Genshin Impact 7.0: The 7 Priorities for Your First Day in Snezhnaya

Version 7.0 "The Merciless Eternal Winter" has been deployed: Snezhnaya, the seventh and final nation of Teyvat, is finally playable. After six years of waiting, the urge to head straight out is understandable — but the region is also the first to impose a permanent temperature mechanic, and the order in which you approach your day makes a big difference.

Here are the seven tasks to tackle, in the order they actually unlock, and what can wait until tomorrow at no cost to you.

1. Get the Eye of Graie before heading out to explore

In Snezhnaya, exploration doesn't start with the map but with a gadget. The Eye of Graie is given to you upon arrival in the region and is the linchpin of all the local mechanics. It manages Kresnik Energy, the resource that maintains your character's body temperature in the coldest areas.

In practice, the gauge recharges through contact with local flora and fauna, as well as near heat sources. Heading out on an expedition without understanding this cycle means spending your morning backtracking. The Eye of Graie is also used to summon primal ice structures, which serve in turn as a springboard, a grappling point, a heat source, a storage point, and a multiplayer messaging beacon.

To do in order: follow the region's introduction until you obtain the gadget, then do a test run of all four types of structures before venturing away from the city. Ten minutes invested here will save you much more later.

2. Push through the Archon Quest to unlock the map

The Chapter VII Archon Quest isn't just the narrative thread of the update: it's what progressively unlocks access to sub-regions and local means of transport. As long as it isn't advanced, a large part of the map stays closed off, and teleport points you think you can reach actually aren't.

It's also the path that leads to Alyosha, the free 4-star Electro character included with this version. There's no point looking for him elsewhere or trying your luck on a banner: he's obtained by playing through the update. We covered his build and materials in a dedicated guide — the only thing to remember this morning is that you need to progress the quest to get him.

3. Snezhnograd first, the wilderness afterward

Snezhnograd, the capital, concentrates the service NPCs: material merchants, crafting, and above all the network that makes the rest of the region navigable. The snowy hamlets and isolated villages scattered across the wilderness are far more worthwhile once you can reach them directly rather than on foot.

The rule is the same as with every new region since Fontaine: unlock the teleport points before picking up anything at all. Chests don't disappear; travel time, on the other hand, costs you with every round trip.

4. Try Odette out before deciding whether to pull

Odette, the 5-star Cryo swordswoman headlining the first phase, is playable as a free trial from launch, at an already advanced level and with equipment provided. It's the best — and cheapest — way to settle today's question: should you wish for her, or save your Intertwined Fates for the Arlecchino rerun running on the same phase?

Its value lies less in its raw numbers than in its relationship to Astral Reactions: it turns existing reactions into Astroconduction (Cryo + Electro) and Astrodispersion (Cryo + Anemo), and amplifies the whole team's Astral Reaction damage. In other words, its value depends directly on what you already have in your roster. A ten-minute trial will tell you more than any tier list published before release.

5. The artifact domain: Crimson Witness or Furnace-Fused Heart

The two new artifact sets in 7.0 are Crimson Witness and Furnace-Fused Heart, shared in the same domain. The first is meant for compositions built around Astrodispersion, the second for ATK-focused profiles geared toward Astral Reactions.

Our advice for today: go scout the domain, but don't burn your Original Resin in it just yet. The actual character stats for the version settle down within a few days, and it would be a shame to have farmed forty Resins on the wrong set because the meta wasn't clear yet. Scouting is free, farming isn't.

6. Try out the TPS mode, but don't treat it as mandatory content

7.0 introduces a genuine third-person shooter mode, with elemental firearms, ammo management, and upgrade components. It's the most talked-about new feature of the update, and it's worth a session — it's also the only one that doesn't reward methodical exploration.

Treat it as an attraction: one hour today to understand the rules, the rest once the main region is mapped out. It's not going anywhere.

7. Don't burn through your Original Resin on launch day

This is the classic mistake with every major version. On release day, everything feels urgent: the new domain, the new bosses, Odette's and Alyosha's ascension materials. In reality, none of that is timed. What is timed are the launch events, whose window runs until the end of the version — and the exploration rewards, which don't disappear.

A reasonable day plan: the Archon Quest, unlocking waypoints, trying out Odette, scouting the domain. Resin spent only on what you were already farming yesterday.

What can clearly wait

• 100% completion of Snezhnaya. As with Fontaine and Natlan, part of the areas unlock progressively through the Archon Quest's acts: chasing completion percentages on day one just means covering the same ground twice.
• Definitive builds. Until artifact sets have been farmed by the community, weapon and set recommendations remain estimates.
• End-of-version content. The 7.0 events run through September: the second phase, with its own banners, won't arrive for another three weeks.

The schedule to remember

Phase 1 runs from August 12 to September 1, 2026, with Odette's banner and Arlecchino's rerun. Phase 2 takes over from September 1 to 22. So you have a full three weeks to decide where your Resin and your pulls go — a luxury that day one doesn't justify burning through.