Genshin 7.1 Recap: Vesna, Vodyanitsa & Free 5-Star

What's New in 7.1

The Special Program is out and it's a lot. The 7.0 story set up the Snezhnaya crisis, and 7.1 is where things actually explode.

Ronova, the Ruler of Death, keeps using her authority to block Snezhnaya's tech progress. Project Mistilteinn is stuck. Now a second shade shows up: Rhinedottir, the Ruler of Life, walks into Snezhnaya to talk to the Tsaritsa directly.

The Tsaritsa's plan with the Gnoses finally makes sense. They boost her power to fight the Heavenly Principles, and they're the key to cracking the Third Descender's seal inside Zapolyarny Palace. No Pyro Gnosis yet, so the seal stays locked.

For ER builders, the new reactions matter. Stellar Swirl makes a "Stellar Vortex." Trigger it enough times while the Vortex is up and it levels up, dealing more explosion damage. Stellar Glimmer works outside combat too, slowing enemies and creating warm zones in Snezhnaya's cold areas.

Vesna

Anemo Sword, 5-star. Commander of the Druzhna, heir to the Vila family of Strivozha. Trained by the Fatui Harbinger "The Captain" since she was a kid. Youngest commander in Druzhna history. Easygoing personality, but she figures people out fast.

Elemental Skill: Summons Spirit Blades. She fuses her elemental power with her own consciousness to make them. Each cast gives her "Sword Essence."

Special Elemental Skill: Spends Sword Essence to make Spirit Blades attack enemies. When she's near a Stellar Vortex, the Blade damage counts as Stellar Swirl reaction damage.

Elemental Burst: Summons a group of Spirit Blades, restores Sword Essence, deals AoE damage.

Stellar Linchpin passive: This is the big one. She converts Cryo Swirl reactions into Stellar Swirl reactions for the whole party. She also boosts Stellar Swirl reaction damage for everyone.

Exploration: She can fly outside of combat. Switch to her and you're already in flight mode.

Vesna's whole kit is built around Stellar Swirl. Her ER needs depend on Burst cost and rotation length. Full guide coming once beta numbers drop.

Vodyanitsa

Hydro, 5-star. The Prima Donna of the Korolevskiy Troupe. She's a Water Imp, which means she has two forms: humanoid on land, fish tail in the water. Her tail sparkles in sunlight. She's the last Water Imp in Snezhnograd who still performs on stage.

Elemental Skill: She goes into Water Imp form and sings. The song heals injured party members on the field, shreds enemies' Hydro and Cryo RES, increases the active character's resistance to interruption, and buffs party Hydro/Cryo damage based on her Max HP.

Stellar Vortex synergy: When her song is active, the Stellar Vortex can shred enemies' Anemo RES and push Stellar Swirl reaction damage even higher.

Elemental Burst: Her song echoes across the battlefield, AoE Hydro damage to everything nearby.

Fun detail: Even when she plays an instrument, she uses her voice to do the notes. That's just how Water Imps work.

Vodyanitsa is a healer-buffer. Freeze teams and Stellar Swirl teams both want her. The Max HP scaling means her build goes full HP%. ER needs depend on Burst cost, but if it's high, expect 160-180% in non-Hydro teams.

Banner Schedule

Phase	Characters
First Half	Vesna + Vodyanitsa (new)
Second Half	Skirk + Escoffier (reruns)

6th Anniversary Rewards

Reward	Details
Free event-exclusive 5-star	Beat the 7.1 Archon Quest, pick any of six event-exclusive characters + enhancement mats. This is permanent now, every anniversary.
Standard 5-star selector	Pick any standard 5-star you want.
Check-in	Dust of Enlightenment, Sanctifying Elixir, 10 Intertwined Fates, 1,600 Primogems.
Login bonus	Jack Frost Conductor gadget + "A Mini Trolley Problem" gadget.
Archon Quest	620 Primogems + Ascension Materials for Vesna and Vodyanitsa.
Top-up reset	First-time purchase bonus resets in the shop.

The event-exclusive 5-star selector is permanent now. Every anniversary you can grab both a standard 5-star and an event-exclusive one.

Events

• Moonchase Festival: Back again. Liyue thaumaturge vibes, three mini-games inspired by Lan Yan and Hu Tao. "The Great Chase and Dispelling," "Banner Against the Dark," "Spiritshot Salvo."
• Snezhnaya snowball fight: Team up with the "Wonderbeet" and throw snowballs at Oddowls.
• Predictive Victory Dynamics: Guess who wins in monster battles. 16 teams compete, commentary from Liliuo.
• Edge of Survival: New Shadow Realm stages. New avatar frame.
• Overflowing Favor: Double Artifact drops.
• Genius Invokation TCG: Columbina and Illuga cards. Lunar-Crystallize reactions. New Hexerei Talent effects for Albedo, Sucrose, Razor.
• Free 4-star Sword: From Moonchase Festival participation.

ER Implications

Two new characters, two new ER profiles to solve. Here's what we know so far.

Vesna, Anemo DPS Carry

• Role: On-field DPS carry. Her Spirit Blades attack enemies and deal Stellar Swirl reaction damage near a Stellar Vortex. The Anemo Stellar Linchpin passive also converts Cryo Swirl into Stellar Swirl for the whole party.
• Energy: Normal Attacks restore Sword Essence. Consuming Essence enhances her special Skill for more damage. ER needs depend on Burst cost.
• Build: Likely ATK% or EM sands depending on scaling. Her Spirit Blades deal damage near Stellar Vortex. Favonius Sword for team energy if needed.
• Teams: She goes with Cryo + Hydro units for Freeze or Stellar Swirl comps. Vodyanitsa's song buffs the Stellar Vortex that Vesna's Blades scale off.

Vodyanitsa, Healer-Buffer

• Role: Hydro healer + buffer. Heals, shreds Hydro/Cryo RES, buffs Hydro/Cryo DMG based on Max HP.
• Build: HP% stacking. Healing Bonus circlet. Hydro DMG goblet is optional, her personal damage doesn't matter as much as the team buffs.
• ER: If her Burst is high-cost, and it probably is given the AoE Hydro DMG, expect 160-180% in non-Hydro teams. Hydro resonance drops that.
• Freeze teams: Perfect fit. Hydro + Cryo RES shred + Cryo DMG buff + healing. That's everything Freeze wants.
• Stellar Swirl teams: Her song buffs the Stellar Vortex, drops Anemo RES, pushes Stellar Swirl DMG. Pairs with Vesna.

Miliastra Wonderland Update

Big update here too. New "Osmanthus Retreat" lobby theme with a Moon Rabbit preparing herbs. Legendary Cosmetics in an elegant classical style. Shared Creation Mode so multiple people can build together. A new UI editor control that supports client-side scripts, which gives creators way more freedom.

Over 90,000 Craftspeople have made 120,000+ Wonderland stages so far. They're also adding more editor features later, like higher player count caps and shooting gameplay support.

Redemption Codes

These codes are live right now. Redeem them before they expire.

Code	Rewards
Rekviem	Primogems x100, Mystical Enhancement Ore x10
Vesna0923	Primogems x100, Hero's Wit x5
PrimaDonna	Primogems x100, Mora x50000

That's 300 Primogems total. Redeem them at genshin.hoyoverse.com/redemption or in-game under Settings > Account > Redeem Code.

What's Next

Version 7.1 drops September 23. The Archon Quest "A Rekviem for the Underworld" has Dain joining the fight against the Ruler of Death. The Tsaritsa gives the Traveler a special court position to participate in state affairs.

Full special program is on YouTube. ER guides for Vesna and Vodyanitsa are coming as soon as beta numbers are confirmed.