Genshin Impact 7.0: How to Unlock the Exaiphanes Blade (Traveler’s Signature Weapon)

The Exaiphanes Blade is a free 5-star sword built for the Traveler, and it arrives with Version 7.0 in Snezhnaya. It pushes the Traveler toward being a real damage dealer thanks to a Crit Rate stat and an attack-boosting passive, which matters most for the new Cryo Traveler. You do not pull for it and you do not spend Mora to level it. You earn it by playing the story.

Quick answer: Progress the Chapter 7 Act 1 Archon Quest “Everwinter Without Mercy” until the rescue mission where you first meet Odette in the mines. Defeat the “Monster” at the end of that sequence, and the cutscene that follows drops the Exaiphanes Blade straight into your inventory.

The Traveler’s Exaiphanes Blade (Image: HoYoverse)

Where the Exaiphanes Blade unlocks in the Archon Quest

The sword is tied to the Snezhnaya Archon Quest, specifically the mission “Great Deeds in the Tundra” inside “Everwinter Without Mercy.” You do not need to finish the whole chapter. You only need to reach the point where you rescue trapped miners and run into Odette. Here is the route that gets you there.

Follow the quest with Alyosha until you arrive at Snezhnograd, the capital of Snezhnaya. The Traveler and Paimon settle into a room at the Podvorye Restaurant to rest before meeting with the Harbingers.

Head to Glupov, the Fatui headquarters. There you meet Sandrone, who explains the politics of Snezhnaya. A messenger interrupts and asks her for help, and the Traveler decides to go along.

Travel to Svetloledovka, a mining town where the ice has caved in and trapped miners underground. You start a rescue operation alongside the Harbinger and head into the mines. Inside, you meet Odette, who is running the rescue.

Push deeper. Your first fight is against two Electro Slimes. Clear them and keep going until you reach a Teleport Waypoint, where you hear a miner scream. Continue until you find the miners and the “Monster.”

Defeat the “Monster.” A cutscene plays, and the Exaiphanes Blade is granted to you at the end of it. That cutscene is your confirmation that the weapon is now yours.

Note: During the mine section you are locked to Odette and the Cryo Traveler, so bring their kits in mind rather than relying on your usual party.

Exaiphanes Blade stats and passive

The blade is a 5-star sword with a Crit Rate substat, which is why it fits damage-focused Traveler forms so cleanly. Its passive also feeds Elemental Energy, so you can hold a steady Elemental Burst rotation without loading up on Energy Recharge.

Property	Value at Lv. 90
Type	Sword (5-star)
Base ATK	608
Secondary stat	CRIT Rate 33.1%

The passive is called Traveler’s Path. When the Traveler holds this weapon, their ATK increases by 16% for 8 seconds after hitting an opponent, and they regenerate 3 Elemental Energy at the same time. The effect triggers once every 5 seconds and works even while the character is off the field. Higher upgrade tiers add a Crit DMG bonus that scales with the number of elements the Traveler has resonated with.

How to upgrade the Exaiphanes Blade at Statues of the Seven

You cannot enhance this sword the normal way. There is no Mora or Enhancement Ore cost. Instead, each Statue of the Seven in Snezhnaya grants one upgrade, raising both its level and its passive tier. To make the upgrade option appear, the Traveler must be in Cryo form with the blade equipped.

Unlock the Cryo Traveler by touching a Statue of the Seven in Snezhnaya, then equip the Exaiphanes Blade.

Hit a Statue of the Seven with the Traveler’s Cryo attack, either the Elemental Skill or Burst. A snowflake ring appears around the statue once it responds.

Interact with the statue and choose the new dialogue option to view or enhance the Exaiphanes Blade. Confirm the upgrade to raise the weapon a tier.

Repeat this at every Statue of the Seven you have unlocked. Version 7.0 has five statues available in Snezhnaya. One of them, the White Birch Snowgrave, is easy to miss. Look for a cave opening near the intersection of the railway track path that runs from the far north toward the east, which leads into the hidden area with the statue.

Upgrade progression by statue

Full refinement needs seven upgrades, one per statue. With only five statues in the region right now, you cannot max the passive yet. You can still take the sword all the way to Level 90 and Base ATK 608, since the level cap is reached before the final passive tiers. The table below shows what each interaction gives.

Upgrade	Level	Base ATK / Crit Rate	Passive change
1	20	122 / 12.7%	ATK +16% for 8s after a hit, regen 3 Energy, once per 5s (off-field ok)
2	40	235 / 18.5%	Adds Crit DMG +6% per resonated Element; ATK bonus rises to 20%
3	60	382 / 24.4%	No passive change
4	80	532 / 30.2%	ATK bonus 24%, Energy regen raised to 5
5	90	608 / 33.1%	No passive change
6	90	608 / 33.1%	ATK bonus 32%
7	90	608 / 33.1%	ATK bonus 40%

Each interaction also reveals a piece of dialogue connected to the weapon’s lore, so it is worth reading through as you go. More statues are expected to arrive in Snezhnaya over future updates, and those later ones are what push the passive to its highest tiers.

Because it hands out both Crit Rate and free Energy, the Exaiphanes Blade works across every Traveler element and doubles as a solid stat stick for other sword users like Odette. Get through the mine rescue to claim it, then make a lap of Snezhnaya’s Statues of the Seven with the Cryo Traveler to bring it up to strength.