Version 7.1 opened with two Snezhnayan five-stars on the same Phase 1 window, and they pull in opposite directions. Vesna is an on-field Anemo sword carry built to turn Cryo Swirl into Stellar-Swirl damage. Vodyanitsa is a Hydro catalyst support who heals, shreds resistance, and feeds the same reaction from the back of the party.
Quick answer: Build Vesna with ATK%/ATK%/CRIT on Scarlet Proof and Beyond the Chrysalis. Build Vodyanitsa with HP%/HP%/HP% on Tenacity of the Millelith, aiming for 65,000 HP.
Genshin Impact 7.1 Phase 1 banner lineup
Both new characters share the opening half of Version 7.1, which went live on September 23, 2026. Their signature weapons run together on the Epitome Invocation banner.
| Character | Element / Weapon | Role | Signature weapon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vesna | Anemo Sword | On-field Stellar-Swirl DPS | Beyond the Chrysalis |
| Vodyanitsa | Hydro Catalyst | Healer, buffer, RES shredder | Hymn of the Maelstrom |
Vesna heads the Druzhna, and her damage cycle revolves around Spirit Blades and the Sword Essence resource. Vodyanitsa serves as the Korolevskiy Troupe’s Prima Soprano; she sings during casting, while her Water Imp transformation enables quick water travel during exploration.
Vesna build: Stellar-Swirl DPS stats and gear
Vesna’s damage comes from Stellar-Swirl, which scales off ATK rather than Elemental Mastery. That flips the usual Anemo build on its head. You want an ATK% sands, an ATK% goblet, and a CRIT circlet, with Elemental Mastery treated as a bonus rather than a target.
Vesna stat targets
| Stat | Target |
|---|---|
| ATK | 2,000–3,000 |
| Energy Recharge | 100%–135% (~120% is comfortable) |
| CRIT Rate | 50%–60% |
| CRIT DMG | 180% or higher |
| Elemental Mastery | 120–180 |
Substat priority runs CRIT DMG, then CRIT Rate, then ATK%, then Elemental Mastery. Stop chasing Energy Recharge once her Burst comes back reliably inside your rotation, since her Burst sits in the middle of her combo rather than at the start of it. Running a second Anemo unit usually drags the requirement down on its own.
Vesna weapons and artifacts
| Sword | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beyond the Chrysalis | Gacha | Signature, best-in-slot |
| Whitelake Frostfeather | Gacha | ATK, CRIT DMG, Stellar-Glimmer DMG |
| Azurelight | Gacha | CRIT stat stick |
| Emberwell | Crafted | Best free option, ATK% and EM |
| Heretic’s Molten Blade | Battle Pass | Fallback ATK option |
Beyond the Chrysalis carries a CRIT DMG substat and a passive written around her kit, so it stays ahead of everything else. If you already own Whitelake Frostfeather from Odette’s banner, you can skip the weapon banner entirely — the ATK, CRIT DMG, and Stellar-Glimmer buffs land in almost the same place. Emberwell is the craftable pick and covers both stats Stellar-Swirl cares about.
For artifacts, four-piece Scarlet Proof is the best-in-slot set, with Viridescent Venerer as the stopgap while you farm. Talent order is Elemental Skill first, then Elemental Burst, then Normal Attack. Her Skill puts her into the Anemo infusion state that everything else keys off, and her Burst is close behind because it sits inside the same combo. Normal Attacks can wait.
Vodyanitsa build: stack HP and ignore damage
Vodyanitsa’s personal damage is low enough that building her offensively is a waste. Her buffs, healing, and Quills all read off Max HP, so the build is simple: HP% sands, HP% goblet, HP% circlet, HP% substats. Aim for around 65,000 HP to cap out the Hydro and Cryo damage bonus she hands the team.
Energy Recharge is optional. Her Burst, Sink With Thee, is pure healing and one of the cheapest Burst costs in the game, so you can weave it in when it happens to be up instead of building around it. Level her Elemental Skill, Rechitativ: Sonorous Dawn, first — the resistance shred lives there. Her Normal Attack can stay at level one.
Vodyanitsa weapons
| Catalyst | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hymn of the Maelstrom | Gacha | 542 ATK, 66.2% HP, off-field ATK buff |
| Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers | Gacha (3-star) | 48% ATK swap buff at R5 |
| Jadefall’s Splendor | Gacha | HP% and energy utility |
| Prototype Amber | Crafted | HP%, energy and party healing |
Hymn of the Maelstrom adds Healing Bonus, more Max HP, and an ATK boost for whoever is on the field, and all of it is amplified by 75% when a nearby party member triggers Frozen or Stellar-Swirl. It also works while she is off-field and does not care about swap order.
Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers is close enough that she is genuinely free-to-play friendly. The catch is timing — the 48% ATK buff only lands on the character you swap into, and it has a 20-second cooldown, so she has to be the last unit before your DPS in every rotation.
Vodyanitsa artifacts and constellations
Four-piece Tenacity of the Millelith is the default. The two-piece gives 20% HP toward her threshold, and the four-piece pushes 20% ATK to the party whenever her off-field Hydro hits, which ATK-scaling carries like Vesna and Skirk turn straight into damage. Song of Days Past is the alternative if someone else on the team already wears Tenacity, and Instructor works as a placeholder at the cost of a lot of HP.
- C2 (Echoes That Pierce the Snow) — the priority stop, adding CRIT DMG to Hydro, Cryo, and Stellar-Swirl damage plus a longer Song of Ages Past.
- C6 (Neverending Song of Revelry) — spreads the C2 effect to the whole party and stacks more Stellar-Swirl, Hydro, and Cryo damage.
- C1 (Waters in Full Splendor) — converts her Max HP into a party-wide ATK buff on heal.
- C4 — mostly a stepping stone; skip it as a target.
Best teams for Vesna and Vodyanitsa
The core Stellar-Swirl lineup is Vesna, Cryo Traveler, and Odette, with the fourth slot deciding what kind of team you get. A C6 Faruzan pushes raw Anemo damage higher. Vodyanitsa in that slot trades some of the buff for healing, interruption resistance, and the Wandering Vortex interaction she provides through her passive, The Last Djeguako Songstress, which also cuts Anemo resistance.
- Vesna / Cryo Traveler / Odette / Faruzan — highest ceiling, no sustain.
- Vesna / Cryo Traveler / Odette / Vodyanitsa — same core, with healing and Anemo RES shred.
- Skirk / Escoffier / Furina / Vodyanitsa — Freeze, where her Hydro and Cryo shred does the heavy lifting.
Vodyanitsa’s job in all of these is short. Cast her Skill, let the Water Imp form handle healing and off-field Hydro, then swap out and stay out.
Ascension and talent materials to farm
| Material | Vesna | Vodyanitsa |
|---|---|---|
| Gemstone line | Vayuda Turquoise | Varunada Lazurite |
| Local specialty (×168) | Golden Fern | Frostfairy Flower |
| Boss drop line | Ethereal Crystalscale | Chimeric Nexus |
| Talent books | Glory | Fortitude |
| Weekly boss drop (×18) | Profaned Sprout | Madman’s Restraint |
Both need three Crowns of Insight and roughly 4,957,500 Mora to fully crown their talents, plus 420,000 Mora for ascensions. Vesna also needs 46 of a common drop, and Vodyanitsa needs 46 Unscorched Blossom Branch. The local specialty count is the usual bottleneck, so start those routes before you start leveling.
What early DPS testing shows
Early launch-day testing in the Miliastra Wonderland custom DPS arena put the full Stellar-Swirl core — Vesna, Odette, Cryo Traveler, and Vodyanitsa — through repeated rotations against a test dummy. After rotation timing was tightened up, calibrated results for Vesna teams landed above 200k DPS.
Swapping in Diona or Faruzan was also tested to measure how much the support slot actually moves the number. That is the useful check for your own account: if you do not have Vodyanitsa or a C6 Faruzan, the team still functions, it simply loses a chunk of the buff ceiling.
Damage numbers from a test dummy assume clean rotations and no enemy movement. Treat them as a comparison tool between team variants, not as a figure you will reproduce in the Spiral Abyss.
If you are picking only one, the decision is about what your roster is missing rather than which character is stronger. Vesna builds a team around herself and needs Cryo support to function. Vodyanitsa slots into teams you already run and covers healing, resistance shred, and an ATK buff in a single party slot.
