diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/helpers/application.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/helpers/application.js.es6
index dda9e4e7b99..4c414db6b46 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/helpers/application.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/helpers/application.js.es6
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ registerUnbound('number', (orig, params) => {
 
   // Round off the thousands to one decimal place
   const n = number(orig);
-  if (n !== title) {
+  if (n.toString() !== title.toString() && !params.noTitle) {
     result += " title='" + Handlebars.Utils.escapeExpression(title) + "'";
   }
   result += ">" + n + "</span>";
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/category-list.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/category-list.js.es6
index c1469c314d7..5eccd98143c 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/category-list.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/category-list.js.es6
@@ -14,6 +14,17 @@ CategoryList.reopenClass({
     const users = Discourse.Model.extractByKey(result.featured_users, Discourse.User);
     const list = Discourse.Category.list();
 
+    let statPeriod;
+    const minCategories = result.category_list.categories.length * 0.8;
+
+    ["week", "month"].some(period => {
+      const filteredCategories = result.category_list.categories.filter(c => c[`topics_${period}`] > 0);
+      if (filteredCategories.length >= minCategories) {
+        statPeriod = period;
+        return true;
+      }
+    });
+
     result.category_list.categories.forEach(c => {
       if (c.parent_category_id) {
         c.parentCategory = list.findBy('id', c.parent_category_id);
@@ -31,6 +42,22 @@ CategoryList.reopenClass({
         c.topics = c.topics.map(t => Discourse.Topic.create(t));
       }
 
+      switch(statPeriod) {
+        case "week":
+        case "month":
+          const stat = c[`topics_${statPeriod}`];
+          const unit = I18n.t(statPeriod);
+          if (stat > 0) {
+            c.stat = `<span class="value">${stat}</span> / <span class="unit">${unit}</span>`;
+            c.statTitle = I18n.t("categories.topic_stat_sentence", { count: stat, unit: unit });
+            break;
+          }
+        default:
+          c.stat = `<span class="value">${c.topic_count}</span>`;
+          c.statTitle = I18n.t("categories.topic_sentence", { count: c.topic_count });
+          break;
+      }
+
       categories.pushObject(store.createRecord('category', c));
     });
     return categories;
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/category.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/category.js.es6
index 000aeaeccb4..724a2664699 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/category.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/category.js.es6
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { ajax } from 'discourse/lib/ajax';
 import RestModel from 'discourse/models/rest';
+import computed from 'ember-addons/ember-computed-decorators';
 import { on } from 'ember-addons/ember-computed-decorators';
 import PermissionType from 'discourse/models/permission-type';
 
@@ -17,56 +18,64 @@ const Category = RestModel.extend({
         availableGroups.removeObject(elem.group_name);
         return {
           group_name: elem.group_name,
-          permission: PermissionType.create({id: elem.permission_type})
+          permission: PermissionType.create({ id: elem.permission_type })
         };
       }));
     }
   },
 
-  availablePermissions: function(){
-    return [  PermissionType.create({id: PermissionType.FULL}),
-              PermissionType.create({id: PermissionType.CREATE_POST}),
-              PermissionType.create({id: PermissionType.READONLY})
-           ];
-  }.property(),
+  @computed
+  availablePermissions() {
+    return [
+      PermissionType.create({ id: PermissionType.FULL }),
+      PermissionType.create({ id: PermissionType.CREATE_POST }),
+      PermissionType.create({ id: PermissionType.READONLY })
+    ];
+  },
 
-  searchContext: function() {
-    return ({ type: 'category', id: this.get('id'), category: this });
-  }.property('id'),
+  @computed("id")
+  searchContext(id) {
+    return { type: 'category', id, category: this };
+  },
 
-  url: function() {
+  @computed("name")
+  url() {
     return Discourse.getURL("/c/") + Category.slugFor(this);
-  }.property('name'),
+  },
 
-  fullSlug: function() {
-    return this.get("url").slice(3).replace("/", "-");
-  }.property("url"),
+  @computed("url")
+  fullSlug(url) {
+    return url.slice(3).replace("/", "-");
+  },
 
-  nameLower: function() {
-    return this.get('name').toLowerCase();
-  }.property('name'),
+  @computed("name")
+  nameLower(name) {
+    return name.toLowerCase();
+  },
 
-  unreadUrl: function() {
-    return this.get('url') + '/l/unread';
-  }.property('url'),
+  @computed("url")
+  unreadUrl(url) {
+    return `${url}/l/unread`;
+  },
 
-  newUrl: function() {
-    return this.get('url') + '/l/new';
-  }.property('url'),
+  @computed("url")
+  newUrl(url) {
+    return `${url}/l/new`;
+  },
 
-  style: function() {
-    return "background-color: #" + this.get('category.color') + "; color: #" + this.get('category.text_color') + ";";
-  }.property('color', 'text_color'),
+  @computed("color", "text_color")
+  style(color, textColor) {
+    return `background-color: #${color}; color: #${textColor}`;
+  },
 
-  moreTopics: function() {
-    return this.get('topic_count') > Discourse.SiteSettings.category_featured_topics;
-  }.property('topic_count'),
+  @computed("topic_count")
+  moreTopics(topicCount) {
+    return topicCount > Discourse.SiteSettings.category_featured_topics;
+  },
 
-  save: function() {
-    var url = "/categories";
-    if (this.get('id')) {
-      url = "/categories/" + this.get('id');
-    }
+  save() {
+    const id = this.get("id");
+    const url = id ? `/categories/${id}` : "/categories";
 
     return ajax(url, {
       data: {
@@ -91,111 +100,74 @@ const Category = RestModel.extend({
         allowed_tags: this.get('allowed_tags'),
         allowed_tag_groups: this.get('allowed_tag_groups')
       },
-      type: this.get('id') ? 'PUT' : 'POST'
+      type: id ? 'PUT' : 'POST'
     });
   },
 
-  permissionsForUpdate: function(){
-    var rval = {};
-    _.each(this.get("permissions"),function(p){
-      rval[p.group_name] = p.permission.id;
-    });
+  @computed("permissions")
+  permissionsForUpdate(permissions) {
+    let rval = {};
+    permissions.forEach(p => rval[p.group_name] = p.permission.id);
     return rval;
-  }.property("permissions"),
-
-  destroy: function() {
-    return ajax("/categories/" + (this.get('id') || this.get('slug')), { type: 'DELETE' });
   },
 
-  addPermission: function(permission){
+  destroy() {
+    return ajax(`/categories/${this.get('id') || this.get('slug')}`, { type: 'DELETE' });
+  },
+
+  addPermission(permission) {
     this.get("permissions").addObject(permission);
     this.get("availableGroups").removeObject(permission.group_name);
   },
 
-
-  removePermission: function(permission){
+  removePermission(permission) {
     this.get("permissions").removeObject(permission);
     this.get("availableGroups").addObject(permission.group_name);
   },
 
-  permissions: function(){
+  @computed
+  permissions() {
     return Em.A([
-      {group_name: "everyone", permission: PermissionType.create({id: 1})},
-      {group_name: "admins", permission: PermissionType.create({id: 2}) },
-      {group_name: "crap", permission: PermissionType.create({id: 3}) }
+      { group_name: "everyone", permission: PermissionType.create({id: 1}) },
+      { group_name: "admins", permission: PermissionType.create({id: 2}) },
+      { group_name: "crap", permission: PermissionType.create({id: 3}) }
     ]);
-  }.property(),
+  },
 
-  latestTopic: function(){
-    var topics = this.get('topics');
+  @computed("topics")
+  latestTopic(topics) {
     if (topics && topics.length) {
       return topics[0];
     }
-  }.property("topics"),
+  },
 
-  featuredTopics: function() {
-    var topics = this.get('topics');
+  @computed("topics")
+  featuredTopics(topics) {
     if (topics && topics.length) {
       return topics.slice(0, Discourse.SiteSettings.category_featured_topics || 2);
     }
-  }.property('topics'),
+  },
 
-  unreadTopics: function() {
-    return this.topicTrackingState.countUnread(this.get('id'));
-  }.property('topicTrackingState.messageCount'),
+  @computed("id", "topicTrackingState.messageCount")
+  unreadTopics(id) {
+    return this.topicTrackingState.countUnread(id);
+  },
 
-  newTopics: function() {
-    return this.topicTrackingState.countNew(this.get('id'));
-  }.property('topicTrackingState.messageCount'),
+  @computed("id", "topicTrackingState.messageCount")
+  newTopics(id) {
+    return this.topicTrackingState.countNew(id);
+  },
 
-  topicStatsTitle: function() {
-    var string = I18n.t('categories.topic_stats');
-    _.each(this.get('topicCountStats'), function(stat) {
-      string += ' ' + I18n.t('categories.topic_stat_sentence', {count: stat.value, unit: stat.unit});
-    }, this);
-    return string;
-  }.property('post_count'),
-
-  postStatsTitle: function() {
-    var string = I18n.t('categories.post_stats');
-    _.each(this.get('postCountStats'), function(stat) {
-      string += ' ' + I18n.t('categories.post_stat_sentence', {count: stat.value, unit: stat.unit});
-    }, this);
-    return string;
-  }.property('post_count'),
-
-  topicCountStats: function() {
-    return this.countStats('topics');
-  }.property('topics_year', 'topics_month', 'topics_week', 'topics_day'),
-
-  setNotification: function(notification_level) {
-    var url = "/category/" + this.get('id')+"/notifications";
+  setNotification(notification_level) {
     this.set('notification_level', notification_level);
-    return ajax(url, {
-      data: {
-        notification_level: notification_level
-      },
-      type: 'POST'
-    });
+    const url = `/category/${this.get('id')}/notifications`;
+    return ajax(url, { data: { notification_level }, type: 'POST' });
   },
 
-  postCountStats: function() {
-    return this.countStats('posts');
-  }.property('posts_year', 'posts_month', 'posts_week', 'posts_day'),
-
-  countStats: function(prefix) {
-    var stats = [], val;
-    _.each(['day', 'week', 'month', 'year'], function(unit) {
-      val = this.get(prefix + '_' + unit);
-      if (val > 0) stats.pushObject({value: val, unit: I18n.t(unit)});
-      if (stats.length === 2) return false;
-    }, this);
-    return stats;
-  },
-
-  isUncategorizedCategory: function() {
-    return this.get('id') === Discourse.Site.currentProp("uncategorized_category_id");
-  }.property('id')
+  @computed("id")
+  isUncategorizedCategory(id) {
+    return id === Discourse.Site.currentProp("uncategorized_category_id");
+  }
 });
 
 var _uncategorized;
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/topic.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/topic.js.es6
index 712a1b3690a..a6184e3680f 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/topic.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/topic.js.es6
@@ -71,6 +71,11 @@ const Topic = RestModel.extend({
            I18n.t('last_post') + ": " + longDate(this.get('bumpedAt'));
   }.property('bumpedAt'),
 
+  @computed('replyCount')
+  replyTitle(count) {
+    return I18n.t("posts_likes", { count });
+  },
+
   createdAt: function() {
     return new Date(this.get('created_at'));
   }.property('created_at'),
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/discovery-categories.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/discovery-categories.js.es6
index 4aa3e17a5f6..d33919cbb62 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/discovery-categories.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/discovery-categories.js.es6
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import showModal from "discourse/lib/show-modal";
 import OpenComposer from "discourse/mixins/open-composer";
 import CategoryList from "discourse/models/category-list";
 import { defaultHomepage } from 'discourse/lib/utilities';
-import PreloadStore from 'preload-store';
+import TopicList from "discourse/models/topic-list";
 
 const DiscoveryCategoriesRoute = Discourse.Route.extend(OpenComposer, {
   renderTemplate() {
@@ -15,10 +15,6 @@ const DiscoveryCategoriesRoute = Discourse.Route.extend(OpenComposer, {
   },
 
   model() {
-    // TODO: Remove this and ensure server side does not supply `topic_list`
-    // if default page is categories
-    PreloadStore.remove("topic_list");
-
     return CategoryList.list(this.store, 'categories').then(list => {
       const tracking = this.topicTrackingState;
       if (tracking) {
@@ -35,6 +31,8 @@ const DiscoveryCategoriesRoute = Discourse.Route.extend(OpenComposer, {
   },
 
   setupController(controller, model) {
+    TopicList.find("latest").then(result => model.set("topicList", result));
+
     controller.set("model", model);
 
     this.controllerFor("navigation/categories").setProperties({
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/discovery/categories.hbs b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/discovery/categories.hbs
index c4fb4fa6777..00dcd4973dc 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/discovery/categories.hbs
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/discovery/categories.hbs
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 {{#if model.categories}}
   {{#discovery-categories refresh="refresh"}}
-    <table class='topic-list categories'>
+    <table class='categories topic-list'>
       <thead>
         <tr>
           <th class='category'>{{i18n 'categories.category'}}</th>
-          <th class='latest'>{{i18n 'categories.latest'}}</th>
           <th class='stats topics'>{{i18n 'categories.topics'}}</th>
         </tr>
       </thead>
@@ -18,7 +17,6 @@
                 {{#if c.logo_url}}
                   {{category-logo-link category=c}}
                 {{/if}}
-
                 <div class="category-description">
                   {{{c.description_excerpt}}}
                 </div>
@@ -33,27 +31,66 @@
                 </div>
               {{/if}}
             </td>
-            <td class="{{if c.archived 'archived'}} latest">
-              {{#each c.featuredTopics as |f|}}
-                {{featured-topic topic=f latestTopicOnly=latestTopicOnly action="showTopicEntrance"}}
-              {{/each}}
-            </td>
-            <td class='stats' title={{c.topicStatsTitle}}>
-              <table class="categoryStats">
-                <tbody>
-                {{#each c.topicCountStats as |s|}}
-                  <tr>
-                    <td class="value">{{s.value}}</td>
-                    <td class="unit"> / {{s.unit}}</td>
-                  </tr>
-                {{/each}}
-                </tbody>
-              </table>
+            <td class='stats' title={{c.statTitle}}>
+              {{{c.stat}}}
             </td>
           </tr>
         {{/each}}
       </tbody>
     </table>
   {{/discovery-categories}}
-  <footer class='topic-list-bottom'></footer>
 {{/if}}
+<table class="topic-list topic-list-latest">
+  <thead>
+    <tr>
+      <th class='category'>{{i18n "filters.latest.title"}}</th>
+    </tr>
+  </thead>
+  <tbody>
+  {{#each model.topicList.topics as |t|}}
+    <tr>
+      <table>
+        <tbody>
+          <tr class="{{if t.archived 'archived'}}" data-topic-id={{unbound t.id}}>
+            <td class="topic-poster">
+              {{#with t.posters.lastObject.user as |lastPoster|}}
+                {{#user-link user=lastPoster}}
+                  {{avatar lastPoster imageSize="large"}}
+                {{/user-link}}
+              {{/with}}
+            </td>
+            <td class="main-link">
+              <tr>
+                {{topic-status topic=t}}
+                {{topic-link t}}
+                {{#if t.unseen}}
+                  <span class="badge-notification new-topic"></span>
+                {{/if}}
+              </tr>
+              <tr>
+                {{category-link t.category}}
+                {{#if t.tags}}
+                  {{#each t.visibleListTags as |tag|}}
+                    {{discourse-tag tag}}
+                  {{/each}}
+                {{/if}}
+              </tr>
+            </td>
+            <td class="topic-stats">
+              <div class="topic-replies">
+                <a href="{{t.lastPostUrl}}" title="{{t.replyTitle}}">{{number t.replyCount noTitle="true"}}</a>
+              </div>
+              <div class="topic-last-activity">
+                <a href="{{t.lastPostUrl}}" title="{{t.bumpedAtTitle}}">{{format-date t.bumpedAt format="tiny" noTitle="true"}}</a>
+              </div>
+            </td>
+          </tr>
+        </tbody>
+      </table>
+    </tr>
+  {{else}}
+    {{loading-spinner}}
+  {{/each}}
+  </tbody>
+</table>
+<div class="clearfix"></div>
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/_topic-list.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/_topic-list.scss
index d77a94e11dd..20d6a8d1617 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/_topic-list.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/_topic-list.scss
@@ -107,6 +107,41 @@ html.anon .topic-list a.title:visited:not(.badge-notification) {color: dark-ligh
 
 }
 
+.navigation-categories {
+  .topic-list {
+    width: 48%;
+    float: left;
+  }
+  .main-link {
+    width: 100%;
+    .discourse-tag {
+      font-size: 12px;
+    }
+  }
+  .topic-stats {
+    text-align: right;
+    a {
+      color: dark-light-choose(scale-color($primary, $lightness: 50%), scale-color($secondary, $lightness: 40%));
+    }
+  }
+  .topic-replies {
+    font-weight: bold;
+    margin-bottom: 10px;
+  }
+  .topic-list-latest {
+    margin-left: 4%;
+  }
+  .topic-list.categories {
+    th.stats {
+      width: 20%;
+    }
+    .stats {
+      vertical-align: top;
+      text-align: center;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 
 .topic-list.categories {
 
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/tagging.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/tagging.scss
index 21a438dc334..1cca25a7abf 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/tagging.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/base/tagging.scss
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ header .discourse-tag {color: $tag-color !important; }
 
 .bullet + .list-tags {
   display: block;
+  line-height: 15px;
 }
 
 .bar + .list-tags {
@@ -247,4 +248,4 @@ header .discourse-tag {color: $tag-color !important; }
       margin-right: 10px;
     }
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/components/badges.css.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/components/badges.css.scss
index 3dd2d80eb44..77330e382c4 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/common/components/badges.css.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/common/components/badges.css.scss
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@
     display: inline-flex;
     align-items: baseline;
     margin-right: 10px;
+    font-size: 12px;
+    line-height: 15px;
 
     span.badge-category {
       color: $primary !important;
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/desktop/topic-list.scss b/app/assets/stylesheets/desktop/topic-list.scss
index b9059b0dd43..0df2a15fe3b 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/desktop/topic-list.scss
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/desktop/topic-list.scss
@@ -193,8 +193,6 @@
     }
   }
   .category{
-    width: 45%;
-
     h3 {
       display: inline-block;
       font-size: 1.286em;
diff --git a/app/controllers/categories_controller.rb b/app/controllers/categories_controller.rb
index 8617970c820..463e0084a96 100644
--- a/app/controllers/categories_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/categories_controller.rb
@@ -12,28 +12,29 @@ class CategoriesController < ApplicationController
   end
 
   def index
-    @description = SiteSetting.site_description
-
-    options = {}
-    options[:latest_posts] = params[:latest_posts] || SiteSetting.category_featured_topics
-    options[:parent_category_id] = params[:parent_category_id]
-    options[:is_homepage] = current_homepage == "categories".freeze
-
-    @list = CategoryList.new(guardian, options)
-    @list.draft_key = Draft::NEW_TOPIC
-    @list.draft_sequence = DraftSequence.current(current_user, Draft::NEW_TOPIC)
-    @list.draft = Draft.get(current_user, @list.draft_key, @list.draft_sequence) if current_user
-
     discourse_expires_in 1.minute
 
-    unless current_homepage == "categories"
-      @title = I18n.t('js.filters.categories.title')
-    end
+    @description = SiteSetting.site_description
+
+    category_options = { is_homepage: current_homepage == "categories".freeze }
+
+    @category_list = CategoryList.new(guardian, category_options)
+    @category_list.draft_key = Draft::NEW_TOPIC
+    @category_list.draft_sequence = DraftSequence.current(current_user, Draft::NEW_TOPIC)
+    @category_list.draft = Draft.get(current_user, @category_list.draft_key, @category_list.draft_sequence) if current_user
+
+    @title = I18n.t('js.filters.categories.title') unless category_options[:is_homepage]
 
-    store_preloaded("categories_list", MultiJson.dump(CategoryListSerializer.new(@list, scope: guardian)))
     respond_to do |format|
-      format.html { render }
-      format.json { render_serialized(@list, CategoryListSerializer) }
+      format.html do
+        topic_options = { per_page: SiteSetting.categories_topics, no_definitions: true }
+        topic_list = TopicQuery.new(current_user, topic_options).list_latest
+        store_preloaded(topic_list.preload_key, MultiJson.dump(TopicListSerializer.new(topic_list, scope: guardian)))
+        store_preloaded(@category_list.preload_key, MultiJson.dump(CategoryListSerializer.new(@category_list, scope: guardian)))
+        render
+      end
+
+      format.json { render_serialized(@category_list, CategoryListSerializer) }
     end
   end
 
diff --git a/app/models/category.rb b/app/models/category.rb
index 9b23f729dea..a52cdeff3f3 100644
--- a/app/models/category.rb
+++ b/app/models/category.rb
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ class Category < ActiveRecord::Base
 
   # permission is just used by serialization
   # we may consider wrapping this in another spot
-  attr_accessor :displayable_topics, :permission, :subcategory_ids, :notification_level, :has_children
+  attr_accessor :permission, :subcategory_ids, :notification_level, :has_children
 
   @topic_id_cache = DistributedCache.new('category_topic_ids')
 
@@ -187,9 +187,7 @@ SQL
     self.topic_id ? query.where(['topics.id <> ?', self.topic_id]) : query
   end
 
-
-  # Internal: Generate the text of post prompting to enter category
-  # description.
+  # Internal: Generate the text of post prompting to enter category description.
   def self.post_template
     I18n.t("category.post_template", replace_paragraph: I18n.t("category.replace_paragraph"))
   end
@@ -219,7 +217,6 @@ SQL
     @@cache.getset(self.description) do
       Nokogiri::HTML(self.description).text
     end
-
   end
 
   def duplicate_slug?
diff --git a/app/models/category_list.rb b/app/models/category_list.rb
index b6ffafb76af..38f9fc14f77 100644
--- a/app/models/category_list.rb
+++ b/app/models/category_list.rb
@@ -1,75 +1,37 @@
-require_dependency 'pinned_check'
-
 class CategoryList
   include ActiveModel::Serialization
 
   attr_accessor :categories,
-                :topic_users,
                 :uncategorized,
                 :draft,
                 :draft_key,
                 :draft_sequence
 
-  def initialize(guardian=nil, options = {})
+  def initialize(guardian=nil, options={})
     @guardian = guardian || Guardian.new
     @options = options
 
-    find_relevant_topics unless latest_post_only?
     find_categories
+  end
 
-    prune_empty
-    find_user_data
-    sort_unpinned
-    trim_results
+  def preload_key
+    "categories_list".freeze
   end
 
   private
 
-    def latest_post_only?
-      @options[:latest_posts] and latest_posts_count == 1
-    end
-
-    def include_latest_posts?
-      @options[:latest_posts] and latest_posts_count > 1
-    end
-
-    def latest_posts_count
-      @options[:latest_posts].to_i > 0 ? @options[:latest_posts].to_i : SiteSetting.category_featured_topics
-    end
-
-    # Retrieve a list of all the topics we'll need
-    def find_relevant_topics
-      @topics_by_category_id = {}
-      category_featured_topics = CategoryFeaturedTopic.select([:category_id, :topic_id]).order(:rank)
-      @topics_by_id = {}
-
-      @all_topics = Topic.where(id: category_featured_topics.map(&:topic_id))
-      @all_topics = @all_topics.includes(:last_poster) if include_latest_posts?
-      @all_topics.each do |t|
-        t.include_last_poster = true if include_latest_posts? # hint for serialization
-        @topics_by_id[t.id] = t
-      end
-
-      category_featured_topics.each do |cft|
-        @topics_by_category_id[cft.category_id] ||= []
-        @topics_by_category_id[cft.category_id] << cft.topic_id
-      end
-    end
-
     # Find a list of all categories to associate the topics with
     def find_categories
-      @categories = Category
-                        .includes(:featured_users, :topic_only_relative_url, subcategories: [:topic_only_relative_url])
-                        .secured(@guardian)
-
-      if @options[:parent_category_id].present?
-        @categories = @categories.where('categories.parent_category_id = ?', @options[:parent_category_id].to_i)
-      end
-
+      @categories = Category.includes(:topic_only_relative_url, subcategories: [:topic_only_relative_url]).secured(@guardian)
       @categories = @categories.where(suppress_from_homepage: false) if @options[:is_homepage]
 
+      unless SiteSetting.allow_uncategorized_topics
+        # TODO: also make sure the uncategorized is empty
+        @categories = @categories.where("id <> #{SiteSetting.uncategorized_category_id}")
+      end
+
       if SiteSetting.fixed_category_positions
-        @categories = @categories.order('position ASC').order('id ASC')
+        @categories = @categories.order(:position, :id)
       else
         @categories = @categories.order('COALESCE(categories.posts_week, 0) DESC')
                                  .order('COALESCE(categories.posts_month, 0) DESC')
@@ -77,10 +39,6 @@ class CategoryList
                                  .order('id ASC')
       end
 
-      if latest_post_only?
-        @categories = @categories.includes(latest_post: { topic: :last_poster })
-      end
-
       @categories = @categories.to_a
 
       category_user = {}
@@ -95,95 +53,18 @@ class CategoryList
         category.has_children = category.subcategories.present?
       end
 
-      if @options[:parent_category_id].blank?
-        subcategories = {}
-        to_delete = Set.new
-        @categories.each do |c|
-          if c.parent_category_id.present?
-            subcategories[c.parent_category_id] ||= []
-            subcategories[c.parent_category_id] << c.id
-            to_delete << c
-          end
-        end
-
-        if subcategories.present?
-          @categories.each do |c|
-            c.subcategory_ids = subcategories[c.id]
-          end
-          @categories.delete_if {|c| to_delete.include?(c) }
-        end
-      end
-
-      if latest_post_only?
-        @all_topics = []
-        @categories.each do |c|
-          if c.latest_post && c.latest_post.topic && @guardian.can_see?(c.latest_post.topic)
-            c.displayable_topics = [c.latest_post.topic]
-            topic = c.latest_post.topic
-            topic.include_last_poster = true # hint for serialization
-            @all_topics << topic
-          end
-        end
-      end
-
-      if @topics_by_category_id
-        @categories.each do |c|
-          topics_in_cat = @topics_by_category_id[c.id]
-          if topics_in_cat.present?
-            c.displayable_topics = []
-            topics_in_cat.each do |topic_id|
-              topic = @topics_by_id[topic_id]
-              if topic.present? && @guardian.can_see?(topic)
-                # topic.category is very slow under rails 4.2
-                topic.association(:category).target = c
-                c.displayable_topics << topic
-              end
-            end
-          end
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-
-    def prune_empty
-      unless SiteSetting.allow_uncategorized_topics
-        # HACK: Don't show uncategorized to anyone if not allowed
-        @categories.delete_if do |c|
-          c.uncategorized? && c.displayable_topics.blank?
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    # Get forum topic user records if appropriate
-    def find_user_data
-      if @guardian.current_user && @all_topics.present?
-        topic_lookup = TopicUser.lookup_for(@guardian.current_user, @all_topics)
-
-        # Attach some data for serialization to each topic
-        @all_topics.each { |ft| ft.user_data = topic_lookup[ft.id] }
-      end
-    end
-
-    def sort_unpinned
-      if @guardian.current_user && @all_topics.present?
-        # Put unpinned topics at the end of the list
-        @categories.each do |c|
-          next if c.displayable_topics.blank? || c.displayable_topics.size <= latest_posts_count
-          unpinned = []
-          c.displayable_topics.each do |t|
-            unpinned << t if t.pinned_at && PinnedCheck.unpinned?(t, t.user_data)
-          end
-          unless unpinned.empty?
-            c.displayable_topics = (c.displayable_topics - unpinned) + unpinned
-          end
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    def trim_results
+      subcategories = {}
+      to_delete = Set.new
       @categories.each do |c|
-        next if c.displayable_topics.blank?
-        c.displayable_topics = c.displayable_topics[0,latest_posts_count]
+        if c.parent_category_id.present?
+          subcategories[c.parent_category_id] ||= []
+          subcategories[c.parent_category_id] << c.id
+          to_delete << c
+        end
       end
+
+      @categories.each { |c| c.subcategory_ids = subcategories[c.id] }
+
+      @categories.delete_if { |c| to_delete.include?(c) }
     end
 end
diff --git a/app/serializers/category_detailed_serializer.rb b/app/serializers/category_detailed_serializer.rb
index 16b028ca066..d7a454b19f6 100644
--- a/app/serializers/category_detailed_serializer.rb
+++ b/app/serializers/category_detailed_serializer.rb
@@ -6,17 +6,10 @@ class CategoryDetailedSerializer < BasicCategorySerializer
              :topics_week,
              :topics_month,
              :topics_year,
-             :posts_day,
-             :posts_week,
-             :posts_month,
-             :posts_year,
              :description_excerpt,
              :is_uncategorized,
              :subcategory_ids
 
-  has_many :featured_users, serializer: BasicUserSerializer
-  has_many :displayable_topics, serializer: ListableTopicSerializer, embed: :objects, key: :topics
-
   def is_uncategorized
     object.id == SiteSetting.uncategorized_category_id
   end
@@ -25,20 +18,14 @@ class CategoryDetailedSerializer < BasicCategorySerializer
     is_uncategorized
   end
 
-  def include_displayable_topics?
-    displayable_topics.present?
-  end
-
   def description_excerpt
-    PrettyText.excerpt(description,300) if description
+    PrettyText.excerpt(description, 300) if description
   end
 
   def include_subcategory_ids?
     subcategory_ids.present?
   end
 
-  # Topic and post counts, including counts from the sub-categories:
-
   def topics_day
     count_with_subcategories(:topics_day)
   end
@@ -55,22 +42,6 @@ class CategoryDetailedSerializer < BasicCategorySerializer
     count_with_subcategories(:topics_year)
   end
 
-  def posts_day
-    count_with_subcategories(:posts_day)
-  end
-
-  def posts_week
-    count_with_subcategories(:posts_week)
-  end
-
-  def posts_month
-    count_with_subcategories(:posts_month)
-  end
-
-  def posts_year
-    count_with_subcategories(:posts_year)
-  end
-
   def count_with_subcategories(method)
     count = object.send(method) || 0
     object.subcategories.each do |category|
diff --git a/app/views/categories/index.html.erb b/app/views/categories/index.html.erb
index f3ef3b7d6a0..2d2b32d3e59 100644
--- a/app/views/categories/index.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/categories/index.html.erb
@@ -1,24 +1,12 @@
 <div class='category-list' itemscope itemtype='http://schema.org/ItemList'>
   <meta itemprop='itemListOrder' content='http://schema.org/ItemListOrderDescending'>
-  <% @list.categories.each do |c| %>
+  <% @category_list.categories.each do |c| %>
     <div class='category' itemprop='itemListElement' itemscope itemtype='http://schema.org/ListItem'>
       <meta itemprop='url' content='<%= c.url %>'>
       <h2><a href='<%= c.url %>' itemprop='item'>
         <span itemprop='name'><%= c.name %></span>
       </a></h2>
       <span itemprop='description'><%= c.description %></span>
-      <div class='topic-list' itemscope itemtype='http://schema.org/ItemList'>
-        <%- if c.displayable_topics.present? %>
-          <% c.displayable_topics.each do |t| %>
-            <div itemprop='itemListElement' itemscope itemtype='http://schema.org/ListItem'>
-              <meta itemprop='url' content='<%= t.url %>'>
-              <a href='<%= t.relative_url %>' itemprop='item'>
-                <span itemprop='name'><%= t.title %></span>
-              </a> <span title='<%= t 'posts' %>'>(<%= t.posts_count %>)</span>
-            </div>
-          <% end %>
-        <%- end %>
-      </div>
     </div>
   <% end %>
 </div>
diff --git a/config/locales/client.en.yml b/config/locales/client.en.yml
index 727f005546f..2dbc72f55e4 100644
--- a/config/locales/client.en.yml
+++ b/config/locales/client.en.yml
@@ -458,14 +458,12 @@ en:
       latest_by: "latest by"
       toggle_ordering: "toggle ordering control"
       subcategories: "Subcategories"
-      topic_stats: "The number of new topics."
+      topic_sentence:
+        one: "1 topic"
+        other: "%{count} topics"
       topic_stat_sentence:
         one: "%{count} new topic in the past %{unit}."
         other: "%{count} new topics in the past %{unit}."
-      post_stats: "The number of new posts."
-      post_stat_sentence:
-        one: "%{count} new post in the past %{unit}."
-        other: "%{count} new posts in the past %{unit}."
 
     ip_lookup:
       title: IP Address Lookup
@@ -1941,6 +1939,10 @@ en:
     posts: "Posts"
     posts_long: "there are {{number}} posts in this topic"
 
+    posts_likes:
+      one: "This topic has 1 reply."
+      other: "This topic has {{count}} replies."
+
     # keys ending with _MF use message format, see https://meta.discourse.org/t/message-format-support-for-localization/7035 for details
     posts_likes_MF: |
       This topic has {count, plural, one {1 reply} other {# replies}} {ratio, select,
diff --git a/config/locales/server.en.yml b/config/locales/server.en.yml
index 3df6dcf634c..67fbc70f1ff 100644
--- a/config/locales/server.en.yml
+++ b/config/locales/server.en.yml
@@ -1055,6 +1055,7 @@ en:
     alert_admins_if_errors_per_minute: "Number of errors per minute in order to trigger an admin alert. A value of 0 disables this feature. NOTE: requires restart."
     alert_admins_if_errors_per_hour: "Number of errors per hour in order to trigger an admin alert. A value of 0 disables this feature. NOTE: requires restart."
 
+    categories_topics: "Number of topics to show in /categories page."
     suggested_topics: "Number of suggested topics shown at the bottom of a topic."
     limit_suggested_to_category: "Only show topics from the current category in suggested topics."
     suggested_topics_max_days_old: "Suggested topics should not be more than n days old."
diff --git a/config/site_settings.yml b/config/site_settings.yml
index f1f7707c58e..2908c8d28b0 100644
--- a/config/site_settings.yml
+++ b/config/site_settings.yml
@@ -71,6 +71,9 @@ basic:
   set_locale_from_accept_language_header:
     default: false
     validator: "AllowUserLocaleEnabledValidator"
+  categories_topics:
+    default: 20
+    min: 5
   suggested_topics:
     client: true
     default: 5
diff --git a/lib/topic_query.rb b/lib/topic_query.rb
index bdae2033b8b..7189c9e51cb 100644
--- a/lib/topic_query.rb
+++ b/lib/topic_query.rb
@@ -297,7 +297,6 @@ class TopicQuery
     end
 
     topics.each do |t|
-
       t.allowed_user_ids = filter == :private_messages ? t.allowed_users.map{|u| u.id} : []
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/models/category_list_spec.rb b/spec/models/category_list_spec.rb
index bb4f3d2d83c..e047945f222 100644
--- a/spec/models/category_list_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/category_list_spec.rb
@@ -19,32 +19,6 @@ describe CategoryList do
       expect(CategoryList.new(Guardian.new user).categories.count).to eq(1)
       expect(CategoryList.new(Guardian.new nil).categories.count).to eq(1)
     end
-
-    it "doesn't show topics that you can't view" do
-      public_cat = Fabricate(:category) # public category
-      Fabricate(:topic, category: public_cat)
-
-      private_cat = Fabricate(:category) # private category
-      Fabricate(:topic, category: private_cat)
-      private_cat.set_permissions(admins: :full)
-      private_cat.save
-
-      secret_subcat = Fabricate(:category, parent_category_id: public_cat.id) # private subcategory
-      Fabricate(:topic, category: secret_subcat)
-      secret_subcat.set_permissions(admins: :full)
-      secret_subcat.save
-
-      CategoryFeaturedTopic.feature_topics
-
-      expect(CategoryList.new(Guardian.new(admin)).categories.find { |x| x.name == public_cat.name }.displayable_topics.count).to eq(2)
-      expect(CategoryList.new(Guardian.new(admin)).categories.find { |x| x.name == private_cat.name }.displayable_topics.count).to eq(1)
-
-      expect(CategoryList.new(Guardian.new(user)).categories.find { |x| x.name == public_cat.name }.displayable_topics.count).to eq(1)
-      expect(CategoryList.new(Guardian.new(user)).categories.find { |x| x.name == private_cat.name }).to eq(nil)
-
-      expect(CategoryList.new(Guardian.new(nil)).categories.find { |x| x.name == public_cat.name }.displayable_topics.count).to eq(1)
-      expect(CategoryList.new(Guardian.new(nil)).categories.find { |x| x.name == private_cat.name }).to eq(nil)
-    end
   end
 
   context "with a category" do
@@ -63,27 +37,6 @@ describe CategoryList do
 
     end
 
-    context "with pinned topics in a category" do
-      let!(:topic1) { Fabricate(:topic, category: topic_category, bumped_at: 8.minutes.ago) }
-      let!(:topic2) { Fabricate(:topic, category: topic_category, bumped_at: 5.minutes.ago) }
-      let!(:topic3) { Fabricate(:topic, category: topic_category, bumped_at: 2.minutes.ago) }
-      let!(:pinned) { Fabricate(:topic, category: topic_category, pinned_at: 10.minutes.ago, bumped_at: 10.minutes.ago) }
-      let(:category) { category_list.categories.find{|c| c.id == topic_category.id} }
-
-      before do
-        SiteSetting.stubs(:category_featured_topics).returns(2)
-      end
-
-      it "returns pinned topic first" do
-        expect(category.displayable_topics.map(&:id)).to eq([pinned.id, topic3.id])
-      end
-
-      it "returns topics in bumped_at order if pinned was unpinned" do
-        PinnedCheck.stubs(:unpinned?).returns(true)
-        expect(category.displayable_topics.map(&:id)).to eq([topic3.id, topic2.id])
-      end
-    end
-
   end
 
   describe 'category order' do
diff --git a/spec/serializers/category_detailed_serializer_spec.rb b/spec/serializers/category_detailed_serializer_spec.rb
index cf76aa4c14a..e4e3b1bcc8a 100644
--- a/spec/serializers/category_detailed_serializer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/serializers/category_detailed_serializer_spec.rb
@@ -5,26 +5,20 @@ describe CategoryDetailedSerializer do
 
   describe "counts" do
     it "works for categories with no subcategories" do
-      no_subcats = Fabricate(:category, topics_year: 10, topics_month: 5, topics_day: 2, posts_year: 13, posts_month: 7, posts_day: 3)
+      no_subcats = Fabricate(:category, topics_year: 10, topics_month: 5, topics_day: 2)
       json = CategoryDetailedSerializer.new(no_subcats, scope: Guardian.new, root: false).as_json
       expect(json[:topics_year]).to eq(10)
       expect(json[:topics_month]).to eq(5)
       expect(json[:topics_day]).to eq(2)
-      expect(json[:posts_year]).to eq(13)
-      expect(json[:posts_month]).to eq(7)
-      expect(json[:posts_day]).to eq(3)
     end
 
     it "includes counts from subcategories" do
-      parent = Fabricate(:category, topics_year: 10, topics_month: 5, topics_day: 2, posts_year: 13, posts_month: 7, posts_day: 3)
-      subcategory = Fabricate(:category, parent_category_id: parent.id, topics_year: 1, topics_month: 1, topics_day: 1, posts_year: 1, posts_month: 1, posts_day: 1)
+      parent = Fabricate(:category, topics_year: 10, topics_month: 5, topics_day: 2)
+      subcategory = Fabricate(:category, parent_category_id: parent.id, topics_year: 1, topics_month: 1, topics_day: 1)
       json = CategoryDetailedSerializer.new(parent, scope: Guardian.new, root: false).as_json
       expect(json[:topics_year]).to eq(11)
       expect(json[:topics_month]).to eq(6)
       expect(json[:topics_day]).to eq(3)
-      expect(json[:posts_year]).to eq(14)
-      expect(json[:posts_month]).to eq(8)
-      expect(json[:posts_day]).to eq(4)
     end
   end
 
diff --git a/test/javascripts/models/category-test.js.es6 b/test/javascripts/models/category-test.js.es6
index cb6c9858e2c..ca338686eaa 100644
--- a/test/javascripts/models/category-test.js.es6
+++ b/test/javascripts/models/category-test.js.es6
@@ -88,44 +88,6 @@ test('findByIds', function() {
   deepEqual(Discourse.Category.findByIds([1,2,3]), _.values(categories));
 });
 
-test('postCountStats', function() {
-  const store = createStore();
-  const category1 = store.createRecord('category', {id: 1, slug: 'unloved', posts_year: 2, posts_month: 0, posts_week: 0, posts_day: 0}),
-      category2 = store.createRecord('category', {id: 2, slug: 'hasbeen', posts_year: 50, posts_month: 4, posts_week: 0, posts_day: 0}),
-      category3 = store.createRecord('category', {id: 3, slug: 'solastweek', posts_year: 250, posts_month: 200, posts_week: 50, posts_day: 0}),
-      category4 = store.createRecord('category', {id: 4, slug: 'hotstuff', posts_year: 500, posts_month: 280, posts_week: 100, posts_day: 22}),
-      category5 = store.createRecord('category', {id: 6, slug: 'empty', posts_year: 0, posts_month: 0, posts_week: 0, posts_day: 0});
-
-  let result = category1.get('postCountStats');
-  equal(result.length, 1, "should only show year");
-  equal(result[0].value, 2);
-  equal(result[0].unit, 'year');
-
-  result = category2.get('postCountStats');
-  equal(result.length, 2, "should show month and year");
-  equal(result[0].value, 4);
-  equal(result[0].unit, 'month');
-  equal(result[1].value, 50);
-  equal(result[1].unit, 'year');
-
-  result = category3.get('postCountStats');
-  equal(result.length, 2, "should show week and month");
-  equal(result[0].value, 50);
-  equal(result[0].unit, 'week');
-  equal(result[1].value, 200);
-  equal(result[1].unit, 'month');
-
-  result = category4.get('postCountStats');
-  equal(result.length, 2, "should show day and week");
-  equal(result[0].value, 22);
-  equal(result[0].unit, 'day');
-  equal(result[1].value, 100);
-  equal(result[1].unit, 'week');
-
-  result = category5.get('postCountStats');
-  equal(result.length, 0, "should show nothing");
-});
-
 test('search with category name', () => {
   const store = createStore(),
         category1 = store.createRecord('category', { id: 1, name: 'middle term', slug: 'different-slug' }),