Every few years, a long-running story reaches the moment it has been quietly promising since its beginning — and for millions of players worldwide, Genshin Impact's Version 7.1 represents exactly that threshold. On September 23, HoYoverse releases 'Requiem of Death,' an update that brings the Traveler at last before the Tsaritsa, whose years-long collection of divine artifacts now resolves into open confrontation with the cosmic order itself. It is a reminder that even in the architecture of games, patience and myth-building can carry genuine narrative weight — and that anniversaries, like the
Genshin Impact Version 7.1 'Requiem of Death' Launches Sept 23 With New Archon Quest
The Tsaritsa has spent six years collecting Gnoses to challenge the Heavenly Principles themselves.
Mark
So this Archon Quest—is this the payoff to a story thread that's been running for years, or is it more of a midpoint?
Mimi
It's the payoff. The Tsaritsa has been collecting Gnoses for six years, and this is when we finally learn why and what she's actually planning to do with them. She's going after the Heavenly Principles themselves.
Luke
That's a big claim. Do we know if this is the final confrontation with the Tsaritsa, or just a major battle in a longer arc?
Mimi
The source material doesn't specify whether this is the end of her story or another chapter. We know she's fighting Ronova, the Archon of Death, but the scope beyond that isn't detailed.
Mark
And the two new characters—Vesna and Vodyanitsa—are they designed specifically to support this story, or are they just the seasonal roster additions?
Mimi
They seem to be thematic additions. Vesna's mechanics involve converting Cryo reactions into Stellar Swirl reactions, and Vodyanitsa boosts Stellar Swirl damage. There's a mechanical coherence there that suggests they're built for this update's content.
Luke
But we don't have confirmation that they're required for the quest or that they're mechanically superior to existing characters. They're new tools, but whether they're essential is unclear.
Mark
The anniversary rewards sound generous—a free limited five-star character selector is unusual, right?
Mimi
Very. That's a character that normally requires spending or significant grinding. Giving players a choice of one is a major gift, especially paired with the other rewards.
Luke
It's worth noting that this is anniversary timing, so it's not necessarily a sign of generosity as much as a scheduled celebration. But yes, the selector is substantial.
Mark
What about the Moonchase Festival returning after five years—does that suggest the game's narrative is cycling back to earlier regions?
Mimi
It could be. The festival is in Liyue, and it's framed as exploring mysteries from the past. It might be a way to deepen lore in regions players have already explored.
Luke
Or it could simply be a popular event they're bringing back because players enjoyed it. The source doesn't explain the creative reasoning behind the return.
Der Puls
- Years of narrative groundwork finally crack open as the Tsaritsa moves against the Heavenly Principles themselves, with the Archons of Death and Life both drawn into what feels like the game's most consequential story chapter yet.
- Two new five-star characters — Vesna, who rewrites the rules of elemental reactions, and Vodyanitsa, who heals and dismantles enemy resistances — arrive to reshape team-building strategies across the player base.
- The Moonchase Festival returns to Liyue for the first time in five years, while Snezhnaya and Natlan each host their own limited events, spreading the update's energy across multiple regions simultaneously.
- To honor six years of play, HoYoverse is offering players the rare ability to hand-select a limited five-star character — a reward that cuts against the usual uncertainty of the gacha system and lands as a meaningful gesture of goodwill.
- The celebration extends into physical space, with HoYoLand 2026 opening at a South Korean exhibition center in early October, blurring the boundary between the game's world and the one its players actually inhabit.
Every few years, a long-running story reaches the moment it has been quietly promising since its beginning — and for millions of players worldwide, Genshin Impact's Version 7.1 represents exactly that threshold. On September 23, HoYoverse releases 'Requiem of Death,' an update that brings the Traveler at last before the Tsaritsa, whose years-long collection of divine artifacts now resolves into open confrontation with the cosmic order itself. It is a reminder that even in the architecture of games, patience and myth-building can carry genuine narrative weight — and that anniversaries, like the sixth being celebrated here, are as much about reckoning as they are about reward.
Genshin Impact's Version 7.1, arriving September 23, carries a title — 'Requiem of Death' — that signals its ambitions plainly. The update's Archon Quest delivers what years of storytelling have been building toward: the Traveler finally reaches Snezhnaya and stands before the Tsaritsa, whose long campaign of collecting Gnoses now reveals its true purpose. She is moving against the Heavenly Principles, the cosmic authority governing Teyvat, and her path runs directly through Ronova, the Archon of Death. Rhinedottir, the Archon of Life, enters the narrative as well, lending the sequence the weight of a genuine mythological reckoning.
Two new five-star characters accompany the story. Vesna, an Anemo sword user, introduces Stellar Swirl — a transformed version of the Cryo Swirl reaction that activates whenever she's in the party. She can also carry players through the overworld on wind spirit power. Vodyanitsa, a Hydro catalyst user, shifts into a nymph form to heal allies, weaken enemy resistances, and amplify Stellar Swirl damage, while also being able to move freely across water and land. Their banners occupy the update's first phase, with reruns of Skirk and Escoffier following in the second.
Beyond the new characters, the Moonchase Festival returns to Liyue's Yilong Wharf after a five-year absence, bringing a mystery storyline and three mini-games rooted in Taoist exorcist tradition. Snezhnaya hosts a snowball event, Natlan runs a tournament prediction contest, and the Sea of Stars lobby receives an autumn makeover centered on sweet osmanthus and full moons.
For the game's sixth anniversary, players who complete the new Archon Quest will receive a limited five-star character selector — an unusually generous prize in a system built on chance — alongside a standard five-star selector, 1,600 Primogems, and ten Intertwined Fates. The celebration also reaches the physical world through HoYoLand 2026, running October 2–5 at the KINTEX Exhibition Center in Ilsan, South Korea, where a Nod-Krai themed cafe is set to open days before the main event begins.
Genshin Impact's next major update arrives September 23, and it marks a turning point in the game's central story. HoYoverse is releasing Version 7.1, titled "Requiem of Death," and the centerpiece is an Archon Quest that finally brings the Traveler face-to-face with the Tsaritsa in Snezhnaya. This confrontation has been building for years—the Tsaritsa has spent the last six years collecting Gnoses, and the new quest will explain both why she's done it and what she plans to do with them. Her target is the Heavenly Principles themselves, and to achieve that goal, she's preparing to battle Ronova, the Archon of Death. Rhinedottir, the Archon of Life, will also appear in the narrative, adding another layer to what appears to be a climactic sequence in the game's overarching mythology.
Two new five-star characters are joining the playable roster alongside this story push. Vesna is an Anemo sword user whose mechanics center on a conversion mechanic: when she's in a party, Cryo Swirl reactions transform into Stellar Swirl reactions instead. She fights with a spirit sword and sword energy, and in the overworld she can use wind spirit power to soar through the air. Vodyanitsa takes a different approach—she's a Hydro catalyst character who shifts into a Hydro nymph form to heal the active party members. Beyond healing, she reduces enemy Hydro and Cryo resistance while boosting the active character's attack power, and she can further lower Anemo resistance through a mechanic called Starlight Gusts while increasing Stellar Swirl damage. She also has exploration utility, able to traverse both water and land in her nymph form.
The character wish banners will split the update into two phases. The first half features Vesna and Vodyanitsa, while the second half brings back reruns for Skirk and Escoffier. Beyond the new characters, HoYoverse is rotating in a returning event: the Moonchase Festival is coming back to Liyue for the first time in five years. This time it's set at Yilong Wharf and includes a storyline exploring mysteries from the past, along with three mini-games inspired by Liyue's Taoist exorcists. Meanwhile, Snezhnaya gets a limited-time snowball event, and Natlan players can join a tournament prediction event involving sixteen competing teams.
The game's lobby space, the Sea of Stars world, will receive a seasonal refresh with an autumn aesthetic built around sweet osmanthus flowers and full moons. For players who create custom content, HoYoverse is adding control modules that support client scripting and co-op functionality to the editor.
To mark Genshin Impact's sixth anniversary, HoYoverse is offering substantial rewards to players who complete the new Archon Quest during Version 7.1. The headline prize is the chance to select and invite one limited five-star character of the player's choice—a significant gift given how difficult these characters normally are to obtain. Beyond that, players will receive one standard five-star character selector, 1,600 Primogems (the game's premium currency), and ten Intertwined Fates (the gacha currency used for limited character banners).
The update also coincides with HoYoLand 2026, a company-wide event running October 2 through 5 at the KINTEX Exhibition Center 2 in Ilsan, South Korea, under the theme "Serenade to the Moonlight." The Genshin Impact themed cafe at the venue will be redesigned with a Nod-Krai aesthetic and is scheduled to open on September 26, giving players a physical space to engage with the game's world before the main event begins.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The Tsaritsa is plotting to oppose the Heavenly Principles, and the new quest reveals why she has collected Gnoses over the past six years and the strategy behind her actions.— HoYoverse (Version 7.1 description)
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