Genshin Impact Version 7.0 introduces more than a new region and playable characters.
Alongside Snezhnaya, the update adds several new gameplay systems that change how players explore, travel, interact with the environment, and approach certain activities.
From the Eye of Graeae and railway system to firearm gameplay and new regional mechanics, Version 7.0 gives Snezhnaya a noticeably different style from earlier nations.
Here are some of the major new features and gameplay changes introduced in Genshin Impact 7.0.
The Eye of Graeae Adds a New Exploration System
One of the most important new exploration features in Version 7.0 is the Eye of Graeae.
This device is closely connected to exploration in Snezhnaya and allows Travelers to interact with several mechanics found throughout the frozen nation.
Rather than functioning as a simple collectible Gadget, the Eye of Graeae is integrated into the region’s exploration.
It can help Travelers deal with Snezhnaya’s environmental conditions and interact with special mechanisms encountered while exploring.
Prime Ice Constructs Change How You Explore
The Eye of Graeae is also connected to Prime Ice Constructs, special structures found throughout Snezhnaya.
Different constructs serve different purposes.
Players can encounter mechanisms involving:
- Grappling
- Temporary platforms
- Blockade spikes
- Snowballs
- Other environmental interactions
These constructs can be used to reach locations, overcome obstacles, and solve regional puzzles.
As a result, learning how the different Prime Ice Constructs work becomes an important part of exploring Snezhnaya.
Train Travel Comes to Snezhnaya
Version 7.0 introduces train travel as a major part of Snezhnaya.
The railway network connects locations across the nation and provides another way to move through the region alongside traditional Teleport Waypoints.
Trains are not simply decorative objects moving through the environment. Players can interact with the railway system as part of their journey through Snezhnaya.
This gives the new nation a transportation system that feels distinct from the traversal mechanics used in earlier regions.
Version 7.0 Introduces Firearm Gameplay
One of the more unusual additions in Version 7.0 is gameplay involving firearms.
Certain Snezhnaya content allows players to use guns through specialized gameplay mechanics rather than the normal character weapon system.
The new firearm gameplay includes features such as:
- Different firearms
- Weapon attachments
- Aiming and shooting
- Taking cover
- Firing from cover
- Firearm workbenches
These mechanics do not turn firearms into a new standard weapon type that characters can equip in place of Swords, Bows, or other regular weapons.
Instead, they are part of specialized gameplay introduced with Snezhnaya.
This allows Version 7.0 to experiment with a different style of combat without replacing Genshin Impact’s normal elemental battle system.
Stellar Swirl Expands Elemental Reactions
Version 7.0 also expands combat through Stellar Swirl.
The reaction involves Cryo and Anemo and forms part of the Stellar Glimmer system featured in the Snezhnaya update.
Triggering Stellar Swirl can create a Stellar Vortex, which can be strengthened through additional reaction triggers before dealing Cryo reaction damage.
The mechanic is not limited entirely to combat either. Stellar Swirl can interact with exploration by helping characters gain additional vertical movement in applicable situations.
This creates another connection between Version 7.0’s combat mechanics and the way players navigate the new region.
New Characters Are Designed Around Stellar Glimmer
Version 7.0’s new combat mechanics are also reflected in its characters.
Rather than introducing Stellar reactions as an isolated system, several new playable options interact directly with them.
Odette can enable and strengthen Stellar-Conduct and Stellar Swirl, while Alyosha provides support particularly suited to Stellar-Conduct teams.
The new Cryo Traveler can also interact with both reaction paths and take different combat roles depending on the team.
This makes Stellar Glimmer one of the more significant gameplay additions of Version 7.0 rather than a mechanic limited to a single character.
Snezhnaya Adds New Environmental Interactions
Version 7.0 also introduces a large collection of smaller regional mechanics.
Players exploring Snezhnaya can encounter interactions involving ice, snow, unusual barriers, machinery, and other objects that behave differently from familiar exploration elements elsewhere in Teyvat.
Some are used to access new areas, while others appear as parts of puzzles or challenges.
This means entering Snezhnaya for the first time involves learning a new set of visual clues and environmental rules instead of simply applying every exploration habit from previous regions.
New Activities Make Use of the Added Mechanics
The new systems also appear in Version 7.0 activities.
Different challenges make use of mechanics such as shooting and train-related gameplay, giving players opportunities to interact with the update’s new systems outside normal exploration.
This is particularly useful for mechanics like firearms, which operate differently from standard Genshin Impact combat.
Rather than introducing the systems only once during the story, Version 7.0 uses activities and challenges to give players additional opportunities to experience them.
Version 7.0 Makes Snezhnaya Feel Mechanically Different
Many Genshin Impact updates introduce new characters, quests, enemies, and areas.
Version 7.0 does all of those things, but some of its most noticeable additions are the systems that change how players interact with the new region.
Major gameplay additions include:
- Eye of Graeae exploration mechanics
- Prime Ice Constructs
- Train travel
- Firearm gameplay
- Cover and shooting mechanics
- New environmental interactions
- Stellar Swirl
- Expanded Stellar Glimmer gameplay
Together, these features help distinguish Snezhnaya from earlier regions while giving players new mechanics to learn alongside the continuation of Genshin Impact’s main story.
As future updates expand Snezhnaya, some of these systems may also become the foundation for additional areas, challenges, and gameplay.
