The honest version of this answer starts with something most Skirk-or-Escoffier articles skip: as of 6 October 2026, there is no in-game announcement for either rerun. Not a date, not a banner name, not a boosted 4-star list. We checked every live notice in the game client this morning — 36 of them — and the strings "Skirk", "Escoffier" and "Phase 2" appear zero times. The only first-party written confirmation that these two are coming at all is one sentence in HoYoverse's Version 7.1 press release from 12 September 2026:
"In the first phase of Version 7.1 Event Wishes will feature Vesna and Vodyanitsa, with Skirk and Escoffier returning in the second phase."
That single sentence is the whole foundation. Everything else circulating — the exact phase-2 start date, the banner titles, which 4-stars get boosted — is either derived arithmetic or broadcast chatter, not published fact. So this guide splits cleanly: what you can plan around, and what you should not bet 180 wishes on yet.
When does Genshin 7.1 Phase 2 actually start?
Here is the one hard, first-party, verifiable-right-now number. All three current Version 7.1 Phase 1 wishes — When Warm Winds Cavort (Vesna), Surging Ballad (Vodyanitsa) and the Epitome Invocation weapon banner — close at 2026/10/13 17:59.
That timestamp matters in a specific way. In the in-game announcement each of those three notices carries exactly one local-server timestamp tag and zero global tags. In plain terms: 17:59 is your own server's wall clock, not a single worldwide instant. Asia, America and Europe all see 17:59 on their own clocks, which are eight hours apart end to end. If you are on Europe server and a tracker tells you the banner ends at a converted time, the tracker is wrong — read your own in-game clock.
Phase 2 historically begins immediately after Phase 1 ends, with no gap. That is a pattern, not a promise, and HoYoverse has published nothing about the Phase 2 start. Treat 13 October as the practical deadline for your Phase 1 decisions and the earliest plausible Phase 2 opening, and nothing more. We keep the live version of this timetable in our Genshin banner schedule for October 2026 and update it the moment a real notice appears.
What is also worth knowing before you spend: the guarantee count on When Warm Winds Cavort and Surging Ballad is shared between the two banners. They are Character Event Wish and Character Event Wish-2, and your pity carries across both — and it will carry into Phase 2 as well. Pulling Vesna does not reset your position for Skirk. If that mechanic is new to you, our Genshin pity system explained breakdown covers the 50/50 and the shared-counter rule in detail.
Skirk or Escoffier: the short answer
These two are not competing for the same slot, which is why "who is better" is the wrong question. One is a damage carry. The other is a damage multiplier for a carry you may not own.
Pull Skirk if you want a new on-field Cryo DPS and you already have, or will build, a team that reliably triggers Cryo reactions around her. She is a 5-star Cryo Sword whose listed role is On-Field DPS, released 18 June 2025, and her previous run is the only one she has had.
Pull Escoffier if you already own a Cryo or Hydro carry whose ceiling is being held down by resistance and healing problems. She is a 5-star Cryo Polearm, Arkhe: Ousia, from Fontaine, and her listed roles are Off-Field DPS, Support and Survivability.
Pull neither if your Cryo roster is empty. Escoffier with nothing to buff is a healer you did not need, and Skirk without reaction partners is a sword that swings at base numbers.
What Skirk actually does
Skirk's kit is built around a resource called Serpent's Subtlety and a mode called Seven-Phase Flash, which she enters by using her Elemental Skill, Havoc: Warp. In that mode her Normal, Charged and Plunging Attacks are converted to Cryo damage that cannot be overridden by other elemental infusions, her attack area and interruption resistance go up, she can move on water while sprinting, and her Elemental Burst Havoc: Ruin is replaced by the special burst Havoc: Extinction. The mode continuously drains Serpent's Subtlety, and when it ends — or when she leaves the field — her remaining points are wiped.
The part that decides whether she works in your account is her first Ascension Talent, Reason Beyond Reason. When nearby party members trigger Frozen, Superconduct, Cryo Swirl or Cryo Crystallize, a Void Rift spawns near that opponent, at most once every 2.5 seconds, and Skirk herself can generate at most 3 Rifts. Absorbing a Rift grants 8 Serpent's Subtlety, and she absorbs them with a Charged Attack or Havoc: Extinction in Seven-Phase Flash, or by holding Havoc: Warp.
Read that list again, because it is the actual gate. Skirk's resource engine does not run on raw Cryo application — it runs on four specific reactions. A team with no Electro for Superconduct, no second Cryo or Hydro for Frozen, and no Anemo for Cryo Swirl starves her. She has the usual Lv90 statline of a Cryo DPS — base ATK 358.77, base HP 12,417.35 — and her ascension bonus is CRIT DMG 38.4% at the sixth ascension, so she comes with her own crit scaling baked in.
Her Charged Attack is also quietly one of the better ones in the game: a spinning crystal spear with long horizontal and vertical targeting range that can hit airborne opponents for 20 stamina. It cannot chop trees, which is a small joke in the community and a real inconvenience in Nod-Krai.
If you are pulling her, the full artifact, weapon and ascension-material picture is in our Skirk build guide.
What Escoffier actually does
Escoffier is a mechanism character. Her Elemental Skill, Low-Temperature Cooking, tapped, deploys her All-Spectrum Multi-Use Cooking Mek in Cold Storage mode: an initial burst of AoE Cryo damage, then a drone that follows your active character and fires Frosty Parfaits at intervals for off-field Cryo. Because she is Arkhe: Ousia, a Surging Blade also spawns periodically. Holding the Skill instead places the Mek on the field in Off-the-Cuff Cookery Mode, where it absorbs elemental attacks. Her Elemental Burst is Scoring Cuts, and her healing state is Rehab Diet, which restores HP to nearby active characters every second based on 138.24% of Escoffier's ATK for 9 seconds.
The number that makes her a top-tier support is her second Ascension Talent, Inspiration-Immersed Seasoning: with 1, 2, 3 or 4 Hydro or Cryo characters in the party, opponents hit by her Skill or Burst have their Hydro RES and Cryo RES reduced by 5%, 10%, 15% or 55% for 12 seconds.
That is not a smooth curve. It is a cliff. Going from three Hydro-or-Cryo party members to four does not take you from 15% to 20% — it takes you from 15% to 55%. Escoffier is only the character everyone says she is inside a full Hydro/Cryo team. Put her in a Hyperbloom or an Overload comp as a generic healer and you are running a 5-star at a fifth of her listed value. Our Escoffier build guide has the artifact and energy-recharge numbers for the version of her that actually works.
Can you run Skirk without Escoffier?
Yes, and this is one of the most-searched versions of the question, so let us be precise about what you lose.
Escoffier is a strong Skirk partner for two separate reasons: she is a second Cryo unit (which helps Skirk's reaction requirements), and her 55% Cryo RES shred applies directly to Skirk's damage. But Skirk's engine wants Frozen, Superconduct, Cryo Swirl or Cryo Crystallize specifically, and there is more than one way to supply those. A Hydro applier gives you Frozen. An Electro unit gives you Superconduct. An Anemo unit gives you Cryo Swirl. A Geo unit gives you Cryo Crystallize. Escoffier is the most convenient single answer, not the only one.
So: Skirk without Escoffier is fine; Skirk without a reaction enabler is not. If you have to choose one and you own no Cryo carry at all, Skirk is the pull that creates a team. Escoffier is the pull that upgrades one.
The reverse case is cleaner. Escoffier without Skirk is still excellent, because her shred works for any Cryo or Hydro carry — she was a best-in-slot support for months before Skirk's reruns were a topic.
C1 Skirk or C1 Escoffier?
This comes up constantly in autocomplete, and the two constellations are not close in character.
Skirk C1, Far to Fall, makes every absorbed Void Rift summon a crystal blade for 500% of Skirk's ATK as Cryo damage, counted as Charged Attack damage. Skirk C2, Into the Abyss, grants 10 additional Serpent's Subtlety after Havoc: Warp. C1 is a direct damage add on a mechanic she already uses; C2 buys uptime. Both are personal-damage upgrades and nothing more.
Escoffier C1, Pre-Dinner Dance for Your Taste Buds, gives all nearby party members +60% Cryo DMG CRIT DMG for 15 seconds after her Skill or Burst — but only when 4 party members are Hydro or Cryo, and only once you have unlocked Inspiration-Immersed Seasoning. Escoffier C2, Fresh, Fragrant Stew Is an Art, grants a Freshly-Prepped Delicacy state for 15 seconds with 5 Cold Dish stacks; each time another active character deals Cryo damage with a Normal, Charged, Plunging, Skill or Burst attack, a stack is spent to add 240% of Escoffier's ATK to that damage. C3 adds 3 levels to Low-Temperature Cooking, to a maximum of 15. C4, Secret Rosemary Recipe, extends Rehab Diet by 6 seconds and gives a chance equal to Escoffier's CRIT Rate to heal 100% extra HP and restore 2 Energy to Escoffier, up to 7 times per Rehab Diet.
The practical read: Escoffier C1 is a team-wide multiplier and Skirk C1 is a solo-unit multiplier. If you run a full Cryo/Hydro team, C1 Escoffier raises the whole room. If you do not, it does literally nothing, and C1 Skirk is the safer purchase. That conditional is the whole decision, and it is why a blanket "C1 Escoffier is better" answer is wrong half the time.
What HoYoverse has not published about Phase 2
This is the section worth the price of admission, because almost nobody writes it.
Confirmed in writing by HoYoverse, 12 September 2026: Skirk and Escoffier return in the second phase of Version 7.1. That is it.
Not published anywhere first-party as of 6 October 2026:
- The Phase 2 start and end dates.
- The banner names for either rerun.
- The boosted 4-stars on either banner.
- The weapon banner line-up for Phase 2.
- Any rate figures beyond HoYoverse's standard published wish rates.
Community trackers list Skirk's next appearance as "Upcoming (Date Unknown)" and attach a banner title to it. Treat that title as a label, not a confirmation. We re-pull the live announcement API before every update to this page, and the moment Phase 2 notices go up — which is normally at or just before the phase switch — the dates and 4-stars become facts instead of estimates.
The 4-star trap people are falling into right now
While you are planning Phase 2 spending, there is a free 5-star-adjacent reward and a genuine misconception sitting side by side in Version 7.1.
Silver Light is not a banner weapon. It is a free 4-star Sword from the Silverwing in Pursuit of the Moon event, and that event closes at 2026/10/12 03:59 — roughly 38 hours before the Phase 1 wishes close. If you were planning to grab it after you finish wishing, you have the order backwards. Claim it first.
The current Phase 1 weapon banner, Epitome Invocation, features Beyond the Chrysalis (Sword) and Hymn of the Maelstrom (Catalyst) as its 5-stars, with New Bough, Winter's Heavy Heart, Breezeborne Refrain, Favonius Greatsword and Dragon's Bane as the 4-stars, and Epitomized Path is available. If you want a Sword for Skirk out of Phase 1, that is where it is — not from the event.
Also closing soon: the Anniversary Memories Album web event at 2026/10/18 23:59, which carries a global timestamp rather than a per-server one, and Adventurer's Booster Bundles Round 52 at 2026/10/07 23:59 on your own server's clock. Primogems from both go straight into your Phase 2 budget; the fastest ways to farm Primogems guide covers the rest.
How to spend the next week
A simple order of operations, assuming you want one of the two Phase 2 reruns:
- Claim Silver Light before 12 October 03:59 on your server.
- Decide your Phase 1 position before 13 October 17:59 on your server. If you are mid-pity and do not want Vesna or Vodyanitsa, stopping now carries that pity into Phase 2 intact. Our Vesna or Vodyanitsa comparison covers that side of the choice.
- Bank everything else. There is no reason to commit to a Phase 2 banner whose 4-stars have not been announced.
- When Phase 2 notices go live, check the boosted 4-stars before you pull. A constellation you have been chasing for years showing up as a Phase 2 4-star changes the maths more than either 5-star does.
Quick answer: Skirk if you need a new Cryo carry and can feed her Frozen, Superconduct, Cryo Swirl or Cryo Crystallize. Escoffier if you already own a Cryo or Hydro carry and can field four Hydro-or-Cryo characters to unlock her 55% resistance shred. Both are confirmed for Version 7.1 Phase 2 by HoYoverse's 12 September 2026 press release; the dates and 4-stars are not confirmed by anyone.
FAQ
When is the Genshin 7.1 Phase 2 banner? HoYoverse has not published a Phase 2 date. The one confirmed number is that Version 7.1 Phase 1 wishes end at 2026/10/13 17:59 on your own server's clock. Phase 2 has historically started immediately after Phase 1 with no gap, but that is a pattern, not an announcement.
Is Skirk confirmed for 7.1 Phase 2? Yes, in writing. HoYoverse's Version 7.1 press release of 12 September 2026 states that Skirk and Escoffier return in the second phase. No in-game notice for her rerun exists yet.
Does my pity carry over to Phase 2? Yes. The guarantee count is shared across Character Event Wish and Character Event Wish-2 and carries forward between phases. Stopping now does not waste your position.
Should I pull Skirk if I do not have Escoffier? Yes, if you have any reaction enabler. Skirk's Ascension Talent needs Frozen, Superconduct, Cryo Swirl or Cryo Crystallize from nearby party members — a Hydro, Electro, Anemo or Geo unit can all supply one of those. Escoffier is the most convenient option, not a requirement.
Is C1 Escoffier better than C1 Skirk? Only inside a full Hydro/Cryo team. Escoffier C1 gives the whole party +60% Cryo DMG CRIT DMG but requires 4 Hydro or Cryo party members and the Inspiration-Immersed Seasoning talent. Outside that condition it does nothing, and Skirk C1 — a 500% ATK Cryo crystal blade per Void Rift absorbed — is the more reliable upgrade.
What does Escoffier's resistance shred actually do? With 1, 2, 3 or 4 Hydro or Cryo characters in the party, opponents hit by her Skill or Burst lose 5%, 10%, 15% or 55% Hydro and Cryo RES for 12 seconds. The jump from three members to four is the entire reason she is rated so highly.
Which weapon banner is live right now? Epitome Invocation, with Beyond the Chrysalis (Sword) and Hymn of the Maelstrom (Catalyst) as the 5-stars and Epitomized Path available. It closes with Phase 1 at 2026/10/13 17:59 on your server.
Is Silver Light on the weapon banner? No. Silver Light is a free 4-star Sword from the Silverwing in Pursuit of the Moon event, which ends at 2026/10/12 03:59. It is not a wish item.
This article applies to Genshin Impact Version 7.1, Phase 1, and is accurate as of 6 October 2026. All timings were verified against the live in-game announcement list on that date.
More Genshin Impact guides:
