diff --git a/lib/wanderer_app/esi/api_client.ex b/lib/wanderer_app/esi/api_client.ex
index 58ab7c4c..6201757c 100644
--- a/lib/wanderer_app/esi/api_client.ex
+++ b/lib/wanderer_app/esi/api_client.ex
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ defmodule WandererApp.Esi.ApiClient do
   @retry_opts [retry: false, retry_log_level: :warning]
   @timeout_opts [pool_timeout: 15_000, receive_timeout: :timer.minutes(1)]
   @api_retry_count 1
+  @validators_ttl :timer.hours(1)
 
   @logger Application.compile_env(:wanderer_app, :logger)
 
@@ -24,7 +25,8 @@ defmodule WandererApp.Esi.ApiClient do
 
   # Helper function to get Req options with appropriate Finch pool
   defp req_options_for_pool(pool) do
-    [base_url: "https://esi.evetech.net", finch: pool]
+    [base_url: "https://esi.evetech.net", finch: pool] ++
+      Application.get_env(:wanderer_app, :esi_req_options, [])
   end
 
   def get_server_status, do: do_get("/status", [], @cache_opts)
@@ -310,18 +312,17 @@ defmodule WandererApp.Esi.ApiClient do
         (opts |> with_refresh_token()) ++ @cache_opts
       )
 
-  defp with_user_agent_opts(opts),
+  defp with_user_agent_opts(opts, extra_headers \\ []),
     do:
       opts
       |> Keyword.merge(
-        headers: [{:user_agent, "Wanderer/#{WandererApp.Env.vsn()} #{@wanderrer_user_agent}"}]
+        headers:
+          [{:user_agent, "Wanderer/#{WandererApp.Env.vsn()} #{@wanderrer_user_agent}"}] ++
+            extra_headers
       )
 
   defp with_refresh_token(opts), do: opts |> Keyword.merge(refresh_token?: true)
 
-  defp with_cache_opts(opts),
-    do: opts |> Keyword.merge(@cache_opts) |> Keyword.merge(cache_dir: System.tmp_dir!())
-
   defp do_get(path, api_opts, opts, pool \\ @general_pool) do
     case Cachex.get(:api_cache, path) do
       {:ok, cached_data} when not is_nil(cached_data) ->
@@ -339,17 +340,20 @@ defmodule WandererApp.Esi.ApiClient do
       |> Req.get(
         api_opts
         |> Keyword.merge(url: path)
-        |> with_user_agent_opts()
-        |> with_cache_opts()
+        |> with_user_agent_opts(conditional_headers(path, opts))
         |> Keyword.merge(@retry_opts)
         |> Keyword.merge(@timeout_opts)
       )
       |> case do
         {:ok, %{status: 200, body: body, headers: headers}} ->
+          maybe_store_validators(path, body, headers, opts)
           maybe_cache_response(path, body, headers, opts)
 
           {:ok, body}
 
+        {:ok, %{status: 304, headers: headers}} ->
+          handle_not_modified(path, headers, api_opts, opts, pool)
+
         {:ok, %{status: 504}} ->
           {:error, :timeout}
 
@@ -476,10 +480,10 @@ defmodule WandererApp.Esi.ApiClient do
   defp maybe_cache_response(path, body, %{"expires" => [expires]} = _headers, opts)
        when is_binary(path) and not is_nil(expires) do
     try do
-      if opts |> Keyword.get(:cache, false) do
-        cached_ttl =
-          DateTime.diff(Timex.parse!(expires, "{RFC1123}"), DateTime.utc_now(), :millisecond)
+      cached_ttl =
+        DateTime.diff(Timex.parse!(expires, "{RFC1123}"), DateTime.utc_now(), :millisecond)
 
+      if opts |> Keyword.get(:cache, false) and cached_ttl > 0 do
         Cachex.put(
           :api_cache,
           path,
@@ -497,6 +501,78 @@ defmodule WandererApp.Esi.ApiClient do
 
   defp maybe_cache_response(_path, _body, _headers, _opts), do: :ok
 
+  # Conditional request support (ETag / Last-Modified).
+  #
+  # On 304 ESI returns fresh cache headers (expires, etag, ...) while the body is the one we
+  # already have. The body is kept from the stored 200 response, but headers must be taken from
+  # the 304 response, otherwise a stale `expires` makes the response uncacheable and we re-fetch
+  # it on every tick.
+  defp validators_key(path), do: {:esi_validators, path}
+
+  defp conditional_headers(path, opts) do
+    with true <- Keyword.get(opts, :cache, false),
+         false <- Keyword.get(opts, :skip_conditional, false),
+         {:ok, %{} = validators} <- Cachex.get(:api_cache, validators_key(path)) do
+      [
+        {"if-none-match", validators.etag},
+        {"if-modified-since", validators.last_modified}
+      ]
+      |> Enum.reject(fn {_name, value} -> is_nil(value) end)
+    else
+      _ -> []
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp maybe_store_validators(path, body, headers, opts) do
+    etag = get_header(headers, "etag")
+    last_modified = get_header(headers, "last-modified")
+
+    if Keyword.get(opts, :cache, false) and not (is_nil(etag) and is_nil(last_modified)) do
+      Cachex.put(
+        :api_cache,
+        validators_key(path),
+        %{body: body, etag: etag, last_modified: last_modified},
+        ttl: @validators_ttl
+      )
+    end
+
+    :ok
+  end
+
+  defp handle_not_modified(path, headers, api_opts, opts, pool) do
+    case Cachex.get(:api_cache, validators_key(path)) do
+      {:ok, %{body: body} = validators} ->
+        Cachex.put(
+          :api_cache,
+          validators_key(path),
+          %{
+            validators
+            | etag: get_header(headers, "etag") || validators.etag,
+              last_modified: get_header(headers, "last-modified") || validators.last_modified
+          },
+          ttl: @validators_ttl
+        )
+
+        maybe_cache_response(path, body, headers, opts)
+
+        {:ok, body}
+
+      _ ->
+        if Keyword.get(opts, :skip_conditional, false) do
+          {:error, "Unexpected status: 304"}
+        else
+          do_get_request(path, api_opts, Keyword.put(opts, :skip_conditional, true), pool)
+        end
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp get_header(headers, name) do
+    case Map.get(headers, name) do
+      [value | _] -> value
+      _ -> nil
+    end
+  end
+
   defp do_post(url, opts) do
     try do
       case Req.post("#{url}", opts |> with_user_agent_opts()) do
diff --git a/test/unit/esi/api_client_conditional_test.exs b/test/unit/esi/api_client_conditional_test.exs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..71fbfce5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/esi/api_client_conditional_test.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+defmodule WandererApp.Esi.ApiClientConditionalTest do
+  # Uses the shared :api_cache Cachex instance and global app env
+  use ExUnit.Case, async: false
+
+  alias WandererApp.Esi.ApiClient
+
+  @path "/status"
+  @validators_key {:esi_validators, @path}
+
+  setup do
+    previous = Application.get_env(:wanderer_app, :esi_req_options)
+    Application.put_env(:wanderer_app, :esi_req_options, plug: {Req.Test, ApiClient})
+
+    clear_cache()
+
+    on_exit(fn ->
+      clear_cache()
+
+      if previous,
+        do: Application.put_env(:wanderer_app, :esi_req_options, previous),
+        else: Application.delete_env(:wanderer_app, :esi_req_options)
+    end)
+
+    :ok
+  end
+
+  test "caches 200 response until expires" do
+    stub(fn conn -> ok_response(conn, %{"players" => 1}, "\"v1\"", future(30)) end)
+
+    assert {:ok, %{"players" => 1}} = ApiClient.get_server_status()
+    assert {:ok, %{"players" => 1}} = ApiClient.get_server_status()
+
+    assert_received {:request, _}
+    refute_received {:request, _}
+  end
+
+  test "304 reuses stored body and extends cache with headers from the 304 response" do
+    stub(fn conn -> ok_response(conn, %{"players" => 1}, "\"v1\"", future(30)) end)
+    assert {:ok, %{"players" => 1}} = ApiClient.get_server_status()
+    assert_received {:request, _}
+
+    # Simulate the fresh cache window passing
+    Cachex.del(:api_cache, @path)
+
+    stub(fn conn ->
+      conn
+      |> Plug.Conn.put_resp_header("etag", "\"v1\"")
+      |> Plug.Conn.put_resp_header("expires", future(60))
+      |> Plug.Conn.send_resp(304, "")
+    end)
+
+    assert {:ok, %{"players" => 1}} = ApiClient.get_server_status()
+    assert_received {:request, headers}
+    assert {"if-none-match", "\"v1\""} in headers
+
+    assert {:ok, ttl} = Cachex.ttl(:api_cache, @path)
+    assert is_integer(ttl) and ttl > 30_000
+
+    # Served from the extended cache, no new request
+    assert {:ok, %{"players" => 1}} = ApiClient.get_server_status()
+    refute_received {:request, _}
+  end
+
+  test "304 without stored body retries unconditionally" do
+    stub(fn conn ->
+      if Plug.Conn.get_req_header(conn, "if-none-match") == [] do
+        ok_response(conn, %{"players" => 2}, "\"v2\"", future(30))
+      else
+        Plug.Conn.send_resp(conn, 304, "")
+      end
+    end)
+
+    Cachex.put(:api_cache, @validators_key, %{etag: "\"v1\"", last_modified: nil})
+
+    assert {:ok, %{"players" => 2}} = ApiClient.get_server_status()
+  end
+
+  test "does not cache responses with expires in the past" do
+    stub(fn conn -> ok_response(conn, %{"players" => 1}, "\"v1\"", past(10)) end)
+
+    assert {:ok, %{"players" => 1}} = ApiClient.get_server_status()
+    assert {:ok, nil} = Cachex.get(:api_cache, @path)
+  end
+
+  defp stub(fun) do
+    test_pid = self()
+
+    Req.Test.stub(ApiClient, fn conn ->
+      send(test_pid, {:request, conn.req_headers})
+      fun.(conn)
+    end)
+  end
+
+  defp ok_response(conn, body, etag, expires) do
+    conn
+    |> Plug.Conn.put_resp_header("etag", etag)
+    |> Plug.Conn.put_resp_header("expires", expires)
+    |> Req.Test.json(body)
+  end
+
+  defp future(seconds), do: http_date(DateTime.add(DateTime.utc_now(), seconds, :second))
+  defp past(seconds), do: http_date(DateTime.add(DateTime.utc_now(), -seconds, :second))
+
+  defp http_date(datetime), do: Calendar.strftime(datetime, "%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S GMT")
+
+  defp clear_cache do
+    Cachex.del(:api_cache, @path)
+    Cachex.del(:api_cache, @validators_key)
+  end
+end