diff --git a/testing-framework/configs/src/nodes/blend.rs b/testing-framework/configs/src/nodes/blend.rs
index 44f4775..501ef51 100644
--- a/testing-framework/configs/src/nodes/blend.rs
+++ b/testing-framework/configs/src/nodes/blend.rs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ const ROUNDS_PER_SESSION_TRANSITION: u64 = 30;
 const EPOCH_TRANSITION_SLOTS: u64 = 2_600;
 const SAFETY_BUFFER_INTERVALS: u64 = 100;
 const MESSAGE_FREQUENCY_PER_ROUND: f64 = 1.0;
-const MAX_RELEASE_DELAY_ROUNDS: u64 = 3;
+const MAX_RELEASE_DELAY_ROUNDS: u64 = 1;
 const DATA_REPLICATION_FACTOR: u64 = 0;
 pub const ACTIVITY_THRESHOLD_SENSITIVITY: u64 = 1;
 
diff --git a/testing-framework/configs/src/nodes/common.rs b/testing-framework/configs/src/nodes/common.rs
index b153d46..5ce8efb 100644
--- a/testing-framework/configs/src/nodes/common.rs
+++ b/testing-framework/configs/src/nodes/common.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ use std::{
     collections::{HashMap, HashSet},
     num::NonZeroUsize,
     path::PathBuf,
+    sync::OnceLock,
     time::Duration,
 };
 
@@ -41,6 +42,12 @@ const IBD_DOWNLOAD_DELAY_SECS: u64 = 10;
 const MAX_ORPHAN_CACHE_SIZE: NonZeroUsize = unsafe { NonZeroUsize::new_unchecked(5) };
 const API_MAX_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS: usize = 1000;
 
+static CHAIN_START_TIME: OnceLock<OffsetDateTime> = OnceLock::new();
+
+fn get_or_init_chain_start_time() -> OffsetDateTime {
+    *CHAIN_START_TIME.get_or_init(OffsetDateTime::now_utc)
+}
+
 pub(crate) fn cryptarchia_deployment(config: &GeneralConfig) -> CryptarchiaDeploymentSettings {
     let mantle_service_params = &config
         .consensus_config
@@ -81,7 +88,7 @@ pub(crate) fn cryptarchia_deployment(config: &GeneralConfig) -> CryptarchiaDeplo
 pub(crate) fn time_deployment(config: &GeneralConfig) -> TimeDeploymentSettings {
     TimeDeploymentSettings {
         slot_duration: config.time_config.slot_duration,
-        chain_start_time: OffsetDateTime::now_utc(),
+        chain_start_time: get_or_init_chain_start_time(),
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/testing-framework/configs/src/topology/configs/deployment.rs b/testing-framework/configs/src/topology/configs/deployment.rs
index 1c7df23..45c6414 100644
--- a/testing-framework/configs/src/topology/configs/deployment.rs
+++ b/testing-framework/configs/src/topology/configs/deployment.rs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ pub fn default_e2e_deployment_settings() -> DeploymentSettings {
     DeploymentSettings::Custom(CustomDeployment {
         blend: BlendDeploymentSettings {
             common: BlendCommonSettings {
-                minimum_network_size: unsafe { NonZeroU64::new_unchecked(30) },
+                minimum_network_size: unsafe { NonZeroU64::new_unchecked(1) },
                 num_blend_layers: unsafe { NonZeroU64::new_unchecked(3) },
                 timing: TimingSettings {
                     round_duration: DEFAULT_ROUND_DURATION,
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ pub fn default_e2e_deployment_settings() -> DeploymentSettings {
                         message_frequency_per_round,
                     },
                     delayer: MessageDelayerSettings {
-                        maximum_release_delay_in_rounds: unsafe { NonZeroU64::new_unchecked(3) },
+                        maximum_release_delay_in_rounds: unsafe { NonZeroU64::new_unchecked(1) },
                     },
                 },
             },