Snezhnaya arrived with Version 7.0 on August 12, 2026, and the banner cycle that follows it is the most crowded stretch Genshin Impact has run in years. Between now and the Archon Quest climax, the pipeline points at two new Snezhnayan 5-stars per patch, a run of first-time reruns, and eventually the Cryo Archon herself. Almost none of it is official yet.
Quick answer: Only Vesna is officially confirmed as a Version 7.1 character. Everything after that — Vodyanitsa, Mitya, Valeriy, Danica, and the Tsaritsa — comes from beta builds and leakers, so budget Primogems around the Tsaritsa window rather than committing pity to any specific 7.2 or 7.3 banner right now.
What is actually confirmed versus leaked
The line between announced and datamined matters a lot here, because the 7.1 Special Program has not aired and no banner order past 7.0 has been locked in. HoYoverse has confirmed Vesna Strivozha through drip marketing, naming her Anemo, calling her the Tsaritsa’s Druzhna Commander-in-Chief, and giving her the constellation Amentum Vernum. Because she is a Vila, she carries an Anemo Stellar Linchpin instead of a Vision.
Her weapon type is still unsettled. Official art shows her holding a wand, early data pointed to a polearm and an aerial fighting style, and a 7.1 beta build surfaced a 5-star Anemo sword with 674 base ATK and 44.1% Crit DMG as her signature. Treat the weapon as unresolved until the broadcast.
| Claim | Standing |
|---|---|
| Version 7.0 launched Aug 12, 2026; Phase 2 began Sep 1 | Confirmed |
| Vesna debuts in Version 7.1, 5-star Anemo | Confirmed |
| Vodyanitsa is Hydro, Prima Soprano of the Korolevskiy Troupe | Element confirmed on screen; banner slot leaked |
| Zibai and Linnea reruns in 7.1 | Leak |
| Mitya, Valeriy in 7.2 | Leak |
| Tsaritsa and Danica in 7.3 | Leak, with 7.2 not ruled out |
| Exact 7.1 phase order and dates | Unconfirmed |
Version 7.1: Vesna, Vodyanitsa, and the Stellar Swirl payoff
Genshin patches run on a roughly six-week cadence, which places 7.1 around September 23, 2026, with a second phase in mid-October. The Special Program that finalizes banners and hands out codes usually airs 10 to 14 days before a version goes live. No official 7.1 date has been announced.
Version 7.0 introduced Stellar Swirl, the Cryo-and-Anemo reaction that defines this whole stretch. Anemo hitting Cryo deals Anemo damage and spawns a Stellar Vortex, which later detonates for Cryo damage; triggering the reaction repeatedly before the Vortex bursts raises its level and its final hit. On its own the reaction is unimpressive, which is why 7.1 matters — Vesna is the character built to make it pay.
Vesna is described as an on-field Anemo main DPS that deals Stellar Swirl damage directly, which is unusual for the element. Her Elemental Skill reportedly lifts her into the air to a height comparable to Chasca, and she can attack while adjusting hover height, slide forward or back, and use Charged and Plunging Attacks mid-air. Staying on field builds a resource; hitting a threshold unlocks an enhanced Skill. Rotation length, multipliers, and charge speed are all still in flux.
Vodyanitsa is the support half of the pairing, a Hydro character and one of the Korolevskiy Troupe’s headline performers alongside Odette. She sings while using her skills, and she gets a Meeting Point storyline during 7.0 despite her banner sitting in the next version. Early reports tagged her Electro, but her Hydro Vision is visible in the Sudden Snow trailer.
- A large Anemo RES shred tied to the party triggering Stellar Swirl, quoted between 30% and 40% depending on the build.
- Off-field Hydro application that slows down while the team is actively swirling, likely to avoid interfering with the Cryo and Anemo interaction.
- A quill-style buff comparable to Shenhe’s, weaker per quill but generated in greater volume, and stronger for Stellar Swirl than for direct Cryo or Hydro damage.
- An Elemental Burst that is purely healing, with no buff riding on it.
The two rumored reruns, Zibai and Linnea, serve an entirely different crowd — Lunar-Crystallize. Zibai is the main DPS, Linnea the DEF-scaling support and healer. Which newcomer shares a phase with which rerun is unknown, and that pairing changes the value of each half considerably.
Note: 7.1 doubles as the anniversary update. Free-to-play accounts are looking at roughly 91 pulls across the version, with Welkin Moon holders closer to 114, plus a free standard 5-star selector and a free pet.
Version 7.2: Mitya, Valeriy, and Stellar Superconduct
The reaction focus shifts in 7.2. Mitya is a 5-star Electro character built around Stellar Superconduct, and his kit splits into two modes rather than picking a lane. He needs to absorb four prisms to function. On field, each prism converts into 5% Crit Rate for himself. Off field, each one instead hands the team 30 Elemental Mastery. Having both Cryo and Electro teammates in the party adds further buffs.
Valeriy is the 4-star companion piece, an Electro shielder aimed squarely at the same archetype. He provides 120 Elemental Mastery, shares it with the team, and grants a 20% damage increase for Stellar Superconduct. For anyone planning to run Mitya, a free-to-play-friendly shielder tuned to the exact reaction is a meaningful cost saver.
On the rerun side, Zibai and Linnea are also floated here, along with Furina as a strong candidate. The Snezhnaya map is expected to expand in this version as well.
Version 7.3: the Tsaritsa and Danica
This is the banner most players are saving for. The Cryo Archon, Anastasya Feodorovna Snezhnaya, is expected around the Archon Quest climax, with most reports landing on 7.3 while not ruling out 7.2 entirely. She is framed as one of the strongest main DPS units in the game, capable of functioning as a sub-DPS instead, and she introduces a new Stellar reaction. The standout detail is that she can trigger every Stellar reaction by herself, which removes the usual team-building constraints that come with reaction archetypes.
Danica arrives alongside her as a 5-star Electro Superconduct sub-DPS, positioned as the Tsaritsa’s strongest support. The intended composition is two Cryo units and two Electro units.
The 7.3 rerun slate is unusually deep. Sandrone is expected to get her first rerun, with Odette, Nefer, and Lauma also in the mix. That creates a real conflict for anyone still short on Primogems after 7.1.
What comes after: Lantern Rite and the road to 8.0
Version 7.4 lines up with Lantern Rite, and the expected package is a new 5-star female Pyro character, a free Liyue 4-star selector, a new Xiao outfit, and Liyue-flavored reruns pulled from names like Zhongli, Varka, Nicole, and Lohen. Further out in the 7.x cycle, Noy and Dainsleif are both expected, with Dainsleif likely closing out the version line before 8.0.
Pantalone and Pulcinella are both still expected somewhere in the 7.x cycle. Pantalone was floated for 7.0 at one point and slid back; his version is currently unknown.
Primogem budgeting across the cycle
The math is unchanged. A Character Event Wish guarantees a 5-star within 90 wishes, and if that 5-star is not the featured character, the next one is. Starting from zero pity with no guarantee, 180 wishes fully secures 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 |
Most accounts never hit every hard-pity ceiling, but planning against the worst case is the only way to guarantee you clear the Tsaritsa window. If you only care about the Archon, skipping 7.1 and 7.2 entirely leaves you comfortably past a two-character guarantee.
Tip: character and weapon wish counters are separate. Spending on a signature weapon before you have secured the character can wreck an otherwise solid plan, and a weapon banner is only worth entering once both featured 5-stars are known and useful to you.
The practical read is that 7.1 asks you to pick a lane — Stellar Swirl with Vesna and Vodyanitsa, or Lunar-Crystallize with the rerun pair — while 7.2 and 7.3 build one continuous Cryo and Electro package around the Tsaritsa. Kit numbers move between beta builds and banner order is typically the last thing to settle, so hold pity until the relevant Special Program airs and locks the lineup in.
