Genshin Impact 7.1 “Requiem of the Netherworld” Sixth-Anniversary Deep Dive: Dual Five-Star Selects and Freebies Breakdown#

On September 23, 2026, Genshin Impact officially rolled into Version 7.1, “Requiem of the Netherworld.” The same day marks six full years since this open-world action RPG first launched. For a mobile game that lives or dies by long-term operations, six years is a brutal retention test — and it means the operator has to put something genuinely generous on the table to keep veterans invested and lure lapsed players back into logging in.

In our existing Genshin Impact hub, we have already systematically covered exploration across the first five nations, full character ratings, team building, weapons, artifacts, and endgame content like the Spiral Abyss. This piece is news-flavored content and doesn’t retread those pages; instead, it reads the anniversary version through the lens of long-term operations strategy and banner decisions — why this version is worth attention, how its reward structure is designed, and how players should approach this rare pair of selector chances.

A note up front: all specific figures, character names, dates, and reward details cited below follow the official 7.1 announcements and preview roundups. Anything that comes from a single source and has not been officially confirmed is flagged separately as “pending verification” rather than stated as established fact.

1. Two New Five-Stars, One Banner: A Rare Schedule#

1.1 The Version’s Wish Timeline#

7.1’s banner structure breaks clearly from the usual “one new character plus one rerun” template, running two brand-new five-stars in the same first-half window. The timeline looks like this:

Two new five-stars sharing a single banner is not something Genshin has done often in recent years. The usual playbook pairs one new character with one high-popularity rerun to keep a single banner attractive; stacking both new characters in the first half is, on one hand, a hype play for the sixth anniversary and, on the other, a signal that the operators want this version to open a “fresh roster era” rather than merely fill a slot. For players, it means making a call within one banner window — a test of how well you know your own roster’s holes.

1.2 What the Two New Five-Stars Actually Do#

Per the official announcement, this pair is “Vesna, Blade of the Snowfeast” and “Voyanisa, Song of the Haunting Depths.” Their roles diverge sharply, covering two different needs — “main DPS” and “off-field support”:

Read as a pair, the design logic is clear: Vesna deals the damage, Voyanisa builds the stage for it. Voyanisa’s support kit spans healing, interruption resistance, ATK buffs, and resistance shred — she is not a “dedicated support” bolted to one specific carry, but a functional off-field unit that earns a slot in many kinds of teams. Vesna, meanwhile, anchors a brand-new damage keyword in “Star Swirl,” marking the start of a new system rather than a patch on an old one.

1.3 The Numbers on the Two Limited Five-Star Weapons#

The two limited five-star weapons running in the same window are worth a hard look before deciding whether they deserve your investment:

On the numbers alone: Butterfly Metamorphosis’s 674 base ATK sits at the high end for swords, and paired with a 44.1% Crit DMG substat it is plainly an offensive weapon built for damage dealers like Vesna. Ode of the Whirlpool’s 542 base ATK is comparatively low, but its 66.2% HP substat — the classic “low ATK, high HP” profile — points at characters whose support or damage-soaking scales off HP, which lines up with what an off-field support like Voyanisa wants.

So before committing to a signature weapon, audit what you already own: if you are holding a high-base-ATK or high-Crit-DMG sword, Butterfly Metamorphosis’s room to improve may be limited; if you already run a high-HP catalyst, Ode of the Whirlpool’s priority likewise depends on your specific build needs. Weapon stats are a reference point only — the real gain depends on the character’s own talent multipliers and team context.

2. A First in Six Years: How to Play the Dual Five-Star Selects#

2.1 What the Selector Pools Contain#

The headline feature of this anniversary is the limited five-star selector and the standard five-star selector — the first time in Genshin Impact’s six-year run that limited five-stars can be freely chosen. Both are claimed after completing the required tasks, with windows open alongside the first-half banner:

2.2 How to Approach the Limited Pick-of-Six#

The limited selector’s value is that these characters historically required pulling on a limited banner, and missing one meant waiting for a rerun. Now you can take one of six outright. The key question is what your roster is actually missing. Here is a decision framework sorted by function gap rather than raw numbers:

One thing to stress: the selector is not tied to pull counts — you pick exactly one, so there is no “take all of them” option. The core question is not “who is strongest” but “whose arrival makes your main team click immediately.” That matters most for returning players and anyone long missing a key character.

2.3 Weighing the Standard Pick-of-Eight#

The standard selector is worth comparatively less — standard characters live in the permanent pool, and if you keep pulling, one will spook you eventually. The point of the selector is precision gap-filling, especially for that one standard unit you have never pulled who happens to fill a real hole:

Pick the category your team actually lacks rather than chasing whoever sits highest on a tier list you will never use. Since standard characters can still spook you later, if you already hold one of them at high constellations, taking someone you do not own is the better value.

2.4 Coordinating the Selects With the New Banners#

One more warning: the selectors and the dual new five-star banners open at the same time, and it is easy to spiral into “do I give my resources to the new characters or to the selects?” Here is a way to coordinate: treat the selectors and the current banners as one integrated plan, not two separate decisions.

The core principle: the selector is a guaranteed floor; the banner is a probabilistic chase. Cover your most critical gap with the guarantee first, then chase the featured character with your gacha resources — that is the most robust combination. Pour everything into the banner first and one dry streak, with no selector left to fall back on, leaves you in the classic “want both, secure neither” trap.

3. Freebies Breakdown: A Version Plan for F2P and Returning Players#

3.1 Mail and Check-In Rewards#

The sixth-anniversary reward structure is friendly to both free-to-play and returning players. Item by item:

Mail plus check-in adds up to roughly 20 pulls (1,600 Primogems + 10 Intertwined Fates) of guaranteed currency. For F2P and low-spender players, those 20 pulls are real, bankable value in the early version — spend them entirely on the single banner you want most rather than spreading them thin across several pools and sinking any one of them. Set the target first, then commit; that is the safest play under a pity system.

3.2 How to Allocate Your Pulling Budget#

Beyond the guaranteed 20 pulls, one more variable this version needs active management — the double first-time top-up bonus resets across all tiers after the 7.1 update. If you had already burned the double bonus on a given tier, every tier is now eligible for the first-time double again. For anyone planning to spend this version, that is a chance to optimize value per dollar:

The core logic: free resources and the reset double tiers both have an “optimal window”. Sequencing the 20 pulls from section 3.1, the reset top-up tiers, and the free event weapon correctly means the same investment goes further under the pity system.

3.3 The Limited Event and the Free 4-Star Sword#

Beyond the check-in, one weapon-tied event deserves attention this version:

For anyone building a sword-wielding main DPS like Vesna, “Silver Lamp” works as a free stopgap carry weapon, with refinement materials to push it further. A zero-cost weapon is worth banking first and deciding on the signature banner second — that is the more rational order of operations.

4. New Map and Story: What to Expect#

4.1 Archon Quest Progress#

The story centerpiece of 7.1 is the advancing Snezhnaya arc. This version’s Archon Quest covers Acts III and IV of Chapter VII:

Clearing the Archon Quest within the window pays out 620 Primogems, running 2026-09-23 ~ 2026-11-03 14:59. For story-focused players, that means pushing the main quest early in the first-half window to bank the version’s limited-time rewards without falling behind the event unlock cadence.

4.2 What to Expect From the Netherworld Setting#

Worth flagging: whether this version adds a new open-world region has not been officially stated. What can be confirmed is that official messaging centers on advancing the Snezhnaya storyline; on the map question, intel aggregators such as Xiaoxiang claim “no new major map — the focus is story, new characters, and rewards,” but the official announcement never actually settles it. So this article does not state “a new map is coming” as fact; the confirmed story hooks this version are the Netherworld worldview and the advancing Snezhnaya arc.

Exploration-and-collection players should watch the limited-time events and Archon Quest reward structure, but should not pre-plan exploration resources around the assumption of a big new map.

5. What the Sixth Anniversary Says About Long-Term Operations#

5.1 The Signal in the First-Ever Limited Five-Star Selector#

Six years in before the first limited five-star selector is, in itself, a loud operational statement. For a mature mobile game, year six typically lands in the “veterans coasting, new-user growth slowing” phase. Dropping a limited selector at exactly this node reads as two moves:

Leading with “a first in six years” tells you the operator judges the priority to be reactivating the existing player base, not simply spiking one version’s revenue. It also rhymes with the banner cadence itself — double new five-stars is rare — and the through-line is giving veterans a concrete “this version is worth coming back for” reason.

5.2 Long-Term Advice for Players#

From a player’s seat, the anniversary version plans out in a few steps:

1. Settle your selector targets first: compare your roster gaps and take, from each of the limited pick-of-six and the standard pick-of-eight, whoever best covers your biggest weakness.
2. Concentrate the free currency: put the roughly 20 pulls from mail and check-ins entirely into the first-half or second-half banner you want most; don’t split them.
3. Take the free weapon: play “Silver Plume Tracing the Moon, Dark Bird Adorned in Jade,” bank the 4-star sword “Silver Lamp,” then decide on the signature.
4. Clear the Archon Quest for rewards: finish it within the window for 620 Primogems while taking in the Snezhnaya story.
5. Be rational about reruns: evaluate the Skirk and Escoffier reruns in the second half on actual need — don’t spend just because the word “rerun” appears.

6. Closing Thoughts#

The real story of Genshin Impact 7.1 “Requiem of the Netherworld” as the sixth-anniversary version is not any single character’s power level. It is the signal sent by the first-ever limited five-star selector in six years — the operator is willing to spend scarce resources on its players, which says this product is still actively tending its long-term ecosystem.

For players, this reads more like a chance to re-audit your own roster. Pulling strategy, selector decisions, reward planning — it all comes back to one sentence: fill the gap you actually have. Whether it is Vesna opening a new system, the all-around support Voyanisa, or one of those six limited selector vouchers, the answer is not on a tier list. It is in your own team’s holes.

— Wubian, NTGame