Genshin Impact 7.0: Exaphane Blade, Snezhnaya's free 5-star sword — how to get it and especially how to upgrade it

There's a free 5-star sword in Genshin Impact version 7.0, and a good number of players will pick it up without realizing it isn't finished. It's the Hexaphane Blade, a 5★ one-handed sword that can only be obtained by progressing through the Archon Quest, and which has a second upgrade phase whose existence is only mentioned in a single line of the official patch notes.

Here's the complete step-by-step process, with the exact wording from the English client.

What the Hexaphane Blade does

The effect is described by HoYoverse as follows: the weapon significantly increases the Traveler's ATK, and restores elemental energy after hitting an enemy.

The key point not to miss is in the first part of the sentence. This is not a versatile 5★ weapon: it's a specialized weapon designed for the Traveler. The attack bonus is tied to them. Equipped on any other sword wielder, it loses most of its value, and you'll be better served by a properly built 4★ weapon.

This targeting isn't a coincidence, and it ties in with the other major addition in 7.0: the 5★ Cryo Traveler. After entering resonance with the Cryo element, the Traveler can trigger Astral reactions — Astroconduction and Astrodispersion —, deal off-field damage, quickly unleash attacks upon entering combat, and deal on-field damage while in the "Astroconduction" Radiance state. The Hexaphane Blade is the weapon designed for this kit.

Step 1: unlocking the weapon

The condition is single and straightforward: progress through the Archon Quest Chapter VII - Act I "The Merciless Eternal Winter" and complete the step "Great Deeds on the Tundra".

Two clarifications that will save you time:

• You don't need to have completed the previous acts. HoYoverse has explicitly opened up a shortcut: travelers meeting the unlock requirements can head directly to Snezhnaya via an automatically unlocked teleport waypoint and accept Chapter VII - Act I, even without having finished "Song of the Night's Star - Act X".
• The requirements therefore boil down to: Adventure Rank 18 minimum, and having completed the old quest Prologue - Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom". In other words, pretty much everyone can go there.

This same step, "Great Deeds on the Tundra", also unlocks Snezhnaya's daily commissions. So it serves two purposes: make it a priority.

Step 2: the upgrade everyone is going to miss

This is the decisive line, and it fits in a single sentence in the official patch notes: "you can upgrade your Hexaphane Blade after using the Cryo element to awaken the Statues of The Seven in Snezhnaya and connect to them".

Let's break this down, because every word matters:

1. You need to find the Statues of The Seven in Snezhnaya.
2. You need to awaken them with the Cryo element — which means having a Cryo character in your party, and the Cryo Traveler works perfectly for this.
3. You then need to connect to them.

In other words, the weapon you get at the end of "Great Feats on the Tundra" is not in its final state. A player who completes the quest, equips the sword and moves on will spend weeks running around with a capped version of a 5★ weapon, with no interface warning them about it.

And since exploring Snezhnaya happens statue by statue anyway — that's been Genshin's map discovery mechanic from the start — the upgrade triggers naturally as long as you don't stop at the first two or three areas.

The areas to cover

7.0 opens up five areas in Snezhnaya, and you need to keep them in mind so you don't leave a statue behind:

• the Volkodlak Tundra — this is where the teleport waypoint that's automatically unlocked is located, in the southwest;
• the White Birch Sepulcher;
• the Permafrost Land;
• the Flameflume Valley;
• the Doomfrost Peak.

A little bonus along the way: the automatic unlocking of the teleport waypoint comes with a Primogem reward. If you've already finished "Song of the Dragon and Freedom", it's been waiting for you since the update.

Don't mix up the two 5-star swords in 7.0

This is the most common mistake of the past few days, and it can cost you Primogems.

Version 7.0 contains two 5★ one-handed swords, which have nothing to do with each other:

• The Exaphane Blade — a special weapon, free, obtained through the Archon Quest, tied to the Traveler.
• The Winter Feather of the White Lake — an exclusive weapon, obtained through wishes, which considerably boosts ATK and Amphoreus Reaction CRIT DMG while restoring elemental energy. This is the signature weapon, designed for Odette · Whirling Snow.

If you're not aiming for Odette, the Exaphane Blade is your 5★ sword for this version, and it costs nothing.

What if you don't play the Traveler?

The question is a fair one: many players put the Traveler on the shelf a long time ago. There are three things to weigh here.

First, forged weapons. 7.0 adds five 4★ weapons whose blueprints can be exchanged with the NPC Kuzmichev, in Snezhnograd, for certain materials. On the sword side, Ember-Well increases ATK after an elemental reaction and Amphoreus Reaction damage after an Amphoreus reaction. It's an honest option with no gacha involved.

Second, Battle Pass weapons. Five new 4★ weapons are being added to the BP Chest: after unlocking the "Gnostic" Battle Pass and reaching level 30, you get to choose one weapon out of fifteen.

Finally, and this is the strongest argument: 7.0 makes the Traveler worthwhile. The Cryo Traveler is now ranked 5★, triggers the two new Amphoreus reactions, and now has a dedicated, free 5★ weapon. For a player who isn't opening their wallet, this is the most cost-effective progression path offered in a long time — as long as you do both steps, not just the first one.

The checklist

1. Check that you are Adventure Rank 18 and that Prologue - Act 3 is completed.
2. Take the teleport point of the Volkodlak Tundra and start Chapter VII - Act 1 "The Merciless Eternal Winter".
3. Complete "Great Deeds on the Tundra": you get the Exaphane Blade and you unlock Snezhnaya's daily commissions.
4. Explore the five areas and awaken the Statues of The Seven with a Cryo character, then connect to them: that's what upgrades the weapon.
5. Don't spend Primogems thinking you can get this sword through wishes — it's not there.