diff --git a/.beads/formulas/mol-deacon-patrol.formula.toml b/.beads/formulas/mol-deacon-patrol.formula.toml
index 64faa07c..0217306d 100644
--- a/.beads/formulas/mol-deacon-patrol.formula.toml
+++ b/.beads/formulas/mol-deacon-patrol.formula.toml
@@ -257,33 +257,26 @@ For each rig, run:
 ```bash
 gt witness status <rig>
 gt refinery status <rig>
-```
 
-**IMPORTANT: Do NOT send health pings on every patrol cycle.**
-Health check nudges disturb idle agents and waste their context. Only send
-a HEALTH_CHECK nudge when you have **concerning signals** (see table below).
-
-**When to send health pings** (only if concerned):
-```bash
-# Only if agent appears unresponsive or status check fails:
+# Health ping (clears backoff as side effect)
 gt nudge <rig>/witness 'HEALTH_CHECK from deacon'
 gt nudge <rig>/refinery 'HEALTH_CHECK from deacon'
 ```
 
+**Health Ping Benefit**: The nudge commands serve dual purposes:
+1. **Liveness verification** - Agent responds to prove it's alive
+2. **Backoff reset** - Any nudge resets agent's backoff to base interval
+
+This ensures patrol agents remain responsive even during quiet periods when the
+feed has no mutations. Deacon patrols every ~1-2 minutes, so maximum backoff
+is bounded by the ping interval.
+
 **Signals to assess:**
 
 | Component | Healthy Signals | Concerning Signals |
 |-----------|-----------------|-------------------|
-| Witness | State: running, recent activity | State: not running, no heartbeat, or status check hangs |
-| Refinery | State: running, queue processing | Queue stuck, merge failures, or not responding |
-
-**When NOT to ping:**
-- Agent reports state=running with recent activity
-- No pending work in queues
-- Status check returns promptly with healthy output
-
-The status commands (`gt witness status`, `gt refinery status`) provide
-sufficient liveness information. Reserve nudges for actual problems.
+| Witness | State: running, recent activity | State: not running, no heartbeat |
+| Refinery | State: running, queue processing | Queue stuck, merge failures |
 
 **Tracking unresponsive cycles:**
 
@@ -303,7 +296,7 @@ health_state:
 
 | Cycles Unresponsive | Suggested Action |
 |---------------------|------------------|
-| 1-2 | Note it, send HEALTH_CHECK nudge |
+| 1-2 | Note it, check again next cycle |
 | 3-4 | Attempt restart: gt witness restart <rig> |
 | 5+ | Escalate to Mayor with context |