Equal(0x461, lean.Hue);
-        Assert.Equal(1041267, lean.Cliloc);
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectIntrospectionOplTests.cs

@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
-public class ObjectIntrospectionOplTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void ExtractOpl_captures_the_runebook_name_cliloc()
-    {
-        // Runebook.LabelNumber is 1041267 ("runebook") — it appears as an OPL line.
-        var opl = ObjectIntrospection.ExtractOpl(typeof(Runebook));
-        Assert.Contains(opl, line => line.Cliloc == 1041267);
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectIntrospectionPropertiesTests.cs

@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-using Server.Commands;
-using Server.Items;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
-public class ObjectIntrospectionPropertiesTests
-{
-    [Fact]
-    public void ExtractProperties_includes_inherited_item_command_properties()
-    {
-        var props = ObjectIntrospection.ExtractProperties(typeof(Runebook));
-
-        var hue = Assert.Single(props, p => p.Name == "Hue");
-        Assert.Equal("int", hue.Type);
-
-        var lootType = Assert.Single(props, p => p.Name == "LootType");
-        Assert.NotNull(lootType.EnumValues);
-        Assert.Contains("Blessed", lootType.EnumValues);
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Commands/Objects/ObjectNamingTests.cs

@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-using System;
-using Server.Commands;
-using Xunit;
-
-namespace UOContent.Tests.Commands.Objects;
-
-public class ObjectNamingTests
-{
-    [Theory]
-    [InlineData("Items.Skill Items.Magical", "items.skill-items.magical")]
-    [InlineData("Items.Weapons.Swords", "items.weapons.swords")]
-    [InlineData("Mobiles.Uncategorized", "mobiles.uncategorized")]
-    public void ChunkKey_lowercases_and_replaces_spaces(string category, string expected)
-    {
-        Assert.Equal(expected, ObjectNaming.ChunkKey(category));
-    }
-
-    [Theory]
-    [InlineData(typeof(int), "int")]
-    [InlineData(typeof(bool), "bool")]
-    [InlineData(typeof(string), "string")]
-    [InlineData(typeof(double), "double")]
-    [InlineData(typeof(int?), "int?")]
-    [InlineData(typeof(Server.Items.WeaponQuality), "WeaponQuality")]
-    public void FriendlyTypeName_maps_primitives_and_keeps_enum_names(Type t, string expected)
-    {
-        Assert.Equal(expected, ObjectNaming.FriendlyTypeName(t));
-    }
-}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Engines/AdvancedSearch/AdvancedSearchPagingTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+using Server.Engines.AdvancedSearch;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests;
+
+public class AdvancedSearchPagingTests
+{
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(20, 0, 18, 18)]  // full first page
+    [InlineData(20, 18, 18, 2)]  // partial last page -> 2 visible (bug rendered 0 in descending)
+    [InlineData(5, 0, 18, 5)]
+    [InlineData(0, 0, 18, 0)]
+    public void VisibleCount_IsCorrect(int total, int from, int max, int expected)
+    {
+        Assert.Equal(expected, AdvancedSearchGump.VisibleCount(total, from, max));
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Engines/AdvancedSearch/AdvancedSearchTypesTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+using Server;
+using Server.Engines.AdvancedSearch;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests;
+
+[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
+public class AdvancedSearchTypesTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void CompareValues_Poison_ReferenceTypeParsedViaTypes()
+    {
+        PoisonKinds.Configure(); // idempotent; registers Lesser..Lethal now that Core.Expansion is set
+
+        // Poison is a reference type implementing ISpanParsable; it can't use the compile-time span
+        // path and routes through the shared Server.Types converter. Poison.Parse returns the
+        // registered singleton, so "= Lethal" is a reference-equality match — this is the case that
+        // previously compared a Poison against the raw string and always failed.
+        var prop = Poison.Lethal;
+        Assert.True(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(Poison), prop, "Lethal", "="));
+        Assert.False(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(Poison), prop, "Lesser", "="));
+
+        var ex = Record.Exception(() =>
+            Assert.False(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(Poison), prop, "notapoison", "=")));
+        Assert.Null(ex);
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Engines/AdvancedSearch/AdvancedSearchUtilitiesTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+using System;
+using Server;
+using Server.Engines.AdvancedSearch;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests;
+
+public class AdvancedSearchUtilitiesTests
+{
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData("abc")]           // not a number -> was FormatException
+    [InlineData("99999999999")]   // overflows int -> was OverflowException
+    [InlineData("0xZZ")]          // bad hex -> was FormatException
+    public void CompareValues_BadNumeric_ReturnsFalse_DoesNotThrow(string value)
+    {
+        var ex = Record.Exception(() =>
+        {
+            var result = AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(int), 5, value, ">");
+            Assert.False(result);
+        });
+        Assert.Null(ex);
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData("Bogus")]         // not a member -> was ArgumentException
+    [InlineData("onehandedxyz")]  // not a member, even case-insensitively -> was ArgumentException
+    public void CompareValues_BadEnum_ReturnsFalse_DoesNotThrow(string value)
+    {
+        var ex = Record.Exception(() =>
+        {
+            var result = AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(Layer), (byte)Layer.OneHanded, value, "=");
+            Assert.False(result);
+        });
+        Assert.Null(ex);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void CompareValues_ValidEnum_IgnoresCase()
+    {
+        Assert.True(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(Layer), (byte)Layer.OneHanded, "onehanded", "="));
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    // leaf value is "T"/"F"; evalLeaf returns leaf=="T"
+    [InlineData("T", true)]
+    [InlineData("F", false)]
+    [InlineData("F@F|T", true)]   // (F&&F)||T = T   (buggy code gave F&&(F||T)=F)
+    [InlineData("T|F@F", true)]   // T||(F&&F) = T   (buggy code gave (T||F)&&F=F)
+    [InlineData("T@F", false)]
+    [InlineData("T@T", true)]
+    [InlineData("F|F", false)]
+    public void EvaluateBoolean_Precedence(string expr, bool expected)
+    {
+        // State is unused here; the leaf evaluator just checks the span equals "T".
+        var result = AdvancedSearchUtilities.EvaluateBoolean(expr, 0, static (_, leaf) => leaf.SequenceEqual("T"));
+        Assert.Equal(expected, result);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void CompareValues_ReferenceType_EqualityByString_NoThrow()
+    {
+        // A reference-typed property (e.g. RootParent name-ish) compared with "=" should not throw,
+        // and ordering operators must return false rather than throwing.
+        var ex = Record.Exception(() =>
+        {
+            Assert.False(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(object), new object(), "whatever", ">"));
+        });
+        Assert.Null(ex);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void CompareValues_TimeSpan_ParsesViaSpanParsable()
+    {
+        // TimeSpan is not IConvertible, so the old Convert.ChangeType fallback threw and silently
+        // returned no-match. ISpanParsable<TimeSpan> parses it correctly.
+        var prop = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
+        Assert.True(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(TimeSpan), prop, "00:05:00", "="));
+        Assert.False(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(TimeSpan), prop, "00:10:00", "="));
+        Assert.True(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(TimeSpan), prop, "00:01:00", ">"));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void CompareValues_TimeSpan_BadInput_ReturnsFalse_NoThrow()
+    {
+        var ex = Record.Exception(() =>
+            Assert.False(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(TimeSpan), TimeSpan.Zero, "notaspan", "=")));
+        Assert.Null(ex);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void CompareValues_Guid_ValueTypeParsedViaTypes()
+    {
+        // Guid is a value type not named by the hot paths; it's parsed via Types (IParsable) and
+        // compared by value.
+        var g = Guid.Parse("00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001");
+        Assert.True(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(Guid), g, "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001", "="));
+        Assert.False(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(Guid), g, "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000002", "="));
+    }
+
+    // A reference type with a legacy RunUO-style static Parse(string) and NO IParsable<> interface —
+    // the Faction/Town shape. Types must still discover its Parse by reflection.
+    private sealed class LegacyParseType
+    {
+        public string Value { get; private init; }
+        public static LegacyParseType Parse(string s) => new() { Value = s };
+        public override bool Equals(object obj) => obj is LegacyParseType o && o.Value == Value;
+        public override int GetHashCode() => Value?.GetHashCode() ?? 0;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void CompareValues_LegacyParseString_ParsedViaTypes()
+    {
+        // Pre-IParsable types (only a static Parse(string)) must still be searchable: Types binds the
+        // legacy Parse by reflection, so we compare against a real parsed instance, not the raw text.
+        var prop = LegacyParseType.Parse("alpha");
+        Assert.True(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(LegacyParseType), prop, "alpha", "="));
+        Assert.False(AdvancedSearchUtilities.CompareValues(typeof(LegacyParseType), prop, "beta", "="));
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Engines/AdvancedSearch/AdvancedSearchWorkerTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Concurrent;
+using Server;
+using Server.Engines.AdvancedSearch;
+using Server.Items;
+using Server.Tests;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests;
+
+[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
+public class AdvancedSearchWorkerTests
+{
+    // An item whose property test path will throw when evaluated.
+    private sealed class ThrowingItem : Item
+    {
+        public ThrowingItem() : base(0x1) { }
+        public ThrowingItem(Serial s) : base(s) { }
+        public string Boom => throw new InvalidOperationException("boom");
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Worker_FilterThrows_DoesNotEscape_ReturnsNoMatch()
+    {
+        var worker = new AdvancedSearchThreadWorker();
+        var results = new ConcurrentQueue<AdvancedSearchResult>();
+        var ignore = new ConcurrentQueue<IEntity>();
+        var filter = new AdvancedSearchFilter
+        {
+            FilterPropertyTest = true,
+            PropertyTest = "Boom=1", // reflection GetValue -> throws
+        };
+
+        var item = new ThrowingItem();
+
+        try
+        {
+            worker.Wake(new WorldLocation(Point3D.Zero, Map.Felucca), filter, results, ignore);
+            worker.Push(item);
+            worker.Sleep(); // drains; must not crash the test process
+
+            Assert.Empty(results);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            item.Delete();
+            worker.Exit();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Worker_DeletedEntity_IsSkipped()
+    {
+        var worker = new AdvancedSearchThreadWorker();
+        var results = new ConcurrentQueue<AdvancedSearchResult>();
+        var ignore = new ConcurrentQueue<IEntity>();
+        var filter = new AdvancedSearchFilter(); // no filters -> everything matches
+
+        var item = new Item(0x1);
+        item.Delete();
+
+        try
+        {
+            worker.Wake(new WorldLocation(Point3D.Zero, Map.Felucca), filter, results, ignore);
+            worker.Push(item);
+            worker.Sleep();
+
+            Assert.Empty(results);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            worker.Exit();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void DoSearch_IsGuarded_AgainstReentry()
+    {
+        // White-box: flip the guard, assert a second entry is rejected, then clear.
+        // _searchInProgress is process-global static state; release it in finally so a
+        // failed assert here can't leak the guard into other tests.
+        Assert.False(AdvancedSearchGump.IsSearchInProgress);
+        Assert.True(AdvancedSearchGump.TryBeginSearch()); // acquires
+        try
+        {
+            Assert.False(AdvancedSearchGump.TryBeginSearch()); // rejected
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            AdvancedSearchGump.EndSearch(); // releases
+        }
+
+        Assert.False(AdvancedSearchGump.IsSearchInProgress);
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Engines/Factions/FactionRankTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Server;
+using Server.Factions;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// PlayerState.Rank is read from GetProperties, so it must stay a plain field read. These pin what
+/// that requires: the rank is never null, and it is correct without anyone having read it first.
+/// </summary>
+[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
+public class FactionRankTests
+{
+    // The faction ctor builds its own Definition, so no world state is needed.
+    private static Faction NewFaction() => new CouncilOfMages();
+
+    private static PlayerState AddMember(Faction faction, List<PlayerState> owner)
+    {
+        var state = new PlayerState(new Mobile(), faction, owner);
+        owner.Add(state);
+        return state;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Rank_IsPopulatedBeforeAnythingReadsIt()
+    {
+        var faction = NewFaction();
+        var state = new PlayerState(new Mobile(), faction, []);
+
+        // Nothing recomputes on read, so the ctor must leave a usable value or Rank.Title NREs.
+        Assert.NotNull(state.Rank);
+        Assert.NotNull(state.Rank.Title);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Rank_IsTheLowestRank_ForAnUnrankedMember()
+    {
+        var faction = NewFaction();
+        var owner = new List<PlayerState>();
+        var a = AddMember(faction, owner);
+        var b = AddMember(faction, owner);
+
+        a.UpdateRank();
+        b.UpdateRank();
+
+        var lowest = faction.Definition.Ranks[^1];
+
+        Assert.Equal(lowest.Rank, a.Rank.Rank);
+        Assert.Equal(lowest.Rank, b.Rank.Rank);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void SettingRankIndex_UpdatesRankWithoutAnyoneReadingIt()
+    {
+        var faction = NewFaction();
+        var owner = new List<PlayerState>();
+        var top = AddMember(faction, owner);
+        var bottom = AddMember(faction, owner);
+
+        faction.ZeroRankOffset = 2;
+
+        top.RankIndex = 0;
+        bottom.RankIndex = 1;
+
+        // No read triggered these, yet the ordering is reflected.
+        Assert.True(top.Rank.Rank > bottom.Rank.Rank);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ReadingRank_IsStableAndSideEffectFree()
+    {
+        var faction = NewFaction();
+        var owner = new List<PlayerState>();
+        var state = AddMember(faction, owner);
+
+        faction.ZeroRankOffset = 1;
+        state.RankIndex = 0;
+
+        var first = state.Rank;
+        var second = state.Rank;
+
+        Assert.Same(first, second);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void RankIndexOutOfSyncWithZeroRankOffset_StillResolvesARank()
+    {
+        var faction = NewFaction();
+        var owner = new List<PlayerState>();
+        var a = AddMember(faction, owner);
+        AddMember(faction, owner);
+
+        // A negative percent used to match no rank at all, leaving Rank null.
+        faction.ZeroRankOffset = 1;
+        a.RankIndex = 5;
+
+        Assert.NotNull(a.Rank);
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Gumps/TestGumps/DynamicTestGump.cs

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ public class DynamicTestGump : DynamicGump
 {
     private readonly string _petName;
 
+    public bool HasVisualElementsForTest => HasVisualElements;
+
     public DynamicTestGump(string petName) : base(50, 50)
     {
         _petName = petName;

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Gumps/TestGumps/EmptyTestGumps.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+using Server.Gumps;
+
+namespace Server.Tests.Gumps;
+
+public sealed class EmptyLegacyTestGump : Gump
+{
+    public bool HasVisualElementsForTest => HasVisualElements;
+
+    public EmptyLegacyTestGump() : base(0, 0)
+    {
+    }
+}
+
+public sealed class EmptyDynamicTestGump : DynamicGump
+{
+    public bool HasVisualElementsForTest => HasVisualElements;
+
+    public EmptyDynamicTestGump() : base(0, 0)
+    {
+    }
+
+    protected override void BuildLayout(ref DynamicGumpBuilder builder)
+    {
+        builder.AddPage();
+    }
+}
+
+public sealed class EmptyStaticTestGump : StaticGump<EmptyStaticTestGump>
+{
+    public bool HasVisualElementsForTest => HasVisualElements;
+
+    public EmptyStaticTestGump() : base(0, 0)
+    {
+    }
+
+    protected override void BuildLayout(ref StaticGumpBuilder builder)
+    {
+        builder.SetNoClose();
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Gumps/TestGumps/LegacyTestGump.cs

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ namespace Server.Tests.Gumps;
 
 public sealed class LegacyTestGump : Gump
 {
+    public bool HasVisualElementsForTest => HasVisualElements;
+
     public LegacyTestGump(string petName) : base(50, 50)
     {
         Serial = (Serial)0x123;

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Gumps/TestGumps/StaticTestGump.cs

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ namespace Server.Tests.Gumps;
 
 public class StaticTestGump : StaticGump<StaticTestGump>
 {
+    public bool HasVisualElementsForTest => HasVisualElements;
+
     public StaticTestGump() : base(50, 50)
     {
         Serial = (Serial)0x123;

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Gumps/TestLayoutGumps.cs

@@ -73,6 +73,32 @@ public class TestLayoutGumps
         AssertThat.Equal(writer.Span, packet);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void TestEmptyGumpsHaveNoVisualElements()
+    {
+        Assert.False(Compile(new EmptyLegacyTestGump()).HasVisualElementsForTest);
+        Assert.False(Compile(new EmptyDynamicTestGump()).HasVisualElementsForTest);
+        Assert.False(Compile(new EmptyStaticTestGump()).HasVisualElementsForTest);
+        Assert.False(Compile(new EmptyStaticTestGump()).HasVisualElementsForTest);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void TestVisibleGumpsHaveVisualElements()
+    {
+        Assert.True(Compile(new LegacyTestGump("Test")).HasVisualElementsForTest);
+        Assert.True(Compile(new DynamicTestGump("Test")).HasVisualElementsForTest);
+        Assert.True(Compile(new StaticTestGump()).HasVisualElementsForTest);
+        Assert.True(Compile(new StaticTestGump()).HasVisualElementsForTest);
+    }
+
+    private static T Compile<T>(T gump) where T : BaseGump
+    {
+        var buffer = GC.AllocateUninitializedArray<byte>(512);
+        var writer = new SpanWriter(buffer);
+        gump.Compile(ref writer);
+        return gump;
+    }
+
     private static void InternalTestStaticGump<T>(ReadOnlySpan<byte> expectedLayout, StaticGump<T> staticGump, string[] strings)
         where T : StaticGump<T>
     {

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Items/TreasureChests/TreasureMapChestLiftTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+using Server;
+using Server.Items;
+using Server.Mobiles;
+using Server.Tests;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests;
+
+[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
+public class TreasureMapChestLiftTests
+{
+    // Coordinates chosen to avoid overlap with Tracking (1000-4000, 1000-4000) and
+    // DetectHidden (1000-2400, 500) test areas.
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void PartialLift_MarksSplitRemainderAsLifted()
+    {
+        using var rng = new PredictableRandom(10); // RandomDouble() = 0.5, no spawn roll fires
+        var map = Map.Felucca;
+        var location = new Point3D(5000, 600, 0);
+        var player = CreatePlayerMobile(map, location);
+        var chest = new TreasureMapChest(1);
+
+        try
+        {
+            chest.MoveToWorld(location, map);
+            chest.Locked = false;
+
+            var gold = FindGold(chest, null);
+            Assert.NotNull(gold);
+
+            player.Lift(gold, 1, out var rejected, out _);
+            Assert.False(rejected);
+
+            // The stack split re-adds the remainder as a brand-new item. It must count as
+            // already lifted, otherwise every 1-coin pull grants a fresh guardian spawn roll.
+            var remainder = FindGold(chest, gold);
+            Assert.NotNull(remainder);
+            Assert.Contains(remainder, chest.Lifted);
+            Assert.Contains(gold, chest.Lifted);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            player.Holding?.Delete();
+            player.Delete();
+            chest.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ItemAddedAfterFill_IsMarkedLifted()
+    {
+        using var rng = new PredictableRandom(10);
+        var chest = new TreasureMapChest(1);
+        var packed = new Gold(500);
+
+        try
+        {
+            // Anything entering the chest after the initial fill (packed-back gold, split
+            // remainders, GM drops) was never part of the original loot and must not
+            // grant spawn rolls when lifted back out.
+            chest.DropItem(packed);
+
+            Assert.Contains(packed, chest.Lifted);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            chest.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void OriginalFillLoot_IsNotMarkedLifted()
+    {
+        using var rng = new PredictableRandom(10);
+        var chest = new TreasureMapChest(1);
+
+        try
+        {
+            // The original loot must stay roll-eligible for its first lift.
+            Assert.True(chest.Lifted == null || chest.Lifted.Count == 0);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            chest.Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static Gold FindGold(TreasureMapChest chest, Gold except)
+    {
+        var items = chest.Items;
+
+        for (var i = 0; i < items.Count; i++)
+        {
+            if (items[i] is Gold gold && gold != except)
+            {
+                return gold;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    private static PlayerMobile CreatePlayerMobile(Map map, Point3D location)
+    {
+        var mobile = new PlayerMobile(World.NewMobile);
+        mobile.DefaultMobileInit();
+        mobile.MoveToWorld(location, map);
+        return mobile;
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Mobiles/AI/AcquisitionTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Server;
+using Server.Mobiles;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests.Mobiles.AI;
+
+// Pins the reacquire gate and the AcquireOnApproachDelay gradient: every scan re-arms the
+// full ReacquireDelay; enemy movement clamps the deadline to the approach delay (Zero =
+// prodded scan); an illegal deadline self-heals.
+[Collection("Sequential Pathfinding Tests")]
+public class AcquisitionTests : IDisposable
+{
+    private readonly List<Mobile> _created = new();
+
+    public void Dispose()
+    {
+        foreach (var m in _created)
+        {
+            m?.Delete();
+        }
+
+        _created.Clear();
+    }
+
+    private sealed class WildStub : BaseCreature
+    {
+        public WildStub() : base(AIType.AI_Melee, FightMode.Closest, 16, 1) => Body = 0xC9;
+
+        public override void GetSpeeds(out double activeSpeed, out double passiveSpeed)
+        {
+            activeSpeed = 0.3;
+            passiveSpeed = 0.6;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private sealed class TargetStub : Mobile
+    {
+        public TargetStub() => Body = 0x190;
+    }
+
+    private WildStub Spawn(Map map, Point3D loc)
+    {
+        var bc = new WildStub();
+        bc.MoveToWorld(loc, map);
+        bc.AIObject.AITimer?.Stop();
+        _created.Add(bc);
+        return bc;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void EmptyScan_HonorsReacquireDelay()
+    {
+        var map = Map.Maps[1];
+        Assert.NotNull(map);
+        map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out var z, out _);
+
+        var bc = Spawn(map, new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+        bc.NextReacquireTime = Core.TickCount;
+
+        Assert.False(bc.AIObject.AcquireFocusMob(bc.RangePerception, FightMode.Closest, false, false, true));
+        Assert.InRange(bc.NextReacquireTime - Core.TickCount, 5000, 10000);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void WedgedGate_SelfHeals()
+    {
+        var map = Map.Maps[1];
+        Assert.NotNull(map);
+        map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out var z, out _);
+
+        var bc = Spawn(map, new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+
+        var target = new TargetStub();
+        target.DefaultMobileInit();
+        target.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1497, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+        _created.Add(target);
+
+        // Illegal deadline (beyond ReacquireDelay): must read as open, not block forever.
+        bc.NextReacquireTime = Core.TickCount + 60000;
+
+        Assert.True(bc.AIObject.AcquireFocusMob(bc.RangePerception, FightMode.Closest, false, false, true));
+        Assert.Equal(target, bc.FocusMob);
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(false, 5, true)]  // an enemy moving inside approach range (10) clamps the deadline
+    [InlineData(true, 5, false)]  // a same-team wild creature is not an enemy — ignored
+    [InlineData(false, 12, false)] // inside RangePerception but outside approach range — poll only
+    [InlineData(false, 20, false)] // outside approach range (10) is ignored
+    public void MovementClampsScanDeadlineOnlyForEnemiesInRange(bool wildMover, int distance, bool notices)
+    {
+        var map = Map.Maps[1];
+        Assert.NotNull(map);
+        map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out var z, out _);
+
+        var bc = Spawn(map, new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+        bc.NextReacquireTime = Core.TickCount + 8000;
+
+        Mobile mover;
+        if (wildMover)
+        {
+            mover = Spawn(map, new Point3D(1500 - distance, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            mover = new TargetStub { Player = true };
+            mover.DefaultMobileInit();
+            mover.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1500 - distance, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+            _created.Add(mover);
+        }
+
+        bc.OnMovement(mover, new Point3D(1400, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+
+        var remaining = bc.NextReacquireTime - Core.TickCount;
+
+        if (notices)
+        {
+            // Clamped to the approach delay (2s), never opened outright.
+            Assert.InRange(remaining, 1, (long)bc.AcquireOnApproachDelay.TotalMilliseconds);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            Assert.True(remaining > 5000);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private sealed class InstantStub : BaseCreature
+    {
+        public InstantStub() : base(AIType.AI_Melee, FightMode.Closest, 16, 1) => Body = 0xC9;
+
+        public override TimeSpan AcquireOnApproachDelay => TimeSpan.Zero;
+
+        public override void GetSpeeds(out double activeSpeed, out double passiveSpeed)
+        {
+            activeSpeed = 0.3;
+            passiveSpeed = 0.6;
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ZeroApproachDelay_OpensGateImmediately()
+    {
+        var map = Map.Maps[1];
+        Assert.NotNull(map);
+        map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out var z, out _);
+
+        var bc = new InstantStub();
+        bc.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+        bc.AIObject.AITimer?.Stop();
+        _created.Add(bc);
+        bc.NextReacquireTime = Core.TickCount + 8000;
+
+        var mover = new TargetStub { Player = true };
+        mover.DefaultMobileInit();
+        mover.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1495, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+        _created.Add(mover);
+
+        bc.OnMovement(mover, new Point3D(1400, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+
+        // Zero = the gate opens and the AI is prodded to think now; no direct engage.
+        Assert.True(Core.TickCount - bc.NextReacquireTime >= 0);
+        Assert.Null(bc.Combatant);
+        Assert.True(bc.AIObject.AITimer.Running);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void RepeatedMovement_DoesNotShortenBelowApproachDelay()
+    {
+        var map = Map.Maps[1];
+        Assert.NotNull(map);
+        map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out var z, out _);
+
+        var bc = Spawn(map, new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+        bc.NextReacquireTime = Core.TickCount + 8000;
+
+        var mover = new TargetStub { Player = true };
+        mover.DefaultMobileInit();
+        mover.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1495, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+        _created.Add(mover);
+
+        bc.OnMovement(mover, new Point3D(1400, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+        var afterFirst = bc.NextReacquireTime;
+
+        bc.OnMovement(mover, new Point3D(1496, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+
+        Assert.Equal(afterFirst, bc.NextReacquireTime);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void SuccessfulAcquire_HoldsFullDelay()
+    {
+        var map = Map.Maps[1];
+        Assert.NotNull(map);
+        map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out var z, out _);
+
+        var bc = Spawn(map, new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z));
+
+        var target = new TargetStub();
+        target.DefaultMobileInit();
+        target.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1497, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+        _created.Add(target);
+
+        bc.NextReacquireTime = Core.TickCount;
+
+        Assert.True(bc.AIObject.AcquireFocusMob(bc.RangePerception, FightMode.Closest, false, false, true));
+        Assert.Equal(target, bc.FocusMob);
+        Assert.True(bc.NextReacquireTime - Core.TickCount > 5000);
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Mobiles/AI/ApproachTargetTests.cs

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public class ApproachTargetTests
         for (var i = 0; i < maxTicks; i++)
         {
             ai.NextMove = 0;
-            ai.WalkMobileRange(target, 1, false, 1, 2);
+            ai.WalkMobileRange(target, 1, 1, 2);
             if (bc.InRange(target, arriveDist))
             {
                 return true;
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ public class ApproachTargetTests
         for (var i = 0; i < 200; i++)
         {
             ai.NextMove = 0;
-            ai.MoveTo(target, false, 1);
+            ai.MoveTo(target, 1);
             if (bc.InRange(target, 1))
             {
                 arrived = true;
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ public class ApproachTargetTests
         for (var i = 0; i < 60; i++)
         {
             ai.NextMove = 0;
-            ai.MoveTo(target, true, 1);
+            ai.MoveTo(target, 1);
 
             // Target walks west every other tick for its first several steps, then stops,
             // so a same-speed chaser eventually closes the gap.
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ public class ApproachTargetTests
         for (var i = 0; i < 120; i++)
         {
             ai.NextMove = 0;
-            ai.MoveTo(target, false, 1);
+            ai.MoveTo(target, 1);
         }
 
         // After giving up, the creature must idle (not oscillate) while the goal is still.
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ public class ApproachTargetTests
         for (var i = 0; i < 20; i++)
         {
             ai.NextMove = 0;
-            ai.MoveTo(target, false, 1);
+            ai.MoveTo(target, 1);
             if (bc.Location != idleStart)
             {
                 stayedIdle = false;

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Mobiles/AI/GuardFollowTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Server;
+using Server.Mobiles;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests.Mobiles.AI;
+
+// Guard-following may pathfind, so this shares the pathfinding collection.
+[Collection("Sequential Pathfinding Tests")]
+public class GuardFollowTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void GuardFollow_StepsTowardMaster_AndRegistersMoveIntent()
+    {
+        var map = Map.Maps[1];
+        Assert.NotNull(map);
+        map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out var z, out _);
+
+        var master = new PlayerMobile(World.NewMobile);
+        master.DefaultMobileInit();
+        master.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1494, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+
+        var pet = new PetTestStub();
+        pet.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z), map); // 6 tiles east, open terrain
+        pet.SetControlMaster(master);
+
+        var ai = pet.AIObject;
+        ai.AITimer?.Stop(); // drive manually
+        pet.ControlOrder = OrderType.Guard;
+        ai.AITimer?.Stop(); // the order change may restart the timer
+
+        var start = pet.Location;
+        ai.NextMove = 0;
+        ai.Obey();
+
+        var moved = pet.Location != start;
+        var hasIntent = ai.TryGetMoveWake(out _);
+        var currentSpeed = pet.CurrentSpeed;
+        var currentMoveSpeed = pet.CurrentMoveSpeed;
+
+        pet.Delete();
+        master.Delete();
+
+        Assert.True(moved, "a guarding pet beyond guard range must step toward its master");
+        // Without a move intent, guard-following only steps on the think grid.
+        Assert.True(hasIntent, "guard-following must register a move intent");
+
+        // AOS return sprint on both clocks; the per-step speed flip must not undo it.
+        Assert.Equal(0.1, currentSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(0.1, currentMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void GuardReturn_PreAOS_RunsActive()
+    {
+        var previous = Core.Expansion;
+
+        try
+        {
+            Core.Expansion = Expansion.UOR;
+
+            var map = Map.Maps[1];
+            Assert.NotNull(map);
+            map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out var z, out _);
+
+            var master = new PlayerMobile(World.NewMobile);
+            master.DefaultMobileInit();
+            master.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1494, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+
+            var pet = new PetTestStub();
+            pet.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+            pet.SetControlMaster(master);
+
+            var ai = pet.AIObject;
+            ai.AITimer?.Stop();
+            pet.ControlOrder = OrderType.Guard;
+            ai.AITimer?.Stop();
+            pet.SetCurrentSpeedToPassive(); // a stale passive state must not persist
+
+            ai.NextMove = 0;
+            ai.Obey();
+
+            var currentSpeed = pet.CurrentSpeed;
+
+            pet.Delete();
+            master.Delete();
+
+            // No sprint pre-AOS: the return runs active.
+            Assert.Equal(0.2, currentSpeed);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Core.Expansion = previous;
+        }
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Mobiles/AI/GuardOrderTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Server;
+using Server.Mobiles;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests.Mobiles.AI;
+
+// A guarding pet fights without leaving the Guard order, retargets toward the master's
+// closest aggressor, and stands down when nothing threatens. Scene: the open
+// (1495..1500, 1600) Trammel segment; targets are adjacent so no pathfinding runs.
+[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
+public class GuardOrderTests : IDisposable
+{
+    private readonly List<Mobile> _created = new();
+
+    private sealed class AggressorStub : Mobile
+    {
+        public AggressorStub() => Body = 0xC9;
+    }
+
+    public void Dispose()
+    {
+        foreach (var m in _created)
+        {
+            m?.Delete();
+        }
+
+        _created.Clear();
+    }
+
+    private (PlayerMobile master, PetTestStub pet) SpawnGuardingPet(out Map map, out int z)
+    {
+        map = Map.Maps[1];
+        Assert.NotNull(map);
+        map.GetAverageZ(1500, 1600, out _, out z, out _);
+
+        var master = new PlayerMobile(World.NewMobile);
+        master.DefaultMobileInit();
+        master.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1500, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+        _created.Add(master);
+
+        var pet = new PetTestStub();
+        pet.MoveToWorld(new Point3D(1499, 1600, (sbyte)z), map);
+        pet.SetControlMaster(master);
+        _created.Add(pet);
+
+        pet.AIObject.AITimer?.Stop(); // drive manually
+        pet.ControlOrder = OrderType.Guard;
+        pet.AIObject.AITimer?.Stop(); // the order change restarts the timer
+
+        return (master, pet);
+    }
+
+    private AggressorStub SpawnAggressor(PetTestStub pet, Point3D loc, Mobile attacking)
+    {
+        var aggr = new AggressorStub();
+        aggr.MoveToWorld(loc, pet.Map);
+        _created.Add(aggr);
+
+        // Setup guard: the scene must stay LOS-clear and the combatant must not be vetoed.
+        Assert.True(pet.InLOS(aggr), $"no LOS from pet to aggressor at {loc}");
+
+        if (attacking != null)
+        {
+            aggr.Combatant = attacking;
+            Assert.Same(attacking, aggr.Combatant);
+        }
+
+        return aggr;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void GuardEngage_KeepsGuardOrder()
+    {
+        var (master, pet) = SpawnGuardingPet(out _, out var z);
+        var aggr = SpawnAggressor(pet, new Point3D(1498, 1600, (sbyte)z), master);
+
+        pet.AIObject.Obey();
+
+        Assert.Same(aggr, pet.Combatant);
+        Assert.Equal(OrderType.Guard, pet.ControlOrder);
+        Assert.Equal(OrderType.Guard, pet.AIObject.PersistentOrder);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Guard_RetargetsToAggressorClosestToMaster()
+    {
+        var (master, pet) = SpawnGuardingPet(out _, out var z);
+        var far = SpawnAggressor(pet, new Point3D(1495, 1600, (sbyte)z), master);
+        var near = SpawnAggressor(pet, new Point3D(1498, 1600, (sbyte)z), master);
+
+        pet.Combatant = far; // already fighting the far aggressor
+
+        pet.AIObject.Obey();
+
+        Assert.Same(near, pet.Combatant); // defends the master, not the current fight
+        Assert.Equal(OrderType.Guard, pet.ControlOrder);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ExplicitAttack_ResumesGuard_WithoutChainingIntoAttack()
+    {
+        var (master, pet) = SpawnGuardingPet(out _, out var z);
+
+        // Explicit kill order on a target that then becomes invalid.
+        var victim = SpawnAggressor(pet, new Point3D(1498, 1600, (sbyte)z), null);
+        pet.ControlTarget = victim;
+        pet.ControlOrder = OrderType.Attack;
+        victim.Hidden = true;
+
+        // A second aggressor is still after the master; FightMode.Closest would chain it.
+        var aggr2 = SpawnAggressor(pet, new Point3D(1497, 1600, (sbyte)z), master);
+
+        pet.AIObject.Obey(); // attack completes -> resume the persistent Guard
+
+        Assert.Equal(OrderType.Guard, pet.ControlOrder);
+
+        pet.AIObject.Obey(); // the guard scan engages the remaining aggressor in-order
+
+        Assert.Same(aggr2, pet.Combatant);
+        Assert.Equal(OrderType.Guard, pet.ControlOrder);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void PeacefulGuard_StandsDown()
+    {
+        var (_, pet) = SpawnGuardingPet(out _, out _);
+        Assert.True(pet.Warmode); // the guard order opens in war stance
+
+        pet.AIObject.Obey(); // nothing to guard against
+
+        Assert.False(pet.Warmode);
+        Assert.Null(pet.Combatant);
+        Assert.Null(pet.FocusMob);
+    }
+}

Projects/UOContent.Tests/Tests/Mobiles/AI/MoveSpeedTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,219 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Server;
+using Server.Mobiles;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace UOContent.Tests.Mobiles.AI;
+
+// Pins the CurrentMoveSpeed classification (verbatim active/passive maps to the matching
+// move value; bespoke stays fused), SetSpeed's one-clock guarantee, and the v22 tail.
+[Collection("Sequential UOContent Tests")]
+public class MoveSpeedTests : IDisposable
+{
+    // Delete spawned stubs so they don't linger in the shared static World.
+    private readonly List<Mobile> _created = new();
+
+    public void Dispose()
+    {
+        for (var i = 0; i < _created.Count; i++)
+        {
+            _created[i].Delete();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private sealed class SpeedStub : BaseCreature
+    {
+        // Stands in for the npc-speeds table (unconfigured in the test fixture).
+        public double TableActiveMove;
+        public double TablePassiveMove;
+
+        public SpeedStub() : base(AIType.AI_Animal) => Body = 0xC9;
+
+        public SpeedStub(Serial serial) : base(serial) => Body = 0xC9;
+
+        public override void GetSpeeds(out double activeSpeed, out double passiveSpeed)
+        {
+            activeSpeed = 0.3;
+            passiveSpeed = 0.6;
+        }
+
+        public override void GetMoveSpeeds(out double activeMoveSpeed, out double passiveMoveSpeed)
+        {
+            activeMoveSpeed = TableActiveMove;
+            passiveMoveSpeed = TablePassiveMove;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private SpeedStub NewCreature()
+    {
+        var bc = new SpeedStub();
+        _created.Add(bc);
+        return bc;
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void MoveSpeeds_InheritThinkValues_ByDefault()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+
+        Assert.Equal(0.3, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(0.6, bc.PassiveMoveSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(bc.CurrentSpeed, bc.CurrentMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void CurrentMoveSpeed_ResolvesPerMode_WhenOverridden()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+        bc.SetMoveSpeed(0.45, 0.9);
+
+        // SetSpeed left the creature passive; the think clock is untouched.
+        Assert.Equal(0.6, bc.CurrentSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(0.9, bc.CurrentMoveSpeed);
+
+        bc.SetCurrentSpeedToActive();
+        Assert.Equal(0.3, bc.CurrentSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(0.45, bc.CurrentMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void CurrentMoveSpeed_BespokePace_StaysFused()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+        bc.SetMoveSpeed(0.45, 0.9);
+
+        // Neither think value verbatim, so both clocks run it.
+        bc.CurrentSpeed = 0.11;
+        Assert.Equal(0.11, bc.CurrentMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void SetSpeed_ClearsMoveOverrides()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+        bc.SetMoveSpeed(0.45, 0.9);
+
+        bc.SetSpeed(0.2, 0.4);
+
+        Assert.Equal(0.2, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(0.4, bc.PassiveMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void NonPositiveMoveSpeed_ClearsThatOverride()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+        bc.SetMoveSpeed(0.45, 0.9);
+
+        bc.ActiveMoveSpeed = 0;
+
+        Assert.Equal(0.3, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);  // inheriting again
+        Assert.Equal(0.9, bc.PassiveMoveSpeed); // other override untouched
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ScaleMoveSpeed_ScalesOverrides_LeavesInheritAlone()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+        bc.ActiveMoveSpeed = 0.6; // passive left inheriting
+
+        bc.ScaleMoveSpeed(1.0 / 1.2);
+
+        Assert.Equal(0.5, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(bc.PassiveSpeed, bc.PassiveMoveSpeed); // still inheriting, not 0 * scalar
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Herding_DrivesMoveClock_ThinkUntouched()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature(); // think 0.3/0.6, passive
+        bc.SetMoveSpeed(0.45, 1.05);
+
+        bc.TargetLocation = new Point2D(10, 10);
+
+        Assert.Equal(0.6, bc.CurrentSpeed);     // think clock unaffected by herding
+        Assert.Equal(0.3, bc.CurrentMoveSpeed); // fixed herding pace, not 1.05
+
+        bc.TargetLocation = null;
+        Assert.Equal(1.05, bc.CurrentMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void SnapSpeedsToTable_UndoesScalingDrift_KeepsTunedValues()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+        bc.TableActiveMove = 0.45;
+        bc.TablePassiveMove = 0.9;
+        bc.SetMoveSpeed(0.45, 0.9);
+
+        // 0.45 and 0.9 do not survive /1.2 then *1.2 bit-exactly.
+        bc.ScaleMoveSpeed(1.0 / 1.2);
+        bc.ScaleMoveSpeed(1.2);
+        Assert.NotEqual(0.45, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+
+        bc.SnapSpeedsToTable();
+        Assert.Equal(0.45, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(0.9, bc.PassiveMoveSpeed);
+
+        // A hand-tuned value is nowhere near the epsilon and must keep.
+        bc.SetMoveSpeed(0.7, 0.9);
+        bc.SnapSpeedsToTable();
+        Assert.Equal(0.7, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Migration_MatchingThinkSpeeds_AdoptTableMoveValues()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature(); // think 0.3/0.6, matching its table entry
+        bc.TableActiveMove = 0.45;
+        bc.TablePassiveMove = 0.9;
+
+        bc.MigrateMoveSpeeds();
+
+        Assert.Equal(0.45, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(0.9, bc.PassiveMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Migration_TunedThinkSpeeds_KeepInheriting()
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+        bc.SetSpeed(0.35, 0.6); // hand-tuned: no longer matches the table entry
+        bc.TableActiveMove = 0.45;
+        bc.TablePassiveMove = 0.9;
+
+        bc.MigrateMoveSpeeds();
+
+        Assert.Equal(0.35, bc.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(0.6, bc.PassiveMoveSpeed);
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData(true)]
+    [InlineData(false)]
+    public void MoveSpeedOverrides_SurviveSerialization(bool overridden)
+    {
+        var bc = NewCreature();
+        if (overridden)
+        {
+            bc.SetMoveSpeed(0.45, 0.9);
+        }
+
+        var writer = new BufferWriter(true);
+        bc.Serialize(writer);
+
+        var buffer = new byte[writer.Position];
+        writer.Buffer.AsSpan(0, (int)writer.Position).CopyTo(buffer);
+
+        var copy = new SpeedStub(World.NewMobile);
+        _created.Add(copy);
+        var reader = new BufferReader(buffer);
+        copy.Deserialize(reader);
+
+        // The v22 tail is the last block; exact consumption catches any offset mistake.
+        Assert.Equal(buffer.Length, reader.Position);
+        Assert.Equal(overridden ? 0.45 : 0.3, copy.ActiveMoveSpeed);
+        Assert.Equal(overridden ? 0.9 : 0.6, copy.PassiveMoveSpeed);
+    }
+}