diff --git a/src/simulator/crates/mc-combat/src/resolver.rs b/src/simulator/crates/mc-combat/src/resolver.rs
index 123d99db..b5cf541e 100644
--- a/src/simulator/crates/mc-combat/src/resolver.rs
+++ b/src/simulator/crates/mc-combat/src/resolver.rs
@@ -406,11 +406,10 @@ impl CombatResolver {
                 // Melee vs city: only a fraction of unit damage translates to
                 // city structural HP. Siege units are the intended counter to
                 // walls (via Siege combat_type which applies siege_city_bonus).
-                // 0.50 is the empirical sweet spot from batch 2 (12 PASS):
-                // lower values (0.40–0.33) stalled all seeds at max_turns and
-                // regressed checklist results. Seed 1's sub-T100 fall is an
-                // AI production-priority issue, not siege math.
-                let melee_city_fraction: f32 = 0.50;
+                // Option B dial-back: 0.50→0.55 after 0.70→0.75 wall tweak alone
+                // still produced 0/3 victories at 300 turns. Re-enables captures
+                // without reverting the full siege dampening (previously 1.00).
+                let melee_city_fraction: f32 = 0.55;
                 let city_dmg = (damage_to_defender as f32 * melee_city_fraction).round() as i32;
                 (city_dmg, (city_hp - city_dmg).max(0))
             }