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+# 2026-07-21 (I) — auto-recast diagnosis + the ability/cooldown bar rework
+
+**Operator: "after casting an ability - it seems to auto recast - also I want to be able to see the cds of
+socketed abilities + dash. do a rework of the ui."**
+
+## Auto-recast: diagnosed NOT a sim bug — a telegraph misread (fixed)
+
+- Static analysis: the gather is edge-clean (`Socket0 = default` + `.Set()` only on `wasPressedThisFrame`,
+  PlayerInputGatherSystem:180-186); the injection system self-expires. No sim path to a refire.
+- **Live proof**: one injected socket-0 press → exactly ONE cooldown stamp (tick 1049 → 1469; Vortex cd = 420 t
+  = 7 s) and exactly ONE zone instantiate, then nothing over an 8 s guardian watch. The sim never recast.
+- **Root cause**: the session-H zone telegraph re-GREW its fill from zero every 30-tick pulse — the exact visual
+  grammar of a fresh cast. **Fix (ZoneTelegraphSystem)**: the ARM phase (before the first pulse) still grows
+  0→1 (fill reaches the rim = first damage); the PERSISTENT phase now **DRAINS 1→0** toward each pulse — a
+  metronome read, not a cast — and the direction split IS the G6/R6 one-shot-vs-persistent fill encoding,
+  done properly this time.
+
+## Ability bar (new `AbilityBarSystem`, Client/Presentation)
+
+- B5 sibling pattern: own `~HUDAbilityBar` UIDocument (MenuUi.LoadPanelSettings, sortingOrder 49), observe-only
+  `SystemBase` in PresentationSystemGroup, build-once, root pickingMode Ignore; HudUi/HudTheme-factored so it
+  auto-skins.
+- Bottom-center, 5 slots — sockets 1-4 (socket 0 labeled `1·RMB`) + `SHIFT` Dash: Spark initials + full name
+  from the AbilityDatabase blob, archetype tint (zones teal · movement cool-blue · cone lamp-amber · skillshots
+  warm-white · dash cyan), a bottom-anchored dark overlay that DRAINS as the cooldown recovers, a seconds
+  countdown (tenths under ~10 s), and a ready-flash border on the ready edge. Loadout changes (class swap)
+  re-resolve labels automatically. Empty socket = dimmed "—".
+- Cooldown math: sockets = `SocketCooldown.Get(i)` vs `EffectiveSocketStats[i].CooldownTicks`; dash =
+  `DashCooldown.NextTick` vs `TuningConfig.DashCooldownTicks` with the `Defaults()` fallback (the release rule
+  from review wf_98bf1268). Owner cooldowns ride the PREDICTED tick (local-player state — deliberately unlike
+  the zone telegraph's interpolated read).
+- **HudSystem**: the old single-socket-0 blue charge strip REMOVED from the vitals block (was the only cooldown
+  readout; misleading — it tracked one socket and looked like a weapon gauge).
+
+## Validation
+
+L1 console clean (edits + full Play session) · L2 429/429 (presentation-only; no sim surface) · L3 screenshot:
+bar live with Vortex mid-cooldown ("2.7" countdown + drain overlay, matching a 168-tick probe read), all names/
+tints correct, dash slot present; zone rim + draining fill reading as an ongoing effect.
+
+**Next:** operator eyes-on the bar layout/tints + the drain-inward pulse read (details in the session report's
+gate blocks); the standing eyes-on queue (finisher reach ×1.39 · player hurt flinch · Cone-spark loadout fork).