Stellar Glimmer is the name for Snezhnaya's reaction family, and it is about to get its biggest change since it arrived. A new 5-star, Mitya, joins on 4 November 2026 with Version 7.2, and his kit is built entirely around Stellar-Conduct, the half of the family that has never dealt damage by itself.
This guide is current as of 30 October 2026. Version 7.1 is live, and Version 7.2 "Hour of Ruin" releases on 4 November 2026 (official HoYoLAB Mitya showcase). Anything marked 7.2 below comes from HoYoverse's pre-release showcases and press release. It is not in-game yet.
Quick answer: Stellar Glimmer has two reactions. Stellar-Conduct is Superconduct (Cryo + Electro) converted. Stellar Swirl is Cryo Swirl (Anemo + Cryo) converted. Neither happens unless a character with a Stellar Jubilee Passive is in your party. Four are live today: Odette, Sandrone and Cryo Traveler (both reactions) and Vesna (Stellar Swirl only). Stellar-Conduct deals no damage on its own. It spawns a 7-second Starlight Prism that strips 40% Physical RES and grants 20% to 40% Cryo and Electro DMG Bonus. Stellar Swirl is a damage reaction: an Anemo hit plus a Cryo Vortex that upgrades to Lv. 2 on the third trigger. From 4 November, Mitya adds a fifth enabler. He converts Superconduct only, and every Stellar-Conduct he enables feeds damage-dealing Gradient Beacons.
What is a Stellar Glimmer reaction in Genshin Impact?
Stellar Glimmer reactions are not base-game reactions. The Genshin Impact Wiki states the prerequisite plainly: "a character with a Stellar Jubilee passive talent that converts specific Cryo-related elemental reactions must be present in the party." Without that character, Cryo plus Electro is ordinary Superconduct and Anemo plus Cryo is ordinary Swirl.
The family has exactly two members:
- Stellar-Conduct: Cryo + Electro, replacing Superconduct
- Stellar Swirl: Anemo + Cryo, replacing Cryo Swirl
They also arrived a version apart. HoYoverse's 7.0 announcement put it this way: "Following the Stellar-Conduct Reaction introduced in Version Luna VIII, Version 7.0 will bring us a brand-new Stellar Glimmer Reaction: Stellar Swirl."
So you do not pick between Stellar-Conduct and Stellar Swirl. You pick an enabler and a second element. Bring Electro next to Cryo and you are a Stellar-Conduct team. Bring Anemo and you are a Stellar Swirl team. Bring both and you trigger both. That is a legitimate build, and the current Abyss rewards it (see below).
Stellar Glimmer shares its damage formula with the Lunar family. Our Lunar reactions explainer covers Lunar-Charged, Lunar-Bloom and Lunar-Crystallize.
Which characters enable Stellar Glimmer reactions?
The enabling talent is called a Stellar Jubilee Passive. As of 30 October 2026, the wiki's Stellar Jubilee category lists five. One of them belongs to Mitya, who is not playable until 4 November.
| Character | Passive | Converts | Base DMG bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Odette | Dance of Aurore | Superconduct and Cryo Swirl | 0.7% per 100 ATK, max 14% |
| Sandrone | Light of Rationalisme | Superconduct and Cryo Swirl | 0.7% per 100 ATK, max 14% |
| Traveler (Cryo) | Illusory Frostmirror | Superconduct and Cryo Swirl | 0.35% per 100 ATK, max 7% |
| Vesna | Splendid Prelude | Cryo Swirl only | 0.7% per 100 ATK, max 14% |
| Mitya (from 4 Nov) | Top-Secret Protocol | Superconduct only | Official: "Stellar-Conduct Reaction Base DMG Boost" |
Two details in that table matter more than the rest.
Vesna is not a Stellar-Conduct enabler. Her Splendid Prelude converts Cryo Swirl and nothing else. A Vesna team that adds an Electro character gets plain Superconduct unless Odette, Sandrone or Cryo Traveler is also in the party. Our Vesna team guide builds around that limit.
Cryo Traveler is the free way in, at half rate. Illusory Frostmirror enables both reactions fully but grants half the Base DMG bonus. That is a real damage loss, not a broken mechanic. One player in a r/Genshin_Impact thread put the stakes plainly this week: "Traveler being able to cause stellar reaction is huge. This is coming from someone who didnt have any lunar reaction character."
Odette, Sandrone and Cryo Traveler each enter Radiance: Stellar-Conduct while inside a Polestar Field, and Radiance: Stellar Swirl for 8 seconds after a nearby party member triggers a Stellar Swirl. Vesna's passive grants only the Stellar Swirl state. Much of the gear and many older characters' upgraded talents key off those two states.
What does Stellar-Conduct actually do?
Triggering Stellar-Conduct spawns a Starlight Prism that lasts 7 seconds and sustains a Polestar Field around itself. Inside the field, the Prism counts Cryo and Electro hits that apply an element, subject to the usual internal cooldown. Every 4 seconds the count resets and a fresh 4-second buff is granted based on it. The hit that created the Prism does not count.
| Hits recorded | Base Reaction Coefficient | Cryo and Electro DMG Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 20% |
| 1 | 1.45 | 29% |
| 2 | 1.5 | 30% |
| 6 | 1.7 | 34% |
| 12 (max) | 2 | 40% |
The jump from 0 hits to 1 is the biggest step in the table. After that each hit adds +0.05 coefficient and +1% DMG Bonus, up to 12. One extra Cryo or Electro application per window captures most of the value.
On top of that, every enemy in the field takes a flat 40% Physical RES reduction, at any hit count. Out of combat, the field also stops you losing heat or Kresnik Energy in Snezhnaya, and refills Kresnik Energy to 30% if it is lower. An expired Prism leaves a Prism Mirage you can reactivate as a permanent Prime Ice Construct.
The Stellar-Conduct wiki entry is explicit on damage: "Stellar-Conduct does no DMG on its own. The only way to deal Stellar-Conduct DMG is through character Talents and Constellations." That coefficient table matters because talents that deal Stellar-Conduct DMG scale off it. Yae Miko's Witch's Revelation upgrade is one example. In Radiance: Stellar-Conduct, her enhanced totem strike adds a 200% ATK Electro hit counted as Stellar-Conduct DMG. Our Yae Miko build covers that setup in full.
What does Stellar Swirl actually do?
Stellar Swirl is the opposite design: a damage reaction with an escalation mechanic. Each trigger deals an instance of Anemo DMG and spawns a Stellar Vortex at Lv. 1 that lasts 3 seconds, then detonates for AoE Cryo DMG.
- On the third Stellar Swirl trigger, the Vortex upgrades to Lv. 2: more damage, wider area.
- Three more triggers after that detonate it immediately instead of after its delay.
- For 5 seconds after a Vortex explodes, your next jump goes higher, which is why Stellar Swirl turns up in Snezhnaya traversal clips.
The Lv. 2 threshold means Stellar Swirl wants sustained trigger count, not burst. A rotation that triggers it twice never sees the good half of the mechanic, so frequent Anemo and Cryo application matters more than one big hit.
How much damage do Stellar Glimmer reactions do?
HoYoverse has not published the Lunar or Stellar Glimmer damage formula. The figures below are community-derived from frame testing and collected on the wiki's Damage page. Treat them as the accepted working model, not first-party numbers.
The Elemental Mastery term is 6 × EM / (EM + 2000). That curve flattens fast: 1,000 EM gives 200%, and doubling to 2,000 EM gives 300%, not 400%.
| Reaction | Base coefficient |
|---|---|
| Stellar Swirl, initial hit | 0.75 |
| Stellar Swirl, Vortex Lv. 1 | 2 |
| Stellar Swirl, Vortex Lv. 2 | 3 |
| Lunar-Crystallize | 1.6 |
| Lunar-Charged | 3 |
A Lv. 2 Vortex sits at 3, level with Lunar-Charged, the highest in either family. Stellar Swirl can also deal indirect damage from element application alone. When it does, the game calculates each contributing character's damage separately, ranks them, and weights them highest × 0.6 + second × 0.3 + third × 0.05 + fourth × 0.05. Missing slots are left empty, not rescaled, so a core with only two contributors gives up the third and fourth terms. How much that costs depends on what those characters would have contributed.
What does Mitya change about Stellar-Conduct in Version 7.2?
Mitya is a 5-star Electro Catalyst user. HoYoverse's 7.2 press release says: "While in the party, he converts the team's Superconduct reactions into Stellar-Conduct reactions, boosting the entire party's Stellar-Conduct DMG while accumulating special energy."
The official skill showcase explains the energy. When Stellar-Conduct triggers with Mitya in the party, it generates Gradient Beacons. Mitya carries up to 4, and his Elemental Burst generates 3 at once. The showcase's key line: "Consume Beacons to deal AoE Electro DMG that is considered Stellar-Conduct reaction DMG."
Until now, Stellar-Conduct DMG came only from a handful of specific talents and constellations. Mitya ties damage to the reaction itself: every Stellar-Conduct his team triggers builds Beacons. He spends them in two ways:
- Off-field (Tap E): once he is at the cap, excess Beacons are consumed automatically for extra damage. When "the core" leaves the field, it detonates the Beacons that are left.
- On-field (Hold E, then hold): the longer you hold, the more Beacons are consumed and the more hits are dealt. The press release describes this as "a rapid flurry of enhanced Charged Attacks". The showcase suggests Hold E, then Q, then hold to consume every Beacon.
The extra talents on the panel above add three more things. In the Tap E mode, each Beacon raises the whole party's Elemental Mastery, while in the Hold E mode one Stellar-Conduct reaction generates 4 Beacons "more stably and easily". Beacons last longer and give Mitya bonus CRIT Rate. And his Stellar Jubilee Passive, Top-Secret Protocol, makes "a larger Polestar Field that follows the character" instead of one fixed to a spot. HoYoverse has not published exact multipliers. Its footnote says more details will be viewable in-game after the 7.2 update.
Two 7.2 additions point the same way. Valeriy is a new 4-star Electro Sword user. The press release says he "shields and boosts Electro DMG, particularly for Stellar-Conduct reaction teams" (HoYoLAB showcase). The new 5-star Catalyst Starsealed Edict builds up to 3 stacks after its wielder uses an Elemental Skill, one per nearby party reaction. In Radiance: Stellar-Conduct, each stack adds +12% CRIT DMG to the wielder's Stellar-Conduct reactions at R1 (HoYoLAB weapon overview). HoYoverse has not tied that weapon to Mitya. Our 7.2 characters breakdown tracks both kits, and 7.2 banners has the wish dates.
Which artifacts and weapons boost Stellar Glimmer damage?
Version 7.0 added a set built for the whole family, and several older sets were given Stellar lines.
| Set | 4-piece effect relevant to Stellar Glimmer |
|---|---|
| Heart of the Furnace | +12% ATK for 12s when the wearer triggers or deals Stellar Glimmer DMG, and +50% Stellar Glimmer reaction DMG for all nearby party members. Works off-field |
| Disenchantment in Deep Shadow | +40% Stellar-Conduct DMG, +16% CRIT Rate against affected enemies |
| Thundering Fury | +20% Stellar-Conduct DMG |
| Scarlet Proof | +16% CRIT Rate and +40% Stellar Swirl DMG for 10s after the wearer triggers Stellar Swirl |
| Viridescent Venerer | +20% Stellar Swirl DMG and 40% Cryo RES shred on a Stellar Swirl |
Set effects are from the wiki pages for Heart of the Furnace and Scarlet Proof, and both sets drop from the Inverted Glacier domain. Heart of the Furnace is the support set. Its 50% party buff does not stack with a second copy, so one holder per team is enough.
Scarlet Proof's CRIT Rate is the part players keep missing. In a r/GenshinImpactTips thread on a weak Vesna, the top fix was a lower CRIT Rate target: one reply set the cap at 84% "because the stellar swirl set give you 16". That figure is only right while the 10-second window is up.
For weapons, the wiki groups the family-wide options under Stellar Glimmer DMG: Breezeborne Refrain, Echoes of the Heart, Emberwell, Forged by the Golden Melody, New Bough and Winter's Heavy Heart. Beyond the Chrysalis is the dedicated Stellar Swirl 5-star. A Teaspoon of Transcendence, Cashflow Supervision and Kagura's Verity carry Stellar-Conduct lines.
Stellar-Conduct vs Stellar Swirl: which should you build around right now?
| Attribute | Stellar-Conduct | Stellar Swirl |
|---|---|---|
| Elements | Cryo + Electro | Anemo + Cryo |
| Introduced | Luna VIII | Version 7.0 |
| Reaction damage | None by itself (Mitya's Beacons from 7.2) | Yes: 0.75 / 2 / 3 |
| Core effect | 7s Prism, Polestar Field | Anemo hit plus Cryo Vortex |
| Signature number | 40% Physical RES shred | Vortex Lv. 2 on trigger 3 |
| Enablers live today | Odette, Sandrone, Cryo Traveler | Odette, Sandrone, Cryo Traveler, Vesna |
Build Stellar Swirl today if you want the reaction itself to carry damage. It has a dedicated 5-star DPS in Vesna and the designed partner in Vodyanitsa (Vodyanitsa build). It also has the bigger Witch's Revelation payoff: upgraded Qiqi gives the party +50% Cryo Swirl and Stellar Swirl DMG in Radiance: Stellar Swirl while her Herald of Frost is out, and her Skill cooldown drops to 15s (Qiqi build).
Build Stellar-Conduct if your damage comes from somewhere else: a Physical carry that wants the 40% shred, or a Yae Miko Revelation team. Building for Mitya is a bet you can make before the banner opens. Electro and Cryo characters with good application, plus Heart of the Furnace on a support, will carry over.
The current Spiral Abyss, live since 16 October 2026, favours both halves. Floor 12's first half has the Ley Line Disorder "Characters' Stellar Glimmer DMG increased by 75%". The Stardread Moon blessing fires a True DMG shockwave once every 2 seconds whenever you trigger Superconduct, Stellar-Conduct, Cryo Swirl, Stellar Swirl, Frozen or Shatter, or deal Stellar-Conduct or Stellar Swirl DMG. Our Floor 12 guide has the lineups.
FAQ
What is Stellar Glimmer in Genshin Impact? It is the Snezhnaya reaction family. There are two reactions: Stellar-Conduct (Cryo + Electro) and Stellar Swirl (Anemo + Cryo). They replace Superconduct and Cryo Swirl only when a character with a Stellar Jubilee Passive is in your party.
Which characters can trigger Stellar Glimmer reactions? As of 30 October 2026: Odette, Sandrone and Cryo Traveler enable both reactions. Vesna enables Stellar Swirl only. Mitya joins on 4 November 2026 in Version 7.2 and enables Stellar-Conduct only. Any character can apply the elements. Only the enabler needs to be in the party.
Is Stellar-Conduct or Stellar Swirl better? For damage from the reaction itself, Stellar Swirl, because Stellar-Conduct deals none on its own. For buffing a team, Stellar-Conduct, mainly for its 40% Physical RES shred and up to 40% Cryo and Electro DMG Bonus. From 4 November, Mitya's Beacons give Stellar-Conduct teams a real damage engine.
Do I need a 5-star to use Stellar Glimmer? No. Cryo Traveler's Illusory Frostmirror enables both reactions for free. Its bonus is 0.35% Base DMG per 100 ATK, capped at 7%, which is half of what Odette, Sandrone and Vesna give.
What is the best artifact set for Stellar Glimmer teams? Heart of the Furnace on one support, for its party-wide +50% Stellar Glimmer reaction DMG. The damage dealer then runs Scarlet Proof for Stellar Swirl, or Disenchantment in Deep Shadow for Stellar-Conduct. Both Heart of the Furnace and Scarlet Proof drop from the Inverted Glacier domain.
How many Stellar Swirl triggers reach Vortex Lv. 2? Three. The Vortex upgrades on the third trigger. Three more triggers after that make it detonate immediately.
Is the Stellar Glimmer damage formula official? No. HoYoverse has not published it. The 6 × EM / (EM + 2000) term and the 0.75, 2 and 3 Stellar Swirl coefficients come from community testing. Mitya's exact Beacon multipliers will not be public until Version 7.2 is live.
Sources and version notes
Reaction mechanics, the Stellar Jubilee Passive list, artifact sets and weapon effects were checked against the Genshin Impact Wiki on 30 October 2026. The damage formula and coefficients are community-derived and labelled as such. Mitya's kit comes from HoYoverse's official skill showcase (HoYoLAB 47218636, 27 October 2026) and the Version 7.2 press release of 23 October 2026. Valeriy's kit comes from HoYoLAB 47228525, and Starsealed Edict from HoYoLAB 47230963. The Spiral Abyss modifiers come from the in-game "A Rekviem for the Underworld" Version 7.1 Update Details. Version 7.2 releases on 4 November 2026.
More Genshin Impact guides: the pages that pair with this one.
