Genshin Impact's Version 7.1, subtitled "A Rekviem for the Underworld," went live today, September 23. It's a heavy update by the game's own standards: two new 5-star characters, a fresh Archon Quest chapter that pushes the Snezhnaya arc toward its confrontation with Dainsleif, a new weekly boss, and a 6th-anniversary reward package that breaks from six years of precedent by giving away a free limited 5-star for the first time.
Two new Fatui units, and a boss called the Ruler of Death
The banner headline is Vesna, an Anemo sword user introduced as the youngest Commander in the history of the Druzhina, the Tsaritsa's military force. Her kit is built around Stellar-Swirl: she can convert Cryo Swirl reactions into Stellar-Swirl on her own, entering an "Armed for Action" state that lets her stack Sword Essence and unleash escalating "Windborne Sword" strikes as a main-DPS Anemo carry. Pair her with a Cryo unit and the Swirl math writes itself.
Running alongside her is Vodyanitsa, a Hydro catalyst user billed as the Prima Donna of the Korolevskiy Troupe. Her Elemental Skill drops her into a "Water Imp" form that deals AoE Hydro damage and triggers a "Song of Ages Past" effect, periodically hitting enemies with Hydro damage, shredding their Hydro and Cryo resistance, and healing the active character. She's built as an off-field healer and damage enabler rather than a DPS, the kind of support HoYoverse has been leaning on more since Furina and Nilou opened up that design space.
The story content that frames both characters is the bigger deal for anyone still following the main plot. The Archon Quest continuation pushes the Snezhnaya arc closer to its climax, and Version 7.1 adds Ronova, the self-styled Ruler of Death, as a new weekly boss tied directly to the confrontation with Dainsleif. It's the kind of story-locked boss fight HoYoverse reserves for quests it wants players to pay attention to, not a background enemy variant.
Banners, weapons, and the return of Moonchase
Both new characters share Phase 1, running from September 23 to October 13, on banners named "When Warm Winds Cavort" (Vesna) and "Surging Ballad" (Vodyanitsa). Each comes with a signature 5-star weapon: Vesna's sword Beyond the Chrysalis, and Vodyanitsa's catalyst Hymn of the Maelstrom, which stacks Healing Bonus and Max HP with an ATK buff for the active party member scaling off the wielder's HP past 40,000.
Phase 2 follows from October 13 to November 3 with reruns for Skirk and Escoffier, giving players who missed either unit the first shot at a comeback in months.
Liyue also gets its seasonal moment back, with the Moonchase Festival returning as part of the update's event lineup, alongside the usual wave of limited-time quests and login rewards.
The 6th anniversary is the actual headline
Version 7.1 doubles as Genshin Impact's 6th-anniversary celebration, and HoYoverse used the occasion to break its own pattern:
- 1,600 free Primogems and 10 Intertwined Fates through anniversary mail and login rewards, worth roughly 20 wishes on their own
- A free standard 5-star character of the player's choice, from a pool that includes Jean, Diluc, Qiqi, Mona, Tighnari, Keqing, Dehya, and Yumemizuki Mizuki
- A free limited 5-star character, selectable after completing the new Archon Quest chapter, from a lineup covering Tartaglia, Nilou, Baizhu, Chiori, Clorinde, and Varesa
That second selector is the real news. HoYoverse has never handed out a limited banner character for free before; past anniversaries topped out at Primogems and standard-pool picks. Both selectors stay available through November 3, matching the Phase 2 banner window.
For players sitting on the fence about Vesna and Vodyanitsa, the anniversary character selector changes the math: it's a free limited unit regardless of banner decisions this patch, which frees up Primogems to gamble on the new Fatui pair without the usual all-or-nothing pressure. Whether Vesna's Stellar-Swirl ceiling holds up against Snezhnaya's toughest content, including a boss built specifically to test it, is the next thing worth watching before Phase 2 opens.
