diff --git a/cl/phase1/network/beacon_downloader.go b/cl/phase1/network/beacon_downloader.go
index 67626707b8a..64a537eaeea 100644
--- a/cl/phase1/network/beacon_downloader.go
+++ b/cl/phase1/network/beacon_downloader.go
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ type peerAndBlocks struct {
 }
 
 func (f *ForwardBeaconDownloader) RequestMore(ctx context.Context) {
-	count := uint64(32)
+	count := uint64(16)
 	var atomicResp atomic.Value
 	atomicResp.Store(peerAndBlocks{})
 	reqInterval := time.NewTicker(300 * time.Millisecond)
@@ -96,11 +96,14 @@ Loop:
 				}
 				// double the request count every 10 seconds. This is inspired by the mekong network, which has many consecutive missing blocks.
 				reqCount := count
-				if !f.highestSlotUpdateTime.IsZero() {
-					multiplier := int(time.Since(f.highestSlotUpdateTime).Seconds()) / 10
-					multiplier = min(multiplier, 6)
-					reqCount *= uint64(1 << uint(multiplier))
-				}
+				// NEED TO COMMENT THIS BC IT CAUSES ISSUES ON MAINNET
+
+				// if !f.highestSlotUpdateTime.IsZero() {
+				// 	multiplier := int(time.Since(f.highestSlotUpdateTime).Seconds()) / 10
+				// 	multiplier = min(multiplier, 6)
+				// 	reqCount *= uint64(1 << uint(multiplier))
+				// }
+
 				// leave a warning if we are stuck for more than 90 seconds
 				if time.Since(f.highestSlotUpdateTime) > 90*time.Second {
 					log.Trace("Forward beacon downloader gets stuck", "time", time.Since(f.highestSlotUpdateTime).Seconds(), "highestSlotProcessed", f.highestSlotProcessed)
diff --git a/cl/phase1/stages/forward_sync.go b/cl/phase1/stages/forward_sync.go
index e7162b1df8d..bb611eaebd1 100644
--- a/cl/phase1/stages/forward_sync.go
+++ b/cl/phase1/stages/forward_sync.go
@@ -37,16 +37,18 @@ func shouldProcessBlobs(blocks []*cltypes.SignedBeaconBlock, cfg *Cfg) bool {
 	}
 	// Check if the requested blocks are too old to request blobs
 	// https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs/blob/dev/specs/deneb/p2p-interface.md#the-reqresp-domain
-	highestEpoch := highestSlot / cfg.beaconCfg.SlotsPerEpoch
-	currentEpoch := cfg.ethClock.GetCurrentEpoch()
-	minEpochDist := uint64(0)
-	if currentEpoch > cfg.beaconCfg.MinEpochsForBlobSidecarsRequests {
-		minEpochDist = currentEpoch - cfg.beaconCfg.MinEpochsForBlobSidecarsRequests
-	}
-	finalizedEpoch := currentEpoch - 2
-	if highestEpoch < max(cfg.beaconCfg.DenebForkEpoch, minEpochDist, finalizedEpoch) {
-		return false
-	}
+
+	// this is bad
+	// highestEpoch := highestSlot / cfg.beaconCfg.SlotsPerEpoch
+	// currentEpoch := cfg.ethClock.GetCurrentEpoch()
+	// minEpochDist := uint64(0)
+	// if currentEpoch > cfg.beaconCfg.MinEpochsForBlobSidecarsRequests {
+	// 	minEpochDist = currentEpoch - cfg.beaconCfg.MinEpochsForBlobSidecarsRequests
+	// }
+	// finalizedEpoch := currentEpoch - 2
+	// if highestEpoch < max(cfg.beaconCfg.DenebForkEpoch, minEpochDist, finalizedEpoch) {
+	// 	return false
+	// }
 
 	return blobsExist
 }
@@ -67,6 +69,7 @@ func downloadAndProcessEip4844DA(ctx context.Context, logger log.Logger, cfg *Cf
 		err = fmt.Errorf("failed to get blob identifiers: %w", err)
 		return
 	}
+
 	// If there are no blobs to retrieve, return the highest slot processed
 	if ids.Len() == 0 {
 		return highestSlotProcessed, nil
@@ -98,6 +101,30 @@ func downloadAndProcessEip4844DA(ctx context.Context, logger log.Logger, cfg *Cf
 	return highestProcessed - 1, err
 }
 
+func filterUnneededBlocks(ctx context.Context, blocks []*cltypes.SignedBeaconBlock, cfg *Cfg) []*cltypes.SignedBeaconBlock {
+	filtered := make([]*cltypes.SignedBeaconBlock, 0, len(blocks))
+	// Find the latest block in the list
+	for _, block := range blocks {
+		blockRoot, err := block.Block.HashSSZ()
+		if err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+		_, hasInFcu := cfg.forkChoice.GetHeader(blockRoot)
+
+		var hasSignedHeaderInDB bool
+		if err = cfg.indiciesDB.View(ctx, func(tx kv.Tx) error {
+			_, hasSignedHeaderInDB, err = beacon_indicies.ReadSignedHeaderByBlockRoot(ctx, tx, blockRoot)
+			return err
+		}); err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+		if !hasInFcu || !hasSignedHeaderInDB {
+			filtered = append(filtered, block)
+		}
+	}
+	return filtered
+}
+
 // processDownloadedBlockBatches processes a batch of downloaded blocks.
 // It takes the highest block processed, a flag to determine if insertion is needed, and a list of signed beacon blocks as input.
 // It returns the new highest block processed and an error if any.
@@ -107,6 +134,9 @@ func processDownloadedBlockBatches(ctx context.Context, logger log.Logger, cfg *
 		return blocks[i].Block.Slot < blocks[j].Block.Slot
 	})
 
+	// Filter out blocks that are already in the FCU or have a signed header in the DB
+	blocks = filterUnneededBlocks(ctx, blocks, cfg)
+
 	var (
 		blockRoot common.Hash
 		st        *state.CachingBeaconState
@@ -141,6 +171,7 @@ func processDownloadedBlockBatches(ctx context.Context, logger log.Logger, cfg *
 
 		// Process the block
 		if err = processBlock(ctx, cfg, cfg.indiciesDB, block, false, true, true); err != nil {
+			fmt.Println("EIP-4844 data not available", err, block.Block.Slot)
 			if errors.Is(err, forkchoice.ErrEIP4844DataNotAvailable) {
 				// Return an error if EIP-4844 data is not available
 				logger.Trace("[Caplin] forward sync EIP-4844 data not available", "blockSlot", block.Block.Slot)