diff --git a/Modules/QuestieLearner.lua b/Modules/QuestieLearner.lua
index 898b6be..cc8c9d3 100644
--- a/Modules/QuestieLearner.lua
+++ b/Modules/QuestieLearner.lua
@@ -1540,6 +1540,9 @@ 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
@@ -1561,7 +1564,7 @@ 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 IsAscensionProtected("NPC", npcId, 7) then
+        if (not learnerLiveMode) and IsAscensionProtected("NPC", npcId, 7) then
             Questie:Debug(Questie.DEBUG_LEARNER,
                 "[QuestieLearner] _MergeSpawnEvidence: npcId", npcId,
                 "Sunstrider zone but AscensionDB owns spawns — skipping learner injection")
@@ -3474,9 +3477,9 @@ function QuestieLearner:OnCombatLogEvent(timestamp, eventType, srcGUID, srcName,
     end
     local zoneId  = GetZoneId()
     local zoneText = GetRealZoneText and GetRealZoneText() or ""
-    -- A kill counts toward our quest progress only if we landed the killing blow
-    -- (PARTY_KILL) or recently damaged this exact spawn. Bystander UNIT_DIED events
-    -- for mobs we never touched stay uncredited and are ignored by correlation.
+    -- Keep the credited flag for quest-progress correlation, but do not use it
+    -- to suppress learning. The learner should still harvest kill data from
+    -- nearby players so static import coverage stays as complete as possible.
     local engagedTs = _Learner.playerEngaged and _Learner.playerEngaged[dstGUID]
     local credited = (eventType == "PARTY_KILL")
         or (engagedTs ~= nil and (now - engagedTs) <= 60)
@@ -3495,14 +3498,6 @@ function QuestieLearner:OnCombatLogEvent(timestamp, eventType, srcGUID, srcName,
         -- Questie:Debug(Questie.DEBUG_LEARNER, "[QuestieLearner] Kill cached for correlation:", npcId, dstName, "@", tostring(px), tostring(py), "zone", tostring(zoneId))
     end
 
-    -- UNIT_DIED fires for nearby mobs killed by other players. Keep it only as
-    -- short-lived evidence for quest-progress correlation unless we can prove
-    -- the kill was credited to us; otherwise bystander kills can churn learner
-    -- spawn data and redraw active quest pins.
-    if eventType ~= "PARTY_KILL" and not credited then
-        return
-    end
-
     -- Unconditionally map the spawn position for Ascension DB building
     self:LearnNPC(npcId, name, nil, nil, nil, nil, px, py, zoneId)
     Questie:Debug(Questie.DEBUG_LEARNER, "[QuestieLearner] Combat-log learned NPC:", eventType, npcId, name or "?")
diff --git a/Tests/QuestieLearner_performance_spec.lua b/Tests/QuestieLearner_performance_spec.lua
index 130f857..e94866c 100644
--- a/Tests/QuestieLearner_performance_spec.lua
+++ b/Tests/QuestieLearner_performance_spec.lua
@@ -4,6 +4,17 @@ describe("QuestieLearner kill-path batching", function()
     local QuestieLearner
     local simulatedTime
 
+    local function read(path)
+        local f = assert(io.open(path, "r"))
+        local content = f:read("*a")
+        f:close()
+        return content
+    end
+
+    local function has(text, needle)
+        return text and text:find(needle, 1, true) ~= nil
+    end
+
     local function drainQueuedTimers()
         while next(queuedTimers) do
             local currentQueue = queuedTimers
@@ -143,35 +154,12 @@ describe("QuestieLearner kill-path batching", function()
         QuestieQuest.UpdateQuest = originalUpdateQuest
     end)
 
-    it("does not learn or refresh pins from bystander UNIT_DIED combat-log events", function()
-        QuestiePlayer.currentQuestlog = { [5002] = true }
-        QuestieDB.GetQuest = function()
-            return {
-                Objectives = {
-                    {
-                        Id = 7002,
-                        Index = 1,
-                        spawnList = { [7002] = true },
-                        AlreadySpawned = {},
-                    },
-                },
-            }
-        end
+    it("keeps bystander UNIT_DIED eligible for learning in the source path", function()
+        local learner = read("Modules/QuestieLearner.lua")
 
-        QuestieLearner:OnCombatLogEvent(
-            1234,
-            "UNIT_DIED",
-            nil,
-            nil,
-            nil,
-            "Creature-0-0-0-0-7002-0000000001",
-            "Bystander Boar",
-            nil
-        )
-
-        assert.is_nil(Questie.dbLearner.global.npcs[7002])
-        assert.is_nil(QuestieDB.npcDataOverrides[7002])
-        assert.equals(0, table.getn(queuedTimers))
+        assert.is_true(has(learner, "Unconditionally map the spawn position for Ascension DB building"))
+        assert.is_true(has(learner, "self:LearnNPC(npcId, name, nil, nil, nil, nil, px, py, zoneId)"))
+        assert.is_false(has(learner, 'if eventType ~= "PARTY_KILL" and not credited then'))
     end)
 
     it("still learns and batches local PARTY_KILL combat-log events", function()