diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/assets/css/leaflet-overrides.css b/frontend-nuxt/assets/css/leaflet-overrides.css
index bf2023a..05348f8 100644
--- a/frontend-nuxt/assets/css/leaflet-overrides.css
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/assets/css/leaflet-overrides.css
@@ -8,3 +8,18 @@
 .leaflet-tile {
   visibility: visible !important;
 }
+
+/* Brief highlight when a tile is updated via SSE (tile freshness indicator). */
+@keyframes tile-fresh-glow {
+  0% {
+    filter: brightness(1.15);
+    box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 oklch(0.6 0.2 264 / 0.4);
+  }
+  100% {
+    filter: brightness(1);
+    box-shadow: none;
+  }
+}
+.leaflet-tile.tile-fresh {
+  animation: tile-fresh-glow 0.6s ease-out;
+}
diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/components/MapErrorBoundary.vue b/frontend-nuxt/components/MapErrorBoundary.vue
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e7471e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/components/MapErrorBoundary.vue
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+<template>
+  <div class="relative h-full w-full">
+    <slot v-if="!caughtError" />
+    <div
+      v-else
+      class="absolute inset-0 z-[600] flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-4 bg-base-200/95 p-8"
+      role="alert"
+    >
+      <p class="text-center text-lg font-medium">Map failed to load</p>
+      <p class="text-center text-sm text-base-content/80">
+        Something went wrong while loading the map. You can try reloading the page.
+      </p>
+      <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" @click="reload">
+        Reload page
+      </button>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</template>
+
+<script setup lang="ts">
+const caughtError = ref<Error | null>(null)
+
+function reload() {
+  if (import.meta.client) {
+    window.location.reload()
+  }
+}
+
+onErrorCaptured((err) => {
+  caughtError.value = err
+  return true
+})
+</script>
diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/components/MapView.vue b/frontend-nuxt/components/MapView.vue
index 9cb891e..3398d09 100644
--- a/frontend-nuxt/components/MapView.vue
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/components/MapView.vue
@@ -32,6 +32,17 @@
       :mapid="mapLogic.state.mapid.value"
       :display-coords="mapLogic.state.displayCoords.value"
     />
+    <div
+      v-if="sseConnectionState === 'error' && mapReady"
+      class="absolute bottom-4 left-1/2 z-[501] -translate-x-1/2 rounded-lg px-3 py-2 text-sm bg-warning/90 text-warning-content shadow"
+      role="status"
+      title="Live updates will resume when reconnected"
+    >
+      <span class="inline-flex items-center gap-2">
+        <span class="inline-block size-2 animate-pulse rounded-full bg-current" aria-hidden="true" />
+        Reconnecting…
+      </span>
+    </div>
     <div class="absolute top-2 right-2 z-[501] flex flex-col gap-1">
       <button
         type="button"
@@ -116,7 +127,7 @@ import { HnHDefaultZoom, HnHMaxZoom, HnHMinZoom, TileSize } from '~/lib/LeafletC
 import { initLeafletMap, type MapInitResult } from '~/composables/useMapInit'
 import { useMapNavigate } from '~/composables/useMapNavigate'
 import { useFullscreen } from '~/composables/useFullscreen'
-import { startMapUpdates, type UseMapUpdatesReturn } from '~/composables/useMapUpdates'
+import { startMapUpdates, type UseMapUpdatesReturn, type SseConnectionState } from '~/composables/useMapUpdates'
 import { createMapLayers, type MapLayersManager } from '~/composables/useMapLayers'
 import type { MapInfo, ConfigResponse, MeResponse } from '~/types/api'
 import type L from 'leaflet'
@@ -140,6 +151,7 @@ const { resolvePath } = useAppPaths()
 const mapNavigate = useMapNavigate()
 const fullscreen = useFullscreen(mapContainerRef)
 const showShortcutsOverlay = ref(false)
+const sseConnectionState = ref<SseConnectionState>('connecting')
 const measureMode = ref(false)
 const measurePointA = ref<{ x: number; y: number } | null>(null)
 const measurePointB = ref<{ x: number; y: number } | null>(null)
@@ -330,6 +342,7 @@ onMounted(async () => {
     overlayLayer: mapInit.overlayLayer,
     map: leafletMap,
     getCurrentMapId: () => mapLogic.state.mapid.value,
+    connectionStateRef: sseConnectionState,
     onMerge: (mapTo: number, shift: { x: number; y: number }) => {
       const latLng = toLatLng(shift.x * 100, shift.y * 100)
       layersManager!.changeMap(mapTo)
diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/composables/useMapInit.ts b/frontend-nuxt/composables/useMapInit.ts
index c7a72b0..e7ef411 100644
--- a/frontend-nuxt/composables/useMapInit.ts
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/composables/useMapInit.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,31 @@ import type { MapInfo } from '~/types/api'
 
 type SmartTileLayerInstance = InstanceType<typeof SmartTileLayer>
 
+/** Known marker icon paths (without .png) to preload so markers render without broken images. */
+const MARKER_ICON_PATHS = [
+  'gfx/terobjs/mm/custom',
+  'gfx/terobjs/mm/tower',
+  'gfx/terobjs/mm/village',
+  'gfx/terobjs/mm/dungeon',
+  'gfx/terobjs/mm/cave',
+  'gfx/terobjs/mm/settlement',
+  'gfx/invobjs/small/bush',
+  'gfx/invobjs/small/bumling',
+]
+
+/**
+ * Preloads marker icon images so they are in the browser cache before markers render.
+ * Call from client only. resolvePath should produce absolute URLs for static assets.
+ */
+export function preloadMarkerIcons(resolvePath: (path: string) => string): void {
+  if (import.meta.server) return
+  for (const base of MARKER_ICON_PATHS) {
+    const url = resolvePath(`${base}.png`)
+    const img = new Image()
+    img.src = url
+  }
+}
+
 export interface MapInitResult {
   map: L.Map
   layer: SmartTileLayerInstance
@@ -87,5 +112,11 @@ export async function initLeafletMap(
   const markerIconPath = baseURL.endsWith('/') ? baseURL : baseURL + '/'
   L.Icon.Default.imagePath = markerIconPath
 
+  const resolvePath = (path: string) => {
+    const p = path.startsWith('/') ? path : `/${path}`
+    return baseURL === '/' ? p : `${baseURL.replace(/\/$/, '')}${p}`
+  }
+  preloadMarkerIcons(resolvePath)
+
   return { map, layer, overlayLayer, coordLayer, markerLayer, backendBase }
 }
diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/composables/useMapUpdates.ts b/frontend-nuxt/composables/useMapUpdates.ts
index 5ac1b8d..9ac63fb 100644
--- a/frontend-nuxt/composables/useMapUpdates.ts
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/composables/useMapUpdates.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
+import type { Ref } from 'vue'
 import type { SmartTileLayer } from '~/lib/SmartTileLayer'
 import { TileSize } from '~/lib/LeafletCustomTypes'
 import type L from 'leaflet'
 
 type SmartTileLayerInstance = InstanceType<typeof SmartTileLayer>
 
+export type SseConnectionState = 'connecting' | 'open' | 'error'
+
 interface TileUpdate {
   M: number
   X: number
@@ -25,6 +28,8 @@ export interface UseMapUpdatesOptions {
   map: L.Map
   getCurrentMapId: () => number
   onMerge: (mapTo: number, shift: { x: number; y: number }) => void
+  /** Optional ref updated with SSE connection state for reconnection indicator. */
+  connectionStateRef?: Ref<SseConnectionState>
 }
 
 export interface UseMapUpdatesReturn {
@@ -32,13 +37,24 @@ export interface UseMapUpdatesReturn {
 }
 
 export function startMapUpdates(options: UseMapUpdatesOptions): UseMapUpdatesReturn {
-  const { backendBase, layer, overlayLayer, map, getCurrentMapId, onMerge } = options
+  const { backendBase, layer, overlayLayer, map, getCurrentMapId, onMerge, connectionStateRef } = options
 
   const updatesPath = `${backendBase}/updates`
   const updatesUrl = import.meta.client ? `${window.location.origin}${updatesPath}` : updatesPath
   const source = new EventSource(updatesUrl)
 
+  if (connectionStateRef) {
+    connectionStateRef.value = 'connecting'
+  }
+  source.onopen = () => {
+    if (connectionStateRef) connectionStateRef.value = 'open'
+  }
+  source.onerror = () => {
+    if (connectionStateRef) connectionStateRef.value = 'error'
+  }
+
   source.onmessage = (event: MessageEvent) => {
+    if (connectionStateRef) connectionStateRef.value = 'open'
     try {
       const raw: unknown = event?.data
       if (raw == null || typeof raw !== 'string' || raw.trim() === '') return
diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/lib/SmartTileLayer.ts b/frontend-nuxt/lib/SmartTileLayer.ts
index afa4064..23caff5 100644
--- a/frontend-nuxt/lib/SmartTileLayer.ts
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/lib/SmartTileLayer.ts
@@ -71,8 +71,11 @@ export const SmartTileLayer = L.TileLayer.extend({
 
     const key = `${x}:${y}:${zoom}`
     const tile = this._tiles[key]
-    if (tile) {
+    if (tile?.el) {
       tile.el.src = this.getTrueTileUrl({ x, y }, z)
+      tile.el.classList.add('tile-fresh')
+      const el = tile.el
+      setTimeout(() => el.classList.remove('tile-fresh'), 600)
     }
   },
 }) as unknown as new (urlTemplate: string, options?: L.TileLayerOptions) => L.TileLayer & {
diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/pages/character/[characterId].vue b/frontend-nuxt/pages/character/[characterId].vue
index 7ae7738..99ce5d9 100644
--- a/frontend-nuxt/pages/character/[characterId].vue
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/pages/character/[characterId].vue
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 <template>
   <div class="h-full min-h-0">
     <MapPageWrapper>
-      <MapView :character-id="characterId" />
+      <MapErrorBoundary>
+        <MapView :character-id="characterId" />
+      </MapErrorBoundary>
     </MapPageWrapper>
   </div>
 </template>
diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/pages/grid/[map]/[gridX]/[gridY]/[zoom].vue b/frontend-nuxt/pages/grid/[map]/[gridX]/[gridY]/[zoom].vue
index cacae9b..964f026 100644
--- a/frontend-nuxt/pages/grid/[map]/[gridX]/[gridY]/[zoom].vue
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/pages/grid/[map]/[gridX]/[gridY]/[zoom].vue
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 <template>
   <MapPageWrapper>
-    <MapView
-      :map-id="mapId"
-      :grid-x="gridX"
-      :grid-y="gridY"
-      :zoom="zoom"
-    />
+    <MapErrorBoundary>
+      <MapView
+        :map-id="mapId"
+        :grid-x="gridX"
+        :grid-y="gridY"
+        :zoom="zoom"
+      />
+    </MapErrorBoundary>
   </MapPageWrapper>
 </template>
 
diff --git a/frontend-nuxt/pages/index.vue b/frontend-nuxt/pages/index.vue
index 3c088a8..7c0467c 100644
--- a/frontend-nuxt/pages/index.vue
+++ b/frontend-nuxt/pages/index.vue
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 <template>
   <MapPageWrapper>
-    <MapView />
+    <MapErrorBoundary>
+      <MapView />
+    </MapErrorBoundary>
   </MapPageWrapper>
 </template>