Genshin Impact: the “Frostbound” Battle Pass bumps the weapon chest from 10 to 15 4-star weapons — and closes purchases one hour before the session

The “Frostpass” Battle Pass session has been running since the 7.0 update of Genshin Impact and closes on September 21, 2026, at 3:59 AM server time — that is, 4:59 AM Paris time. But there's a second date, one hour earlier, and that's the one that really matters.

This session also includes a structural change that HoYoverse slipped into the middle of its announcement: the Battle Pass chest goes from ten to fifteen 4-star weapons. Five entries at once, in a list that hadn't moved in a while.

The two dates not to confuse

HoYoverse puts it this way: starting September 21 at 2:59 AM, “you will no longer be able to purchase the Gnostic Hymn, Song of Pearls, or Song of the Voyage Battle Pass for the current BP session. However, it will still be possible to complete BP quests and obtain their rewards after the purchase deadline.”

Practical translation: in the last hour, you'll still be able to play but no longer buy. A player planning to level up at the last minute and then unlock the paid version to claim the tiers won't be able to do so if they try after 3:59 AM Paris time. That one-hour gap between the two dates is exactly the trap the studio is flagging.

The BP chest goes from 10 to 15 4-star weapons

This is the session's most concrete announcement. HoYoverse writes: “Starting with this Battle Pass, new 4★ weapons will be added to the 10 already present in the BP chest.” The five new ones, with their type:

The remarkable point is the coverage: one weapon per type, exactly. The game's five weapon categories — sword, claymore, polearm, catalyst, bow — each get one entry. This isn't a scheduling coincidence, it's an extension designed so everyone finds something.

Level 30 of the “Gnostic Hymn” unlocks the choice

The weapons in the chest don't drop at random. The condition is precise: “Travelers who reach Lv. 30 of the Gnostic Hymn Battle Pass will be able to choose a weapon from those offered in the BP chest.”

Three consequences to draw from this.

The choice is reserved for the paid version. The “Gold-Leaf Traveling Pass” Battle Pass, unlocked by default at the start of every session, does not grant access to this selection.

Tier 30 is the real goal. It's not completing the Pass: it's at level 30, and no higher, that the weapon choice unlocks. If you buy the Pass, pace your weekly quests around that tier as a priority.

Five more options means a harder choice. Going from 10 to 15 weapons means that refinement — accumulating multiple copies of the same weapon over the course of your sessions — gets diluted. If you're aiming for a high refinement rank on a specific weapon, the new list doesn't help you: it just multiplies the temptations.

The "Bounty" mechanic, or how to pay less on both sides

This is the part of the announcement almost nobody reads, and yet it's the one that hits your wallet. HoYoverse has linked the Teyvat Battle Pass to the Millennial Paradisia Chronicles through a cross-discount system:

• After unlocking the "Gnostic" or "Song of Pearls" Battle Pass, you unlock the "Chronicle Bounty" effect, which grants a discount on purchasing the corresponding Chronicles in the Millennial Paradisia.
• Conversely, unlocking "Chronicles of the Realms" or "Epic of the Realms" grants the "BP Bounty" effect, a discount on purchasing the corresponding Battle Pass in Teyvat.

A "Bounty" button appears on both the Chronicles purchase screen and the Battle Pass purchase screen: that's where you can check the status of the discount. An essential detail from the studio: "the Bounty effect can only be activated during the current event's duration". It doesn't carry over from one session to the next.

So the reasoning to keep in mind is as follows: if you plan to buy both — Battle Pass and Chronicles — during the same session, the order doesn't matter, but the timing does. Buying one in September and the other in October makes you lose the discount. The studio also reminds players that "the Battle Pass and the Chronicles share the same start and end dates for each season."

The case of players who already own "Gnostic"

One line addresses a common special case: "If you already own the 'Gnostic' Battle Pass, you'll only need to pay the price difference to purchase 'Melody of the Journey' in order to unlock 'Song of Pearls' if you wish."

In other words, nobody pays twice. "Melody of the Journey" is the add-on that upgrades "Gnostic" to "Song of Pearls," and it only costs the difference between the two. Conversely, HoYoverse specifies that you "get a discount if you buy 'Song of Pearls' directly": buying the higher tier outright ends up cheaper than going through both steps.

So the math is simple to state, even without knowing the exact prices: if you already know today that you'll go for the higher tier, get it right away. If you're hesitating, "Gnostic" isn't a dead end, it just ends up costing a bit more overall.

What exactly the higher tier gets you

HoYoverse lists what's exclusive to purchasing "Song of Pearls": the "Frostpass" BP theme, the exclusive furnishing blueprint "Dance Beneath Silver Wings," and some "Radiant Dust."

This last point isn't trivial right now. Radiant Dust is also the reward being highlighted by the "Chthonic Carnage" event, live as of today. Two competing sources for the same resource, one free and time-consuming, the other paid and immediate: it's up to each player to decide.

The one-month plan

Keep three things in mind. The session closes on September 21, but purchases close an hour earlier — treat 3:59 AM Paris time as the real deadline. The milestone that matters is level 30, not full completion. And if you're also buying Chronicles, do so in the same session as the Battle Pass to trigger the Manna discount on both.

What remains is the question the studio leaves unanswered: among the fifteen weapons in the chest, which one should you pick? No stats are published in the announcement. Wait until you reach level 30 to decide — by then, your teams will have changed.