Stellar-Swirl is the second Stellar reaction planned for Snezhnaya, and it finally pairs Anemo with Cryo in a way that does real damage. It works like a Cryo-charged version of the old Swirl, spawning a growing wind field that eventually detonates for large Cryo damage. Everything here comes from leaks and can still change before it ships.
Quick answer: Have an Anemo carry deal Anemo damage into a Cryo-affected target while a Stellar-Swirl enabler is on the team. That contact creates a Polestar Wind Cluster: Cryo, which grows as you trigger more Stellar-Swirl and then explodes for a big AoE Cryo hit.
How Stellar-Swirl triggers
The reaction fires when Anemo makes contact with Cryo and the specific conditions are met, meaning your team needs a character who can enable Stellar-Swirl. In practice the team shape is an Anemo carry doing the damage, backed by Anemo and Cryo supports. When the reaction triggers, the target takes one instance of Anemo damage and a Polestar Wind Cluster: Cryo appears in the area.
That wind cluster is the core of the mechanic. Think of it as a Cryo-absorbed Anemo vortex, close to what the Anemo Traveler’s burst produces, but tuned to build up over a fight rather than fire once.
Polestar Wind Cluster: Cryo mechanics
Once a cluster exists, it detonates after a set time for a single large AoE instance of Cryo damage. Both the initial Anemo hit and the explosion can land critical hits. Repeated Stellar-Swirl reactions near the cluster feed it, so the field grows and evolves into a bigger form that explodes for greater damage over a wider area. Push enough reactions into it and the cluster can detonate early instead of waiting out its timer.
Triggering Stellar-Swirl also grants nearby party members the Radiance: Stellar-Swirl effect, which enhances certain talents and skills in their kits. On top of that, some characters can deal Stellar-Swirl reaction damage directly through their own talents, and that direct damage can crit as well. After the cluster explodes, nearby characters briefly gain the ability to perform a single high jump, which is aimed squarely at plunge-attack playstyles.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Anemo hits a Cryo target; one Anemo damage instance lands and a Polestar Wind Cluster: Cryo forms |
| Build-up | More Stellar-Swirl reactions grow the cluster into a larger form for bigger AoE and higher Cryo damage |
| Detonation | Cluster explodes for one large AoE Cryo hit; heavy build-up can force an early detonation |
| Aftermath | Nearby characters gain a single high jump for a short window |
Only one Stellar field can exist at a time
There is a hard limit worth planning around. Only one Polestar Wind Cluster: Cryo can exist within a given area at once. More broadly, different Stellar reactions cannot run together. While one Stellar field is active, it cannot transform into another reaction type, so you cannot mix Stellar-Swirl and Stellar-Conduct in the same field the way hybrid Lunar teams worked. Each Stellar team is effectively locked to a single archetype for the duration of its field.
Characters and weapons being retuned for Stellar-Swirl
Existing Anemo and Cryo units are being adjusted so they can slot into the new reaction, alongside Sandrone. Each of these characters wields either Cryo or Anemo, which is what makes them eligible.
- Sandrone
- Yumemizuki Mizuki
- Qiqi
- Diona
- Varka
- Skirk
- Kaedehara Kazuha
- Venti
- Sucrose
- Prune
- Sayu
Two signature weapons are changing to recognize the new reaction. Chasca’s bow, Astral Vulture’s Crimson Plumage, and Mizuki’s catalyst, Sunny Morning Sleep-In, will trigger their effects after Stellar-Swirl in addition to normal Swirl. The values on both weapons stay the same, and Stellar-Swirl is expected to produce higher damage numbers than standard Swirl.
Where Stellar-Swirl fits in Snezhnaya
Stellar reactions are the region gimmick for Snezhnaya, following Arkhe in Fontaine, Nightsoul in Natlan, and Lunar reactions in Nod-Krai. Only two variants are expected for now, Stellar-Conduct and Stellar-Swirl. Stellar-Conduct is the Cryo and Electro reaction that arrives first with Sandrone, deploying a field that lowers enemy Physical RES and buffs the party’s Stellar-Conduct Cryo and Electro damage inside it. Stellar-Freeze, Stellar-Melt, and Stellar-Crystallize are not part of the current plan, though more variants could be added later in the 7.X patches.
Note: all of these details are drawn from leaks and remain subject to change until HoYoverse confirms them. Numbers, enablers, and even names can be adjusted during beta testing, so treat the mechanics above as the current expected shape of Stellar-Swirl rather than final values.
