diff --git a/.github/workflows/vm_full_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/vm_full_tests.yml
index cfd832b4469..a237aff696d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/vm_full_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/vm_full_tests.yml
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ jobs:
       AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
       AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
       BUILD_INSTANCE_SSH_KEY: ${{ secrets.BUILD_INSTANCE_SSH_KEY }}
+      GITHUB_RUN_URL: "https://github.com/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}/attempts/${{ github.run_attempt }}"
       GIT_COMMIT: ${{ github.sha }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -34,4 +35,4 @@ jobs:
         with:
           run: |
             sudo shutdown -P 75 # hack until core part of the scripts
-            earthly-ci --no-output ./barretenberg/cpp/+vm-full-test --hardware_concurrency=64  # limit our parallelism to half our cores
+            scripts/earthly-ci --no-output ./barretenberg/cpp/+vm-full-test --hardware_concurrency=64  # limit our parallelism to half our cores
diff --git a/avm-transpiler/bootstrap.sh b/avm-transpiler/bootstrap.sh
index 7e1f37c8ea6..d4429e25a4d 100755
--- a/avm-transpiler/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/avm-transpiler/bootstrap.sh
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ function build {
 }
 
 function test {
-  cargo fmt --check
-  cargo clippy
+  denoise cargo fmt --check
+  denoise cargo clippy
 }
 
 case "$cmd" in
diff --git a/barretenberg/acir_tests/browser-test-app/yarn.lock b/barretenberg/acir_tests/browser-test-app/yarn.lock
index d209e4296d3..37157884379 100644
--- a/barretenberg/acir_tests/browser-test-app/yarn.lock
+++ b/barretenberg/acir_tests/browser-test-app/yarn.lock
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ __metadata:
   cacheKey: 10c0
 
 "@aztec/bb.js@file:../../ts::locator=browser-test-app%40workspace%3A.":
-  version: 0.67.0
-  resolution: "@aztec/bb.js@file:../../ts#../../ts::hash=e236e3&locator=browser-test-app%40workspace%3A."
+  version: 0.67.1
+  resolution: "@aztec/bb.js@file:../../ts#../../ts::hash=29e47a&locator=browser-test-app%40workspace%3A."
   dependencies:
     comlink: "npm:^4.4.1"
     commander: "npm:^12.1.0"
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ __metadata:
     tslib: "npm:^2.4.0"
   bin:
     bb.js: ./dest/node/main.js
-  checksum: 10c0/4ca2234f9d1a4b59a60733979f97c5ca09f508e4d3091bf33755ee6a80f03f733e393ea848b812bc73bc1f0673a3d92f96462a1cbd5aa01eeca4e9d5a3be367f
+  checksum: 10c0/c01128ff74f29b6bbc5c46362792525ef5612c5fc8787341551bcf457ba9816a971e24a74292ab230c47b0b9efe8d7e0d1cabd44247e1b6e718727d0b6372400
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
diff --git a/barretenberg/cpp/bootstrap.sh b/barretenberg/cpp/bootstrap.sh
index 7ea2de2e510..aad3427e64a 100755
--- a/barretenberg/cpp/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/barretenberg/cpp/bootstrap.sh
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ case "$cmd" in
     test
     ;;
   "ci")
-    build_native
+    build
     test
     ;;
   "hash")
diff --git a/build-images/bootstrap.sh b/build-images/bootstrap.sh
index b177159ed28..6b5d377ad96 100755
--- a/build-images/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/build-images/bootstrap.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 source $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/ci3/source_bootstrap
 
 cmd=${1:-}
-hash=$(REBUILD_PATTERNS="^build-images/Earthfile" cache_content_hash)
+hash=$(cache_content_hash "^build-images/Earthfile")
 
 function build {
   github_group "build-images build"
diff --git a/ci3/bootstrap_local b/ci3/bootstrap_local
index 2b1c78d4e60..28a141afe13 100755
--- a/ci3/bootstrap_local
+++ b/ci3/bootstrap_local
@@ -9,30 +9,24 @@
 
 root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
 source $root/ci3/source
-current_commit=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
-cmd=${1:-"CI=1 ./bootstrap.sh fast || exec bash"}
+cmd=${1:-"./bootstrap.sh ci || exec bash"}
 
 if ! git diff --quiet; then
-  echo "There are local changes to tracked files."
-  exit 1
+  echo -e "${yellow}WARNING: There are local changes to tracked files.${reset}"
 fi
 
-interactive_args=""
-# Only add -ti and a name if we are not in CI.
-[ "${CI:-0}" = "0" ] && interactive_args="--name aztec_build -ti"
-docker run $interactive_args --rm \
+docker run --name aztec_build -ti --rm \
   --privileged \
   -v bootstrap_ci_local_docker:/var/lib/docker \
   -v $root:/aztec-packages-host:ro \
   -v $HOME/.aws:/root/.aws \
   aztecprotocol/ci:2.0 bash -c "
+  set -e
   /usr/local/share/docker-init.sh &> /dev/null
   git config --global --add safe.directory /aztec-packages-host/.git
-  mkdir -p /root/aztec-packages && cd /root/aztec-packages
+  cd /root
   # Ensure we get a clean clone of the repo.
-  git init &>/dev/null
-  git remote add origin https://github.com/aztecprotocol/aztec-packages
-  git fetch --depth 1 origin $current_commit 2>/dev/null || (echo 'The commit was not pushed, run aborted.' && exit 1)
-  git checkout FETCH_HEAD &>/dev/null
+  git clone --depth 1 file:///aztec-packages-host aztec-packages
+  cd aztec-packages
   $cmd
 "
diff --git a/ci3/cache_content_hash b/ci3/cache_content_hash
index ad0d8e7e2cd..833a1907441 100755
--- a/ci3/cache_content_hash
+++ b/ci3/cache_content_hash
@@ -2,24 +2,29 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 [ "${BUILD_SYSTEM_DEBUG:-}" = 1 ] && set -x
 
-# Ensure REBUILD_PATTERNS or args are set
-if [[ -z "${REBUILD_PATTERNS:-}" &&  "$#" = 0 ]]; then
-    echo "Error: No arguments provided and REBUILD_PATTERNS environment variable is not set."
+# Ensure args are set
+if [[ "$#" = 0 ]]; then
+    echo "Error: No arguments provided."
     exit 1
 fi
 
 # If too many spurious cache misses: can be customized to pin artifacts to a specific version
 AZTEC_CACHE_COMMIT=${AZTEC_CACHE_COMMIT:-HEAD}
 PLATFORM_TAG="${PLATFORM_TAG:-${OSTYPE:-unknown}-$(uname -m)}"
-# Literal patterns can be provided with REBUILD_PATTERNS
-REBUILD_PATTERNS=${REBUILD_PATTERNS:-}
-if [ "$#" != 0 ]; then
-  REBUILD_PATTERNS+=$'\n'$(cat "$@")
-fi
+
+rebuild_patterns=()
+for arg in "$@"; do
+  if [[ -f "$arg" ]]; then
+    rebuild_patterns+=$(cat "$arg")
+    rebuild_patterns+=$'\n'
+  else
+    rebuild_patterns+="$arg"$'\n'
+  fi
+done
 
 # Concatenate patterns with '|' and double escape backslashes for AWK
 # filter empty lines
-AWK_PATTERN=$(echo "$REBUILD_PATTERNS" | grep -v '^$' | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g' | tr '\n' '|' | sed 's/|$//')
+AWK_PATTERN=$(echo "$rebuild_patterns" | grep -v '^$' | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g' | tr '\n' '|' | sed 's/|$//')
 
 # use git repo root because that is where our patterns are focused
 cd $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
@@ -30,7 +35,7 @@ CONTENT_HASH=$(git ls-tree -r $AZTEC_CACHE_COMMIT | awk -v pattern="($AWK_PATTER
 # Check if file list was empty by comparing against the result of 'echo '' | git hash-object --stdin | cut -c1-16'
 ECHO_BLANK_HASH="8b137891791fe969"
 if [ "$CONTENT_HASH" = "$ECHO_BLANK_HASH" ]; then
-    echo "No files matched the rebuild patterns $REBUILD_PATTERNS."
+    echo "No files matched the rebuild patterns $rebuild_patterns."
     echo "Awk pattern expanded: $AWK_PATTERN."
     exit 1
 fi
diff --git a/ci3/dump_fail b/ci3/dump_fail
index c40ddf0cbf2..5e933822055 100755
--- a/ci3/dump_fail
+++ b/ci3/dump_fail
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ if [ "$status" -ne 0 ]; then
     cat "$stderr"
   } >&2
 else
-  echo "$output"
+  echo -n "$output"
 fi
 
 exit $status
diff --git a/ci3/source b/ci3/source
index b54c70f663e..063437456d9 100644
--- a/ci3/source
+++ b/ci3/source
@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@ function hash_str {
   set -eu
   echo $1 | git hash-object --stdin | cut -c1-16 | tr -d '\n'
 }
-export -f hash_str
+
+function echo_stderr {
+  echo $@ >&2
+}
+
+export -f hash_str echo_stderr
 
 source $ci3/source_color
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ci3/source_bootstrap b/ci3/source_bootstrap
index 6bc88a65f32..2a3cc2ba030 100644
--- a/ci3/source_bootstrap
+++ b/ci3/source_bootstrap
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ case "${1:-}" in
     export DENOISE=${DENOISE:-1}
     ;;
   ""|"fast")
-    export USE_CACHE=1
+    export USE_CACHE=${USE_CACHE:-1}
     ;;
   "test")
     export TEST=1
diff --git a/noir-projects/noir-contracts/bootstrap.sh b/noir-projects/noir-contracts/bootstrap.sh
index 7330bbc26e1..aa43652e2d7 100755
--- a/noir-projects/noir-contracts/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/noir-projects/noir-contracts/bootstrap.sh
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 # - The exported functions called by parallel must enable their own flags at the start e.g. set -euo pipefail
 # - The exported functions are using stdin/stdout, so be very careful about what's printed where.
 # - The exported functions need to have external variables they require, to have been exported first.
-# - If you want to echo something, send it to stderr e.g. echo "My debug" >&2
+# - If you want to echo something, send it to stderr e.g. echo_stderr "My debug"
 # - If you call another script, be sure it also doesn't output something you don't want.
 # - Note calls to cache scripts swallow everything with &> /dev/null.
 # - Local assignments with subshells don't propagate errors e.g. local capture=$(false). Declare locals separately.
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ function process_function() {
   set +e
   make_vk=$(echo "$func" | jq -e '(.custom_attributes | index("public") == null) and (.is_unconstrained == false)')
   if [ $? -ne 0 ] && [ "$make_vk" != "false" ]; then
-    echo "Failed to check function $name is neither public nor unconstrained." >&2
+    echo_stderr "Failed to check function $name is neither public nor unconstrained."
     exit 1
   fi
   set -e
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ function process_function() {
     hash=$((echo "$BB_HASH"; echo "$bytecode_b64") | sha256sum | tr -d ' -')
     if ! cache_download vk-$hash.tar.gz &> /dev/null; then
       # It's not in the cache. Generate the vk file and upload it to the cache.
-      echo "Generating vk for function: $name..." >&2
+      echo_stderr "Generating vk for function: $name..."
       echo "$bytecode_b64" | base64 -d | gunzip | $BB write_vk_for_ivc -h -b - -o $tmp_dir/$hash 2>/dev/null
       cache_upload vk-$hash.tar.gz $tmp_dir/$hash &> /dev/null
     fi
@@ -97,8 +97,12 @@ function compile {
   contract_name=$(cat contracts/$1/src/main.nr | awk '/^contract / { print $2 }')
   local filename="$contract-$contract_name.json"
   local json_path="./target/$filename"
-  export REBUILD_PATTERNS="^noir-projects/noir-contracts/contracts/$contract/"
-  contract_hash="$(cache_content_hash ../../noir/.rebuild_patterns ../../avm-transpiler/.rebuild_patterns)"
+  contract_hash="$(cache_content_hash \
+    ../../noir/.rebuild_patterns \
+    ../../avm-transpiler/.rebuild_patterns \
+    "^noir-projects/noir-contracts/contracts/$contract/" \
+    "^noir-projects/aztec-nr/" \
+  )"
   if ! cache_download contract-$contract_hash.tar.gz &> /dev/null; then
     $NARGO compile --package $contract --silence-warnings --inliner-aggressiveness 0
     $TRANSPILER $json_path $json_path
@@ -125,7 +129,7 @@ function build {
     compile $1
   else
     set +e
-    echo "Compiling contracts (bb-hash: $BB_HASH)..."
+    echo_stderr "Compiling contracts (bb-hash: $BB_HASH)..."
     grep -oP '(?<=contracts/)[^"]+' Nargo.toml | \
       parallel -j16 --joblog joblog.txt -v --line-buffer --tag --halt now,fail=1 compile {}
     code=$?
@@ -143,15 +147,12 @@ case "$cmd" in
     ;;
   "clean-keys")
     for artifact in target/*.json; do
-      echo "Scrubbing vk from $artifact..."
+      echo_stderr "Scrubbing vk from $artifact..."
       jq '.functions |= map(del(.verification_key))' "$artifact" > "${artifact}.tmp"
       mv "${artifact}.tmp" "$artifact"
     done
     ;;
-  ""|"fast"|"ci")
-    USE_CACHE=1 build
-    ;;
-  "full")
+  ""|"fast"|"full"|"ci")
     build
     ;;
   "compile")
@@ -163,6 +164,6 @@ case "$cmd" in
     exit 0
     ;;
   *)
-    echo "Unknown command: $cmd"
+    echo_stderr "Unknown command: $cmd"
     exit 1
 esac
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/noir-projects/noir-protocol-circuits/bootstrap.sh b/noir-projects/noir-protocol-circuits/bootstrap.sh
index 4038f9c9b05..1abd3b83255 100755
--- a/noir-projects/noir-protocol-circuits/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/noir-projects/noir-protocol-circuits/bootstrap.sh
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ function on_exit() {
 }
 trap on_exit EXIT
 
-[ -f package.json ] && yarn && node ./scripts/generate_variants.js
+[ -f package.json ] && denoise "yarn && node ./scripts/generate_variants.js"
 
 mkdir -p $tmp_dir
 mkdir -p $key_dir
@@ -48,13 +48,19 @@ function compile {
   local filename="$name.json"
   local json_path="./target/$filename"
   local program_hash hash bytecode_hash vk vk_fields
-  program_hash=$($NARGO check --package $name --silence-warnings --show-program-hash | cut -d' ' -f2)
-  hash=$(echo "$NARGO_HASH-$program_hash" | sha256sum | tr -d ' -')
-  if ! cache_download circuit-$hash.tar.gz &> /dev/null; then
+  local program_hash_cmd="$NARGO check --package $name --silence-warnings --show-program-hash | cut -d' ' -f2"
+  # echo_stderr $program_hash_cmd
+  program_hash=$(dump_fail "$program_hash_cmd")
+  echo_stderr "Hash preimage: $NARGO_HASH-$program_hash"
+  hash=$(hash_str "$NARGO_HASH-$program_hash")
+  if ! cache_download circuit-$hash.tar.gz 1>&2; then
     SECONDS=0
+    rm -f $json_path
     # TODO: --skip-brillig-constraints-check added temporarily for blobs build time.
-    $NARGO compile --package $name --silence-warnings --skip-brillig-constraints-check
-    echo "Compilation complete for: $name (${SECONDS}s)"
+    local compile_cmd="$NARGO compile --package $name --silence-warnings --skip-brillig-constraints-check"
+    echo_stderr "$compile_cmd"
+    dump_fail "$compile_cmd"
+    echo_stderr "Compilation complete for: $name (${SECONDS}s)"
     cache_upload circuit-$hash.tar.gz $json_path &> /dev/null
   fi
 
@@ -74,19 +80,19 @@ function compile {
   # Change this to add verification_key to original json, like contracts does.
   # Will require changing TS code downstream.
   bytecode_hash=$(jq -r '.bytecode' $json_path | sha256sum | tr -d ' -')
-  hash=$(echo "$BB_HASH-$bytecode_hash-$proto" | sha256sum | tr -d ' -')
-  if ! cache_download vk-$hash.tar.gz &> /dev/null; then
+  hash=$(hash_str "$BB_HASH-$bytecode_hash-$proto")
+  if ! cache_download vk-$hash.tar.gz 1>&2; then
     local key_path="$key_dir/$name.vk.data.json"
-    echo "Generating vk for function: $name..." >&2
+    echo_stderr "Generating vk for function: $name..."
     SECONDS=0
     local vk_cmd="jq -r '.bytecode' $json_path | base64 -d | gunzip | $BB $write_vk_cmd -h -b - -o - --recursive | xxd -p -c 0"
-    echo $vk_cmd >&2
+    echo_stderr $vk_cmd
     vk=$(dump_fail "$vk_cmd")
     local vkf_cmd="echo '$vk' | xxd -r -p | $BB $vk_as_fields_cmd -k - -o -"
-    # echo $vkf_cmd >&2
+    # echo_stderrr $vkf_cmd
     vk_fields=$(dump_fail "$vkf_cmd")
     jq -n --arg vk "$vk" --argjson vkf "$vk_fields" '{keyAsBytes: $vk, keyAsFields: $vkf}' > $key_path
-    echo "Key output at: $key_path (${SECONDS}s)"
+    echo_stderr "Key output at: $key_path (${SECONDS}s)"
     cache_upload vk-$hash.tar.gz $key_path &> /dev/null
   fi
 }
@@ -111,7 +117,7 @@ function test {
   set -eu
   # Whether we run the tests or not is coarse grained.
   name=$(basename "$PWD")
-  CIRCUITS_HASH=$(REBUILD_PATTERNS="^noir-projects/$name" cache_content_hash ../../noir/.rebuild_patterns)
+  CIRCUITS_HASH=$(cache_content_hash ../../noir/.rebuild_patterns "^noir-projects/$name")
   if ! test_should_run $name-tests-$CIRCUITS_HASH; then
     return
   fi
@@ -144,6 +150,6 @@ case "$CMD" in
     parallel --line-buffered bash -c {} ::: build test
     ;;
   *)
-    echo "Unknown command: $CMD"
+    echo_stderr "Unknown command: $CMD"
     exit 1
 esac
diff --git a/scripts/ci/get_e2e_jobs.sh b/scripts/ci/get_e2e_jobs.sh
index 3b1f8fc7f9a..21b2fe85105 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/get_e2e_jobs.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/get_e2e_jobs.sh
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ allow_list=(
   "e2e_prover_fake_proofs"
   "e2e_prover_coordination"
   "e2e_lending_contract"
+  "e2e_p2p_gossip"
   "kind_network_smoke"
   "guides_dapp_testing"
   "guides_sample_dapp"
diff --git a/scripts/earthly-ci b/scripts/earthly-ci
index b120eab6351..40ad19bb513 100755
--- a/scripts/earthly-ci
+++ b/scripts/earthly-ci
@@ -67,8 +67,10 @@ while [ $ATTEMPT_COUNT -lt $MAX_ATTEMPTS ]; do
       || grep 'docker: failed to write digest data' >/dev/null \
       || grep 'docker: unexpected EOF' $OUTPUT_FILE >/dev/null; then
       # try to wait it out
-      echo sleep 20
+      echo "earthly-ci: recoverable error, waiting 20 seconds"
+      sleep 20
+    else
+      exit $earthly_exit_code
     fi
-    exit $earthly_exit_code
   fi
-done
\ No newline at end of file
+done
diff --git a/spartan/aztec-network/templates/boot-node.yaml b/spartan/aztec-network/templates/boot-node.yaml
index 62dbcab873c..f6f52b4b9b2 100644
--- a/spartan/aztec-network/templates/boot-node.yaml
+++ b/spartan/aztec-network/templates/boot-node.yaml
@@ -175,8 +175,6 @@ spec:
               value: "{{ .Values.bootNode.logLevel }}"
             - name: LOG_JSON
               value: "1"
-            - name: DEBUG
-              value: "{{ .Values.bootNode.debug }}"
             - name: P2P_ENABLED
               value: "{{ .Values.bootNode.p2p.enabled }}"
             - name: COINBASE
diff --git a/spartan/aztec-network/templates/prover-node.yaml b/spartan/aztec-network/templates/prover-node.yaml
index 3cdfb76721c..908c30902bd 100644
--- a/spartan/aztec-network/templates/prover-node.yaml
+++ b/spartan/aztec-network/templates/prover-node.yaml
@@ -125,8 +125,6 @@ spec:
               value: "{{ .Values.proverNode.logLevel }}"
             - name: LOG_JSON
               value: "1"
-            - name: DEBUG
-              value: "{{ .Values.proverNode.debug }}"
             - name: PROVER_REAL_PROOFS
               value: "{{ .Values.aztec.realProofs }}"
             - name: PROVER_AGENT_COUNT
diff --git a/spartan/aztec-network/templates/validator.yaml b/spartan/aztec-network/templates/validator.yaml
index 7d7c131b176..b866f154ef7 100644
--- a/spartan/aztec-network/templates/validator.yaml
+++ b/spartan/aztec-network/templates/validator.yaml
@@ -162,8 +162,6 @@ spec:
               value: "{{ .Values.validator.logLevel }}"
             - name: LOG_JSON
               value: "1"
-            - name: DEBUG
-              value: "{{ .Values.validator.debug }}"
             - name: P2P_ENABLED
               value: "{{ .Values.validator.p2p.enabled }}"
             - name: VALIDATOR_DISABLED
diff --git a/spartan/aztec-network/values.yaml b/spartan/aztec-network/values.yaml
index dd218203c29..8c58606c7cd 100644
--- a/spartan/aztec-network/values.yaml
+++ b/spartan/aztec-network/values.yaml
@@ -45,8 +45,7 @@ bootNode:
     p2pTcpPort: 40400
     p2pUdpPort: 40400
     nodePort: 8080
-  logLevel: "debug"
-  debug: ""
+  logLevel: "debug; info: aztec:simulator, json-rpc"
   coinbaseAddress: "0xaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
   sequencer:
     maxSecondsBetweenBlocks: 0
@@ -90,8 +89,7 @@ validator:
     p2pTcpPort: 40400
     p2pUdpPort: 40400
     nodePort: 8080
-  logLevel: "debug"
-  debug: ""
+  logLevel: "debug; info: aztec:simulator, json-rpc"
   sequencer:
     maxSecondsBetweenBlocks: 0
     minTxsPerBlock: 1
@@ -123,8 +121,7 @@ proverNode:
     p2pTcpPort: 40400
     p2pUdpPort: 40400
     nodePort: 8080
-  logLevel: "debug"
-  debug: ""
+  logLevel: "debug; info: aztec:simulator, json-rpc"
   proverAgent:
     count: 0
     pollIntervalMs: 1000
@@ -142,7 +139,7 @@ proverNode:
   storage: "8Gi"
 
 pxe:
-  logLevel: "debug"
+  logLevel: "debug; info: aztec:simulator, json-rpc"
   replicas: 1
   service:
     nodePort: 8081
@@ -160,7 +157,7 @@ pxe:
 bot:
   enabled: true
   nodeUrl: ""
-  logLevel: "debug"
+  logLevel: "debug; info: aztec:simulator, json-rpc"
   replicas: 1
   botPrivateKey: "0xcafe"
   txIntervalSeconds: 24
@@ -221,7 +218,7 @@ proverAgent:
   proofTypes: ["foo", "bar", "baz"]
   gke:
     spotEnabled: false
-  logLevel: "debug"
+  logLevel: "debug; info: aztec:simulator, json-rpc"
   bb:
     hardwareConcurrency: ""
   nodeSelector: {}
@@ -236,9 +233,12 @@ proverBroker:
   pollIntervalMs: 1000
   jobMaxRetries: 3
   dataDirectory: ""
-  logLevel: "debug"
+  logLevel: "debug; info: aztec:simulator, json-rpc"
   nodeSelector: {}
-  resources: {}
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      memory: "2Gi"
+      cpu: "200m"
 
 jobs:
   deployL1Verifier:
diff --git a/spartan/aztec-network/values/exp-1.yaml b/spartan/aztec-network/values/exp-1.yaml
index 05247cd7722..0f086a93c65 100644
--- a/spartan/aztec-network/values/exp-1.yaml
+++ b/spartan/aztec-network/values/exp-1.yaml
@@ -117,7 +117,8 @@ validator:
     - 0x3c3E2E178C69D4baD964568415a0f0c84fd6320A
   resources:
     requests:
-      memory: "512Mi"
+      memory: "8Gi"
+      cpu: "3.5"
   validator:
     disabled: false
   sequencer:
@@ -129,12 +130,28 @@ bootNode:
   storageSize: "100Gi"
   validator:
     disabled: true
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      memory: "8Gi"
+      cpu: "3.5"
 
 proverAgent:
-  replicas: 4
+  replicas: 8
+
+proverBroker:
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      memory: "8Gi"
+      cpu: "3.5"
+
+proverNode:
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      memory: "8Gi"
+      cpu: "3.5"
 
 bot:
-  replicas: 6
+  replicas: 10
   followChain: "NONE"
   enabled: true
   txIntervalSeconds: 1
@@ -142,3 +159,9 @@ bot:
 jobs:
   deployL1Verifier:
     enable: false
+
+ethereum:
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      memory: "8Gi"
+      cpu: "3.5"
diff --git a/yarn-project/circuit-types/src/l2_block_downloader/l2_block_stream.ts b/yarn-project/circuit-types/src/l2_block_downloader/l2_block_stream.ts
index 10724c9b545..7597f27c284 100644
--- a/yarn-project/circuit-types/src/l2_block_downloader/l2_block_stream.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/circuit-types/src/l2_block_downloader/l2_block_stream.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { type L2BlockId, type L2BlockSource, type L2Tips } from '../l2_block_sou
 /** Creates a stream of events for new blocks, chain tips updates, and reorgs, out of polling an archiver or a node. */
 export class L2BlockStream {
   private readonly runningPromise: RunningPromise;
+  private isSyncing = false;
 
   constructor(
     private l2BlockSource: Pick<L2BlockSource, 'getBlocks' | 'getBlockHeader' | 'getL2Tips'>,
@@ -37,8 +38,10 @@ export class L2BlockStream {
     return this.runningPromise.isRunning();
   }
 
-  public sync() {
-    return this.runningPromise.trigger();
+  public async sync() {
+    this.isSyncing = true;
+    await this.runningPromise.trigger();
+    this.isSyncing = false;
   }
 
   protected async work() {
@@ -132,7 +135,7 @@ export class L2BlockStream {
       `Emitting ${event.type} (${event.type === 'blocks-added' ? event.blocks.length : event.blockNumber})`,
     );
     await this.handler.handleBlockStreamEvent(event);
-    if (!this.isRunning()) {
+    if (!this.isRunning() && !this.isSyncing) {
       throw new AbortError();
     }
   }
diff --git a/yarn-project/cli/src/cmds/devnet/faucet.ts b/yarn-project/cli/src/cmds/devnet/faucet.ts
index 73e9d5c0642..c99b19b973c 100644
--- a/yarn-project/cli/src/cmds/devnet/faucet.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/cli/src/cmds/devnet/faucet.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ export async function dripFaucet(
   json: boolean,
   log: LogFn,
 ): Promise<void> {
-  const url = new URL(`${faucetUrl}/drip/${account.toString()}`);
+  const url = new URL(`/drip/${account.toString()}`, faucetUrl);
   url.searchParams.set('asset', asset);
   const res = await fetch(url);
   if (res.status === 200) {
diff --git a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/e2e_p2p/p2p_network.ts b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/e2e_p2p/p2p_network.ts
index 2d55474e7c8..4bfe4c45e99 100644
--- a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/e2e_p2p/p2p_network.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/e2e_p2p/p2p_network.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,28 @@ export class P2PNetworkTest {
     });
   }
 
+  static async create({
+    testName,
+    numberOfNodes,
+    basePort,
+    metricsPort,
+  }: {
+    testName: string;
+    numberOfNodes: number;
+    basePort?: number;
+    metricsPort?: number;
+  }) {
+    const port = basePort || (await getPort());
+
+    const telemetry = await getEndToEndTestTelemetryClient(metricsPort);
+    const bootstrapNode = await createBootstrapNodeFromPrivateKey(BOOTSTRAP_NODE_PRIVATE_KEY, port, telemetry);
+    const bootstrapNodeEnr = bootstrapNode.getENR().encodeTxt();
+
+    const initialValidatorConfig = await createValidatorConfig({} as AztecNodeConfig, bootstrapNodeEnr);
+
+    return new P2PNetworkTest(testName, bootstrapNode, port, numberOfNodes, initialValidatorConfig);
+  }
+
   /**
    * Start a loop to sync the mock system time with the L1 block time
    */
@@ -108,28 +130,6 @@ export class P2PNetworkTest {
     dateProvider.setTime(Number(timestamp.timestamp) * 1000);
   }
 
-  static async create({
-    testName,
-    numberOfNodes,
-    basePort,
-    metricsPort,
-  }: {
-    testName: string;
-    numberOfNodes: number;
-    basePort?: number;
-    metricsPort?: number;
-  }) {
-    const port = basePort || (await getPort());
-
-    const telemetry = await getEndToEndTestTelemetryClient(metricsPort);
-    const bootstrapNode = await createBootstrapNodeFromPrivateKey(BOOTSTRAP_NODE_PRIVATE_KEY, port, telemetry);
-    const bootstrapNodeEnr = bootstrapNode.getENR().encodeTxt();
-
-    const initialValidatorConfig = await createValidatorConfig({} as AztecNodeConfig, bootstrapNodeEnr);
-
-    return new P2PNetworkTest(testName, bootstrapNode, port, numberOfNodes, initialValidatorConfig);
-  }
-
   async applyBaseSnapshots() {
     await this.snapshotManager.snapshot(
       'add-validators',
diff --git a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/fixtures.ts b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/fixtures.ts
index 79d10d0d2da..7fec6f90d39 100644
--- a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/fixtures.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/fixtures.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ export const shouldCollectMetrics = () => {
   return undefined;
 };
 
+export const TEST_PEER_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS = 1000;
+
 export const MNEMONIC = 'test test test test test test test test test test test junk';
 export const privateKey = Buffer.from('ac0974bec39a17e36ba4a6b4d238ff944bacb478cbed5efcae784d7bf4f2ff80', 'hex');
 export const privateKey2 = Buffer.from('59c6995e998f97a5a0044966f0945389dc9e86dae88c7a8412f4603b6b78690d', 'hex');
diff --git a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/setup_p2p_test.ts b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/setup_p2p_test.ts
index 1d31d41ab6c..5ddcc3b6ee2 100644
--- a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/setup_p2p_test.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/setup_p2p_test.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { type PXEService } from '@aztec/pxe';
 
 import getPort from 'get-port';
 
+import { TEST_PEER_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS } from './fixtures.js';
 import { getPrivateKeyFromIndex } from './utils.js';
 import { getEndToEndTestTelemetryClient } from './with_telemetry_utils.js';
 
@@ -101,6 +102,7 @@ export async function createValidatorConfig(
     tcpAnnounceAddress: `127.0.0.1:${port}`,
     udpAnnounceAddress: `127.0.0.1:${port}`,
     p2pEnabled: true,
+    peerCheckIntervalMS: TEST_PEER_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS,
     blockCheckIntervalMS: 1000,
     transactionProtocol: '',
     dataDirectory,
diff --git a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/snapshot_manager.ts b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/snapshot_manager.ts
index 2acb78f7d47..d031d18c5bd 100644
--- a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/snapshot_manager.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/snapshot_manager.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ import path, { join } from 'path';
 import { type Hex, getContract } from 'viem';
 import { mnemonicToAccount } from 'viem/accounts';
 
-import { MNEMONIC } from './fixtures.js';
+import { MNEMONIC, TEST_PEER_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS } from './fixtures.js';
 import { getACVMConfig } from './get_acvm_config.js';
 import { getBBConfig } from './get_bb_config.js';
 import { setupL1Contracts } from './setup_l1_contracts.js';
@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@ async function setupFromFresh(
   // Fetch the AztecNode config.
   // TODO: For some reason this is currently the union of a bunch of subsystems. That needs fixing.
   const aztecNodeConfig: AztecNodeConfig & SetupOptions = { ...getConfigEnvVars(), ...opts };
+  aztecNodeConfig.peerCheckIntervalMS = TEST_PEER_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS;
 
   // Create a temp directory for all ephemeral state and cleanup afterwards
   const directoryToCleanup = path.join(tmpdir(), randomBytes(8).toString('hex'));
diff --git a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/utils.ts b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/utils.ts
index b931dfe1260..d6698a0ca04 100644
--- a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/utils.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/fixtures/utils.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ import {
 import { mnemonicToAccount, privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts';
 import { foundry } from 'viem/chains';
 
-import { MNEMONIC } from './fixtures.js';
+import { MNEMONIC, TEST_PEER_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS } from './fixtures.js';
 import { getACVMConfig } from './get_acvm_config.js';
 import { getBBConfig } from './get_bb_config.js';
 import { isMetricsLoggingRequested, setupMetricsLogger } from './logging.js';
@@ -315,6 +315,8 @@ export async function setup(
   chain: Chain = foundry,
 ): Promise<EndToEndContext> {
   const config = { ...getConfigEnvVars(), ...opts };
+  config.peerCheckIntervalMS = TEST_PEER_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS;
+
   const logger = getLogger();
 
   // Create a temp directory for any services that need it and cleanup later
diff --git a/yarn-project/p2p/src/config.ts b/yarn-project/p2p/src/config.ts
index 5f5ea19258a..0e30bc2efe3 100644
--- a/yarn-project/p2p/src/config.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/p2p/src/config.ts
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ export const p2pConfigMappings: ConfigMappingsType<P2PConfig> = {
   peerCheckIntervalMS: {
     env: 'P2P_PEER_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS',
     description: 'The frequency in which to check for new peers.',
-    ...numberConfigHelper(30_000),
+    ...numberConfigHelper(1_000),
   },
   l2QueueSize: {
     env: 'P2P_L2_QUEUE_SIZE',