Dainsleif in Genshin Impact: All you need to know about the mysterious character

In Genshin Impact, the Traveler’s quest to reunite with their lost sibling involves challenging the Abyss Order and learning about the ancient land of Khaenri’ah.

Naturally, the Traveler is not alone in their journey. Aside from Paimon, the main character often has some help when entering an Abyss Order domain. And one of the more interesting characters the Traveler has met in their most important quest is Dainsleif.

Dainsleif is known to be something of a contrarian, and he’s one of the most mysterious characters to appear in the main storyline so far.

Everything known about Dainsleif in Genshin Impact

Dainsleif is a tall, blonde man with eyes similar to Kaeya's. Both have Primogem-shaped pupils, and both wear eyepatches of some kind. It's unclear what the connection is here, but this is just one of several enigmatic themes that surround Dainsleif.

Dainsleif’s history and identity

Dainsleif was first introduced to Genshin Impact in “Chapter I: Act IV - Bough Keeper: Dainsleif.”

The Traveler has a commission involving the Abyss Order, and Dainsleif offers his help. Together, they track down an elite creature in the Abyss Order, called the Abyss Herald. Heralds command the Abyss Mages and can manipulate Abyssal energy. In combat, they prove themselves masters of the Hydro element.

Dainsleif on the quest to hunt the Abyss Herald (image via Genshin Impact)

From this story quest, Travelers get some hints into Dainsleif’s past. He claims to know both the fate and the past of Teyvat. This explains why Dainsleif himself narrates the Teyvat Storyline Trailer and the Collected Miscellany videos.

Since his introduction in this quest, it’s been known that Dainsleif is strongly related to the ancient civilization of Khaenri’ah. He witnessed the fall of that civilization, and he has faded memories of thousands of years of Mondstadt's past.

When Khaenri'ah was alive and well, Dainsleif served in a high position in the ancient land. Further developments on this were revealed in the “We Will be Reunited” story quest. In this quest, the lost sibling describes Dainsleif’s role in the now-destroyed civilization:

“That man Dainsleif, was the Twilight Sword. One of the royal guards of the final dynasty of Khaenri'ah.”

That is indeed Aether speaking. Here's Lumine's version. pic.twitter.com/HyIxd9ds72

— AE Entropy (@AeEntropy) March 14, 2021

It was also revealed that because Dainsleif couldn’t save Khaenri’ah from falling, he was cursed with immortality, though it’s unknown who laid the curse.

Dainsleif’s opinions on other characters

As Dainsleif is immortal`, it’s not surprising that he’s familiar with several other prominent characters in Genshin Impact.

The most obvious of Dainsleif’s dispositions is that he hates deities as well as the Adepti, who have made contracts with Rex Lapis. In contrast, he appreciates people like Ganyu and Diluc, whom he regards as hard working, dedicated individuals.

Although Dainsleif is very knowledgeable, he does not know that Rex Lapis now portrays himself as Zhongli. Dainsleif finds it curious that Zhongli has no strong opinions on Rex Lapis’ departure. Consequently, he suspects Zhongli for being a part of the Rite of Dissension debacle.

Lastly and most curiously, Dainsleif knows about Albedo's hidden power, Art of Khemia, which is a forbidden alchemy product from Khaenri'ah that led to the civilization’s downfall. Dainsleif is cautious when it comes to Albedo. He claims he’s ready to fight against him and stop him if his power drives him out of control.

Albedo speaking on his dangerous Art of Khemia power (image via Genshin Impact)

Will Dainsleif be playable in Genshin Impact?

MiHoYo announced in September of 2020 that Dainsleif would be a playable character in Genshin Impact, but there’s still no timetable on when he will debut.

More leaked information is available on upcoming characters like Ayaka and Kazuha, and there are also the Dendro characters like Baizhu expected to arrive later on. For Dainsleif, much less is known about how he will perform as a playable character. In fact, he’s not even known to have a Vision.

With what little information players have on Dainsleif as a playable character, it’s still unclear when exactly Genshin Impact will finally release the Twilight Sword of Khaenri’ah in a banner.