diff --git a/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/TextLayout.ts b/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/TextLayout.ts
index 6b41dca4e..a5277830a 100644
--- a/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/TextLayout.ts
+++ b/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/TextLayout.ts
@@ -60,15 +60,3 @@ export function layoutString(
 
   return (visualRight - visualLeft) * 0.5;
 }
-
-/** Format internal troop count for display (internal values are 10x display). */
-export function formatTroops(internalTroops: number): string {
-  const troops = internalTroops / 10;
-  if (troops >= 1_000_000) {
-    return (troops / 1_000_000).toFixed(1) + "M";
-  }
-  if (troops >= 1_000) {
-    return (troops / 1_000).toFixed(1) + "K";
-  }
-  return troops.toFixed(0);
-}
diff --git a/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/Types.ts b/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/Types.ts
index 9bacac274..a1b6e8ce4 100644
--- a/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/Types.ts
+++ b/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/Types.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ export interface PlayerSlot {
   nameLen: number;
   troopLen: number;
   lastTroopStr: string;
+  /** Last 500ms bucket this slot's troop string was refreshed in (staggered per slot). */
+  lastTroopBucket: number;
   /** URL identifying which flag this player wants (dedup key). undefined = none. */
   flagUrl: string | undefined;
   /** Layer index in FlagAtlasArray, or -1 if not loaded yet / no flag. */
diff --git a/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/index.ts b/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/index.ts
index e8e7e910c..fd5210e28 100644
--- a/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/index.ts
+++ b/src/client/render/gl/passes/name-pass/index.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import { PlayerTypeEnum } from "../../../types";
 import type { RenderSettings } from "../../RenderSettings";
 import { createFullscreenQuad } from "../../utils/GlUtils";
 
+import { renderTroops } from "../../../../Utils";
 import type { GlyphTables } from "./AtlasData";
 import {
   buildEmojiLookup,
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ import { DebugProgram } from "./DebugProgram";
 import { FlagAtlasArray } from "./FlagAtlasArray";
 import { IconProgram } from "./IconProgram";
 import { StatusIconProgram } from "./StatusIconProgram";
-import { formatTroops, layoutString } from "./TextLayout";
+import { layoutString } from "./TextLayout";
 import { TextProgram } from "./TextProgram";
 import type { PlayerSlot } from "./Types";
 import { LINES_PER_PLAYER, MAX_CHARS } from "./Types";
@@ -279,6 +280,7 @@ export class NamePass {
           nameLen: 0,
           troopLen: 0,
           lastTroopStr: "",
+          lastTroopBucket: -1,
           flagUrl: p.flag,
           flagLayerIdx: -1,
           emojiAtlasIdx: -1,
@@ -336,14 +338,19 @@ export class NamePass {
         dirty = true;
       }
 
-      // Write troop count string (only if changed)
-      const troops = troopsByPlayerID.get(playerID) ?? 0;
-      const troopStr = formatTroops(troops);
-      if (troopStr !== slot.lastTroopStr) {
-        slot.troopLen = Math.min(troopStr.length, MAX_CHARS);
-        slot.lastTroopStr = troopStr;
-        this.uploadStringRow(slot.index * LINES_PER_PLAYER + 1, troopStr);
-        dirty = true;
+      // Write troop count string (refreshed per slot every 500ms, staggered by
+      // slot index so updates spread across the window instead of bursting).
+      const troopBucket = Math.floor((now + (slot.index % 5) * 0.1) / 0.5);
+      if (snap || slot.troopLen === 0 || troopBucket !== slot.lastTroopBucket) {
+        slot.lastTroopBucket = troopBucket;
+        const troops = troopsByPlayerID.get(playerID) ?? 0;
+        const troopStr = renderTroops(troops);
+        if (troopStr !== slot.lastTroopStr) {
+          slot.troopLen = Math.min(troopStr.length, MAX_CHARS);
+          slot.lastTroopStr = troopStr;
+          this.uploadStringRow(slot.index * LINES_PER_PLAYER + 1, troopStr);
+          dirty = true;
+        }
       }
 
       // Check if target position changed — only then recompute lerp source