Snezhnaya makes for an unusually crowded Genshin Impact banner cycle. Nearly every update brings two new 5-star characters from the region, alongside several characters’ first reruns, and the Cryo Archon is at last on the projected slate. For now, Version 7.1 is the only schedule confirmed officially. Later lineups, from 7.2 onward, are drawn from beta clients and leaks by named sources; consider them an indication of likely plans, not a final calendar.
Quick answer: The only lineup confirmed so far is Version 7.1, featuring Vesna and Vodyanitsa with Skirk and Escoffier returning. Mitya is expected near 7.2, leaks place the Tsaritsa in 7.3, and Lantern Rite falls in 7.4. Save pity for the Archon instead of committing around an individual leaked banner.
What’s locked in and what’s still a leak
Banner sequencing is among the last details to become reliable, so separate confirmed material from datamines. HoYoverse has formally presented Vesna Strivozha through drip marketing: a 5-star Anemo fighter within the Tsaritsa’s command structure. As a Vila, she uses an Anemo Stellar Linchpin rather than a Vision. Beyond the current update, beta revisions keep shifting kit figures; consider names past 7.1 tentative until their Special Programs air.
| Version | Headliners | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 7.1 (live) | Vesna, Vodyanitsa; Skirk and Escoffier reruns | Confirmed |
| 7.2 | Mitya, Valeriy; Furina, Zibai, Linnea reruns | Leak |
| 7.3 | Tsaritsa, Danica | Leak |
| 7.4 | New Pyro 5-star; Zhongli overhaul | Leak |
Version 7.1: Vesna and Vodyanitsa are live now
Version 7.1, the sixth-anniversary update, went live on September 23, 2026. Vesna and Vodyanitsa lead Phase 1 until October 13, with Faruzan, Chongyun, and Diona as the accompanying 4-stars. Phase 2 starts October 13 and ends November 3, replacing them with reruns for Skirk and Escoffier.
Vesna is built to cash in on Stellar Swirl. She plays as an on-field Anemo carry whose Elemental Skill lifts her into a hover, letting her slide, change altitude, and fire Charged and Plunging Attacks mid-air before an enhanced Skill unlocks at a threshold. Vodyanitsa backs her as a Hydro support, projected to cut party-wide Anemo resistance by 30 to 40 percent after a Stellar Swirl trigger, apply off-field Hydro that slows enemies, and run a Burst dedicated to healing.
Anniversary generosity is the other headline. Free-to-play accounts are looking at roughly 91 pulls across the version, Welkin Moon holders closer to 114, plus a free standard 5-star selector and a free pet.
Version 7.2: Mitya, Valeriy and Stellar Conduct
If the standard six-week cadence holds, Version 7.2 arrives around November 4, 2026, with its Special Program roughly a week or two earlier in late October. The patch swings the region’s reaction focus back to Stellar Conduct, the Cryo-and-Electro pairing that Sandrone opened in 6.7. This time the reaction finally gets a dedicated carry instead of an enabler.
Mitya is a 5-star Electro Catalyst whose damage scales on Elemental Mastery rather than raw ATK. His whole kit wires into the Stellar Conduct system — an in-game notice even corrected the plain Electro Vision he flashes in the 7.0 story to read as an “Electro Stellar Linchpin.” His Elemental Skill has a tap press for on-field carry and a hold press for an off-field damage role, and he must absorb four prisms to operate.
- While on the field, each prism grants him 5% Crit Rate.
- Each prism instead grants 30 Elemental Mastery to the entire party while he is off the field.
- Bringing Cryo and Electro allies together layers on extra buffs.
- Reportedly, his on-field presence provides the party with roughly 120 Elemental Mastery and a 20% bonus to Stellar Super Conduct damage.
The reaction itself lays down a persistent Cryo-Electro Polestar field that adds Stellar Super Conduct damage and an elemental damage bonus for Cryo and Electro units standing inside it. Mitya’s twist is an on-field-only variant that leakers tag “Alienated Stellar Super Conduct,” where the base reaction and the field start dealing damage on their own. That is what earns him a carry label rather than another enabler.
Valeriy, the 4-star that surprised everyone
Valeriy appeared right beside Mitya in the 7.0 Archon Quest, and many players pegged him as a limited 5-star, so the leaked 4-star billing caught the community off guard. He is an Electro sword user built to stand on the field and hold a reaction team together rather than deal damage.
Reported effects include a shield for the team, 20% more Stellar Conduct damage, and 120 additional Elemental Mastery to boost Mitya’s scaling directly; higher constellations are also said to add Crit buffs. It remains unclear whether the headline effects come with the base kit or are constellation-gated, and his rarity has not been settled this far ahead.
The leaked 7.2 reruns
The circulating banner list pairs Mitya with Furina in the first half and puts Zibai and Linnea together in the second. Zibai is a 5-star Geo sword main DPS from 6.3, and Linnea a DEF-scaling Geo bow support and healer from 6.5 — together they anchor the modern Lunar-Crystallize team, and a Zibai return would come nearly a year after her debut. Furina remains the strongest of the three candidates. Spiral Abyss leaks pointing to a Lunar-Crystallize damage buff line up neatly with that Zibai and Linnea rerun.
Version 7.3: the Tsaritsa and Danica
This is the banner drawing the most saving. Anastasya Feodorovna Snezhnaya, the Cryo Archon, is leaked to debut in Version 7.3 near the climax of the Archon Quest, with an estimated launch around December 16, 2026 and a second phase near January 6, 2027. Her design is already public, but her kit, weapon, and constellations still need the beta and Special Program to confirm.
Her kit is described as top-tier for a main DPS, with a sub-DPS role also possible; a quick-swap window reportedly keeps her active for about 5 to 8 seconds. She is said to activate all Stellar reactions without help, sidestepping the usual team restrictions for those reaction types, and to introduce a Stellar reaction unique to her. In support mode, she reportedly boosts Crit and turns excess Crit Rate beyond the cap into Crit DMG; C2 reduces enemy resistance. Pre-beta information calls her a Bow user, even though the weapon in her reveal resembles a polearm, so the two details need not conflict.
Danica launches alongside her as a 5-star Electro Superconduct sub-DPS, positioned as the Tsaritsa’s strongest support. The intended composition runs two Cryo units and two Electro units, which is exactly why 7.2 and 7.3 read as a single Cryo-and-Electro package rather than two separate patches. The rerun pool is crowded: Sandrone may get her first return, Varka his debut rerun, with Odette, Nefer, and Lauma as further possibilities.
Version 7.4: Lantern Rite, a new Pyro DPS and the Liyue reworks
Version 7.4 is expected in late January 2027, alongside Lantern Rite. Its likely centerpiece is a new female 5-star Pyro polearm user designed as a core support for Liyue teams. Her Crit DMG, ATK, and other buffs would scale with the number of Liyue characters in the party. She would be the first dedicated Pyro carry-adjacent unit since Mavuika, accompanied by a free choice of Liyue 4-star and reruns tied to the region. Lohen and Nicole are the named rerun candidates.
The bigger story is a broad kit-adjustment wave for older Liyue units. Zhongli is the headline, reportedly shifting toward a main DPS playstyle with a new signature weapon and artifact set while keeping some support value, and appearing in the first half of the patch on a mixed banner. Eight other Liyue characters are slated for adjustments whose exact multipliers remain unconfirmed. New skins for Xiao and Yanfei and a Liyue-themed Chronicled Wish banner round out the package.
- Ganyu leads the list, with Xiao next and Hu Tao third; Keqing follows in fourth place, then Zhongli and Yelan, while Yanfei, Chongyun, and Ningguang finish the nine flagged for Liyue kit changes.
- Zhongli receives the most substantial overhaul, with a fresh signature weapon and artifact set.
- A Liyue Chronicled Wish banner is expected to accompany the buff wave.
Looking past 7.4
The calendar gets much hazier after Lantern Rite. Noy is still the main unreleased character on the horizon, while Dainsleif is expected later in the 7.x run and may close out the versions before 8.0. Pantalone and Pulcinella are also projected for this window without a fixed patch, and Neuvillette remains in the conversation for a future banner. A later Natlan Chronicled Wish could eventually bring back Kinich, Mualani, and Chasca.
Planning your Primogems
The guarantee system is unchanged: a Character Event Wish will yield a 5-star within 90 pulls, and if that result is not the featured character, your next 5-star is guaranteed to be featured. Starting with zero pity and no guarantee stored, budget 180 wishes to secure one limited character.
| Goal | Max wishes | Primogems |
|---|---|---|
| One 5-star | 90 | 14,400 |
| Guarantee one limited 5-star | 180 | 28,800 |
| Worst case for two limited 5-stars | 360 | 57,600 |
Pity is counted independently on character and weapon banners. Spending on a signature weapon before getting its character can throw off an otherwise manageable budget, so use the weapon banner only after securing both featured 5-stars.
For 7.1, the decision is between Stellar Swirl and the rerun pairs; 7.2 followed by 7.3 forms a linked Cryo-Electro stretch built around the Tsaritsa. To make the Archon your only priority, skip the earlier updates and you’ll retain enough to cover the guarantee for two characters. Beta figures and banner sequencing are among the last details to settle, so keep your pity untouched until each Special Program confirms its lineup.
