diff --git a/include/core/application.hpp b/include/core/application.hpp
index 08da7458..1294ee12 100644
--- a/include/core/application.hpp
+++ b/include/core/application.hpp
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ private:
         float x, y, z, orientation;
     };
     std::vector<PendingCreatureSpawn> pendingCreatureSpawns_;
-    static constexpr int MAX_SPAWNS_PER_FRAME = 8;
+    static constexpr int MAX_SPAWNS_PER_FRAME = 3;
     static constexpr int MAX_NEW_CREATURE_MODELS_PER_FRAME = 1;
     static constexpr uint16_t MAX_CREATURE_SPAWN_RETRIES = 300;
     std::unordered_set<uint64_t> pendingCreatureSpawnGuids_;
diff --git a/src/core/application.cpp b/src/core/application.cpp
index ee2697e7..eb9d0a7a 100644
--- a/src/core/application.cpp
+++ b/src/core/application.cpp
@@ -786,7 +786,7 @@ void Application::update(float deltaTime) {
             if (gameHandler) {
                 static float creatureResyncTimer = 0.0f;
                 creatureResyncTimer += deltaTime;
-                if (creatureResyncTimer >= 1.0f) {
+                if (creatureResyncTimer >= 3.0f) {
                     creatureResyncTimer = 0.0f;
 
                     glm::vec3 playerPos(0.0f);
diff --git a/src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp b/src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp
index 378a7b41..23c1c6d9 100644
--- a/src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp
+++ b/src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp
@@ -2081,8 +2081,10 @@ void M2Renderer::render(VkCommandBuffer cmd, VkDescriptorSet perFrameSet, const
 
     lastDrawCallCount = 0;
 
-    // Adaptive render distance: balanced for performance without excessive pop-in
-    const float maxRenderDistance = (instances.size() > 2000) ? 350.0f : 1000.0f;
+    // Adaptive render distance: tiered by instance density to cap draw calls
+    const float maxRenderDistance = (instances.size() > 2000) ? 300.0f
+                                  : (instances.size() > 1000) ? 500.0f
+                                  : 1000.0f;
     const float maxRenderDistanceSq = maxRenderDistance * maxRenderDistance;
     const float fadeStartFraction = 0.75f;
     const glm::vec3 camPos = camera.getPosition();