diff --git a/vibn-frontend/app/api/chat/route.ts b/vibn-frontend/app/api/chat/route.ts
index 36c031b..7c7768f 100644
--- a/vibn-frontend/app/api/chat/route.ts
+++ b/vibn-frontend/app/api/chat/route.ts
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ type AgentPhase =
 
 const TOOL_BUDGETS: Record<TurnIntent, number> = {
   conversational: 1, // Must be at least 1 so the LLM gets called for a text reply
-  status_check: 2,
+  status_check: 5,
   diagnose: 8,
   small_fix: 18,
   feature_build: 40,
@@ -905,6 +905,7 @@ export async function POST(request: Request) {
       }
       const firstMessageIsConversational =
         activeMcpToken !== undefined && // tools available
+        turnIntent === "conversational" && // ONLY block tools on pure conversational intents!
         isConversational(message.trim());
 
       let lastVerifySig: string | null = null;