diff --git a/k8s-ng/core-state/values.yaml b/k8s-ng/core-state/values.yaml
index fc74304..7e97ec0 100644
--- a/k8s-ng/core-state/values.yaml
+++ b/k8s-ng/core-state/values.yaml
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ apps:
     project: apps
     path: k8s-ng/apps/k8s-secrets
     namespace: k8s-secret
-    wave: 6 # after secret-stores and auth-proxy
+    wave: 5 # after secret-stores and auth-proxy; independent of prom-stack health
     skipDryRunOnMissingResource: true
   - name: llamacpp
     project: apps