It only picks up -> derefs but everyone here seems to code that way, so it's a win for me.

I don't believe that's true. I do

for (@$list) {
   ...
}
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and

for (keys %$table) {
   ...
}
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and

$grid[$x][$y]
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regularly. I even do

our $buf; local *buf = $ref;
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often enough. All of those contains derefs. Three of them aren't even possible to do with the arrow.