Genshin Impact 7.1 Pull Guide: Vesna, Vodyanitsa, and the Weapon Banner Worth Your Primogems
Before you spend a single Primogem on Genshin Impact’s Version 7.1 banners, know this: everything about Vesna and Vodyanitsa is still a gamble. The patch is live, but miHoYo has not published either character’s full kit, so most of what you read between now and community testing is educated guesswork. That said, the banner structure itself is clear, and there is a lot riding on it for players who have been hoarding.
Both new 5-star characters, Vesna (Anemo) and Vodyanitsa (Hydro), share the spotlight with two brand-new event-exclusive weapons. Every one of these banners, character and weapon alike, closes on 2026-10-13 at 17:59. The official materials do not state a timezone, so treat that as a server-local cutoff unless your region’s notice says otherwise.
What This Patch Actually Looks Like at a Glance
The headline number is four new 5-star items in a single patch cycle. That is a serious drain on savings, especially for free-to-play accounts that have been watching the rapid-fire 6.x and 7.x update rhythm. The full lineup breaks down like this:
- Patch: Version 7.1
- Banner window: From the 7.1 update through 2026-10-13 17:59, timezone unlisted
- New 5-star characters: Vesna (Anemo, “Snowy Banquet’s Sharp Blade”) and Vodyanitsa (Hydro, “Lingering Siren-Song”)
- Rate-up 4-stars: Diona (Cryo), Faruzan (Anemo), Chongyun (Cryo)
- New 5-star weapons: Beyond the Chrysalis (Sword) and Hymn of the Maelstrom (Catalyst)
- Boosted 4-star weapons: New Bough (Sword), Winter’s Heavy Heart (Catalyst), Breezeborne Refrain (Bow), Favonius Greatsword (Claymore), Dragon’s Bane (Polearm)
Notice the shared 4-star roster. Diona, Faruzan, and Chongyun appear on both character event wishes, so whichever banner you touch, those are the units filling out your pulls.
How the Banners Are Built
The two character wishes, “When Warm Winds Cavort” and “Surging Ballad,” run at the same time with identical 4-star lineups. The Epitome Invocation weapon banner runs on the same clock. If you were worried about split pity, do not be: Character Event Wish and Character Event Wish-2 share a pity counter, so pulls on either one feed the same guarantee. Other wish types are untouched by this arrangement.
Here is the complete banner table:
| Banner | Featured 5-Star | Featured 4-Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Character Event Wish “When Warm Winds Cavort” | Vesna (Anemo) | Diona, Faruzan, Chongyun |
| Character Event Wish-2 “Surging Ballad” | Vodyanitsa (Hydro) | Diona, Faruzan, Chongyun |
| Epitome Invocation | Beyond the Chrysalis (Sword), Hymn of the Maelstrom (Catalyst) | New Bough, Winter’s Heavy Heart, Breezeborne Refrain, Favonius Greatsword, Dragon’s Bane |
None of the event-exclusive characters or weapons will enter the standard “Wanderlust Invocation” pool later. The weapon banner also keeps the Epitomized Path system, so you can chart a course toward the specific 5-star you want instead of leaving it to chance.
Should You Pull?
Vesna (Anemo)
Vesna carries the title “Snowy Banquet’s Sharp Blade” and slots into the Anemo element, which is almost always a safe bet. Anemo units live and die by swirl reactions and crowd control, and the banner’s own 4-star pool gives Vesna a natural home: Faruzan is a dedicated Anemo buffer, so she is right there if you want to build around the new 5-star. Bennett is the usual attack buff partner, and a shielder like Zhongli covers the survivability gap.
But here is the honest part. We do not know if Vesna is a main DPS or a support. The official materials do not say. If she is a carry, the Faruzan-Bennett core looks obvious. If she ends up a support, she might just be a Viridescent Venerer holder in existing teams. That is a wide range of possibilities, and it is exactly why you should wait for theorycrafters before committing hard pity.
Vodyanitsa (Hydro)
Vodyanitsa, “Lingering Siren-Song,” is the more interesting question mark. Hydro has been a reaction cornerstone since launch, enabling Vaporize and Freeze in ways few elements can match. A Hydro 5-star with unclear numbers could go several directions: a Vaporize driver next to Xiangling and Bennett, a Freeze enabler with Ayaka and Shenhe, or a support that challenges Xingqiu and Yelan for a roster slot.
If you already own a strong Hydro unit like Neuvillette or Furina, the pressure to pull Vodyanitsa drops significantly. If your account is thin on Hydro, she looks tempting. Just remember the same rule that applies to Vesna: the kit is unconfirmed, so treat any team suggestion as provisional until the theorycrafting community runs the numbers.
Weapon Banner
Beyond the Chrysalis (Sword) and Hymn of the Maelstrom (Catalyst) are both brand new, and neither one has published stats or passives in the official materials. That alone should give you pause. The 4-star weapon pool is genuinely useful, with Favonius Greatsword for energy and Dragon’s Bane for reaction damage, but a weapon banner is only worth touching if you actually want both 5-stars. Otherwise, the risk of walking away with the wrong one is real.
What F2P and Low-Spend Players Should Do
Let us be direct about the math. Four new 5-star items in one patch is a Primogem sink, and nobody should pretend otherwise. Free-to-play accounts should pick exactly one 5-star character and commit. If you do not have a strong Anemo or Hydro DPS, that choice is easy: grab whichever element your roster needs more and start saving again immediately after.
Low-spenders have a bit more room. The Welkin Moon and Battle Pass both stretch a budget further, but they do not change the core advice about focus. Spreading pulls across both character banners and the weapon banner is how accounts end up with nothing. Pick a lane.
One mechanical detail works in your favor here: since pity carries over between the two character event wishes, you can build pity on one banner and pivot to the other if the mood strikes. That flexibility is real, and it is worth using. The shared 4-star lineup also means your off-banner pulls are identical either way, so there is no hidden downside to switching.
Events and Rewards Worth Your Time
The “Test Run” trial event is active for this wish period. You get fixed lineups with the trial characters and run them through specific stages, which is the safest possible way to feel out Vesna and Vodyanitsa before you commit. Completing the challenges pays out Primogems and materials, so there is no reason to skip it even if you plan to skip the banners.
The official materials do not detail any other Version 7.1 events, and it would be dishonest to invent some. If you want the full event calendar, the official channels are the only reliable source right now.
One last thing worth repeating, because it is the most important takeaway in this entire article: nobody knows how good these characters actually are yet. The kit details are unconfirmed, the weapon passives are unconfirmed, and the meta impact is unconfirmed. Pull for the characters you like, but wait for the theorycrafting results before you treat either banner as a must-have. The banners run until 2026-10-13 at 17:59, which is plenty of time to make an informed call.