diff --git a/deploy/files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/left4me-server@.service b/deploy/files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/left4me-server@.service
index db291b3..e9d226b 100644
--- a/deploy/files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/left4me-server@.service
+++ b/deploy/files/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/left4me-server@.service
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 Description=left4me server instance %i
 After=network-online.target
 Wants=network-online.target
+# Bound the restart loop. Without these, a persistent ExecStartPre or
+# ExecStart failure spins indefinitely. Note: these are [Unit]-section
+# directives (systemd 230+), not [Service].
+StartLimitBurst=5
+StartLimitIntervalSec=60s
 
 [Service]
 Type=simple
@@ -29,11 +34,6 @@ ExecStartPre=+/usr/local/libexec/left4me/left4me-overlay mount %i
 ExecStart=/var/lib/left4me/installation/srcds_run -game left4dead2 +hostport ${L4D2_PORT} $L4D2_ARGS
 Restart=on-failure
 RestartSec=5
-# Bound the restart loop. Without these, a persistent ExecStartPre or
-# ExecStart failure spins indefinitely (default systemd has no cap when
-# Restart= is explicitly set without StartLimit*).
-StartLimitBurst=5
-StartLimitIntervalSec=60s
 
 # Resource control baseline — see docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-09-l4d2-server-host-perf-baseline-design.md
 Slice=l4d2-game.slice