The free 5-star character selector has been the headline gift of every Genshin Impact anniversary since Version 5.0, and it has always worked the same way. You open an event card, you pick one standard banner 5-star, you confirm, and that is that. Version 7.1’s beta build breaks that pattern in two visible ways, and neither of them has an official explanation yet.
Quick answer: In the 7.1 beta, the selector was renamed internally from “permanent banner” to “invitation banner” and shows six character slots instead of the eight standard 5-stars currently in the game. Nothing about it is confirmed until the Version 7.1 Special Program on September 11, 2026.
What changed in the 7.1 selector files
Two details came out of the beta build. The first is a naming change. The asset that drives the anniversary selector used to be tagged as a permanent banner, which lined up with its job of handing out a character from the standard pool. In 7.1 that internal label reads “invitation banner” instead. Internal names are not player-facing, but they usually describe what a system does, and “permanent” is exactly the word you would drop if the pool were no longer limited to permanent characters.
The second detail is the animation set. The banner files carry an intro animation for every element, including elements that have no standard 5-star attached to them at all. Geo is the obvious one. If the selector were still pulling from the standard pool, a Geo animation would have nothing to play for.
Note: element animations and slot counts in a beta build are placeholders as often as they are plans. They tell you what the client is currently prepared to display, not what HoYoverse has decided to ship.
Six slots versus the eight standard 5-stars
As of Version 7.0, the Wanderlust Invocation pool holds eight 5-star characters. The 7.1 beta selector shows six slots. That is a two-character gap with no stated reason, and it is the part of the leak that has caused the most argument, because a shorter list means someone gets cut.
| Standard 5-star | Element and weapon |
|---|---|
| Dehya | Pyro, Claymore |
| Diluc | Pyro, Claymore |
| Jean | Anemo, Sword |
| Keqing | Electro, Sword |
| Mona | Hydro, Catalyst |
| Qiqi | Cryo, Sword |
| Tighnari | Dendro, Bow |
| Yumemizuki Mizuki | Anemo, Catalyst |
Six slots plus animations for elements the standard pool cannot cover points away from a straight Wanderlust Invocation list. Whether that means a curated roster, a different pool entirely, or simply an unfinished UI is not something the files answer.
The second selector leak: An older limited 5-star and signature weapon
Running alongside the beta findings is a separate, unverified claim about a second gift, one that would sit apart from the usual standard selector. It has a specific shape, which is worth laying out plainly so you can check it against whatever gets announced.
| Rule | What the claim says |
|---|---|
| Gift | One older limited 5-star plus that character’s signature weapon |
| Relationship to the standard selector | A separate reward, not a replacement |
| Ownership requirement | The character must not already be on the account; no constellations |
| Excluded | Archons, including Venti, Zhongli, Raiden Shogun and Furina |
| Status | Unconfirmed |
If it turns out to be real and you already own every eligible name, it pays you nothing. Treat it as a possibility, not a plan.
When the selector gets confirmed: The 7.1 Special Program
The Version 7.1 Special Program airs on September 11, 2026 on the official Genshin Impact Twitch and YouTube channels. That broadcast is the point where the reward wording becomes real, and it is the only thing that settles the selector question. It also traditionally hands out three redemption codes worth 300 Primogems in total, which stay live for roughly 24 hours.
Version 7.1 itself is expected in the second half of September, with September 22 and 23 both circulating ahead of the stream. The sixth anniversary lands on September 28, 2026, inside that patch window. HoYoverse confirms the exact update date during the program.
How to claim the anniversary selector once 7.1 is live
Genshin Impact 7.1 banners and the anniversary window
Two new 5-stars are lined up for 7.1. Vesna is an Anemo sword user described as a squad commander with a flight ability tied to exploration. Vodyanitsa is a Hydro catalyst support and the Royal Theatre prima donna players already met during the 7.0 story, with a summon that lowers enemy resistance and restores HP. Skirk and Escoffier are named as the likely rerun pairing, alongside other names still floating around. Banner order can change right up to the broadcast.
Phase 2 is expected to swap banners around mid-October, roughly three weeks into the patch.
Primogems and codes to bank before 7.1
The free anniversary pile is real but small in pull terms. A 1,600 Primogem mail drop plus 10 Intertwined Fates from the login event works out to 20 wishes, which does not cover a lost 50/50 on its own. The cheapest way to close the gap is to finish what 7.0 still has open before the patch rolls over.
That includes the Snezhnaya-themed challenge event Where the Blizzard Howls, which runs a points system across several stages. The snowball stages score you for rolling into opponents, while later phases are straight combat against a timer.
Points feed a milestone track, and the rewards sit behind a Claim button that you have to press manually. Anything left unclaimed when the event closes is gone, so check the Challenge Rewards dialog before 7.0 wraps up.
There are also codes live right now. Redeem them on the official gift redemption page at Adventure Rank 10 or above, then collect the items from your in-game mail.
| Code | Rewards |
|---|---|
| MySnezhnayaCareer | 160 Primogems, 20,000 Mora, 3 Hero’s Wit |
| 2BJ64QRZ7RT8 | 60 Primogems, 5 Adventurer’s Experience |
| LEGEDILJKSGM | 60 Primogems, 5 Adventurer’s Experience |
| GENSHINGIFT | 50 Primogems, 3 Hero’s Wit (once per account) |
One more thing worth holding back on. The Initial Top-Up Bonus, which doubles your first purchase on each Genesis Crystal tier, has reset with every September anniversary patch so far. If you were already planning to buy a tier you have used before, waiting until after the 7.1 maintenance costs nothing.
Every anniversary produces a wave of selector theories, and most of them do not survive contact with the actual announcement. What is solid here is narrow: the file rename, the six slots, and the element animations. Everything hanging off those three facts is guesswork until September 11, and the safest move in the meantime is to bank Primogems and hold your first-purchase tiers rather than plan a pull around a character list nobody has seen.
