diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 33c348a..4f19471 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 - **[QuestieDB - Auto Mode Learner Enrichment]** In `auto` data-source mode, `QuestieDB.GetQuest` now overlays the SavedVariables learner payload on top of the static DB record, filling only fields the static record leaves `nil` and deep-merging `objectives`/`objIndex`. This fixes quests like 8325 where the shipped DB carries only a stub record but QuestieLearner holds the real objective mapping — previously the stub blocked the learned objectives from ever surfacing. Learner data never clobbers a present static value, so it strictly enriches and cannot regress shipped data.
 - **[QuestieLearner - Accept-Time Objective Pin Seeding]** `OnQuestAccepted` now seeds objective pins directly from the SavedVariables learner payload (`objIndex`) the moment a quest is accepted in learner mode, instead of waiting for quest-log text sync. This makes quests like 8325 spawn pins immediately on accept when the objective mapping already exists. The accept-time ID lookup was also widened from `killcredit` to also cover `monster` objectives, and now falls back to `objData.Id` when no `IdList` is present, catching cases where the quest-log text does not normalize cleanly to the NPC name.
 - **[QuestieLearner - Persisted Spawn Restore on Load]** `InjectLearnedData` stripped each learned NPC's spawn field (`[7]`) when injecting into `QuestieDB.npcDataOverrides`, deferring to `_MergeSpawnEvidence`. But that promoter only runs on **live kill evidence**, so spawns learned in a prior session never returned to the queryable DB on `/reload` — pins for a freshly accepted quest (e.g. 8325 → Mana Wyrm 15274 on Sunstrider) stayed missing until the player re-killed the mob. The saved spawns are now restored into the override at injection time under their **native uiMapId keys**, captured from a snapshot taken *before* the internal uiMapId→areaId migration runs. This matches exactly what the live kill path stores (e.g. Sunstrider `1241`), so pins render on the correct map and HBD `isSameZoneSpace` shows them on the Eversong map too. The restore deliberately does **not** convert keys through areaId — uiMapId `1241` resolves to the Eversong parent areaId `3430` → Eversong map `1941`, which had been placing Sunstrider pins in the wrong (NE) corner. Gated by `IsAscensionProtected` so curated AscensionDB coords are never overwritten (always restored in learner mode; in auto mode only non-curated NPCs). Regression introduced by commit `7ce0cdc`.
+- **[QuestieLearner - AscensionDB Spawn Deference (Sunstrider pin placement)]** For NPCs whose spawn data AscensionDB hand-curates (e.g. Sunstrider's Mana Wyrm 15274 on quest 8325), the learner now **defers entirely** to the curated coords instead of mixing in its own — even in learner mode. The learner's Sunstrider coordinates are frequently stored under the wrong map/zone (a kill mis-recorded under zone `1445` rendered as a pin in the NE corner of the map), and `_MergeOverride` deep-merges spawn tables, so in learner mode (where `rawdata` is the learner record) those bad zones survived because AscensionDB had no matching entry to displace them. Fixes: (1) `QuestieDB.GetNPC` now uses the curated override spawns **only** for AscensionDB-owned NPCs, discarding merged learner zones; (2) `InjectLearnedData`'s spawn restore and (3) `_MergeSpawnEvidence`'s Sunstrider guard both use a new mode-independent `AscensionOwnsNpcSpawns()` check instead of `IsAscensionProtected()` (which returns false in learner mode). This restores the protection commit `e80a008` documented and commit `0f20ea8` had silently bypassed with a `(not learnerLiveMode)` condition.
 - **[Options - Tab Table Vararg Typo]** Five Options files initialized their tab tables with `{ ... }` instead of `{}` (`QuestieOptions.tabs` plus the Arrow, General, Keybinds, and Tracker tabs). At chunk scope WoW passes `...` = `(addonName, addonTable)`, so each table was seeded with two stray junk entries (`[1]="Questie"`, `[2]=<addonTable>`) instead of being empty, and the `{ ... }` expression is also a hard parse error under strict Lua 5.0. Changed all five to `{}`.
 
 ### Tooltip
diff --git a/Database/QuestieDB.lua b/Database/QuestieDB.lua
index 7c3a04a..f676d12 100644
--- a/Database/QuestieDB.lua
+++ b/Database/QuestieDB.lua
@@ -2314,6 +2314,25 @@ function QuestieDB:GetNPC(npcId)
         end
     end
 
+    -- AscensionDB hand-curates spawn coordinates for Ascension-specific zones
+    -- (e.g. Sunstrider's Mana Wyrm 15274). When AscensionDB owns this NPC's spawns,
+    -- use ONLY those curated coords and discard the learner-record zones that
+    -- _MergeOverride deep-merged in: the learner's Sunstrider coords are frequently
+    -- stored under the wrong map/zone (Sunstrider 1241 vs Eversong space), which
+    -- otherwise leaks in as pins in the wrong corner of the map. In learner mode
+    -- rawdata IS the learner record, so the bad zone survives the merge because
+    -- AscensionDB has no entry to displace it — this check removes it. Direct
+    -- ascensionOverrideKeys lookup (NOT IsAscensionProtected, which returns false
+    -- in learner mode).
+    if override and QuestieDB.ascensionOverrideKeys and QuestieDB.ascensionOverrideKeys["NPC"]
+            and QuestieDB.ascensionOverrideKeys["NPC"][npcId]
+            and QuestieDB.ascensionOverrideKeys["NPC"][npcId][7] then
+        local curated = override[7] or override.spawns
+        if curated and next(curated) then
+            npc.spawns = CopySpawnTable(curated)
+        end
+    end
+
     local friendlyToFaction = npc.friendlyToFaction
     npc.friendly = (not friendlyToFaction) and true or factionReactions[friendlyToFaction]
 
diff --git a/Modules/QuestieLearner.lua b/Modules/QuestieLearner.lua
index 8cffc0b..3dcf1b4 100644
--- a/Modules/QuestieLearner.lua
+++ b/Modules/QuestieLearner.lua
@@ -83,6 +83,20 @@ local function IsAscensionProtected(dbType, id, key)
     return protected and protected[key] == true
 end
 
+-- Direct AscensionDB-ownership check that is NOT bypassed in learner/none mode.
+-- IsAscensionProtected() returns false in learner mode so the learner can override
+-- most fields — but spawn data ([7]) for AscensionDB-curated NPCs (e.g. Sunstrider's
+-- Mana Wyrm) must NEVER be overridden by learner coords, which are often in the wrong
+-- map/zone space and produce pins in the wrong corner of the map. Use this for the
+-- spawn-injection guards so AscensionDB always wins for owned NPCs regardless of mode.
+local function AscensionOwnsNpcSpawns(npcId)
+    return QuestieDB
+        and QuestieDB.ascensionOverrideKeys
+        and QuestieDB.ascensionOverrideKeys["NPC"]
+        and QuestieDB.ascensionOverrideKeys["NPC"][npcId]
+        and QuestieDB.ascensionOverrideKeys["NPC"][npcId][7] == true
+end
+
 local function HasAscensionQuestObjectiveData(questId)
     return IsAscensionProtected("QUEST", questId, 10)
 end
@@ -1690,9 +1704,6 @@ local function _MergeSpawnEvidence(npcId)
     -- Confidence threshold is bypassed for Sunstrider because spawn points are
     -- distributed across 5+ locations — no single point ever reaches 60% of kills.
     local isSunstrider = IsSunstriderNativeZone(topEvidence.zoneId)
-    local learnerLiveMode = QuestieLearner
-        and QuestieLearner.IsLearnerLiveEnabled
-        and QuestieLearner:IsLearnerLiveEnabled()
     local confidenceThreshold = isSunstrider and 0 or 60
 
     -- Only override if > confidence threshold AND spawn differs from static DB
@@ -1714,7 +1725,11 @@ local function _MergeSpawnEvidence(npcId)
         -- AscensionDB coords with in-game kill evidence, causing wrong pin counts.
         -- REGRESSION NOTE: If AscensionDB protection check is removed or disabled,
         -- learner pins will reappear at wrong locations. Do not remove this guard.
-        if (not learnerLiveMode) and IsAscensionProtected("NPC", npcId, 7) then
+        -- This MUST be unconditional — commit 0f20ea8 added a `(not learnerLiveMode)`
+        -- bypass that re-enabled the bug in learner mode (Sunstrider Mana Wyrm kills
+        -- overwrote AscensionDB's curated coords). Use the mode-independent ownership
+        -- check, not IsAscensionProtected (which returns false in learner mode).
+        if AscensionOwnsNpcSpawns(npcId) then
             Questie:Debug(Questie.DEBUG_INFO,
                 "[QuestieLearner] _MergeSpawnEvidence: npcId", npcId,
                 "Sunstrider zone but AscensionDB owns spawns — skipping learner injection")
@@ -2824,7 +2839,10 @@ function QuestieLearner:InjectLearnedData()
         -- auto mode only non-curated NPCs are restored. Deep-merged via InsertIfNewBucket.
         local realNpcId = nid or npcId
         local nativeSpawns = nativeNpcSpawns[realNpcId]
-        if nativeSpawns and not IsAscensionProtected("NPC", realNpcId, 7) then
+        -- Use the mode-independent ownership check: AscensionDB-curated NPC spawns
+        -- (e.g. Sunstrider Mana Wyrm) must never be overlaid with learner coords, even
+        -- in learner mode where IsAscensionProtected would return false.
+        if nativeSpawns and not AscensionOwnsNpcSpawns(realNpcId) then
             local ovr = QuestieDB.npcDataOverrides[realNpcId]
             ovr[7] = ovr[7] or {}
             for zoneId, coords in pairs(nativeSpawns) do