diff --git a/common/deploy-steps-playbooks-common.yaml b/common/deploy-steps-playbooks-common.yaml
index 5ec1350a7c..e977afcb83 100644
--- a/common/deploy-steps-playbooks-common.yaml
+++ b/common/deploy-steps-playbooks-common.yaml
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+---
+# If a new play with potential facts gathering is added, make sure we set:
+# any_errors_fatal: false
+# ignore_unreachable: true
+# So we don't break the MaxFailPercentage feature since these plays can't use
+# Ansible strategies.
+
 - hosts: all
   name: Clear cached facts
   tasks:
@@ -7,7 +14,7 @@
   name: Gather facts from undercloud
   gather_facts: yes
   any_errors_fatal: true
-  ignore_unreachable: "{{ scale_ignore_unreachable | default(false) }}"
+  ignore_unreachable: false
   become: false
   tags:
     - facts
@@ -17,7 +24,11 @@
   gather_facts: yes
   # False because https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/70663
   any_errors_fatal: false
-  ignore_unreachable: "{{ scale_ignore_unreachable | default(false) }}"
+  # If an overcloud node is down, we will let MaxFailPercentage
+  # figuring out if the deployment can continue. For the facts gathering tasks,
+  # we will simply ignore unreachable nodes and errors, and let the
+  # Ansible reports the failure in the next plays.
+  ignore_unreachable: true
   tags:
     - facts
 
@@ -25,7 +36,7 @@
   name: Load global variables
   gather_facts: "{{ gather_facts | default(false) }}"
   any_errors_fatal: false
-  ignore_unreachable: "{{ scale_ignore_unreachable | default(false) }}"
+  ignore_unreachable: true
   tasks:
     - include_vars: global_vars.yaml
       no_log: true
@@ -38,7 +49,7 @@
   become: true
   gather_facts: false
   any_errors_fatal: false
-  ignore_unreachable: "{{ scale_ignore_unreachable | default(false) }}"
+  ignore_unreachable: true
   tasks:
     - name: Ensure /var/lib/config-data context
       shell: |-
@@ -77,7 +88,7 @@
   name: Set all_nodes data as group_vars for overcloud
   gather_facts: "{{ gather_facts | default(false) }}"
   any_errors_fatal: false
-  ignore_unreachable: "{{ scale_ignore_unreachable | default(false) }}"
+  ignore_unreachable: true
   tasks:
     - name: Set all_nodes data as group_vars for overcloud
       include_vars: "{{ playbook_dir }}/group_vars/overcloud.json"
diff --git a/common/deploy-steps.j2 b/common/deploy-steps.j2
index e3ba115136..e53f249d2f 100644
--- a/common/deploy-steps.j2
+++ b/common/deploy-steps.j2
@@ -1144,7 +1144,6 @@ outputs:
               vars:
                 deploy_source_host: "DEPLOY_SOURCE_HOST"
                 deploy_target_host: "DEPLOY_TARGET_HOST"
-                scale_ignore_unreachable: true
 
             - hosts: DEPLOY_TARGET_HOST
               name: Scaling