diff --git a/.claude/skills/jgengine-ui/api.md b/.claude/skills/jgengine-ui/api.md
index d25063238..c087b6ad5 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/jgengine-ui/api.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/jgengine-ui/api.md
@@ -3147,7 +3147,7 @@
 - `NameplateSample` (interface): interface NameplateSample — Projected nameplate with optional health and distance from the render camera.
 - `ProjectileTracers` (function): function ProjectileTracers({ lifeMs = 130 }: { lifeMs?: number }): React.JSX.Element — ⚠ undocumented
 - `Reticle` (function): function Reticle({ className }: { className?: string }): React.JSX.Element — ⚠ undocumented
-- `WorldBarSample` (interface): interface WorldBarSample { entityId?: string; x: number; y: number; percent: number } — ⚠ undocumented
+- `WorldBarSample` (interface): interface WorldBarSample { entityId?: string; x: number; y: number; percent: number; pxPerMeter?: number } — ⚠ undocumented
 - `WorldEntityBars` (function): function WorldEntityBars({ statId, height = 2.2, roles, resolveRole, maxDistance = 60, occlude = true, tickMs = 80, maxSamples = 64, }: { statId: string; height?: number; roles?: readonly CatalogEntityRole[]; resolveRole?: (entity: SceneEntity) => CatalogEntityRole | undefined; /** Hide bars beyond … — ⚠ undocumented
 - `WorldFloatText` (function): function WorldFloatText({ height = 1.9, lifeMs = 950 }: { height?: number; lifeMs?: number }): React.JSX.Element — ⚠ undocumented
 - `WorldNameplates` (function): function WorldNameplates({ statId = "health", height = 2.3, roles, resolveRole, maxDistance = 40, occlude = true, tickMs = 120, maxSamples = 64, resolveName, showHealth = true, className, nameplateClassName, nameClassName, barClassName, fillClassName, renderNameplate, }: WorldNameplatesProps): React… — Billboarded name + 78×6px HP bar over every nearby non-local entity that passes `roles`/`maxDistance` — headless (className/data-* slots on every part, `renderNameplate` for a full swap), turned on declaratively via `defineGame({ nameplates })` rather than mounted by hand.
@@ -3199,7 +3199,7 @@
 
 - `NameplateSample` (interface): interface NameplateSample — Projected nameplate with optional health and distance from the render camera.
 - `Projectable` (interface): interface Projectable { set(x: number, y: number, z: number): this; project(camera: {matrixWorldInverse: unknown; projectionMatrix: unknown}): this; x: number; y: number; z: number } — ⚠ undocumented
-- `WorldBarSample` (interface): interface WorldBarSample { entityId?: string; x: number; y: number; percent: number } — ⚠ undocumented
+- `WorldBarSample` (interface): interface WorldBarSample { entityId?: string; x: number; y: number; percent: number; pxPerMeter?: number } — ⚠ undocumented
 - `WorldOverlayCamera` (interface): interface WorldOverlayCamera — Render camera matrices; world translation supplies the overlay's viewpoint.
 - `WorldOverlaySampleOptions` (interface): interface WorldOverlaySampleOptions — Sampling policy shared by health bars and nameplates.
 
diff --git a/changes/world-bar-scale.md b/changes/world-bar-scale.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6491d0621
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/world-bar-scale.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+### Fixed
+
+- Built-in world health bars (`worldHealthBars`, `@jgengine/shell`) span about 1.4 m at the entity's on-screen scale (28–112 px) instead of a fixed 112 px, so top-down and RTS cameras no longer paint bars ten times wider than the units under them.
diff --git a/packages/shell/src/world/worldBarSamples.test.ts b/packages/shell/src/world/worldBarSamples.test.ts
index c9b7ff6af..f35a00c43 100644
--- a/packages/shell/src/world/worldBarSamples.test.ts
+++ b/packages/shell/src/world/worldBarSamples.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { defineGameDefinition } from "@jgengine/core/game/defineGame";
 import { createAssetCatalog } from "@jgengine/core/scene/assetCatalog";
 import { createPossession } from "@jgengine/core/scene/possession";
 import { building, environment } from "@jgengine/core/world/features";
-import { collectNameplateSamples, collectWorldBarSamples, worldBarOccluded, refreshWorldBarSamples, type NameplateSample, type WorldBarSample, type WorldOverlaySampleOptions } from "./worldBarSamples";
+import { collectNameplateSamples, collectWorldBarSamples, worldBarOccluded, worldBarSize, refreshWorldBarSamples, type NameplateSample, type WorldBarSample, type WorldOverlaySampleOptions } from "./worldBarSamples";
 
 function setup(deps: SceneRaycastDeps = {}) {
   const store = createEntityStore();
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ describe("world overlay visibility", () => {
     const { ctx, spawn, rays } = setup();
     spawn("enemy", [0, 0, 0], "Wolf");
     spawn("npc", [1, 0, 0], "Innkeeper", null);
-    expect(bars(ctx)).toEqual([{ entityId: "enemy", x: 400, y: 300, percent: 0.5 }]);
+    expect(bars(ctx)).toEqual([{ entityId: "enemy", x: 400, y: 300, percent: 0.5, pxPerMeter: expect.any(Number) }]);
     expect(plates(ctx).map((p) => [p.name, p.percent])).toEqual([["Wolf", 0.5], ["Innkeeper", null]]);
     expect(rays.every((r) => r.filter?.entities === false)).toBe(true);
   });
@@ -218,3 +218,25 @@ describe("world overlay visibility", () => {
     expect(rays).toHaveLength(76);
   });
 });
+
+describe("world bar size", () => {
+  test("a far or zoomed-out actor gets a smaller bar than a near one", () => {
+    const { ctx, spawn } = setup();
+    spawn("enemy", [0, 0, 0], "Wolf");
+    const near = bars(ctx, cameraAt([0, 2, 6]))[0]!.pxPerMeter!;
+    const far = bars(ctx, cameraAt([0, 2, 40]))[0]!.pxPerMeter!;
+    expect(near).toBeGreaterThan(far * 4);
+    expect(worldBarSize(near).width).toBeGreaterThan(worldBarSize(far).width);
+  });
+
+  test("spans about 1.4 m on screen, clamped between a readable minimum and the maximum", () => {
+    expect(worldBarSize(40)).toEqual({ width: 56, height: 5 });
+    expect(worldBarSize(2)).toEqual({ width: 28, height: 4 });
+    expect(worldBarSize(500)).toEqual({ width: 112, height: 10 });
+  });
+
+  test("caller-painted samples without a scale keep the configured size", () => {
+    expect(worldBarSize(undefined)).toEqual({ width: 112, height: 10 });
+    expect(worldBarSize(undefined, 80, 8)).toEqual({ width: 80, height: 8 });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/shell/src/world/worldBarSamples.ts b/packages/shell/src/world/worldBarSamples.ts
index 52d04a65a..96753c906 100644
--- a/packages/shell/src/world/worldBarSamples.ts
+++ b/packages/shell/src/world/worldBarSamples.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ export interface WorldBarSample {
   x: number;
   y: number;
   percent: number;
+  /** Screen pixels per world metre at the anchor, so painted bars shrink with distance and zoom. */
+  pxPerMeter?: number;
 }
 
 export interface Projectable {
@@ -71,6 +73,19 @@ function projectAnchor(entity: SceneEntity, height: number, camera: WorldOverlay
   return anchor;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Screen pixels per world metre at `anchor`: project a point one metre along the camera's right
+ * axis and measure the gap. Call after reading the anchor's own projection — `project` is reused.
+ */
+function pixelsPerMeter(anchor: EntityPosition, camera: WorldOverlayCamera, project: Projectable, viewport: { width: number; height: number }, x: number, y: number): number {
+  const m = camera.matrixWorld.elements;
+  project.set(anchor[0] + m[0]!, anchor[1] + m[1]!, anchor[2] + m[2]!).project(camera);
+  const px = (project.x * 0.5 + 0.5) * viewport.width;
+  const py = (-project.y * 0.5 + 0.5) * viewport.height;
+  const scale = Math.hypot(px - x, py - y);
+  return Number.isFinite(scale) ? scale : 0;
+}
+
 function healthFraction(stat: { min: number; max: number; current: number }): number {
   const range = stat.max - stat.min;
   return range <= 0 ? 0 : Math.max(0, Math.min(1, (stat.current - stat.min) / range));
@@ -118,11 +133,14 @@ export function collectWorldBarSamples(
     if (anchor === null) continue;
     if (checked++ >= limit) break;
     if (occlude && worldBarOccluded(ctx, origin, anchor)) continue;
+    const x = (project.x * 0.5 + 0.5) * viewport.width;
+    const y = (-project.y * 0.5 + 0.5) * viewport.height;
     into.push({
       entityId: id,
-      x: (project.x * 0.5 + 0.5) * viewport.width,
-      y: (-project.y * 0.5 + 0.5) * viewport.height,
+      x,
+      y,
       percent: healthFraction(stat),
+      pxPerMeter: pixelsPerMeter(anchor, camera, project, viewport, x, y),
     });
   }
   return into.length;
@@ -145,9 +163,11 @@ export function refreshWorldBarSamples(
     if (sample.entityId === undefined) continue;
     const entity = eligibleEntity(ctx, sample.entityId, options);
     if (entity === null || Math.hypot(entity.position[0] - origin[0], entity.position[1] - origin[1], entity.position[2] - origin[2]) > maxDistance) continue;
-    if (projectAnchor(entity, height, camera, project) === null) continue;
+    const anchor = projectAnchor(entity, height, camera, project);
+    if (anchor === null) continue;
     sample.x = (project.x * 0.5 + 0.5) * viewport.width;
     sample.y = (-project.y * 0.5 + 0.5) * viewport.height;
+    sample.pxPerMeter = pixelsPerMeter(anchor, camera, project, viewport, sample.x, sample.y);
     samples[kept++] = sample;
   }
   samples.length = kept;
@@ -212,24 +232,40 @@ export function collectNameplateSamples(
   return into.length;
 }
 
+/** World width a health bar spans over its entity, in metres. */
+const WORLD_BAR_METERS = 1.4;
+const MIN_BAR_WIDTH_PX = 28;
+
+/**
+ * Painted bar size for a sample: about {@link WORLD_BAR_METERS} wide at the anchor's on-screen
+ * scale, clamped between a still-readable minimum and the configured maximum, with height in
+ * proportion. Samples without a scale (caller-painted screen samples) keep the maximum.
+ * @internal
+ */
+export function worldBarSize(pxPerMeter: number | undefined, maxWidthPx = 112, maxHeightPx = 10): { width: number; height: number } {
+  if (pxPerMeter === undefined || !(pxPerMeter > 0)) return { width: maxWidthPx, height: maxHeightPx };
+  const width = Math.max(Math.min(MIN_BAR_WIDTH_PX, maxWidthPx), Math.min(maxWidthPx, pxPerMeter * WORLD_BAR_METERS));
+  const height = Math.max(4, Math.min(maxHeightPx, Math.round(width / 11)));
+  return { width: Math.round(width), height };
+}
+
 /** @internal */
 export function paintWorldBarSamples(
   canvas: { width: number; height: number; getContext(kind: "2d"): CanvasRenderingContext2D | null },
   samples: readonly WorldBarSample[],
   dpr: number,
-  barWidthPx = 112,
-  barHeightPx = 10,
+  maxBarWidthPx = 112,
+  maxBarHeightPx = 10,
 ): void {
   const g = canvas.getContext("2d");
   if (g === null) return;
   g.setTransform(1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0);
   g.clearRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
   g.setTransform(dpr, 0, 0, dpr, 0, 0);
-  const halfW = barWidthPx / 2;
-  const halfH = barHeightPx / 2;
   for (const sample of samples) {
-    const left = sample.x - halfW;
-    const top = sample.y - halfH;
+    const { width: barWidthPx, height: barHeightPx } = worldBarSize(sample.pxPerMeter, maxBarWidthPx, maxBarHeightPx);
+    const left = sample.x - barWidthPx / 2;
+    const top = sample.y - barHeightPx / 2;
     g.fillStyle = "rgba(0,0,0,0.7)";
     g.strokeStyle = "rgba(0,0,0,0.7)";
     g.lineWidth = 1;