The move to Snezhnaya reshapes how Cryo teams play, and older Liyue units sit at the center of that shift. Version 7.0 leans on two new elemental reactions, Stellar Conduct and Stellar Swirl, and Hoyoverse plans to fold long-standing characters into that system so they stay relevant. The next wave of adjustments is expected to target Liyue’s roster, wiring Stellar Swirl into kits that once defined the freeze meta.
Quick answer: A leaked plan points to Liyue character buffs arriving around Chinese New Year that add Stellar Swirl to core Cryo units such as Ganyu, Ayaka, and Shenhe. No official date has been confirmed for these buffs yet.
Why Stellar reactions matter in Snezhnaya
Snezhnaya arrives with Genshin Impact 7.0 and brings the Cryo nation into focus, so the biggest gameplay change is a meta built around Stellar reactions. Two new reactions drive that shift, Stellar Conduct and Stellar Swirl. Both are designed to give Cryo teams a stronger, more consistent damage floor than the old reaction set allowed.
Stellar Conduct has already shown its ceiling through Sandrone. It effectively rebuilds Superconduct, long treated as the weakest reaction, into a meta-defining source of damage. The catch is that these reactions only reach their full value once older characters can trigger them, which is where the incoming buffs come in.
Which Liyue characters are set to return to the meta
The planned Liyue buffs add Stellar Swirl to established Cryo units, bringing back the freeze-era stars in a new form. These are the characters who once ruled team-building when Freeze dominated, before enemies began resisting the effect and pushed those comps out of the spotlight.
| Character | Role in freeze comps | Planned change |
|---|---|---|
| Ganyu | Main Cryo damage dealer | Stellar Swirl added to kit |
| Ayaka | On-field Cryo carry | Stellar Swirl added to kit |
| Shenhe | Cryo support and buffer | Stellar Swirl added to kit |
| Other core freeze units | Enablers and sub-DPS | Stellar Swirl compatibility |
Note: A full return to a freeze meta is not the goal. The change instead reintroduces these Cryo characters through Stellar Swirl, giving them a modern reaction to build around rather than reviving Freeze itself.
When the Liyue buffs are expected
Leaks tie the next batch of old-character buffs to the Chinese New Year window, with the Liyue set as the focus. Hoyoverse has not confirmed an official date, so treat the timing as unconfirmed until it appears in an official update. What is clear is that the buffs are meant to line up with the broader Stellar reaction rework rolling out during the Version 7.X patches.
The timing also matches the arrival of new Cryo units. With characters like Odette due to headline banners in the 7.0 stretch, making older Cryo characters compatible with Stellar Swirl widens the pool of viable teammates and reshuffles where they land on the tier list.
The Mondstadt precedent
This approach is not new. During Nod-Krai, Mondstadt characters received Hexerei passives that folded them into a fresh party system, and units like Klee and Albedo gained new party enhancements and reworked constellations in the process. The Liyue plan follows the same idea, using a region transition as the moment to modernize an entire nation’s roster.
If Hoyoverse repeats that pattern, the Liyue buffs should do more than raise raw numbers. They would give freeze-era favorites a clear place in the Snezhnaya meta, keeping investment in Ganyu, Ayaka, Shenhe, and their teammates worthwhile as Stellar reactions take over the endgame.
