October is the month Version 7.1 splits in half. The debut wishes that opened with the patch on 23 September run out mid-month, a rerun phase takes over, and a stack of anniversary and seasonal timers expires around them — several on dates that have nothing to do with the banner change.
Every date below was read out of HoYoverse's own in-game announcement feed on 30 September 2026 — the Event Wish notices, the Version 7.1 Update Details, and the individual event notices that each carry their own separate expiry. Where something has been shown officially but not yet published as a notice you can open in-game, it is labelled that way rather than printed as fact.
Quick answer: The Version 7.1 Phase 1 wishes — "When Warm Winds Cavort" (Vesna, Anemo) and "Surging Ballad" (Vodyanitsa, Hydro), plus the Epitome Invocation weapon wish — all end at 2026/10/13 17:59 server time. Phase 2 takes over immediately and runs to the end of the version on 3 November; the Version 7.1 Special Program showed it as a Skirk and Escoffier double rerun, but no in-game wish notice for it exists yet. Around the banner swap: Imaginarium Theater Season 1 opens 1 October, a new Spiral Abyss season starts 16 October, and the anniversary web event "Anniversary Memories Album" closes 18 October 23:59. Version 7.1 itself ends on 3 November, with Version 7.2 maintenance projected for 4 November 06:00 (UTC+8).
What is the Genshin banner schedule for October 2026?
Two phases, one swap, no maintenance in between. Phase 1 has been live since the 7.1 update and covers the first thirteen days of October; Phase 2 covers the rest of the month and the first three days of November.
| Wish | Featured 5-star | Window (server time) |
|---|---|---|
| "When Warm Winds Cavort" (Character Event Wish) | "Snowy Banquet's Sharp Blade" Vesna (Anemo, Sword) | After the 7.1 update – 2026/10/13 17:59 |
| "Surging Ballad" (Character Event Wish-2) | "Lingering Siren-Song" Vodyanitsa (Hydro, Catalyst) | After the 7.1 update – 2026/10/13 17:59 |
| "Epitome Invocation" (Weapon Event Wish) | Beyond the Chrysalis (Sword), Hymn of the Maelstrom (Catalyst) | After the 7.1 update – 2026/10/13 17:59 |
| Phase 2 character wishes (shown in the Special Program, no notice yet) | Skirk rerun, Escoffier rerun | 13 October – 3 November 2026 |
| Phase 2 weapon wish (not published) | Not announced | 13 October – 3 November 2026 |
Both Phase 1 character banners carry the identical boosted 4-stars: "Kätzlein Cocktail" Diona (Cryo), "Enigmatic Machinist" Faruzan (Anemo) and "Frozen Ardor" Chongyun (Cryo). That is unusual and worth knowing before you plan pulls — there is no 4-star reason to prefer one banner over the other this phase.
The two banners also share a single guarantee count. The notice states it plainly: "The wish guarantee count for 'Character Event Wish' and 'Character Event Wish-2' is shared, and is accumulated between both." Pity carried onto Vesna is pity carried onto Vodyanitsa, and it carries into Phase 2 as well. If you are still deciding between the two, we broke the comparison down in Vesna or Vodyanitsa, and the full phase structure with weapon details is in the 7.1 banners guide.
When exactly do the October 13 banners end on your server?
Genshin prints wish deadlines in server time, which means the banner ends at 17:59 on each region's own clock — not at one shared global instant. That produces a fourteen-hour spread between the first server to lose the banner and the last.
| Server | Phase 1 ends (local server clock) | In UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Asia (UTC+8) | 13 October, 17:59 | 13 October, 09:59 |
| Europe (UTC+1) | 13 October, 17:59 | 13 October, 16:59 |
| America (UTC-5) | 13 October, 17:59 | 13 October, 22:59 |
Genshin's server offsets are fixed all year: Europe stays UTC+1 and America stays UTC-5 regardless of daylight saving. That changes nothing on 13 October, but it matters at the other end of this calendar — European clocks go back on 25 October 2026 and North American clocks on 1 November 2026, so the 3 November deadlines below land an hour earlier in your real local time than the same conversion would have in September.
There is no maintenance for a phase swap: Phase 1 closes at 17:59 and Phase 2 opens immediately afterwards, so 17:59 is the only deadline to hit.
What is on the Genshin weapon banner in October 2026?
The Epitome Invocation running until 13 October carries two event-exclusive 5-stars and three event-exclusive 4-stars, alongside two returning 4-stars.
| Rarity | Weapon | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 5-star | Beyond the Chrysalis | Sword |
| 5-star | Hymn of the Maelstrom | Catalyst |
| 4-star | New Bough | Sword |
| 4-star | Winter's Heavy Heart | Catalyst |
| 4-star | Breezeborne Refrain | Bow |
| 4-star | Favonius Greatsword | Claymore |
| 4-star | Dragon's Bane | Polearm |
Beyond the Chrysalis cycles three effects in order each time the holder uses an Elemental Skill or Burst — increased CRIT DMG, increased Stellar Swirl DMG, or restored Elemental Energy. The notice is specific about the catch: "The aforementioned effects are removed and the sequence is reset when the equipping character leaves the field." It is a stay-on-field weapon by design, and rotating off it throws the sequence away.
Hymn of the Maelstrom is the one being misread, and it is worth being precise because it costs a 5-star pull. It is not a Hydro DPS catalyst. The notice says the holder "gains an increased Healing Bonus. When they provide healing, their Max HP is increased, and the ATK of your current active character is increased based on the equipping character's Max HP." Everything past that Healing Bonus is gated behind the holder actually healing, and the payoff lands on whoever is on field, not on the holder — those effects "can still trigger even when the equipping character is not on the field." It is an off-field healer-buffer.
Which is why the reaction to slotting it onto a non-healing 5-star was so blunt this week. One player called it a "stat stick at most, you're better off using prototype amber on them," and another spelled out the mechanism: "It requires you to heal to trigger anything but the base stats." On Vodyanitsa, who the update notes describe as "capable of providing both healing and support," it works exactly as designed. On a DPS who never heals, you are paying a 5-star pull for base stats and a dead passive.
Epitomized Path is active — "use Epitomized Path to chart a course towards a promotional 5-star weapon" — and that progress does not carry into a new weapon banner, so anything charted needs finishing before 13 October 17:59.
Who is on the Genshin 7.1 Phase 2 banner?
The Version 7.1 Special Program presented Phase 2 as a double rerun of Skirk and Escoffier, 13 October to 3 November 2026. Every outlet reporting it traces back to that same broadcast.
What does not exist yet, as of 30 September 2026, is an in-game notice — there is no Event Wish announcement in the feed for either rerun, which leaves three things genuinely unknown:
- The boosted 4-stars. These are only ever published in the wish notice itself, and they change every phase.
- The Phase 2 weapon banner. No 5-star weapon pairing has been announced.
- The exact start time. Phase swaps normally begin at 18:00 server time immediately after the 17:59 close, but that is a pattern, not a published number.
Those notices historically appear in-game one to two days before the phase opens, so expect them around 11–12 October. Treat any page listing Phase 2 four-stars today as a leak, not a schedule.
What else resets in Genshin in October 2026?
The banner swap is only one of eight October timestamps, and several of the others expire earlier. This is the full October calendar from the in-game notices, in order.
| Date (server time) | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 October | Imaginarium Theater Season 1 opens — required elements Hydro, Cryo and Anemo |
| 1 October, 04:00 | "Resplendent Starlight" daily login run begins — Intertwined Fate ×10 across seven login days |
| 6 October, 23:59 | 6th Anniversary Theme Song video event ends |
| 7 October, 23:59 | "Adventurer's Booster Bundles" Round 52 ends |
| 11 October, 23:59 | 6th Anniversary Forum Commenting Event ends |
| 12 October, 03:59 | "Silverwing in Pursuit of the Moon" ends — last call for the Silver Light sword |
| 13 October, 17:59 | Phase 1 wishes end; Phase 2 opens |
| 16 October | New Spiral Abyss season |
| 18 October, 23:59 | Anniversary web event "Anniversary Memories Album" ends |
| 19 October, 03:59 | "Resplendent Starlight" login run ends |
The 7.1 Update Details states the Theater date without ambiguity: "After the Version 7.1 update, the first season of 'Imaginarium Theater' will be available on October 1." Season 1 opens with Neuvillette, Barbara, Citlali, Kaeya, Wanderer and Prune, with Ineffa, Yae Miko, Thoma and Chiori as Special Guest Stars — the full run-through is in our Imaginarium Theater October 2026 breakdown.
The 16 October Spiral Abyss rotation is a hard reset with new Ley Line Disorders: Floor 11 gives all party members a 60% Anemo DMG Bonus and a 60% Cryo DMG Bonus, and Floor 12 splits into +75% Stellar Glimmer DMG in the first half and a 75% Cryo DMG Bonus in the second. The monster line-up on Floors 11–12 changes too, so a cleared Abyss does not stay cleared — see the Floor 12 guide for the current approach.
Which free 5-star characters are still claimable in October?
Two separate selectors run through October and both expire on 3 November at 14:59 server time. They are different events — you can claim both.
- "Across the Frozen Wilds, Honing One's Edge" — pick any 5-star from the standard wish "Wanderlust Invocation", and you also receive that character's Ascension Level-Up Materials. The notice is blunt about the limit: "You can invite a character only once during the event." Unlocked as soon as you have the Wish feature.
- "Tabletop Troupe: A Gathering on Adventure's Eve" — invite an event-exclusive 5-star of your choice, a separate pool from the standard one.
The standard-wish pick is the one people agonise over, and the community answer this week leaned toward constellation stacking rather than raw power — pairing the selector with a character you can already get a second copy of elsewhere, so you land a usable constellation instead of a spare C0. We went through the full decision in the free 5-star selector guide.
When does Version 7.1 end and the next banner schedule begin?
Version 7.1 "A Rekviem for the Underworld" went live on 23 September 2026 and its content ends on 3 November 2026. That date is not a guess: the long-running 7.1 events all terminate there, including Stygian Onslaught (3 November 03:59), the Starlit Gala (3 November 04:00), the Moontrace Battle Pass (2 November 03:59, with its purchase window closing an hour earlier at 02:59) and both free 5-star selectors (3 November 14:59).
Version 7.2 maintenance is projected for 4 November 2026 at 06:00 (UTC+8), which is 23:00 on 3 November for Europe and 17:00 on 3 November for America. HoYoverse has not announced it — the projection comes from seven consecutive 42-day version cycles, and the notice that makes it official is the Version 7.2 Update Maintenance Preview, historically posted the Monday before launch. The full evidence trail is in our 7.2 release date breakdown.
November's banner schedule therefore starts with a fresh Phase 1 on 4 November, and its Special Program should land around 23–24 October — which is also when the next batch of livestream redemption codes drops.
What should you actually do in October?
- Finish anything charted on Epitome Invocation before 13 October 17:59. Epitomized Path does not transfer to a new weapon banner.
- Clear Imaginarium Theater in October. Season 2 replaces it on 1 November with different required elements.
- Do the Abyss twice. The current season runs to 16 October and a new one starts that day, so there are two full clears before 7.2.
- Claim both 5-star selectors before 3 November 14:59.
- Bank Primogems for 13 October if you want the Phase 2 reruns — shared pity means anything spent on Vesna or Vodyanitsa now reduces what you carry in.
FAQ
When do the current Genshin banners end? 2026/10/13 at 17:59 server time, for all three Phase 1 wishes — "When Warm Winds Cavort" (Vesna), "Surging Ballad" (Vodyanitsa) and Epitome Invocation. Because deadlines are per-server, that is 09:59 UTC on Asia, 16:59 UTC on Europe and 22:59 UTC on America.
Who is on the Genshin 7.1 Phase 2 banner? The Version 7.1 Special Program showed a Skirk and Escoffier double rerun running 13 October to 3 November 2026. HoYoverse has not yet published an in-game wish notice for either, so the boosted 4-stars, the Phase 2 weapon banner and the exact opening time are still unannounced as of 30 September 2026.
Is there maintenance when the banners change on 13 October? No. Mid-version phase swaps do not require downtime. Phase 1 closes at 17:59 server time and Phase 2 opens straight after, so the only deadline you need to hit is 17:59.
Does pity carry over from Vesna to the Phase 2 banners? Yes. The Character Event Wish and Character Event Wish-2 share one guarantee count, and that count carries across phases and across versions. It is independent of the weapon and standard wish counts, which track separately.
When is the next Genshin banner after Version 7.1? Version 7.2 is projected for 4 November 2026, with maintenance starting 06:00 (UTC+8) and taking about five hours. The line-up is normally revealed at the Special Program, expected around 23–24 October, and confirmed in writing by the Update Maintenance Preview the Monday before launch.
Which 4-stars are boosted on the October banners? Diona (Cryo), Faruzan (Anemo) and Chongyun (Cryo), identically on both Phase 1 character banners. The Phase 2 4-star line-up has not been published.
Want more Genshin Impact guides? These cover the rest of the version.
