# BRIEFING — 2026-10-01T02:30:00Z

## Mission
Analyze test suite alignment with the 0.35 factor fix in tests/e2e/test_level_progression_e2e.py and challenge_exp_curve.py.

## 🔒 My Identity
- Archetype: explorer
- Roles: teamwork_preview_explorer
- Working directory: c:\Projects\FreeExile\.agents\teamwork\explorer_m1_progression_3_gen2
- Original parent: 6f4a2aa2-4315-4660-8cb7-8352a7220c95
- Milestone: Milestone 1 Iteration 2

## 🔒 Key Constraints
- Read-only investigation — do NOT implement
- Do not modify source code files. You are an exploratory agent.
- Keep BRIEFING under ~100 lines.
- Write report to report.md, handoff to handoff.md, notify parent via send_message.

## Current Parent
- Conversation ID: 6f4a2aa2-4315-4660-8cb7-8352a7220c95
- Updated: not yet

## Investigation State
- **Explored paths**:
  - `tests/e2e/test_level_progression_e2e.py` (lines 54, 141, and full suite)
  - `.agents/teamwork/challenger_m1_progression_1/challenge_exp_curve.py`
  - `server/world/level_progression_curve.py`
  - `server/world/game_design_matrix_seeder.py` & `game_design_matrix_service.py`
  - `data/game_design_matrix.db`
- **Key findings**:
  - Factor 0.33 resulted in delta_99 / lifetime = 24.812% (< 25.0%), causing Challenge 3 failure and relaxed assertion in line 141.
  - Factor 0.35 yields delta_99 = 6,296,234,859, lifetime = 24,285,477,315, ratio_vs_98 = 35.0% (>= 30%), ratio_vs_lifetime = 25.926% (in [25%, 35%]).
  - With factor 0.35, all 7 checks in `challenge_exp_curve.py` pass 100% (APPROVED).
  - Line 141 in `test_level_progression_e2e.py` can be safely restored to `assert 0.25 <= (delta_99 / total_lifetime) <= 0.35`.
  - Zero regression across all 50 E2E test cases.
- **Unexplored areas**: None.

## Key Decisions Made
- Confirmed mathematical validity of 0.35 factor against both R1 and Acceptance Criteria.
- Formulated 5-step verification command pipeline for Iteration 2.
- Compiled deliverables into report.md and handoff.md without modifying source files.

## Artifact Index
- DISPATCH.md — incoming dispatch history
- progress.md — liveness heartbeat
- report.md — comprehensive analysis report
- handoff.md — 5-component hard handoff report