diff --git a/src/sim/behaviour-data.ts b/src/sim/behaviour-data.ts
index 4acfe62..622e3a5 100644
--- a/src/sim/behaviour-data.ts
+++ b/src/sim/behaviour-data.ts
@@ -191,6 +191,16 @@ const replica: ComponentBehaviour = {
     ctx.reportInstances(state, out, 0);
   },
 
+  load(_ctx: BehaviourCtx, state: NodeStateLike): number {
+    const ext = replicaExt(state);
+    const work =
+      ext.readBusy +
+      ext.writeBusy +
+      (ext.readQueue.length - ext.readHead) +
+      (ext.writeQueue.length - ext.writeHead);
+    return work / (readCapacity(state) + writeCapacity(state));
+  },
+
   onTick(ctx: BehaviourCtx, state: NodeStateLike, _dtMs: number): void {
     // Publish occupancy on the engine's clock. Reads and writes draw from two
     // different pools held in `ext`, so state.busy stays 0 and the engine
@@ -453,6 +463,18 @@ const shard: ComponentBehaviour = {
     return 'handled';
   },
 
+  load(_ctx: BehaviourCtx, state: NodeStateLike): number {
+    // Not ensureSized(): this must be a pure read, and a pending resize is
+    // applied on the next admit anyway.
+    const ext = shardExt(state);
+    let work = 0;
+    for (let i = 0; i < ext.sized; i++) {
+      work += ext.busy[i] + (ext.queues[i].length - ext.heads[i]);
+    }
+    const capacity = clampInt(state.config.shardCapacity, 1, MAX_SHARD_CAPACITY);
+    return work / (ext.sized * capacity);
+  },
+
   onTick(ctx: BehaviourCtx, state: NodeStateLike, _dtMs: number): void {
     // Integrate per-shard occupancy on the engine's own clock rather than per
     // event, so an idle shard's utilisation still decays toward zero.
diff --git a/src/sim/behaviour-store.ts b/src/sim/behaviour-store.ts
index 843c795..e507875 100644
--- a/src/sim/behaviour-store.ts
+++ b/src/sim/behaviour-store.ts
@@ -203,6 +203,11 @@ const coldstorage: ComponentBehaviour = {
     return 'handled';
   },
 
+  load(ctx, state): number {
+    const ext = state.ext as ColdStorageExt;
+    return ext.jobs / Math.max(1, ctx.effectiveCapacity(state));
+  },
+
   onTick(ctx, state): void {
     const ext = state.ext as ColdStorageExt;
     ctx.reportOccupancy(state, ext.jobs, ctx.effectiveCapacity(state));
@@ -323,6 +328,15 @@ function reportPool(ctx: BehaviourCtx, state: NodeStateLike): void {
   ctx.reportOccupancy(state, poolExt(state).busy, ctx.effectiveCapacity(state));
 }
 
+/** Busy plus queued over slots, for the least-loaded edge picker. */
+function poolLoad(ctx: BehaviourCtx, state: NodeStateLike): number {
+  const ext = poolExt(state);
+  return (
+    (ext.busy + (ext.queue.length - ext.head)) /
+    Math.max(1, ctx.effectiveCapacity(state))
+  );
+}
+
 function decoratePool(state: NodeStateLike, stats: NodeStats): void {
   const ext = poolExt(state);
   stats.inFlight = ext.busy;
@@ -410,6 +424,7 @@ const db: ComponentBehaviour = {
   },
 
   onTick: reportPool,
+  load: poolLoad,
 
   decorateStats(ctx, state, stats: NodeStats): void {
     decoratePool(state, stats);
@@ -513,6 +528,7 @@ const searchindex: ComponentBehaviour = {
   },
 
   onTick: reportPool,
+  load: poolLoad,
 
   decorateStats(ctx, state, stats): void {
     decoratePool(state, stats);
@@ -571,6 +587,7 @@ const timeseriesdb: ComponentBehaviour = {
   },
 
   onTick: reportPool,
+  load: poolLoad,
 
   decorateStats(ctx, state, stats): void {
     decoratePool(state, stats);
@@ -620,6 +637,7 @@ const graphdb: ComponentBehaviour = {
   },
 
   onTick: reportPool,
+  load: poolLoad,
 
   decorateStats(ctx, state, stats): void {
     decoratePool(state, stats);
@@ -669,6 +687,7 @@ const vectordb: ComponentBehaviour = {
   },
 
   onTick: reportPool,
+  load: poolLoad,
 
   decorateStats(ctx, state, stats): void {
     decoratePool(state, stats);
diff --git a/src/sim/behaviour.ts b/src/sim/behaviour.ts
index 49b3474..1b83135 100644
--- a/src/sim/behaviour.ts
+++ b/src/sim/behaviour.ts
@@ -135,6 +135,16 @@ export interface ComponentBehaviour {
    */
   noRouteReason?: FailureReason;
 
+  /**
+   * How full this node is, as (in service + waiting) / slots, for a kind that
+   * runs its own slot pool in `ext`. The least-loaded edge picker reads
+   * `state.busy` and the engine's waiting list, which such a kind leaves at
+   * zero, so without this every one of them looks idle and a load balancer
+   * sends all traffic to the first. Absent for kinds the engine already
+   * measures. Must be a pure read: no RNG, no state change.
+   */
+  load?(ctx: BehaviourCtx, state: NodeStateLike): number;
+
   /**
    * Which NodeConfig knob a controller moves to make this kind BIGGER, and
    * which the engine reads back to say how big it currently is.
diff --git a/src/sim/engine.ts b/src/sim/engine.ts
index 2964810..f7eedc1 100644
--- a/src/sim/engine.ts
+++ b/src/sim/engine.ts
@@ -1463,9 +1463,15 @@ export class Engine implements BehaviourCtx {
         if (anyCut && cut.has(out[i].id)) continue;
         const target = this.nodes.get(out[i].to);
         if (!target) continue;
-        const depth = target.busy + (target.waiting.length - target.waitHead);
-        const cap = target.config.capacity > 0 ? target.config.capacity : 1;
-        const load = depth / cap;
+        const own = target.behaviour.load;
+        let load: number;
+        if (own) {
+          load = own(this, target);
+        } else {
+          const depth = target.busy + (target.waiting.length - target.waitHead);
+          const cap = target.config.capacity > 0 ? target.config.capacity : 1;
+          load = depth / cap;
+        }
         if (load < bestLoad) {
           bestLoad = load;
           best = out[i];
diff --git a/src/sim/lbPooled.test.ts b/src/sim/lbPooled.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69b3d40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sim/lbPooled.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { Engine } from './engine';
+import { defaultConfig } from './presets';
+import type { NodeConfig, NodeKind, Topology } from './types';
+
+const node = (id: string, kind: NodeKind, o: Partial<NodeConfig>) => ({
+  id,
+  kind,
+  label: id,
+  x: 0,
+  y: 0,
+  config: { ...defaultConfig(kind), ...o },
+});
+
+// Kinds that run their own slot pool (state.busy stays 0) next to a plain
+// service as the control.
+const KINDS: readonly NodeKind[] = [
+  'service',
+  'db',
+  'searchindex',
+  'timeseriesdb',
+  'graphdb',
+  'vectordb',
+  'replica',
+  'shard',
+  'coldstorage',
+];
+
+function arrivalsBehindLb(kind: NodeKind): number[] {
+  const store: Partial<NodeConfig> = {
+    capacity: 4,
+    shardCapacity: 4,
+    shardCount: 1,
+    replicaCount: 1,
+    readFraction: 1,
+    instances: 1,
+    serviceMs: 20,
+    serviceCv: 0,
+    queueLimit: 64,
+    lockMs: 0,
+    // vectordb: no index-size or recall surcharge, so serviceMs is the cost.
+    indexSizeK: 0,
+    recallTarget: 0,
+  };
+  const t: Topology = {
+    nodes: [
+      node('client', 'client', { rps: 300, timeoutMs: 5000 }),
+      node('lb', 'lb', { capacity: 1000, serviceMs: 0, queueLimit: 1000 }),
+      node('s0', kind, store),
+      node('s1', kind, store),
+      node('s2', kind, store),
+    ],
+    edges: [
+      { id: 'c->lb', from: 'client', to: 'lb', weight: 1 },
+      { id: 'lb->s0', from: 'lb', to: 's0', weight: 1 },
+      { id: 'lb->s1', from: 'lb', to: 's1', weight: 1 },
+      { id: 'lb->s2', from: 'lb', to: 's2', weight: 1 },
+    ],
+  };
+  const e = new Engine(t, 1);
+  for (let i = 0; i < 600; i++) e.advance(1000 / 60);
+  const n = e.snapshot().nodes;
+  return ['s0', 's1', 's2'].map((id) => n[id]!.arrivalRate);
+}
+
+describe('least-loaded lb in front of pooled kinds', () => {
+  for (const kind of KINDS) {
+    it(`spreads load across ${kind} nodes`, () => {
+      const rates = arrivalsBehindLb(kind);
+      // 300 rps over three nodes whose ceiling is 4 x 1000/20 = 200 rps each:
+      // one node alone cannot keep up, so every node must get real traffic.
+      for (const r of rates) expect(r, rates.join()).toBeGreaterThan(50);
+    });
+  }
+
+  it('stays deterministic', () => {
+    expect(arrivalsBehindLb('db')).toEqual(arrivalsBehindLb('db'));
+  });
+});