diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/fxview.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/fxview.rs
index 8614b91c..e3e2e1e9 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/fxview.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/fxview.rs
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ pub(crate) fn drive_fx_view(
         return;
     };
     let root = *state.root.get_or_insert_with(|| {
-        let mut pos = benilla_assets::coords::wow_to_bevy(FXVIEW_POS);
+        let mut pos = benilla_assets::coords::wow_to_bevy(req.at.unwrap_or(FXVIEW_POS));
         // `WOW_FX_DISPLAY`: the UNIT lane. Spawn the live component set a streamed creature gets
         // (`net::apply`'s, the same one the `vplates` fixture's wolf uses) and let the ordinary
         // unit pipeline build the model — so what this shoots is a creature, not a model, and
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/mod.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/mod.rs
index 3a84ac3d..ed6b04d3 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/mod.rs
@@ -227,6 +227,9 @@ fn glue_screen() -> Option<GlueScreen> {
 /// surface decals, `crate::ground_fx`; default 0 = the mid-air point), `WOW_FX_HOLD` (=1 keeps
 /// the fixture alive past one sequence pass — previewing a persistent HOLD kit's steady state;
 /// default 0 = the game's discrete-instance reap at one pass, then the pool drains),
+/// `WOW_FX_AT` (`x,y,z` — plant the fixture at a real world point instead of the Northshire
+/// hillside, with `WOW_MAP` picking the map and `WOW_FX_MINUTE` the clock; the ground-decal lanes
+/// need real terrain under the subject),
 /// `WOW_FX_UP` (yards to raise the fixture above its resolved seat — for models authored below
 /// their anchor, whose opening frames the terrain otherwise swallows; default 0).
 #[derive(Resource)]
@@ -264,6 +267,14 @@ pub(crate) struct FxViewRequest {
     pub(crate) ground: bool,
     /// See `WOW_FX_HOLD` above.
     pub(crate) hold: bool,
+    /// `WOW_FX_AT=x,y,z` — plant the fixture at this raw WoW point instead of [`FXVIEW_POS`]
+    /// (with `WOW_MAP` picking the map, like `vista` and `waterfx`). The ground-decal lanes —
+    /// blob shadow, footprints, the selection ring — only exist *on* terrain, and which terrain
+    /// decides whether they exist at all (footprints gate on the surface's `TerrainType.Flags & 1`,
+    /// i.e. snow and sand) and how hard the coplanar tie is (a steep slope seen at a grazing
+    /// angle is the whole difficulty). A fixture nailed to one Northshire hillside can photograph
+    /// none of that.
+    pub(crate) at: Option<[f32; 3]>,
     /// `WOW_FX_UP` — raise the fixture this many yards above its resolved seat (default 0).
     /// The escape hatch for models authored BELOW their anchor (Arcane Intellect's star cluster
     /// starts 1.6 yd under its attach point): at the default seat the terrain swallows the
@@ -586,6 +597,10 @@ impl Plugin for CapturePlugin {
             None
         } else {
             Some(if name == "fxview" {
+                let at = std::env::var("WOW_FX_AT").ok().and_then(|v| {
+                    let c: Vec<f32> = v.split(',').filter_map(|p| p.trim().parse().ok()).collect();
+                    (c.len() == 3).then(|| [c[0], c[1], c[2]])
+                });
                 let display: Option<u32> = std::env::var("WOW_FX_DISPLAY")
                     .ok()
                     .and_then(|v| v.trim().parse().ok());
@@ -627,21 +642,28 @@ impl Plugin for CapturePlugin {
                     ground: knob("WOW_FX_GROUND", 0.0) > 0.5,
                     hold: knob("WOW_FX_HOLD", 0.0) > 0.5,
                     up: knob("WOW_FX_UP", 0.0),
+                    // `WOW_FX_AT=x,y,z` plants the fixture anywhere in the real world, with
+                    // `WOW_MAP` picking the map — the same pair `vista` and `waterfx` take. The
+                    // default hillside can photograph an effect but not a ground decal: which
+                    // surface is under the subject decides whether footprints exist at all, and
+                    // how steeply it falls away decides how hard the coplanar tie is.
+                    at,
                 })
                 .init_resource::<FxViewState>();
                 Scenario {
                     name: "fxview",
-                    map: scenarios::MAP_AZEROTH, // the fixture spawns over the Northshire slope
-                    eye: GROUND_EYE,             // overridden per frame by the orbit in `pin_scene`
-                    look: FXVIEW_POS,
-                    minute: 720,
+                    map: None,
+                    eye: GROUND_EYE, // overridden per frame by the orbit in `pin_scene`
+                    look: at.unwrap_or(FXVIEW_POS),
+                    minute: knob("WOW_FX_MINUTE", 720.0) as u32,
                     ui: None,
                 }
             } else if name == "waterfx" {
                 // The water-foam viewer (see `capture::waterfx`): a wading unit over a synthetic
                 // wet lattice — or, with WOW_WFX_AT=x,y,z, in the real streamed liquid at that pin
                 // — framed by a fixed orbit around the rig centre. Knobs: WOW_WFX_MODE
-                // (ring|wake|turn), WOW_WFX_SPEED (yd/s), WOW_WFX_AGE (s), WOW_WFX_DEPTH (yd),
+                // (ring|wake|turn), WOW_WFX_SPEED (yd/s), WOW_WFX_HEAD (deg), WOW_WFX_AGE (s),
+                // WOW_WFX_DEPTH (yd),
                 // camera WOW_WFX_AZ/EL/DIST. Not a golden scenario.
                 let knob = |k: &str, d: f32| {
                     std::env::var(k)
@@ -676,6 +698,7 @@ impl Plugin for CapturePlugin {
                 app.insert_resource(waterfx::WaterFxView {
                     mode,
                     speed: knob("WOW_WFX_SPEED", 4.0),
+                    heading: knob("WOW_WFX_HEAD", 0.0).to_radians(),
                     age: knob("WOW_WFX_AGE", 1.5),
                     center,
                     depth: knob("WOW_WFX_DEPTH", 0.5),
@@ -686,10 +709,7 @@ impl Plugin for CapturePlugin {
                     name: "waterfx",
                     // The synthetic lattice sits over the Northshire slope; a live rig
                     // (`WOW_WFX_AT`) goes wherever its pin is, so its map is a knob like `vista`'s.
-                    map: std::env::var("WOW_MAP")
-                        .ok()
-                        .and_then(|v| v.parse().ok())
-                        .unwrap_or(scenarios::MAP_AZEROTH),
+                    map: None,
                     eye,
                     look: center,
                     minute: 720,
@@ -733,10 +753,7 @@ impl Plugin for CapturePlugin {
                     name: "vista",
                     // The arbitrary-viewpoint instrument goes anywhere, so its map is a knob: a
                     // horizon report from Kalimdor is `WOW_MAP=1` (a `Map.dbc` id).
-                    map: std::env::var("WOW_MAP")
-                        .ok()
-                        .and_then(|v| v.parse().ok())
-                        .unwrap_or(scenarios::MAP_AZEROTH),
+                    map: None,
                     eye,
                     look: [
                         eye[0] + d * pitch.cos() * face.cos(),
@@ -772,10 +789,12 @@ impl Plugin for CapturePlugin {
         // terrain/WDL streamers and per-map lighting all key off it. Raw WoW coords repeat on every
         // continent, so a scenario that could not say which map it meant would stream the wrong
         // world's tiles and photograph a void (Felwood's tile `33_24` exists in Azeroth, empty).
-        // Written back for `vista` too, which is where the value came from — a harmless no-op that
-        // keeps one path for "which map is this run on" (decision 0743). A glue screen has no map.
-        if let Some(s) = &scenario {
-            std::env::set_var("WOW_MAP", s.map.to_string());
+        // The arbitrary-viewpoint instruments (`vista`, `waterfx`, `fxview`) carry `map: None`
+        // instead: their map IS the knob, so writing it back would be a round trip through a second
+        // parser — and a second parser is how `WOW_MAP=Kalimdor` came to photograph Azeroth in
+        // silence. `world_map` is the one reader (decision 0743). A glue screen has no map.
+        if let Some(m) = scenario.as_ref().and_then(|s| s.map) {
+            std::env::set_var("WOW_MAP", m.to_string());
         }
         let shot_name = scenario.map(|s| s.name).or(glue.map(|g| g.name)).unwrap();
         let out = std::env::var("WOW_CAPTURE_OUT")
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/scenarios.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/scenarios.rs
index bc631217..889a05c8 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/scenarios.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/scenarios.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,11 @@ pub(super) struct Scenario {
     /// Felwood spot's tile (`33_24`) exists in Azeroth too, empty — so a scenario that could not
     /// name its map silently photographed the wrong world. The harness seeds
     /// [`benilla_world::world_map::CurrentMap`] from this before streaming starts (decision 0743).
-    pub(super) map: u32,
+    /// Which `Map.dbc` map this scenario photographs. `None` = **the `$WOW_MAP` knob decides** —
+    /// the arbitrary-viewpoint instruments (`vista`, `waterfx`, `fxview`) go anywhere, so they have
+    /// no map of their own and must not write one back over the knob. A named golden scenario
+    /// always says, because raw WoW coords repeat on every continent.
+    pub(super) map: Option<u32>,
     /// Camera eye, raw WoW coords `(x, y, z)`.
     pub(super) eye: [f32; 3],
     /// Camera look-at target, raw WoW coords.
@@ -304,7 +308,7 @@ pub(super) const GLUE_SCENARIOS: &[GlueScenario] = &[
 pub(super) const SCENARIOS: &[Scenario] = &[
     Scenario {
         name: "water-noon",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: WATER_EYE,
         look: WATER_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -312,7 +316,7 @@ pub(super) const SCENARIOS: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "water-night",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: WATER_EYE,
         look: WATER_LOOK,
         minute: 0,
@@ -320,7 +324,7 @@ pub(super) const SCENARIOS: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "felwood-noon",
-        map: MAP_KALIMDOR,
+        map: Some(MAP_KALIMDOR),
         eye: FELWOOD_EYE,
         look: FELWOOD_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -328,7 +332,7 @@ pub(super) const SCENARIOS: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "felwood-night",
-        map: MAP_KALIMDOR,
+        map: Some(MAP_KALIMDOR),
         eye: FELWOOD_EYE,
         look: FELWOOD_LOOK,
         minute: 0,
@@ -444,7 +448,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // shape 0688 wired and nothing has ever photographed it.
     Scenario {
         name: "tram-undersea",
-        map: MAP_DEEPRUN_TRAM,
+        map: Some(MAP_DEEPRUN_TRAM),
         eye: TRAM_EYE,
         look: TRAM_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -458,7 +462,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // that a half-clouded zone hides. Kept as the standing reproducer for the cloud palette.
     Scenario {
         name: "tainted-scar-noon",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: SCAR_EYE,
         look: SCAR_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -473,7 +477,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // of one build) — same coplanar-batch draw-order defect as `chest-indoor-*` below (0815 Open).
     Scenario {
         name: "overlook-noon",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: OVERLOOK_EYE,
         look: OVERLOOK_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -481,7 +485,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "overlook-night",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: OVERLOOK_EYE,
         look: OVERLOOK_LOOK,
         minute: 0,
@@ -491,7 +495,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `inn-noon` — the room is lit by hearth and candles, so the clock barely reaches it).
     Scenario {
         name: "inn-noon",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: INN_EYE,
         look: INN_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -502,7 +506,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // slides off the rails and the shot degrades into an ordinary fence.
     Scenario {
         name: "fence-shadowline-day",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: FENCE_EYE,
         look: FENCE_LOOK,
         minute: 624,
@@ -516,7 +520,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // about the light curves, and a baseline is the right place to hold the answer (0749 addendum).
     Scenario {
         name: "fence-shadowline-night",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: FENCE_EYE,
         look: FENCE_LOOK,
         minute: 0,
@@ -524,7 +528,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "creature-sun-front",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9496.46, 59.54, 58.28],
         look: [-9500.00, 56.00, 57.28],
         minute: 720,
@@ -535,7 +539,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "creature-sun-rear",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9503.54, 52.46, 58.28],
         look: [-9500.00, 56.00, 57.28],
         minute: 720,
@@ -546,7 +550,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "creature-shade-front",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9496.46, 47.54, 57.75],
         look: [-9500.00, 44.00, 56.75],
         minute: 720,
@@ -557,7 +561,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "creature-shade-rear",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9503.54, 40.46, 57.75],
         look: [-9500.00, 44.00, 56.75],
         minute: 720,
@@ -568,7 +572,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "creature-indoor-front",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9466.57, 34.73, 59.70],
         look: [-9469.40, 31.90, 58.70],
         minute: 720,
@@ -579,7 +583,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "creature-indoor-rear",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9472.23, 29.07, 59.70],
         look: [-9469.40, 31.90, 58.70],
         minute: 720,
@@ -590,7 +594,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "chest-sun-front",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9496.82, 59.18, 57.98],
         look: [-9500.00, 56.00, 56.93],
         minute: 720,
@@ -601,7 +605,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "chest-sun-rear",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9503.18, 52.82, 57.98],
         look: [-9500.00, 56.00, 56.93],
         minute: 720,
@@ -612,7 +616,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "chest-shade-front",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9496.82, 47.18, 57.45],
         look: [-9500.00, 44.00, 56.40],
         minute: 720,
@@ -623,7 +627,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "chest-shade-rear",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9503.18, 40.82, 57.45],
         look: [-9500.00, 44.00, 56.40],
         minute: 720,
@@ -641,7 +645,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // they are deterministic.
     Scenario {
         name: "chest-indoor-front",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9466.85, 34.45, 59.40],
         look: [-9469.40, 31.90, 58.35],
         minute: 720,
@@ -652,7 +656,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "chest-indoor-rear",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9471.95, 29.35, 59.40],
         look: [-9469.40, 31.90, 58.35],
         minute: 720,
@@ -663,7 +667,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "house-north",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: HOUSE_EYE,
         look: [-9389.1, 71.2, 58.0],
         minute: 720,
@@ -671,7 +675,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "house-south",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: HOUSE_EYE,
         look: [-9489.1, 71.2, 58.0],
         minute: 720,
@@ -679,7 +683,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "house-west",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: HOUSE_EYE,
         look: [-9439.1, 121.2, 58.0],
         minute: 720,
@@ -687,7 +691,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "house-east",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: HOUSE_EYE,
         look: [-9439.1, 21.2, 58.0],
         minute: 720,
@@ -700,7 +704,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // every diff unseen.
     Scenario {
         name: "house-north-midnight",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: HOUSE_EYE,
         look: [-9389.1, 71.2, 58.0],
         minute: 0,
@@ -716,7 +720,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // client does the same — the audit's "faithful-cull residue"), which vanishes the room.
     Scenario {
         name: "inn-interior",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-9463.3, 4.4, 58.8],
         look: [-9462.1, -5.6, 58.5],
         minute: 720,
@@ -727,7 +731,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // stays as the warm-light/fog fixture.
     Scenario {
         name: "northshire-dusk",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 1170, // 19:30 — warm dusk light + fog
@@ -735,7 +739,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "northshire-sky-noon",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: SKY_EYE,
         look: SKY_LOOK,
         minute: 720, // day sky-dome gradient + fog horizon
@@ -743,7 +747,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "northshire-sky-dusk",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: SKY_EYE,
         look: SKY_LOOK,
         minute: 1170, // dusk dome warp + low sun + stars emerging
@@ -757,7 +761,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // was cut along a giant faceted circle).
     Scenario {
         name: "northshire-sun-flare",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: SKY_EYE,
         look: [-8797.0, 23.0, 264.0], // eye + 300·(elev 30°, az 45°) — the sun's spot at 17:30
         minute: 1050,
@@ -772,7 +776,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // unit tests (`flare_ray_*`) and the sun fixtures.
     Scenario {
         name: "northshire-moonrise",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: SKY_EYE,
         look: [-8775.0, 45.0, 190.0], // eye + 300·(elev 15°, az 45°) — the moon's spot at 22:44
         minute: 1364,
@@ -784,7 +788,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // the moonrise fixture above proves its absence early, this one its presence at depth of night.
     Scenario {
         name: "northshire-moon-halo",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: SKY_EYE,
         look: [-8858.0, -38.0, 358.0], // eye + 300·(elev 55°, az 45°) — the moon's spot at 00:00
         minute: 0,
@@ -796,7 +800,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // load is resident here; Northshire scenes never exercise that scale.
     Scenario {
         name: "stormwind",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-8833.38, 628.63, 96.0],
         look: [-8809.1, 672.3, 94.0],
         minute: 720,
@@ -808,7 +812,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // director look pass, so "looks like shit" gets caught in-loop, not on the director's screen.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-merchant",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -816,7 +820,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-gossip",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -824,7 +828,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-bank",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -832,7 +836,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-quest",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -840,7 +844,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-questgreeting",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -848,7 +852,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-questlog",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -856,7 +860,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-loot",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -864,7 +868,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     },
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-bag",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -874,7 +878,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-tooltip`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-tooltip",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -884,7 +888,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // seeded hostile wolf. Run with `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-tooltip-world`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-tooltip-world",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -894,7 +898,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-char`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-char",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -905,7 +909,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-unitframes`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-unitframes",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -917,7 +921,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-combopoints`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-combopoints",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -927,7 +931,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // Run with `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-partyinvite`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-partyinvite",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -940,7 +944,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-actionbar`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-actionbar",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -952,7 +956,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE=vplates` (main.rs sizes this window 1024×768 — the 1:1 gx window).
     Scenario {
         name: "vplates",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: [-8956.5, -137.5, 85.6],
         look: [-8949.95, -132.49, 84.8],
         minute: 720,
@@ -963,7 +967,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-worldmap`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-worldmap",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -972,7 +976,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // The spellbook over a seeded mage book. Run with `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-spellbook`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-spellbook",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -982,7 +986,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-macro`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-macro",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -992,7 +996,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-macro-popup`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-macro-popup",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1002,7 +1006,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-chatedit`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-chatedit",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1013,7 +1017,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-chat-tabhover`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-chat-tabhover",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1023,7 +1027,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-social`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-social",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1033,7 +1037,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-options`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-options",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1043,7 +1047,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-options-audio`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-options-audio",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1053,7 +1057,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-options-graphics`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-options-graphics",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1063,7 +1067,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-options-chat`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-options-chat",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1073,7 +1077,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-color-picker`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-color-picker",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1083,7 +1087,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // with `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-options-dropdown`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-options-dropdown",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1093,7 +1097,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-keybindings`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-keybindings",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1103,7 +1107,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // `WOW_CAPTURE_UI=1 WOW_CAPTURE=ui-options-search`.
     Scenario {
         name: "ui-options-search",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: GROUND_EYE,
         look: GROUND_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
@@ -1114,7 +1118,7 @@ pub(super) const ON_DEMAND: &[Scenario] = &[
     // out in the water. Run with `WOW_CAPTURE=name-water`.
     Scenario {
         name: "name-water",
-        map: MAP_AZEROTH,
+        map: Some(MAP_AZEROTH),
         eye: WATER_EYE,
         look: WATER_LOOK,
         minute: 720,
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/waterfx.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/waterfx.rs
index 8dc3f869..e0d1518f 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/waterfx.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/capture/waterfx.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 //! shipped systems; the rig only supplies a unit, water, and motion.
 //!
 //! `WOW_CAPTURE=waterfx` + knobs: `WOW_WFX_MODE` (`ring`|`wake`|`turn`), `WOW_WFX_SPEED` (yd/s),
+//! `WOW_WFX_HEAD` (wake heading, WoW degrees, 0 = +X — point it along a real bank),
 //! `WOW_WFX_AGE` (s of motion before the shot), `WOW_WFX_DEPTH` (yd below the surface; > ~0.8
 //! also exercises the step-in one-shot), camera `WOW_WFX_AZ`/`EL`/`DIST`. Not a golden scenario —
 //! output depends on the knobs.
@@ -41,8 +42,12 @@ pub(crate) enum WfxMode {
 #[derive(Resource)]
 pub(crate) struct WaterFxView {
     pub(crate) mode: WfxMode,
-    /// Translation speed for [`WfxMode::Wake`] (yd/s, WoW +X).
+    /// Translation speed for [`WfxMode::Wake`] (yd/s, along [`Self::heading`]).
     pub(crate) speed: f32,
+    /// Which way a [`WfxMode::Wake`] walks, as a WoW yaw in radians (0 = +X). No shoreline in the
+    /// game is axis-aligned, so a wake that can only run along +X can never be laid **along** a
+    /// bank — the one arrangement where a trail's whole length ties against the waterline at once.
+    pub(crate) heading: f32,
     /// Seconds the unit moves/stands before the shot (foam accumulates).
     pub(crate) age: f32,
     /// Rig centre in raw WoW coords `(x, y, surface_z)` — where the unit ends up at shot time.
@@ -148,10 +153,14 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn(
 /// subsystem never gives it a fallback cube over the foam). A wake starts far enough back that its
 /// trail ENDS at the rig centre after `age` seconds.
 fn spawn_dummy(commands: &mut Commands, view: &WaterFxView, cx: f32, cy: f32, surf: f32) {
-    let start_x = if view.mode == WfxMode::Wake {
-        cx - view.speed * view.age
+    let (start_x, start_y) = if view.mode == WfxMode::Wake {
+        let back = view.speed * view.age;
+        (
+            cx - back * view.heading.cos(),
+            cy - back * view.heading.sin(),
+        )
     } else {
-        cx
+        (cx, cy)
     };
     commands.spawn((
         WaterFxDummy,
@@ -173,7 +182,7 @@ fn spawn_dummy(commands: &mut Commands, view: &WaterFxView, cx: f32, cy: f32, su
             bound: None,
         },
         crate::entities::VisualAttached,
-        Transform::from_translation(wow_to_bevy([start_x, cy, surf - view.depth])),
+        Transform::from_translation(wow_to_bevy([start_x, start_y, surf - view.depth])),
     ));
 }
 
@@ -197,8 +206,11 @@ pub(crate) fn drive(
     for mut t in &mut units {
         match view.mode {
             WfxMode::Wake => {
-                // WoW +X = Bevy −Z (bevy = (−wow.y, wow.z, −wow.x)).
-                t.translation.z -= view.speed * time.delta_secs();
+                // bevy = (−wow.y, wow.z, −wow.x), so a WoW heading (cos h, sin h) walks the dummy
+                // along Bevy (−sin h, 0, −cos h).
+                let step = view.speed * time.delta_secs();
+                t.translation.x -= step * view.heading.sin();
+                t.translation.z -= step * view.heading.cos();
             }
             WfxMode::Turn => {
                 t.rotate_y(2.0 * time.delta_secs());
diff --git a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_char.rs b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_char.rs
index 302d553b..a54dfe45 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_char.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-app/src/ui_char.rs
@@ -409,16 +409,38 @@ fn weapon_skill_id(
     weapon_subclass_skill(t.subclass).unwrap_or(SKILL_UNARMED)
 }
 
-/// Read a skill line's `(value, temp+perm bonus)` pair from the `PLAYER_SKILL_INFO` triplets;
-/// `(0, 0)` when the line isn't known (a ranged pair with nothing equipped).
-fn skill_pair(store: &ObjectStore, skill_id: u32) -> (u32, i32) {
+/// Read a skill line's `(value + PERM bonus, TEMP bonus)` pair from the `PLAYER_SKILL_INFO`
+/// triplets; `(0, 0)` when the line isn't known (a ranged pair with nothing equipped).
+///
+/// **The split is not `(value, temp + perm)`, which is what this returned until decision 1812.**
+/// The reader every skill-shaped binding goes through is `0x5ea460`, and it writes
+/// `*out1 = value + permBonus` / `*out2 = tempBonus` — the permanent half folds into the BASE and
+/// only the temporary half is the modifier (VERIFIED, wow-re
+/// `ui/scratch/unitrangedattack-skill-pair.md` §3; the field reads are `+0x84C` `movzx` value,
+/// `+0x850` `movsx` temp — the block's only sign-extended read — and `+0x852` `movzx` perm).
+///
+/// The old shape had the right TOTAL and the wrong halves, which is why nothing caught it: the
+/// paper doll's Attack row prints `base` and colours `base + mod`, so a 300-value line with a +5
+/// talent and a +10 aura read "300" with a green +15 where the reference reads "305" with a green
+/// +10. wow-re's own `object-layer/scratch/w2b2.md` had the two inverted as well, and that is
+/// where ours came from; the same round corrected it there.
+///
+/// **The perm add is skipped when the value is 0** (`0x5ea4b4 jle`), so an unknown line stays a
+/// flat 0 rather than reading back a bare talent bonus.
+///
+/// Signed, because the sum is: `fild dword` on both pushes, and a perm malus deeper than the skill
+/// is representable on the wire even if no live server sends one.
+fn skill_pair(store: &ObjectStore, skill_id: u32) -> (i32, i32) {
     for i in 0..PLAYER_SKILL_SLOTS {
         if let Some(s) = store.0.player_skill(i) {
             if u32::from(s.skill_id) == skill_id {
-                return (
-                    u32::from(s.value),
-                    i32::from(s.temp_bonus) + i32::from(s.perm_bonus),
-                );
+                let value = i32::from(s.value);
+                let base = if value == 0 {
+                    0
+                } else {
+                    value + i32::from(s.perm_bonus)
+                };
+                return (base, i32::from(s.temp_bonus));
             }
         }
     }
@@ -1223,6 +1245,57 @@ mod tests {
     use benilla_protocol::messages::ObjectFields;
     use bevy::ecs::system::RunSystemOnce;
 
+    /// **The skill pair splits `(value + PERM, TEMP)`, not `(value, temp + perm)`** — the reader
+    /// every skill-shaped binding goes through (`0x5ea460`, VERIFIED: wow-re
+    /// `ui/scratch/unitrangedattack-skill-pair.md` §3).
+    ///
+    /// It reported the right TOTAL and the wrong halves until decision 1812, which is exactly why
+    /// nothing caught it: `UnitAttackBothHands`'s caller prints the base and colours `base + mod`,
+    /// so both shapes agree on the number a player adds up and disagree on the two they read. The
+    /// fixture below is the one the record quotes — 300 / +5 talent / +10 aura — where the
+    /// reference shows **305** with a green **+10** and ours showed 300 with a green +15.
+    ///
+    /// The zero-value leg is the other half of the law (`0x5ea4b4 jle`): an unknown line must stay
+    /// a flat 0 rather than reading back a bare talent bonus.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_skill_pair_folds_the_permanent_bonus_into_the_base() {
+        /// `PLAYER_SKILL_INFO_1_1` — id|step, then value|max, then temp|perm, per slot.
+        const F_SKILL: u16 = 718;
+        let pair = |lo: u16, hi: u16| u32::from(lo) | (u32::from(hi) << 16);
+        // Slot 0: Defense (95) at 300, +10 temporary, +5 permanent.
+        // Slot 1: Swords (43) at 0 — known id, no value, a +7 permanent that must NOT surface.
+        let store = ObjectStore(ObjectFields::from_pairs(&[
+            (F_SKILL, pair(95, 0)),
+            (F_SKILL + 1, pair(300, 300)),
+            (F_SKILL + 2, pair(10, 5)),
+            (F_SKILL + 3, pair(43, 0)),
+            (F_SKILL + 4, pair(0, 300)),
+            (F_SKILL + 5, pair(0, 7)),
+        ]));
+        assert_eq!(
+            skill_pair(&store, 95),
+            (305, 10),
+            "the permanent bonus belongs to the base and the temporary one is the modifier"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            skill_pair(&store, 43),
+            (0, 0),
+            "a line at value 0 skips the perm add — a bare talent bonus is not a skill"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            skill_pair(&store, 162),
+            (0, 0),
+            "a line the player does not have at all"
+        );
+        // A malus deeper than the skill is representable, which is why the pair is signed.
+        let cursed = ObjectStore(ObjectFields::from_pairs(&[
+            (F_SKILL, pair(95, 0)),
+            (F_SKILL + 1, pair(5, 300)),
+            (F_SKILL + 2, pair(0, u16::MAX - 9)), // perm = -10
+        ]));
+        assert_eq!(skill_pair(&cursed, 95), (-5, 0));
+    }
+
     /// `PLAYER_FIELD_BANK_BAG_SLOT_1` — bank bag slot 0's guid pair (protocol test `bank.rs`).
     const F_BANK_BAG_1: u16 = 612;
     /// `OBJECT_FIELD_ENTRY` on the item object.
diff --git a/crates/benilla-formats/examples/water_here.rs b/crates/benilla-formats/examples/water_here.rs
index 46bf444c..8ef2c692 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-formats/examples/water_here.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-formats/examples/water_here.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@
 //!   the only thing the renderer draws, so wherever the lattice runs out before the ground climbs
 //!   through the plane, the water ends on a 4.167-yd straight edge in open water: a shape no
 //!   shoreline has;
+//! - its **mirror** — wet cells the ground climbs out of, which is the skirt of liquid-lattice
+//!   geometry that lies over dry sand. Nothing renders there only because the terrain drew first
+//!   and won the depth test, so this is the exact budget a depth bias spends: a decal pulled `b`
+//!   yards toward the eye paints `b / slope` yards of that skirt;
 //! - the **shoreline slope** at the pin, and what a coplanarity *lift* costs there. A decal held `l`
 //!   yards above the water plane keeps painting for `l / slope` yards past the waterline, on dry
 //!   ground — the arithmetic behind B348's foam-on-the-sand, and the reason that settle is a depth
@@ -256,6 +260,64 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         );
     }
 
+    // ── The mirror: WET cells the ground climbs out of ───────────────────────────────────────
+    // The scan above finds water that is missing; this one finds water geometry that is *over dry
+    // land*. Whole wet cells are the unit the renderer draws, so wherever the ground climbs through
+    // the plane inside a cell, the liquid mesh — and every decal built on the same lattice — carries
+    // a skirt of geometry up the beach. Nothing renders there only because the terrain drew first
+    // and won the depth test, which makes this number the exact **budget a depth bias spends**: a
+    // decal pulled `b` yards toward the eye paints `b / slope` yards of that skirt onto the sand.
+    let mut skirts: Vec<(f32, f32, (i32, i32))> = Vec::new(); // (height above plane, run inland, cell)
+    for (k, idxs) in by_key.iter() {
+        let c = &cells[idxs[0]];
+        if (c.x - x).hypot(c.y - y) > radius {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let mut highest = 0.0_f32;
+        for si in 0..=16 {
+            for sj in 0..=16 {
+                let px = c.x - CELL / 2.0 + CELL * si as f32 / 16.0;
+                let py = c.y - CELL / 2.0 + CELL * sj as f32 / 16.0;
+                if let Some(g) = terrain_height_at(&chunks, [px, py, 0.0]) {
+                    highest = highest.max(g - c.surface);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if highest > 0.02 {
+            let h = 1.0_f32;
+            let sample = |dx: f32, dy: f32| terrain_height_at(&chunks, [c.x + dx, c.y + dy, 0.0]);
+            let slope = match (
+                sample(h, 0.0),
+                sample(-h, 0.0),
+                sample(0.0, h),
+                sample(0.0, -h),
+            ) {
+                (Some(px), Some(mx), Some(py), Some(my)) => {
+                    (((px - mx) / (2.0 * h)).powi(2) + ((py - my) / (2.0 * h)).powi(2)).sqrt()
+                }
+                _ => 0.0,
+            };
+            let run = if slope > 0.0 {
+                highest / slope
+            } else {
+                f32::INFINITY
+            };
+            skirts.push((highest, run, *k));
+        }
+    }
+    skirts.sort_by(|a, b| b.1.partial_cmp(&a.1).expect("finite"));
+    println!(
+        "\n  WET cells with dry ground inside them (the skirt the depth test has to eat): {}",
+        skirts.len()
+    );
+    for (hi, run, k) in skirts.iter().take(6) {
+        println!(
+            "    cell {k:?} at ({:.1}, {:.1}) — ground up to {hi:.3} yd above the plane, {run:.2} yd inland",
+            (k.0 as f32 + 0.5) * CELL,
+            (k.1 as f32 + 0.5) * CELL
+        );
+    }
+
     // ── The waterline's slope, and what a coplanarity lift costs horizontally ────────────────
     // A decal on the water plane, lifted `l` yards to win the coplanar tie, keeps painting for
     // `l / slope` yards past the waterline — up the beach, on dry ground. Measure the slope where
diff --git a/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/char_stats.rs b/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/char_stats.rs
index 1486aac0..fc908284 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/char_stats.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-ui/src/script/char_stats.rs
@@ -150,24 +150,35 @@ pub struct UnitCombatStats {
     /// Ranged damage range (`UNIT_FIELD_MINRANGEDDAMAGE`/`MAXRANGEDDAMAGE`).
     pub ranged_min_damage: f32,
     pub ranged_max_damage: f32,
-    /// The equipped main-hand weapon's skill line as `(value, temp+perm bonus)` — the app resolves
-    /// WHICH skill via [`weapon_subclass_skill`] (unarmed = [`SKILL_UNARMED`]) and reads the pair
-    /// from `PLAYER_SKILL_INFO`; `UnitAttackBothHands` serves it verbatim.
-    pub main_weapon_skill: (u32, i32),
+    /// The equipped main-hand weapon's skill line as **`(value + PERM bonus, TEMP bonus)`** — the
+    /// app resolves WHICH skill via [`weapon_subclass_skill`] (unarmed = [`SKILL_UNARMED`]) and
+    /// reads the pair from `PLAYER_SKILL_INFO`; `UnitAttackBothHands` serves it verbatim.
+    ///
+    /// **The permanent half belongs to the BASE, not to the modifier** (`0x5ea460`, VERIFIED —
+    /// wow-re `ui/scratch/unitrangedattack-skill-pair.md` §3; corrected here by decision 1812).
+    /// Every one of these four pairs comes out of that one reader, so all four carry the split.
+    pub main_weapon_skill: (i32, i32),
     /// The OFF hand's, read the same way. `UnitAttackBothHands` pushes both hands (§4 of wow-re's
     /// `pet-paperdoll-stat-api.md`: `0x518810` calls `[vtbl+0xb0]` twice, hand 0 then hand 1), and
     /// an empty or non-weapon off hand is Unarmed exactly as the main hand is.
-    pub offhand_weapon_skill: (u32, i32),
-    /// The ranged weapon's skill pair (`UnitRangedAttack`).
-    pub ranged_weapon_skill: (u32, i32),
-    /// The [`SKILL_DEFENSE`] line's `(value, temp+perm bonus)` pair, read out of `PLAYER_SKILL_INFO`
-    /// like the two weapon pairs above; `UnitDefense` serves it verbatim.
+    pub offhand_weapon_skill: (i32, i32),
+    /// The ranged weapon's skill pair (`UnitRangedAttack`), same split.
+    ///
+    /// **Player-only, and by a different gate than its two neighbours.** `UnitRangedAttack`
+    /// `0x518b90` is a DIRECT call gated on the PLAYER typemask alone — no vtable slot and **no
+    /// `CGUnit_C` fallback body** (wow-re `unitrangedattack-skill-pair.md` §4). So where
+    /// `UnitDefense` and `UnitAttackBothHands` pass a pet through SELF-OR-MINE and answer
+    /// `level * 5`, this one answers `(0, 0)` for a pet and for every other player too. Mirroring
+    /// [`cgunit_skill`] here would be wrong.
+    pub ranged_weapon_skill: (i32, i32),
+    /// The [`SKILL_DEFENSE`] line's pair, in the same `(value + perm, temp)` split as the three
+    /// above and out of the same reader; `UnitDefense` serves it verbatim.
     ///
     /// **The player's only.** A creature has no skill block, and the client does not read one for
     /// it: `UnitDefense` forks on the resolved unit's vtable and gives a non-player
     /// `UNIT_FIELD_LEVEL * 5` instead ([`cgunit_skill`]), so the pet feed never fills this and the
     /// binding never reads it for a pet.
-    pub defense_skill: (u32, i32),
+    pub defense_skill: (i32, i32),
     /// Whether a wand is equipped (`HasWandEquipped` — the ref swaps the ranged-attack action for
     /// wand Shoot on it).
     pub has_wand: bool,
@@ -496,7 +507,7 @@ fn with_unit_stats<T>(
 /// — so the pair can never sum below zero (`0x519298` for `UnitDefense`, `0x5188a7` per hand for
 /// `UnitAttackBothHands`; wow-re `ui/scratch/pet-paperdoll-stat-api.md` §4). A debuff deeper than
 /// the skill itself reads as "reduced to 0", never as a negative total.
-fn skill_clamped((base, modifier): (u32, i32)) -> (i64, i64) {
+fn skill_clamped((base, modifier): (i32, i32)) -> (i64, i64) {
     let base = i64::from(base);
     let modifier = i64::from(modifier);
     (base, if modifier + base < 0 { -base } else { modifier })
@@ -1503,6 +1514,52 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    /// **`UnitRangedAttack` does NOT take the pet fork its two neighbours take** (decision 1812).
+    ///
+    /// `UnitDefense` `0x519200` and `UnitAttackBothHands` `0x518810` gate on SELF-OR-MINE and then
+    /// dispatch through the resolved unit's vtable, so a pet passes and lands on `CGUnit_C`'s
+    /// `level * 5`. `UnitRangedAttack` `0x518b90` is a **direct call** gated on the PLAYER typemask
+    /// alone, with no vtable slot and **no `CGUnit_C` fallback body at all** (VERIFIED, wow-re
+    /// `ui/scratch/unitrangedattack-skill-pair.md` §4 — `0x612b40`/`0x5edae0`/`0x5ea460` appear as
+    /// a dword zero times image-wide, against a positive control of one hit each for the four
+    /// addresses that ARE in a vtable).
+    ///
+    /// So a pet's ranged attack is `(0, 0)`, not `level * 5`. The whole reason this is a test and
+    /// not a comment is that the three verbs look interchangeable from the FrameXML side, and
+    /// mirroring the defense handling here would be a plausible, silent, wrong number.
+    #[test]
+    fn ranged_attack_gives_a_pet_zeros_where_defense_gives_it_level_times_five() {
+        let mut s = UiScript::new().unwrap();
+        s.set_player_combat_stats(Some(stats()));
+        s.set_pet_combat_stats(Some(pet_stats()));
+        s.set_unit(
+            "pet",
+            Some(super::super::UnitState {
+                exists: true,
+                level: 60,
+                ..Default::default()
+            }),
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            s.eval::<(i64, i64)>(r#"return UnitDefense("pet")"#)
+                .unwrap(),
+            (300, 0),
+            "the vtable fork: level * 5"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            s.eval::<(i64, i64)>(r#"return UnitRangedAttack("pet")"#)
+                .unwrap(),
+            (0, 0),
+            "no fork, no fallback body — a pet fails the PLAYER typemask and gets zeros"
+        );
+        // …and so does another PLAYER, which is the same gate seen from the other side.
+        assert_eq!(
+            s.eval::<(i64, i64)>(r#"return UnitRangedAttack("target")"#)
+                .unwrap(),
+            (0, 0)
+        );
+    }
+
     /// **`UnitAttackBothHands` pushes FOUR values, one pair per hand — and it pushed two until
     /// decision 1810.**
     ///
diff --git a/crates/benilla-world/src/sky_order.rs b/crates/benilla-world/src/sky_order.rs
index 9c19723b..5f4c2d36 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-world/src/sky_order.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-world/src/sky_order.rs
@@ -264,30 +264,46 @@ impl Rung {
     /// `0x68fd0f` arms EGxRs id `0` for the foam draw, and arming that id non-zero is what issues
     /// the client's sole `glPolygonOffset` — `factor` a hardcoded `0xc0800000` = **−4.0**
     /// (`0x59bf0a`, in capability arm `0x41`, whose only image-wide call site is inside the id-`0`
-    /// applicator), `units` = `footstepBias(0.125) × [0x810390]` ⇒ **−8.0001**. So the reference
-    /// settles this decal with a **slope-scaled** term plus a near-zero constant, which is the
-    /// right instrument and not an accident: a near-horizontal decal seen at a grazing angle has a
-    /// depth gradient a constant cannot follow, and the shoreline is exactly that view.
+    /// applicator), `units` = `footstepBias(0.125) × [0x810390]` ⇒ **−8.0001**. The `-4.0` is not
+    /// this lane's number: it is the immediate every consumer of EGxRs id `0` gets, and the foam
+    /// reaches it by borrowing the **footprint's own cvar** — which is idiom reuse ("this is a
+    /// ground decal, arm the ground-decal offset"), not a tie this decal has to win. Only the
+    /// `units` term is the foam's own.
     ///
     /// **The signs invert here.** GL depth runs 0 = near, so its negative offset pulls toward the
     /// eye; ours is reversed-Z (`CompareFunction::GreaterEqual`, near = 1), where toward the eye is
-    /// *larger* depth — so both terms are positive. [`DECAL_RASTER`](Rung::DECAL_RASTER) being
+    /// *larger* depth — so a ported term is positive. [`DECAL_RASTER`](Rung::DECAL_RASTER) being
     /// positive for the same job corroborates the convention independently.
     ///
-    /// **Two things here are ours, not transcribed.** `factor` multiplies the primitive's *window*
-    /// depth slope, and reversed-Z gives a plane a different gradient than GL's mapping does, so
-    /// 4.0 is the reference's number in a frame where it means something slightly different.
-    /// And the constant is in ULPs of a **float** depth buffer (per-primitive, the quantisation
-    /// 1806 is about) rather than GL's fixed `2⁻²⁴` — same order, not the same unit. The client's
-    /// *D3D* backend arms no slope term at all and compensates with a flat bias ~256× the GL
-    /// constant; which of the two encodings is canonical turns on the `gxApi` device-identity
-    /// question, which is open on wow-re's `gx` board. The GL shape is ported because it is the
-    /// one that is *correct* in any depth format, and because a flat constant is described at the
-    /// bytes as standing in for the missing slope term.
+    /// **The constant is in ULPs of a float depth buffer** (per-primitive — the quantisation 1806
+    /// is about) rather than GL's fixed `2⁻²⁴`: same order, not the same unit. Its world-space pull
+    /// is `z · C · 2⁻²³`, i.e. ~1 µm per yard of view distance at `C = 8` — invisible by
+    /// construction, which is the point. It is a guard against a driver rounding one pipeline's
+    /// coplanar arithmetic differently from another's, not a tie-breaker anything rests on.
     pub const FOAM_RASTER: i32 = 8;
-    /// The slope-scale half of [`FOAM_RASTER`](Rung::FOAM_RASTER) — see its doc for the bytes,
-    /// the sign inversion, and what is ported vs transcribed.
-    pub const FOAM_RASTER_SLOPE: f32 = 4.0;
+    /// **The slope half is deliberately NOT armed — the tie it settles does not exist here** (B348
+    /// second round, 1811; supersedes 1809 §3's transcription).
+    ///
+    /// The reference arms `factor = -4.0` and it is the right instrument *there*. It is the wrong
+    /// one here because our foam patch is not a decal *over* the liquid surface — it **is** the
+    /// liquid surface's own triangles: [`water_fx::build_patch`] emits the wet cells straight out
+    /// of [`WaterChunkInfo`]'s grid, in the liquid mesh's own winding, through the same
+    /// `clip_from_world` (`DECAL_WORLD_CLIP`, 0781) against a mesh whose `Transform` is
+    /// `IDENTITY`. Same vertices, same matrix, same arithmetic — so the depths agree exactly and
+    /// `GreaterEqual` passes the tie on its own. That holds for the fullbright kinds too, which
+    /// are the only liquids that write depth at all (magma/slime are `AlphaMode::Opaque`; water is
+    /// `Blend`, depth-write off, so it never competes at all).
+    ///
+    /// What a slope term *does* buy, measured: a near-horizontal decal at a grazing angle has a
+    /// window-depth gradient of `n / (h · f)` per pixel (eye height `h` above the plane, focal
+    /// length `f` in pixels), so `factor · m` is a world-space pull of `factor · z² / (h · f)` —
+    /// **growing as the square of view distance, and the near plane cancels out**. Whole wet cells
+    /// are the unit of liquid geometry, so a shoreline carries a skirt of liquid-lattice triangles
+    /// over dry sand (up to 7 yd of it at the reported beach — `benilla-formats --example
+    /// water_here`), held back by nothing but the terrain having drawn first. Any pull toward the
+    /// eye spends that budget: at `4.0` the wake visibly washed onto the beach, which is what the
+    /// director reported twice.
+    pub const FOAM_RASTER_SLOPE: f32 = 0.0;
     /// **World text** — above the celestial glare, so a flare never washes a nameplate, and above
     /// every sky rung. The reference draws its world text late in the frame (decision 0519).
     /// Small on purpose: 6× the far plane is all the ordering needs, and this same field doubles
@@ -330,7 +346,10 @@ const _: () = {
     // unread — see FOAM_RASTER). Both halves pull toward the eye under reversed-Z, so both are
     // positive; a negative here would push the decal INTO its receiver.
     assert!(Rung::FOAM_RASTER > 0 && Rung::FOAM_RASTER < Rung::DECAL_RASTER);
-    assert!(Rung::FOAM_RASTER_SLOPE > 0.0);
+    // The slope half stays disarmed on this lane (1811): its pull grows as z² and it spends the
+    // wet-lattice skirt onto the beach, while the tie it would settle is already won by the patch
+    // being the liquid mesh's own triangles. A nonzero value here is a decision, not a tune.
+    assert!(Rung::FOAM_RASTER_SLOPE == 0.0);
 
     // ─── The pre-water decal band (B347, 1785/1789) ─────────────────────────────────────────
     // Internally ordered as the reference's frame emits them — ring then shadow, both from
diff --git a/crates/benilla-world/src/water_fx/mod.rs b/crates/benilla-world/src/water_fx/mod.rs
index 68160201..4c2ec249 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-world/src/water_fx/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-world/src/water_fx/mod.rs
@@ -45,9 +45,13 @@
 //!   depth-buffer bias and the foam vertices sit at the queried MCLQ height exactly, so there is no
 //!   geometric lift in the binary to be faithful to (the "−2048 GL units" this file cited for a
 //!   year is refuted; the real term is `footstepBias(0.125) × [0x810390]` = D3D `DEPTHBIAS −1/8192`).
-//!   Ours is the decal family's rasterizer bias plus `DECAL_WORLD_CLIP` — absolute verts through the
-//!   same `clip_from_world` the world meshes run (0781), so the tie is settled in depth ULPs with
-//!   zero horizontal cost.
+//!   Ours needs no settle at all, and that is worth stating rather than assuming (1811): the patch
+//!   is not a decal *over* the surface, it **is** the liquid mesh's own triangles — the same wet
+//!   cells, the same winding, through the same `clip_from_world` (`DECAL_WORLD_CLIP`, 0781) as a
+//!   mesh whose `Transform` is `IDENTITY` — so the depths agree exactly and `GreaterEqual` passes
+//!   the tie unaided. [`Rung::FOAM_RASTER`] stays as a few ULPs of insurance against a driver
+//!   rounding two pipelines differently; the **slope half is disarmed**, because its pull grows as
+//!   z² and the only thing it can reach is the skirt of wet-cell geometry lying over dry sand.
 //!
 //! The formulas + lifecycle math live in [`params`]; this half is the ECS: the emitter over the
 //! avatar + streamed units, the record pool, and one additive effect-stream draw per
@@ -598,12 +602,13 @@ fn push_water_foam(
                 lighting: crate::particles::buffer::EffectLighting::None,
                 anchor: centroid / n as f32,
                 bias: FOAM_BIAS,
-                // **The reference's own settle, both halves** (`Rung::FOAM_RASTER`, whose doc
-                // carries the bytes): a near-zero constant plus a slope-scaled term, which is what
-                // a near-horizontal decal at a grazing angle needs — the shoreline view. A nonzero
-                // constant also selects `DECAL_WORLD_CLIP`, so these absolute verts skip the
-                // cam-relative rebase and tie against the ground through the world meshes' own
-                // matrix (0781).
+                // A few ULPs of constant and **no slope term** (`Rung::FOAM_RASTER*`, whose docs
+                // carry the bytes and the reasoning, 1811): the patch is the liquid mesh's own
+                // triangles, so `GreaterEqual` already passes the coplanar tie and the only thing
+                // a pull toward the eye can reach is the wet-lattice skirt over dry sand. The
+                // nonzero constant also selects `DECAL_WORLD_CLIP`, so these absolute verts skip
+                // the cam-relative rebase and go through the world meshes' own matrix (0781) —
+                // which is what makes the two depths agree in the first place.
                 raster_bias: crate::sky_order::Rung::FOAM_RASTER,
                 raster_slope: crate::sky_order::Rung::FOAM_RASTER_SLOPE,
                 cam_relative: false,
diff --git a/crates/benilla-world/src/world_map.rs b/crates/benilla-world/src/world_map.rs
index 16da6f54..208e8ce4 100644
--- a/crates/benilla-world/src/world_map.rs
+++ b/crates/benilla-world/src/world_map.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,23 @@ use benilla_assets::{AssetSet, WorldAssets};
 /// arrives and tells us the character's real map. A worldport then bumps [`CurrentMap`].
 pub(crate) const DEFAULT_MAP_ID: u32 = 0;
 
+/// `$WOW_MAP` — the map a **server-less** run starts on, as a `Map.dbc` id (`0` = Azeroth,
+/// `1` = Kalimdor). Unset gives [`DEFAULT_MAP_ID`].
+///
+/// **Set-but-unparseable is a hard error, deliberately.** This used to fall back to Azeroth, so
+/// `WOW_MAP=Kalimdor` silently photographed the wrong continent — the capture came back as empty
+/// ocean with the subject floating in it, which reads as a renderer bug and costs a session the
+/// time to chase one. An instrument that answers the wrong question quietly is worse than one that
+/// refuses.
+fn map_id_from_env() -> u32 {
+    match std::env::var("WOW_MAP") {
+        Err(_) => DEFAULT_MAP_ID,
+        Ok(v) => v.trim().parse().unwrap_or_else(|_| {
+            panic!("WOW_MAP={v:?} is not a Map.dbc id — it takes a NUMBER (0 = Azeroth, 1 = Kalimdor), not a name")
+        }),
+    }
+}
+
 /// The map the player is currently on. Written by `player::control` when it drains the world stream's
 /// worldport; watched by the terrain + WDL streamers (reload ADTs/WDL for the new map), the loading
 /// screen (cover the swap), and time-of-day lighting (per-map outdoor light).
@@ -93,10 +110,7 @@ fn load_world_map(mut commands: Commands, world_assets: Option<Res<WorldAssets>>
             // A named capture scenario carries its own map (`capture::scenarios::Scenario::map`)
             // and writes it here before this runs, so the golden sweep's Kalimdor shots need no env
             // at all — see `capture::CapturePlugin::build` (decision 0743).
-            let map = std::env::var("WOW_MAP")
-                .ok()
-                .and_then(|v| v.parse().ok())
-                .unwrap_or(DEFAULT_MAP_ID);
+            let map = map_id_from_env();
             commands.insert_resource(CurrentMap(map));
         }
         Err(e) => error!("failed to load Map.dbc, cross-map teleport disabled: {e:#}"),