diff --git a/astrai/config/model_config.py b/astrai/config/model_config.py
index 911ebd1..b982769 100644
--- a/astrai/config/model_config.py
+++ b/astrai/config/model_config.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class AutoRegressiveLMConfig(BaseModelConfig):
         topk_method (Optional[str]): Top-k routing method, MoE only. Defaults to None.
         moe_intermediate_size (Optional[int]): Expert hidden dim, defaults to intermediate_size if None. MoE only.
         shared_expert_intermediate_size (Optional[int]): Shared expert hidden dim, defaults to intermediate_size if None. MoE only.
-        norm_topk_prob (bool): Normalize top-k routing probabilities. Defaults to False.
+        norm_topk_prob (bool): Normalize top-k routing probabilities. Defaults to True.
         decoder_sparse_step (int): Frequency of MoE layers, 1=every layer. Defaults to 1.
         mlp_only_layers (Optional[list[int]]): Layer indices using dense MLP instead of MoE. Defaults to None.
     """
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ class AutoRegressiveLMConfig(BaseModelConfig):
     topk_method: Optional[str] = None
     moe_intermediate_size: Optional[int] = None
     shared_expert_intermediate_size: Optional[int] = None
-    norm_topk_prob: bool = False
+    norm_topk_prob: bool = True
     decoder_sparse_step: int = 1
     mlp_only_layers: Optional[list[int]] = None
 
@@ -112,6 +112,12 @@ class AutoRegressiveLMConfig(BaseModelConfig):
             raise ValueError(f"ffn_type must be one of {sorted(_FFN_TYPES)}, got {v!r}")
         return v
 
+    @field_validator("decoder_sparse_step")
+    def _validate_decoder_sparse_step(cls, v: int) -> int:
+        if v < 1:
+            raise ValueError(f"decoder_sparse_step must be at least 1, got {v}")
+        return v
+
 
 @dataclass
 @ConfigFactory.register("embedding")
diff --git a/astrai/model/components/mlp.py b/astrai/model/components/mlp.py
index 95f7d8f..e294fb8 100644
--- a/astrai/model/components/mlp.py
+++ b/astrai/model/components/mlp.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class DeepSeekMoE(nn.Module):
         n_layers: int = 1,
         moe_intermediate_size: Optional[int] = None,
         shared_expert_intermediate_size: Optional[int] = None,
-        norm_topk_prob: bool = False,
+        norm_topk_prob: bool = True,
     ):
         super().__init__()
         self.dim = dim
@@ -50,8 +50,14 @@ class DeepSeekMoE(nn.Module):
         self.topk_method = topk_method
         self.norm_topk_prob = norm_topk_prob
 
-        expert_dim_ffn = moe_intermediate_size if moe_intermediate_size is not None else dim_ffn
-        shared_dim_ffn = shared_expert_intermediate_size if shared_expert_intermediate_size is not None else dim_ffn
+        expert_dim_ffn = (
+            moe_intermediate_size if moe_intermediate_size is not None else dim_ffn
+        )
+        shared_dim_ffn = (
+            shared_expert_intermediate_size
+            if shared_expert_intermediate_size is not None
+            else dim_ffn
+        )
 
         self.router = Linear(dim, n_routed_experts, bias=False)
         moe_scale = 1 / max(n_shared_experts, 1) + 1 / n_activated_experts
diff --git a/tests/module/test_forward_configs.py b/tests/module/test_forward_configs.py
index a6f20d4..1213c48 100644
--- a/tests/module/test_forward_configs.py
+++ b/tests/module/test_forward_configs.py
@@ -246,3 +246,36 @@ def test_moe_custom_intermediate_shape():
         assert expert.up.weight.shape[0] == 20
         assert expert.gate.weight.shape[0] == 20
         assert expert.down.weight.shape[1] == 20
+
+
+def test_moe_defaults_preserve_normalized_routing():
+    from astrai.config.model_config import AutoRegressiveLMConfig
+
+    config = AutoRegressiveLMConfig(
+        **TINY_CONFIG,
+        ffn_type="moe",
+        n_routed_experts=4,
+        n_shared_experts=1,
+        n_activated_experts=2,
+        topk_method="greedy",
+    )
+    model = AutoRegressiveLM(config)
+
+    assert config.norm_topk_prob is True
+    assert model.layers[0].mlp.norm_topk_prob is True
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("decoder_sparse_step", [0, -1])
+def test_moe_rejects_invalid_decoder_sparse_step(decoder_sparse_step):
+    from pydantic import ValidationError
+
+    from astrai.config.model_config import AutoRegressiveLMConfig
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="decoder_sparse_step must be at least 1"):
+        AutoRegressiveLMConfig(
+            **TINY_CONFIG,
+            ffn_type="moe",
+            n_routed_experts=4,
+            n_activated_experts=2,
+            decoder_sparse_step=decoder_sparse_step,
+        )